Abstract Worldwide, tourism is the fastest growing major industry, but not all consequences are positive. This has lead to a growing attention for â€?sustainable tourism’. Compared to international guidelines, the current governance for sustainable tourism in the Netherlands proves to be very weak. Is this just because of stakeholders’ interests and their motivation to protect and conserve, on the one hand, or just encourage growth, on the other? We find some support for this, but also find another influence. This factor operates rather independently of institutional affiliation or position on protection-growth matters. It is labeled â€?boundary judgments’: how broadly do stakeholders see or understand the subject of â€?sustainable tourism’? Which subjects and policy domains seem to them to be included, if we are to work on and achieve sustainable tourism, and which not? There is some evidence that boundary judgments are more subject to change once better information is provided.