The developing countries and territories, characterized by an unstable economy, high inflation rates, with an unequal distribution of wealth and marked by unemployment and insecurity, urgently need to improve the living conditions of the people, through the increase of currency, income and productivity in order to eradicate illiteracy and poverty, of course, in a socio-economic and environmentally responsible way, with the rational exploitation of their resources, in particular – tourism. The high demand for tourist sites compromises the destination having negative effects (destruction, pollution, tourismophobia) if it is not well managed. In this regard, it is necessary to realize the importance of tourism as a tool for preserving natural and cultural heritage. Hence the importance of defining the theoretical foundations of well-managed tourism in order to understand the epistem of alternative tourism from the perspective of sustainable development. The methods used were qualitative approaches, bibliographic, documentary, descriptive, and deductive. This research is aimed at establishing links between traditional tourism, alternative tourism and sustainability, as a result of which the conceptual foundations of alternative tourism as a tool for sustainable development are formulated, being embodied in 3 epistemological models of the research object.