Consumerism in tourism is a dynamic phenomenon, in which different behaviours are reflected according to the events that are happening in societies. Thus, at certain times there are cycles of excessive consumption that lead to cases of overtourism in certain destinations. However, there may also be times when demand drops sharply, such as terrorist attacks, border closures, pandemics or bans on the mobility of people and goods. More recently, the pandemic COVID -19 has changed the prevailing mindset in the consumption of tourism destinations, namely from cities and coasts to natural/rural areas, from organized tours to individual travel, from the use of large to smaller and more familiar types of accommodation to the option for short-distance travel. The literature shows that different types of events cause shock waves in the tourism sector. To manage the volatility that these situations cause in tourism consumption, those who operate in the sector need to have leadership and management skills to make urgent, quick decisions, often in the face of situations with a lack of information and/or unpredictable situations. The study used several complementary methods and techniques to achieve the proposed objectives. In this sense, a survey was conducted on the factors that influence strategic leadership, followed by an empirical study that used semi-structured interviews with leaders in the tourism sector. Based on the research conducted, the moderator factors of strategic leadership that positively or negatively influence a leader's decisions and thus the outcomes that are critical to the success, growth and development of organisations and the industry in which they operate were identified. In this sense, it aims to understand the role of strategic leadership in effectively solving problems arising from various crises and disruptive events that systematically affect the cultural aspects of civilizations and consumption and promote good sustainable tourism practices and environmentally friendly environments.