Particular attention has been paid to the study of the main reporting and certification programs for the assessment of responsible tourism and CSR in the tourism sector available in Europe. The analysis of the most recognized reporting programs available in Europe, to raise awareness of responsible tourism and CSR in the tourism industry and to assess and certify corporate responsibility.
Sustainable Development and Alternatives to Mass Tourism
At the same time as promoting the sustainable development of tourism, the concept of responsible tourism began to emerge. According to the Handbook of Responsible Travel (2006), “responsible tourism goes beyond fancy packaging and organic certification.
Definitions of Responsible Tourism and of Other Related Forms
Responsible Tourism
AITR (the Italian Association for Responsible Tourism) identifies responsible tourism as "tourism developed in accordance with the principles of economic and social justice and respect for the environment and local culture. In addition, definitions tend to change according to the country where responsible tourism develops or where responsible tourists come from.
Forms of Tourism Related to Responsible Tourism
Another type of tourism that is related to responsible tourism is fair trade tourism. It takes inspiration from the same values that characterize fair trade, with the aim of helping producers, especially in developing countries, to create better trading conditions and promote sustainability. From this point of view, fair trade tourism also seems to be considered part of responsible tourism.
Comparing Concepts and Definitions: Common Aspects
In addition, it is useful to explain the relationship between responsible tourism and sustainable tourism. As explained in Fig.2.1, responsible tourism would imply a demand side perspective. Table 2.1 Responsible tourism and related forms of tourism: relevance of economic, social and environmental aspects.
Definitions of CSR
CSR is therefore based on the concept of the "triple bottom line", which replaces the financial bottom line and implies that companies are responsible for the environmental, social and economic effects they produce. In 2006, the Commission published a new communication (EC COM final) emphasizing the importance of VSA and challenging companies to take leadership in this area.
The Role of CSR in Building and Retaining Consumer Trust
Studies conducted in areas related to responsible tourism, such as fair trade products and organic food, suggest that the positive relationship between CSR and consumer trust is also valid in tourism. Tourists who can rely on the existence of CSR are likely to reduce their uncertainty (Nicolaus 2008).
CSR in the Tourism Industry: Main Issues
Commission of the European Communities (2006) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee. Jarvis N, Weeden C, Simcock N (2010) Benefits and challenges of sustainable tourism certification: a case study of a green tourism business scheme in the West of England.
What Is a Reporting System?
Type of auditing (self-assessment, second party audit, or external audit) and type of standards (process-based, performance-based, or product-based standards) are the main elements that distinguish reporting systems. Environment and local communities: Reporting systems indirectly protect both the environment and the social and economic fabric of local communities.
Main Characteristics of Reporting Systems
Focus of the reporting program (product vs. process-based systems or process vs. performance-based systems) (Bien2008). Process standards (e.g. ISO 9000 or 14001) refer to the relevant characteristics of the introduced process, from the manufacture of the product to the final distribution.
The Methodology
Due to their central role in the tourism industry and in the entire supply chain, tour operators interact with all companies involved in the organization and composition of the travel package. In addition, the assessment of the tour operator's responsibility not only provides consumers with information about the tour operator itself, but also about other companies along the supply chain that offer the services included in the travel package.
AITR: Responsible Tourism Standards
Organisation and Objectives
According to these four criteria, eight reporting systems are included in the analysis, as explained in table 5.1. Despite these limitations, these reporting systems are included in the analysis as they can offer interesting cases for discussion of the approaches and indicators used.
The Reporting System
Protect the consumer, and assure him/her that the trip he/she buys respects the characteristics and principles of responsible tourism;. There must be an acknowledgment stating that the Report was presented and delivered prior to the trip.
ATES: Charte du Tourism Equitable et Solidaire
- Organisation and Objectives
- The Reporting System
- Organisation and Objectives
- The Reporting System
Criteria 3—The travel operator organizes its travel programs to maximize the positive impact on the local economy. Criteria 9—The tour operator informs travelers about the destinations visited (environmental, economic and social situation, rules of conduct).
KATE-TourCert: CSR Reporting Standards in Tourism
Organisation and Objectives
The Reporting System
The evaluation results in a CSR index for partner agencies 6.1.4 Criteria for management of the partner agencies 6.1.4.1 Does the company have a contract with the partner agency. The evaluation results in a CSR index for accommodation 6.2.5 Criteria for management of the accommodation 6.2.5.1 Does the company have a contract with the accommodation.
ATT: Agir Pour un Tourism Responsable
Organisation and Objectives
The Reporting System
The reporting system refers to the level of responsibility of the tour operator to do his activity. The certification process pays great attention to customers as well as to their opinions and perceptions, and to a proper public communication by the TO of the obligations it undertakes according to the principles of responsible tourism.
TOI-GRI: Tour Operator Sector Supplement
Organisation and Objectives
Among all activities, TOI has developed a methodology for tour operators that seek to integrate economic, environmental and social sustainability criteria in their activities and for the choices of service providers. GRI is an international network-based organization that has developed one of the world's most widely used sustainability reporting frameworks—not just in tourism.
The Reporting System
Indicates percentage of suppliers, by type, subject to supply chain management policy that provided the requested information. Indicate joint efforts with suppliers, NGOs, NTOs and authorities in destinations; main themes communicated; and specify the moment of the vacation experience, from selection to return, at which communication occurred.
Responsibletravel.com
Organisation and Objectives
However, both the General Guidelines and the Sector Supplement appear to be essentially designed for large companies, such as those that are members of TOI, such as Kuoni, TUI, etc., but not SMEs. On the contrary, the General Guidelines are adopted by different companies in different industries.
The Reporting System
As previously mentioned, the Tourism Operators Sector Supplement has been issued in pilot form and at the moment there is no evidence that it will be concretely implemented by tour operators. This is an essential requirement for all trips published on responsibletravel.com. The company may suggest alternative projects.
Travelife: Travelife Sustainability System
Organisation and Objectives
It provides an overview of possible actions that correspond to the actions in the “Action Planning” tool. The Travelife Sustainability System was developed during the EU-supported LIFE project, based on sustainability management concepts developed by UNEP, TOI and previous experiences of ANVR and ABTA (Fig.5.9).
The Reporting System
This status enables the company to communicate its sustainability commitment and achievements with the support of the Travelife Partner logo. After successfully completing the third phase, the company is awarded the Travelife certified status.
Comparison of Reporting Systems: Commonalities and
Although the last details may not be so significant in assessing the business responsibility, they help to identify the size of the business and to Table 5.16 General comparison of reporting systems. Since the responsibility of a company must be assessed in relation to all main stakeholder groups, it is also useful to differentiate reporting systems according to the involvement of employees, suppliers, distributors, consumers, local community, etc.
Issues and Open Questions
From this point of view, some systems are only aimed at tour operators specializing in responsible tourism (e.g. AITR, ATES, Responsibletravel, ATT-ATR). The first concerns the difficulties for some tour operators in cooperating with suppliers who can be classified as "responsible".
Introduction
As these tour operators differ in terms of size, offer specialization, target market, etc., the case studies allow readers to see how each company has developed its responsible path, the policies and actions they have implemented (in favor of the environment, the host community , the local economic growth, the employees) and their projects for the future. These tour operators differ in terms of size, target market, product supply and responsible process carried out, which characterizes the great variety that characterizes tourism companies involved in the promotion of sustainable tourism development.
Tables 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 show the main characteristics of these companies, particularly in terms of the processes they have adopted to integrate responsibility into their core business and implement the reporting programme. In addition, since tour operators are both small and medium-sized companies (from a minimum of 7 to a maximum of 70 employees), readers can check with the analysis how differently sized operators approach social responsibility and responsible tourism.
Atalante
For example, the experience of the micro-travel organizer a&e reiseteam seems to show that even very small companies can successfully implement a reporting program.
SNP Natuurreizen
Ask employees to use the train (rather than airplanes) for business travel if possible. Asks employees to use public transport for business trips. It encourages customers to use public transport to reach their departure airport (or station). Uses public transport for transport between.
Some Final Considerations
For those customers who are interested in making their contribution to the local community in developing countries, Atalante proposes several practical activities that directly engage tourists Policies and actions in support of eco-. These values are shared by customers who are interested in traveling in a way that has a small impact on the environment and local culture Policies and actions for the environment.
Why Applying a Mathematical Tool: Main Issues
Through the application of a multi-criteria mathematical decision-making model, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the main features, strengths and weaknesses of each program have been evaluated and compared according to various criteria. Based on these assumptions, a multi-criteria mathematical decision model, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), has been applied to study and compare the characteristics of each program based on a set of criteria.
The AHP Model: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
The reasons behind the decision to adopt AHP depend not only on the opportunity to determine an overall judgment and a ranking of the assessment programs. These are numerical values derived from evaluations carried out by experts, which represent, on the one hand, the degree of desirability of alternatives with respect to each of the criteria and, on the other hand, the level of importance of criteria with respect to the goal.
Assessing Reporting Programs with the AHP Model
- The Decision Criteria and the Alternatives
- The Priorities of Alternatives
- The Weights of Criteria: Different Hypothesis
- The Final Ranking
The assessments made by the expert translate into appropriate calculations to derive the weights of the alternatives and criteria (see the appendix). The weights of the reporting systems according to the four main criteria are summarized in Table 7.9.
How to Choose the Best Reporting Program for Responsible
Multiply the matrix of paired comparisons (unstandardized) by the vector of weights w (Table 7.14); Calculate the average of the values that make up vectorlmax in order to obtain an averageλmax.
Implications of the Reporting Systems’ Analysis
Summary This chapter first discusses the main implications of the analysis of reporting systems for responsible tourism and CSR. The study also enables students and researchers to build or improve their knowledge of the characteristics and development of the main reporting initiatives available in Europe and assess the potential of the AHP model for this type of study.
Future Research Directions
A similar phenomenon can occur in the field of responsible tourism and CSR: tourists can become active by telling about their responsible travel, communicating their satisfaction and giving feedback about the company based on their concrete experience. Given the issues limiting the proliferation of responsible policies and practices in the tourism industry, numerous initiatives have been developed to raise awareness among tourism businesses of the importance of aligning themselves with responsible tourism principles and implementing CSR strategies.
