Sustainability in Travel and Tourism - Thematic Research

Sustainability has been a major theme in the Travel & Tourism sector for a number of years. However, it is now becoming a necessity for tourism companies to incorporate sustainability into operations, and it is an aspect of business that will continue to grow in importance year by year. Pre-COVID-19, tourism was one of the most powerful and fastest growing sectors in the world. Robust growth in international travel has brought with it unsustainable impacts, which have pushed the issue of sustainability to the forefront of many companies’ agendas, due to governmental and consumer pressure. Travel & Tourism is a sector that is often scrutinized in terms of its progress on sustainability as its development has regularly been accommodated for at the sacrifice of the environment, local communities and sometimes SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises).

This thematic research report takes an in-depth look at sustainability in Travel & Tourism. The players section outlines the main companies that are experiencing success in this theme, as well as the companies that are lagging in terms of sustainability. A thematic briefing then looks at the three main pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and governance. These pillars are then discussed in relation to Travel and Tourism, assessing the impacts on different industries. Specific technology, macroeconomic and enterprise trends that have been shaped by the push for sustainability are then outlined. Additionally, company case studies and recommendations are included for CEOs and senior executives, detailing individual cases of how travel and tourism companies are either leading or lagging in this theme.

“Adapting operations and creating initiatives to address environmental, social and governance issues allows companies to benefit from an array of advantages, such as improved positioning in the consumer’s mindset and a long-term reduction in operating costs.

Key Highlights

• According to the publisher’s Job Analytics Database, active jobs involved in the theme of sustainability increased by (xx) between 4 February 2021 and 1 March 2021, showcasing how the increased demand for sustainability from consumers and national governments is being translated in to new job openings based around sustainability in the tourism sector. This increased demand is also being translated in to company filings in the tourism sector. According to the publisher’s filings analytics database, ‘sustainability’ was the fourth most mentioned theme in 2020, with (xx) mentions, this was an (xx) increase from the previous year, illustrating its rapidly growing importance from a company point of view.
• Venice and Prague are not the only cities to have recently unveiled strategies to enhance social sustainability through potentially attracting higher value tourists. However, these cities are somewhat dependent on inbound tourism and a large portion of their visitors have always been lower value tourists that can bring negative impacts with them. City officials should be careful not to completely shut out these visitor types as they provide a valuable and reliable stream of income for the whole of the city.
• The evolution of smart cities will continue to shape sustainability in urban areas from a tourism perspective. Internet-of-Things (IoT) is the key technological point for the development of smart urban environments through the use of aggregated data, integrated in a single decisional platform. By using this technology to gather urban data and improve performance and management, cities can rapidly improve performance in relation to sustainability. Examples related to tourism include smart solutions for parking and highway speed controls. Smart cities also provide mobility and resource allocation through the use of big data, allowing city officials to be proactive instead of reactive, which helps to minimize the risk of future unsustainable impacts.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of sustainability in Travel & Tourism.
• It identifies the strong link between sustainability and Travel & Tourism, outlined through the ESG framework.
• This report provides a detailed industry analysis of sustainability in Travel & Tourism, discussing major technology, macroeconomic and enterprise trends.
• We highlight companies leading and lagging in sustainability, such as Melia, Air France-KLM and TUI.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand the impact of sustainability on the tourism industry, using the widely adopted ESG framework and examples to help you understand how you can adapt and understand this theme.
• Assess the strategies that companies are adopting when operating sustainably.
• Discover companies that are lagging in this space.
• To view real-world case studies and trends created by the push for sustainability from across the Travel & Tourism sector.
• The publisher’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying the important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and secure that all-important competitive advantage.