Managing Ethical Consumption in Tourism

Neither the tourism industry nor the tourist has responded convincingly to calls for more responsibility in tourism. Ethical consumption places pressure on travellers to manage a large number of decisions at a time when hedonic motivations threaten to override other priorities. Unsurprisingly, tensions occur and compromises are made. This book offers new insight into the motivations that influence tourists and their decision-making. It explores how consumers navigate the responsible tourism market place, and provide a rich understanding of the challenges facing those seeking to encourage travellers to become responsible.

Not only will the book provide an improved interpretation of the complexity of ethical consumption in tourism, but it will also offer a variety of stakeholders a deeper understanding of:

• The key challenges facing stakeholders in the production and consumption of responsible tourism
• How ethical consumers can be influenced to consume ethically
• The gaps in consumer knowledge and furthermore, broaden the appeal for individuals to make more informed ethical decisions
• How tour operators can respond to this emerging market by innovative product development
• How to design informative marketing communications to encourage a greater uptake for responsible holidays
• How destinations can tailor their products to the ethical consumer market
• How destination communities and management organisations can target responsible tourists through the provision of sustainable alternatives to mass-market holiday products.

Written by leading academics, this timely and important volume will be valuable reading for all students, researchers and academics interested in Tourism Ethics and the global issue of Sustainability.

Dr. Clare Weeden is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Marketing at the University of Brighton. Her research interests lie in the areas of ethical tourism; the motivations of responsible tourists; and the competitive opportunities of ethical tourism.

Dr. Karla Boluk is Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Ulster. Her research interests like in the areas of ethical consumption, sustainable tourism, Fair Trade tourism, social entrepreneurship and volunteer tourism.