The role oftour‐operatorsas intermediaries of tourists' preferences for corporate social responsibility

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential gap in Tour Operators (TOs) assessments of tourists' preferences for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in tourism. It utilizes discrete choice experiments to assess both tourists and TOs preferences. Resultsshow that TOs understand tourists' average preferences for CSR policies but fail to predict the heterogeneity of preferences. Three market segments were found, with different preferences, socio-economic backgrounds, spending levels, and source regions. The results can help explain the lag of tourism companies in undertaking some of the CSR policies that might be of interest to tourists, and might assist the development of more sustainable tourism.

Influence of Service Valuation and Package Cost on Market Segmentation: The Case of Online Demand for Spanish and Andorra Ski Resorts

“…An effective implementation and communication of CSR policies necessarily starts with an accurate knowledge of the profile of ski resort users. Developing and communicating CSR actions and strategies is crucial to engage and maintain customers [79]. CSR has a strong and direct impact on services valuation.…”

Corporate Social Responsibility and Investment Preferences of Tour Operators

“…Using a regression model, an analysis carried out on the same sample of TOs found a positive relationship between CSR engagement and TOs' performances (Goffi, Masiero, and Pencarelli 2021). Additionally, Araña and León (2021) resorted to a discrete choice experiment to assess tourists' preferences for the CSR initiatives implemented by hotels. Using the same discrete choice experiment, the authors also asked TOs to indicate the potential preference of their average customer.…”

“…Although the topic of CSR has been increasingly investigated in tourism and hospitality (Farrington et al 2017; Font and Lynes 2018; Ibarnia, Garay, and Guevara 2020), little research has emerged in connection with the tour-operating business. Few studies about tour operators (TOs) have only recently concentrated on such topic (Araña and León 2021; Baniya, Thapa, and Kim 2019; Goffi, Masiero, and Pencarelli 2018, 2021; Kamanga and Bello 2018; Lin, Yu, and Chang 2018; Milwood 2020; Zapata Campos, Hall, and Backlund 2018) without addressing the influence of CSR on their investment preferences. TOs play a significant role in the marketing and distribution of tourism products (Tveteraas, Asche, and Lien 2014).…”