Underlying Factors of Tourist Social Responsibility (TSR) within the COVID-19 Context: An Empirical Investigation of the Saudi Tourism Market

Abstract

The current literature on social responsibility in tourism is criticized for its bias in focusing on business ethics and responsibility while neglecting the tourist perspective. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring the underlying factors of tourist social responsibility (TSR) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the Saudi tourism market. Based on the common scale development procedures, including a thorough review of the literature, identifying TSR domains and items, purifying the measurement scale, and demonstrating its reliability, a five-dimensional 24-item scale is developed. The findings reveal that TSR can be measured based on five distinct factors: (1) “Responsibility for legal and social aspects”, (2) “Responsibility for COVID-19 health issues”, (3) “Responsibility for altruism and solidarity”, (4) “Responsibility for supporting socially responsible businesses”, and (5) “Responsibility for environmental impacts”. Moreover, the results confirm the significant relationship between TSR attitude and tourists’ intention to behave socially. These findings enable policymakers to understand the TSR notion and factors influencing tourists to be more socially responsible during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to realize a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector.

Romanian Holiday Vouchers: A Chance to Travel for Low-Income Employees or an Instrument to Boost the Tourism Industry?

“…Over the past two years, more countries or particular regions within a country have turned to tourism vouchers under one form or another (staycation vouchers/travel subsidies) to sustain inbound tourism. Due to restrictions generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry was one of the hardest hit economic sectors [25][26][27][28][29][30]. The introduction of social vouchers in an attempt to boost domestic travel was justified by a sharp decline in tourism demand, loss of jobs and closure of non-essential industries [31]; this measure was reported in countries such as Island, Japan, Slovenia, Ireland, Italy, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, China, etc.…”

The Influence of Social Responsibility and Quality of Life on the Saudi Tourism Industry

“…Al-Ghamdi & Badawi (2019) cite that it is no longer the quality or price of a product but rather the main competitive advantages of an organization are its ethical and social practices that stimulate a response from the consumer. According to Kassem et al (2021), current research on social responsibility focuses on business ethics and responsibility, which has been criticized for its bias in neglecting the tourist perspective. Fennell (2008) identifies social responsibility in tourism as the protection of the natural environment and the necessity of equitable distribution to local communities.…”

“…Fennell (2008) identifies social responsibility in tourism as the protection of the natural environment and the necessity of equitable distribution to local communities. Kassem et al (2021) identify Saudi as one of the largest markets for international tourism and domestic tourism in the country is growing. Saudi Vision 2030 (2016) identifies three main components for strategic development within Saudi Arabia, these are a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.…”

“…This is particularly interesting when applied to the tourism industry, where Fennel (2008) suggests that social responsibility is defined as protecting the environment and distributing equitable assets to the local communities. With the growth in domestic as well as international tourism (Kassem et al, 2021), Saudi Vision 2030(2016 is pushing for quality of life through strategic goals -the creation of a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. The future under Saudi Vision 2030 (2106) enforces the concepts of social responsibility and quality of life, which will develop a future that has an awareness of accountability, transparency, and responsibility in business and government.…”

“…As identified by several sources (Matten & Moon, 2004;Crişan-Mitra et al, 2020;Prisecaru, 2021), there is significant research into the importance of CSR to organizations and governments through strategic planning in the developing and developed world. Social responsibility focuses on the ethics and responsibilities of an organization, and according to Kassem et al (2021), there is a bias in the neglect of the tourist perspective. To implement CSR in a tourism organization, Paskova & Zelenka (2019) identify several approaches that can be used -information and analytics, system, compensation, delegation, prevention, education, regulation, and marketing.…”