Tour Operator Sustainable Supply Chain Management : How a Dutch outbound tour operator enhances the sustainability of its holiday destinations

Abstract

The theoretical and managerial discussion on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gradually shifted towards a consensus on the fact that many believe it is a necessity for organizations to define their role in society by applying social and ethical standards. This necessity is also true for the tourism industry. Although tourism can have many positive impacts, there are also many negative impacts related to tourism. Mass tourism is considered to be responsible for generating the most severe negative impacts of tourism. Tour operators are believed to play a key role in preventing and/or mitigating these negative impacts because of their central position in the tourism supply chain. Despite of the fact that most tour operators seem to be aware of the necessity to take a responsible stance, many struggle with moving from the strategic planning phase towards the implementation of actual sustainability practices. Related to this is the fact that research on CSR in tourism can still be considered in its early stages. This means only a scarce body of knowledge on tourism CSR exists, within which the tour operator sub-sector has received relatively little attention. In addition, existing contributions to tourism CSR have not always covered the full scope of what CSR actually entails. Notwithstanding the issues described above, in a case study on Dutch tour operators Van de Mosselaer et al. (2012) signal a change from a more defensive mode of thinking on CSR to a more pro-active approach. In this case, the supply chain management approach plays a significant role in enhancing sustainability performance. Supply chain management represents only one area through which tour operators can manage sustainability, but it is central to enhancing sustainability on a destination level. The author argues important lessons can be learned from the Dutch case with regard to how outbound tour operators can practically integrate tourism CSR into their supply chain, aimed at enhancing the sustainability of their holiday destinations. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the following central research question: How, and to what extent, does a large Dutch outbound tour operator contribute to enhance the sustainability of their holiday destinations through supply chain management practices?