Tourism companies’ sustainability communication – creating legitimacy and value

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the sustainability values that tourism companies communicate to stakeholders. The following two research questions are addressed: What sustainability value (economic, social, or environmental) do tourism companies focus on and communicate in their sustainability information? Do different types of tourism companies provide different sustainability communications to stakeholders to gain legitimacy? A case study was conducted of 30 Swedish-based tourism companies. Written documents that were available online concerning sustainability information from these companies were analysed using the GRI model. The results show that tourism companies work to create value with the help of sustainability. The results also indicate that the context and prerequisites for each type of tourism company govern what they work with in order to meet the demands of stakeholders. The study's theoretical contribution is that sustainability communication to stakeholders can be of value to tourism companies. Its practical contribution is that, in addition to pursuing sustainability, tourism companies should communicate their sustainability work to their stakeholders in order to create value.

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