INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Introduction
The concept of sustainable tourism aims at ensuring tourism and tourism activities have minimal effects on the environment and the culture of the local people, while at the same time establishing future employment for the people in the region. The primary objective of sustainable tourism is to ensure that tourism development helps in establishing a positive experience and development for the local people, the tourist organizations and the tourists (Ashley & Roe, 2002). Basically, it can be argued that the aspect of sustainable tourism draws from the concept of sustainability, which focuses on development that helps in meeting the human needs in the present time without compromising the capacity and ability of meeting the human needs of people in future (Blancas et al., 2010). The sustainability principles that relate to sustainable tourism include the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects associated with tourism development. It is important to note that sustainable tourism aims at maintaining a suitable balance between the mentioned dimensions in order to ensure its sustainability in the long term. In the light of this, sustainable tourism is required to make optimal use of the natural resources, maintain respect for the socio-cultural authenticity of the local communities and ensure that there is viability of long term economic operations in order to ensure distribute the socio-economic benefits to all the stakeholders in the tourism industry (Castellani & Sala, 2010). An analysis of the definition of the concept of corporate social responsibility reveals similarity with the guiding principles of sustainable tourism in the sense that they both lay emphasis on the identification and acknowledgement of the stakeholders and how initiatives should be evaluated to assess the effects on others (Epler, 2002). This kind of association reveals that corporate social responsibility plays an integral role in the establishment of sustainable tourism. The main purpose of this paper is to assess how corporate social responsibility can be used for monitoring and evaluating the achievement of sustainability in tourism.
Corporate Social Responsibility in sustainable tourism
In most nations, tourism is considered a feasible alternative for ensuring economic growth; however, the existing tourism practices that are deemed unsustainable have the capacity affecting health and imposing negative consequences on the environment, cultures of the local people, society and the economy (Hall, 2008). A small portion of countries are making use of the economic and regulatory frameworks to effectively regulate international tourism practices. Honey (1999) notes that universal standards and certification in the tourism sector are yet to gain ground in most countries. In addition, the used regulatory frameworks within the most countries are not based on an international consensus. This makes it difficult to establish the frameworks for corporate social responsibility in the tourism sector without having an overview of the scope of sustainable tourism (Krutwaysho, 2010). A widely accepted approach to Corporate Social responsibility is that it entails the integration of corporate self-regulation into the business model; it usually serves as a self-regulation mechanism that is integrated into business operations and processes in order to monitor and comply with the law, moral and ethical considerations and international standards. The main objective behind corporate social responsibility is to ensure there is responsibility for any actions undertaken by the company and foster a positive impact on the consumers using its activities to larger community, environment, stakeholders and employees (McCool & Moisey, 2001). In order to have an understanding of the role that corporate social responsibility plays in ensuring that there is sustainable tourism, it is vital to have an overview of the relationship that exists between the elements of sustainable tourism and corporate social responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility denotes the relationship between the firm and the communities that the firm undertakes its operations. Proponents of corporate social responsibility claim it is applicable in establishing sustainability in the tourism Industry through fostering destination appeal and the development of competitive advantage. A notable difference between corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism is the role that government plays in ensuring the state of the tourist destinations (Krutwaysho, 2010). An approach similar to the self-regulative practices of corporate social responsibility is needed to guarantee the sustainability of tourism. The government and other regulative bodies have the primary role of bridging the gap between corporate social responsibility and tourism practices that are sustainable (Blancas et al., 2010). The following section outlines the core factors that contribute towards sustainability in the tourism sector.
Components that make up sustainable tourism
The concept of sustainable development refers to the development that aims at meeting the human needs of the current and host regions and ensuring that it protects and offers opportunities for future development (Ashley & Roe, 2002). The concept of sustainable tourism embodies sustainable development to entail a much more holistic approach that takes into consideration all the economic sectors and resources that facilitate the operations of the tourism industry (McCool & Moisey, 2001). The criteria for the achievement of sustainable tourism include the conservation and safeguarding of sustainable natural resources, incorporating a multi-stakeholder strategy, environmental responsibility, sustaining the well being and participation of the local or host community, offering productive employment for the host community, ensuring that there is economic benefit, using a long term strategy, reinforcing equitability, deploying a triple bottom line strategy that integrates the environment, social and economic factors and ensuring that there is maximal satisfactions of the guests through education of the tourists concerning the environmental and social variables (Miller, 2002). It is also important to take note that the government should play a key role in the development of tourism that is sustainable.
Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in monitoring and evaluating sustainability in tourism
There are diverse indicators that can be used to assess the level of sustainable tourism in relation to corporate social responsibility. Notable indicators include site protection; pressure, which the number of tourists visiting the site on an annual or monthly basis; intensity of use; development control, which entails the methodological studies of the environment and waste management (Castellani & Sala, 2010). Other indicators include the planning process, fragility of the ecosystems, the satisfaction of the customers and local host community and the contributions that tourism makes to the economy of the host. It is notable that there is a similarity in elements that make up corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism. This is because they both lay emphasis on the methods that can be used to identify the stakeholders and ensure their participations while measuring their impacts on others (Mitchell & Ashley, 2010). Corporate social responsibility mainly centers on accountability of an enterprise to its stakeholders during its business activities with the primary objective of attaining sustainable development in terms of economic, social and environmental factors, sustainable tourism on the other hand lays primary emphasis on environmental sustainability, social and community responsibility. Currently, sustainable tourism extends beyond environmental conversation to include the quality of life of the people around the tourist site or facility. Basing on this framework, it can be argued that corporate social responsibility can be effectively deployed to facilitate the development of sustainable tourism (Miller, 2002).
The development of sustainable tourism aims at ensuring that tourist activities are well-matched with the human needs and the natural resources present at a tourist site. This can be achieved through the use of corporate social responsibility, which takes into consideration a holistic and an all-inclusive approach aimed at balancing tourism development with other sectors of the economy. The tourism industry is usually fragmented and multi-faceted industry, implying that monitoring of elements that make up corporate social responsibility is difficult (Blancas et al., 2010). This is because the supply chain in tourism industry is under the control of multiple stakeholders. The nature of the tourism industry increases its vulnerability towards the establishment of tourism that is unsustainable. For instance, corporate social responsibility focuses on environmental responsibility, which a core criteria that can be used for the evaluation of sustainable tourism. In the present business context, environmental protection and conservations is increasingly becoming a core requirement for conducting a successful business (Tribe et al., 2002). This is mainly because the continuity of the tourism industry relies on how well the environment is conserved. It is also important that major players in the tourism industry take into consideration the social-cultural and economic well being of the host community, as part of their corporate social responsibility strategies. Using this methodology helps in ensuring the development of sustainable tourism because the tourism industry significantly relies on the strengthening of culture and economic well being of the host community. The business model should ensure that it aims at distributing the economic benefits to all the participating stakeholders, including the host communities (McCool & Moisey, 2001). Corporate social responsibility can make use of this framework to offer productive employment to the members of the host community as a means towards the attainment of sustainable tourism (Telfer & Sharpley, 2008).
Sustainable tourism in itself poses the need for corporate social responsibility in the sector. Just like any other economic sector, societal and environmental concerns are increasingly becoming significant in order to conduct successful business (Blancas et al., 2010). For instance, consumers in the tourism sector usually place much emphasis attractive destinations characterized by clean ecosystems and cultural attractions that have been well preserved. This poses the need for the major players in the tourism industry to safeguard the authenticity of the local culture in order to enhance experiential tourism. Such trends in the tourism industry pose the need to deploy corporate social responsibility in order to increase its sustainability (Sharpley, 2002). Ineffective implementation of corporate social responsibility within all tourism and allied sectors has the potential of reducing the sustainability of tourism, which in turn imposes significant constraints on the achievement of sustainable development. Corporate social responsibility in the tourism sector plays an integral role in affecting consumer decisions basing aspects such as the state of the environment, the wellness of the host populations and the efforts by the tourism company towards the achievement of sustainable development. A notable example is the view that green products usually influence consumer decisions due to the increasing trends in environmental awareness (Reid, 2003). As such, corporate social responsibility lays groundwork for the development of sustainable tourism that serves to benefit all the participating stakeholders including the host community and the enterprise. For instance, it is universally accepted that well preserved nature and wildlife requires that tourists pays a premium towards their conservation. Corporate social responsibility also plays an integral role in facilitating responsible hospitality, which mainly focuses on the establishment of environmentally safe and attractive places for people to live and visit (Blancas et al., 2010). Within the limits of the legal frameworks, businesses have the primary responsibility of generating revenue for its shareholders, the extension of these limits regarding the responsibility of the business has been in existence for a long time are usually embodied in the concept of corporate social responsibility. There are diverse approaches that business enterprises can deploy to participate in activities that are not aimed at benefitting the business shareholders and its management (McCool & Moisey, 2001). In the context of hospitality, corporate social responsibility aims at the establishment of sustainable tourism that lays emphasis on the improvement of energy efficiency and ethical consumerism. According to the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism, it is important to take into consideration the fact that responsible hospitality should be sensitive and responsive to culture (Honey, 1999). Corporate social responsibility plays an important role in ensuring sustainability in tourism through ensuring that business enterprises in the tourism sector adopt tourism practices that meet the criteria for responsible hospitality and responsible tourism, which mainly entails focusing on benefitting the host communities first and then the visitors. This draws on the view that sustainability in tourism should be enhanced mainly because of adopting responsibility in tourism approach. Responsible tourism and hospitality helps in the betterment of tourism through creating a situation whereby tourists enjoy their visits and holidays while respecting the culture and environment of the host region (Krutwaysho, 2010). This implies that the host communities are given a chance to exercise their influence on tourism and also receive some economic benefits from the tourism initiatives in the host region (Epler, 2002).
Labor standards are also an important element of sustainable tourism that has been identified by certification programs. There are notable labor issues that are rampant in the tourism industry including the rights of women, fair pay, long durations of the working hours, qualifications and the skills needed, and restraints from joining trade unions. A notable trend is that workers in the tourism sector are reliant on tips and other associated service charges; their pay is low that they cannot earn a living from it. In addition, most of the workers in the tourism sector are subject to longer working hours with most of them being placed in low skilled departments like house cleaning and waitressing (Castellani & Sala, 2010). The International Labor Organization reports that workers in the tourism sector usually imported by major players in the industry such as the large international hotels and the leisure chains. Sustainable tourism in such a context is constrained by the fact that the host populations are placed in semi-skilled and low paying jobs and difficult working conditions (Blancas et al., 2010). Corporate social responsibility comes in handy to address such labor issues affecting the sustainability of the tourism industry. Corporate social responsibility should aim at establishing tourism practices that conform to international agreements in order to distribute economic benefits equally between the business enterprises and the local community. Such an approach in tourism guarantees the betterment of the tourism industry (McCool & Moisey, 2001). The government should play a significant role in the establishment of accepted practices in the sector in such a way that business entities operating in the host region should take into consideration the needs of the host community basing on the principles of sustainable development (Krutwaysho, 2010). It is vital for the business enterprises in the tourism industry to take into account the fact that labor and community involvement imposes significant effects on the business success of the tourism product and the tourists’ experiences (Blancas et al., 2010).
Conclusion
The paper has evaluated the role that corporate social responsibility plays in the establishment of sustainable tourism. The underlying goals and objectives of corporate social responsibility are similar to the goals of sustainable tourism, which denotes the significance of CSR in guaranteeing the sustainability of tourism. The development of sustainable tourism aims at ensuring that tourist activities are compatible with the human needs and the natural resources present at a tourist site. This can be achieved through the use of corporate social responsibility, which takes into consideration a holistic and an all-inclusive approach aimed at balancing tourism development with other sectors of the economy.

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