Aiming for sustainability in the tour operating business

Indications of what the tour-operating sector considers to be ‘good practice’ can be drawn from voluntary initiatives such as existing eco-labels and codes of conduct. However, practical implementation of such guidance varies greatly from one tour operator to another, depending on different types of factors, such as size, financial capacity, corporate structure, operational location, organizational culture, ownership type, etc. This paper investigates the dimensions of what is currently referred to as ‘good practice’ in the tour operating industry, with the aim of exploring their comprehensiveness and sufficiency as tools for making mass tourism a more sustainable business.