Sustainability Communication in Tourism Industry: An Analysis of Companies Listed in Borsa Istanbul Equity Market According to OSEC Model

Authors : Sebnem OZDEMİR

Pages : 321-334

View : 20 | Download : 9

Publication Date : 2021-06-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Sustainability and corporate social responsibility have been occupying the agendas of companies, especially for the last two decades. As sustainability gains importance, more companies start to support pro-environmental behavior, make green investments, publish sustainability reports, and take part in sustainability studies. As sustainability transforms from “should have” into “must have”, sustainability communication and sustainability marketing have become the “sine qua non” for most industries, including the tourism industry. This research aims to provide an analysis of the sustainability communication practices in tourism companies by putting forward the question whether the firms present compliance of sustainability communication requirements or not. Sustainability in tourism industry is multi-sectoral and includes many tourism segments like hotels, restaurants, agencies, transportation and so on. Regarding the size of the industry and the data availability, only the tourism companies listed in Borsa Istanbul Equity Market insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(BIST); are investigated and evaluated according to OSEC insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Orientation, Structure, Ergonomics, Content); Model. In the study, the main data are collected from companies’ web sites, and supplementary data are collected from companies’ sustainability reports, disclosures, and other sustainability-related communications. As a result of the assessment, it is seen that all of the companies evaluated present a poor compliance of sustainability communication requirements.
Keywords : sustainability Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, OSEC Model, Greenwashing, Tourism