THT2114 Sustainable Operations & Destinations: Critical Reflection

This essay provides a critical reflection on sustainability within the tourism and hospitality sector, emphasizing the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the theory of sustainable tourism development. It highlights the three pillars of sustainability—social, environmental, and economic—and their role in enhancing business growth. The essay explores the impact of personal consumption and global challenges on the tourism industry, recommending a focus on technological advancements to improve sustainability and profitability. It concludes that CSR initiatives and sustainable tourism practices are vital for creating a positive environmental and societal impact while ensuring long-term benefits for tourism organizations. Desklib offers a platform to explore more such solved assignments and study resources.

Running head: THT2114
Sustainable Operations and
Destinations
Student’s Name:
Student’s ID:
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Assessment TASK 3
Executive summary
The paper summarizes an understanding of sustainability along with the three pillars, such as
social, economic, and environment. It has been observed that CSR as a concept, and the theory of
sustainable tourism development helps in enhancing sustainable development. Based on the
global challenges, it has been recommended that the tourism sector must focus upon the
technological factors to gain profit. The use of the three pillars which refers to profits, planet
and pillars helps in providing the desired elevation to the growth of the business organizations. It
has been seen that the global challenges critically affects the tourism and hospitality sector in
various ways.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Critical reflection on the process of sustainability.......................................................................................3
Reflection upon personal consumption within T and H sector....................................................................3
Personal learning and recommendations....................................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................6

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Assessment TASK 3
Introduction
The primary purpose of the paper is to critically reflect on the sustainability process by using
concepts and theories. It will focus upon the concept and principles of CSR along with relevant
theory. It will also provide recommendations for the tourism sector to enhance economic growth.
Critical reflection on the process of sustainability
Sustainability development of tourism is considered to be the development that fulfills the needs
of tourists, host communities, environment, and the industry without negotiating the ability of
future generations (Reid, Johnston & Patiar, 2017). The three main pillars of sustainability are
social, environmental, and economical that refers to profits, planet, and people. All these pillars
help the companies to enhance their sustainability.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is determined to be a concept that is implemented by
different organizations to integrate social, environmental concerns in business models to create a
positive impact on the environment and society. I gathered knowledge that in the tourism
industry, the concept of CSR had become a significant aspect of corporate strategy. The
fundamental principles of CSR are respect, responsibility, and fairness that helps in maintaining
strong relationships with society, employees, consumers, and stakeholders (Dwyer, 2018).
Moreover, the theory of sustainable tourism development states that development of tourism has
served various advantages along with significant difficulties and challenges. This theory helps in
setting long-term benefits and reducing or eliminating the negative impacts of tourism growth
(Li & Hunter, 2015). As a result, I learned that sustainable tourism development strategies must
be implemented that helps in eliminating the negative impacts and increasing the positive impact.
Reflection upon personal consumption within T and H sector
Sustainable, responsible consumption is determined to be a concept which emphasizes on
fulfilling human needs for commitment, positive emotions, relationships, and achieving the goals
(Gerasymchuk, 2016). I acknowledged that the individual who is content in their daily life are
required to less compensate during travel. Meals as well as food on holidays could be
experienced in various ways that influence my cultural, social, and personal background.

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On the other hand, sustainable, responsible production is necessary as it monitors the overall
value chain. It is environment-friendly and economically just for the people and travelers in
destinations. I got to know that responsible production is economically viable in the long run for
the tourism and hospitality sector. However, it contributes to sustainable development in the
destination. I gained knowledge that responsible tourism products are offered by the service
providers through integrated offsetting mechanisms.
To manage the tourist behavior, tourism and hospitality sector implement visitor management
techniques that help in developing sustainable tourism in protected locations. This particular
technique helps in increasing the use of natural resources and recreational experience for
consumers. The tourism and hospitality sector deals with various global challenges such as
adapting to market needs, unprecedented technological as well as economic expansion, and
technological evolution (Gómez-Luciano, Domínguez, González-Andrés & De Meneses, 2018).
I learned that all these challenges create a negative impact on the tourism sector that affects their
profitability.
Personal learning and recommendations
I have gathered knowledge that sustainable tourism development management practices and
guidelines are valid for different types of destination and forms of tourist. It can be seen that
tourism could be a major reason for environmental pollution and damage (Butler, 2015). I got to
know that sustainable tourism refers to an advanced form of industry that is based on local and
environment culture. It makes sure that sustainable development creates a positive impact on the
tourism and hospitality sector.
Furthermore, to overcome the global challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality sector, it is
strongly recommended to focus upon the technological factors. Adapting various technological
systems helps in understanding sustainability tourist activities that influence the overall supply
chain. The companies must focus upon the mobile segments that create various opportunities for
the enhancement of tourist services. However, the tourism perspective could be monitored
through impact assessments helps in reducing the challenges. The companies must take
appropriate steps such as protecting the environment, using the resources efficiently, and
adopting a sustainable transport system that helps in achieving economic growth.

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Conclusion
The paper concludes that CSR is one of the vital initiatives that helps the tourism organizations
to enhance their business processes by generating positive impact on the environment and the
society. The use of the theory of sustainable tourism helps in providing longer-benefits to the
firms by reducing the negative impacts on the growth of the tourism sector. The paper reflected
the insights that are required for managing the consumer’s behavior along with the global
challenges. Moreover, the analysis of the 3 pillars are social, environmental, and economical
which helps the firms in enhancing their concerned business procedures.

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References
Butler, R. W. (2015). Sustainable tourism–the undefinable and unachievable pursued by the
unrealistic. Challenges in tourism research, 234-241.
Dwyer, L. (2018). Emerging ocean industries: implications for sustainable tourism
development. Tourism in Marine Environments, 13(1), 25-40.
Gerasymchuk, N. (2016). Determination of the optimal concentration level of hospitality
industry enterprises for sustainable development of the tourist
destination. Менеджмент, (24), 9-18.
Gómez-Luciano, C. A., Domínguez, F. R. R., González-Andrés, F., & De Meneses, B. U. L.
(2018). Sustainable supply chain management: Contributions of supplies
markets. Journal of cleaner production, 184, 311-320.
Li, Y., & Hunter, C. (2015). Community involvement for sustainable heritage tourism: a
conceptual model. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable
Development, 5(3), 248-262.
Reid, S., Johnston, N., & Patiar, A. (2017). Coastal resorts setting the pace: An evaluation of
sustainable hotel practices. Journal of hospitality and tourism management, 33, 11-22.