ABSTRACT
In 1955, Peter Drucker discussed that sustainability is an important concept for the discipline of marketing and these thoughts found cognizance with that of the World Trade Organization, which noted that marketers in the hospitality and tourism industry must concentrate on sustainable tourism product as well as practices, since sustainability protects as well as creates opportunities for the future. Contemporary literature from the past decade (year 2000 onwards) indicates that marketers, not from a philanthropic perspective, must approach sustainable tourism, but from a strategic vision, since hospitality and tourism industry leads to substantial damage of the overall ecosystem. In this light, this chapter establishes sustainability as an imperative in the hospitality and tourism industry and discusses layers of issues, around establishing sustainability, which need to be addressed by the marketers. This chapter makes significant contribution for the academic literature as well as for the practitioners, by elaborating on the ‘Sustainable Tourism Marketing Mix (STMM), which was initially propagated by Pomering et al. (2011). The STMM discusses the application and relevance of ten marketing elements, which could strengthen the sustainability focus for marketers. Examples of players within the hospitality and tourism industry, who have been successfully implementing various elements of the STMM, thereby setting a precedent with industry best practices, have also been discussed, from across the globe. This chapter hence establishes the criticality of the adaption of sustainability in the hospitality and tourism industry and also offers an insight into the consumer behavior and preferences towards Sustainability in this vibrant industry.
