Tourism Companies and Animal Welfare

Abstract

Animals play an important role in a wide range of tourism activities, and animal welfare is an increasingly important issue within the tourist industry. While there is a growing volume of research on animal welfare within tourism, little work has been published in the academic literature on how tourism companies address animal welfare. This exploratory paper looks to add to, and extend, that literature by providing a review of how seven tourism companies. have publicly addressed animal welfare. The paper reveals that four themes: corporate commitment to animal welfare; policies on specific animals and on experiences and contacts with animals; the role of various stakeholders in the value chain in addressing animal welfare; and monitoring and audit processes, illustrated the companies approach to animal welfare. The authors also raise a number of wider issues and offers some suggestions for future research agendas. Keywords: animal welfare, animal welfare statements, tourism companies, stakeholders, auditing