{"title":"The Fallout of Market-Oriented Sustainability Measures: Tourism Destination Sustainability Benchmarking and Ranking","authors":"Matias Thuen Jørgensen","doi":"10.1177/00472875231204844","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Destination sustainability indices, designed to facilitate benchmarking, ranking, and direct competition, are increasingly employed by destinations to showcase their sustainability achievements, meet stakeholder expectations, and attract visitors. Consequently, these indices play a pivotal role in influencing how destinations strategically prioritize their sustainability initiatives. Despite the burgeoning research on sustainability measures, research on market-centric destination benchmarks and rankings remains limited. This letter aims to underscore the distinction between measures that apply a minimum standard approach, for example certifications, and those that allow for benchmarking/ranking in assessing destination sustainability. It argues that the latter holds significant potential to impact sustainable destination development. Thus, it investigates the question of what happens when destination sustainability becomes a point of competition and demonstrates that even meticulously designed indices can encourage counterproductive behaviors, potentially undermining sustainability progress at destinations. Based on this, the letter advocates for a comprehensive investigation into market-oriented sustainability indices and rankings.","PeriodicalId":48435,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Travel Research","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Travel Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875231204844","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Destination sustainability indices, designed to facilitate benchmarking, ranking, and direct competition, are increasingly employed by destinations to showcase their sustainability achievements, meet stakeholder expectations, and attract visitors. Consequently, these indices play a pivotal role in influencing how destinations strategically prioritize their sustainability initiatives. Despite the burgeoning research on sustainability measures, research on market-centric destination benchmarks and rankings remains limited. This letter aims to underscore the distinction between measures that apply a minimum standard approach, for example certifications, and those that allow for benchmarking/ranking in assessing destination sustainability. It argues that the latter holds significant potential to impact sustainable destination development. Thus, it investigates the question of what happens when destination sustainability becomes a point of competition and demonstrates that even meticulously designed indices can encourage counterproductive behaviors, potentially undermining sustainability progress at destinations. Based on this, the letter advocates for a comprehensive investigation into market-oriented sustainability indices and rankings.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Travel Research (JTR) stands as the preeminent, peer-reviewed research journal dedicated to exploring the intricacies of the travel and tourism industry, encompassing development, management, marketing, economics, and behavior. Offering a wealth of up-to-date, meticulously curated research, JTR serves as an invaluable resource for researchers, educators, and industry professionals alike, shedding light on behavioral trends and management theories within one of the most influential and dynamic sectors. Established in 1961, JTR holds the distinction of being the longest-standing among the world’s top-ranked scholarly journals singularly focused on travel and tourism, underscoring the global significance of this multifaceted industry, both economically and socially.