Sustainable and Green Marketing in the Tourism Industry

Abstract

Alternative tourism is a generic concept encompassing various forms of tourism, such as eco-, soft, responsible, appropriate, small-scale, sustainable and, finally, green tourism. These are mostly defensive, nature-oriented, i.e. environmentally responsible forms of tourism. Green tourism is the phenomenon of people away from their usual habitat in pursuit of leisure activities in the countryside. The paper will first explicate sustainable tourism and then alternative forms of tourism, defining in particular the place and role of green tourism in relation to sustainable tourism and ecotourism. For green tourism to be successful it is essential to undertake adequate marketing efforts. This purpose is best achieved through the so-called green marketing. Seen as a strategy, green marketing implies cooperation between suppliers and sellers, partners as well as rivals, in order to achieve environmentally sustainable development throughout the entire value chain, while at the same time, it internally calls for the cooperation of all business functions in finding the best possible solutions for two major guiding principles: profit and long-term, positive contributions to the environment (society and the natural surrounding). To gain all the strategic advantages that green marketing has to offer to green tourism requires the willingness to rethink the very foundations on which the mission, vision, strategy and goals of a business are based. This entails commitment and focus not only from top management but also from each stakeholder and individual within a business.

Bigger planning and management is in dire need to control the tourism industry, and more important, to protect and conserve the biodiversity of tourist places. Dealing predominantly with such serious issues, sustainable tourism is very important, as it is all about conserving the resources, valuing the local culture and tradition and, contributing largely to economy. Think of environmentally friendly businesses, and we probably think of things like solar power, green building and recycling, but according to a report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), one of the most promising things, when it comes to creating economic growth, reducing poverty, fueling job creation and addressing major environmental challenges -- turns out to be sustainable tourism .India, though it provides a multi-dimensional ground to attract the tourist has not yet succeeded in this aspect. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of Green Tourism which is the need for sustainable development in the tourism industry.