Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Tourism Using Quality Control Tools

• Published in: Journal of travel research 2024-10
• Main Authors: Lesar, Laura, Weaver, David B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0047-2875; 1552-6763
• DOI: 10.1177/00472875241281516

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly prevalent in research and practice. Because they help businesses build sustainability, quality control tools offer actionable solutions for addressing the Goals. However, tourism research has yet to systematically investigate the diversity of tools that facilitate business-level contributions to the Goals and Targets. This work addresses this gap through the lens of diffusion of innovations theory, an in-depth instrumental case study, and multiple qualitative methods. Findings contribute to research and practice by revealing 10 tools that enable Goal contributions, including 4 new tools hitherto unacknowledged for this purpose. Outcomes also include a literature-based and empirically enhanced framework of tools to address the Goals, and a fit-for-purpose toolkit that enables contributios to multiple Goals. Theoretically, findings reveal the characteristics of tools that facilitate Goal contributions, including Fordism (post-Fordist, Fordist), function (e.g., measurement), strength (e.g., basic/advanced), administering organization (e.g., internally/externally created), and industry applicability (e.g., sector-specificity).