Ações de sustentabilidade adotadas por agências de viagem

Abstract

What are the sustainability actions adopted by travel agencies? What are sustainability criteria used by travel agences to select their suppliers (tour operators, airline, means of hosting, among others)? Are the conditions os basic sanitation of the destinations marketed by travel agencies questioned by costumers? The main objective of the research is to identify the sustainability actions adopted by travel agencies. For this, an exploratory research was developed and the questionnaire was used as data collection technique. Through the Google Forms tool, the questionnaire was sent to 69 travel agencies participating simultaneously in the UCS Escola de Viagens and CADASTUR in the city of Caxias do Sul. The data collection instrument has questions related to the sustainability actions adopted by the travel agencies, both in the selection criteria of its suppliers and in the creation and/or commercialization of itineraries that contemplate sustainability, as well as in the adoption of measures aimed at empowering its employees in relation to sustainability. The results show that sustainability is not yet a criterion in the selection of suppliers, nor is it generally incorporated into the activities of the agencies or the choice of tourists for the destinations they intend to visit. Given this context, the proposal is that the UCS Escola de Viagens, in partnership with some agencies, publicize the importance of sustainability in Tourism, as well as develop courses on sustainable companies. Academic work can follow this line of research, investigating sustainability actions and the importance they have in managing agencies and other ventures in the tourism sector (sic).