Communicating sustainability: Strategies for credible sustainability communication in tourism

Target-group-oriented communication to foster sustainable action

Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in tourism. At the same time, employees in companies, hotels, and destinations repeatedly encounter questions, uncertainties, and differing perspectives in their interactions with customers, guests, or partners. "Customers don't want that," "Sustainable offerings are too expensive," "What difference does my contribution make?" or "Isn't that just greenwashing?" are common objections and doubts that employees in companies, hotels, and destinations hear. Many don't know how to respond in such situations. Behind these statements, however, lie uncertainties, ingrained habits, differing values, or perceived conflicts of interest, and rarely outright rejection.

Findings from environmental psychology and behavioral research show that people interpret information on sustainability issues differently, depending on their motives, experiences, values, and personal barriers. An answer that sparks curiosity in one person might provoke disagreement in another. This toolkit helps to identify the underlying message behind a statement and to respond appropriately. The project is based on environmental psychology research on barriers to environmentally conscious behavior and analyses of typical delaying arguments in the climate debate.

Toolkit with digital and analog components

This is precisely where the joint project with the communications agency Global Communication Experts (GCE) comes in. Together with the partners über:morgen – Atelier for future design and response & ability we are working on a practical toolkit with analog and digital components. The project will run until the end of the year. It will support tourism professionals in communication sustainability in a way that is understandable, motivating, and tailored to their target audience.

The core focus is the development of different sustainability types, i.e. personas, which are based on known psychological patterns and communication situations and are further developed for the tourism sector. This will result in a set of cards that offer employees quick and practical guidance in their daily work. Instead of responding to objections with general arguments, they can address the specific perspective of the person they are speaking to more effectively.

A key innovative feature of the project is the development of an AI-powered "quick-response generator." This tool is designed to enable GCE employees to quickly categorize typical sustainability objections and access appropriate arguments and communication strategies.

Practical communication tools for the industry

The materials developed will be tested and evaluated in collaboration with staff members. The insights gained are incorporated into the further development of the tool. Subsequently, the results will be made available to all Futouris members and the wider industry via the Futouris Knowledge Hub.

Through this project, Futouris and GCE are making a significant contribution to strengthening sustainability expertise within the tourism industry. By removing barriers, fostering open dialogue, and developing practical communication tools, the aim is to convey sustainability in tourism in a way that is even more understandable, tangible, and appealing in the future.

Project activities

The following activities are planned

• Survey of GCE employees

• Development of a card set for quick and practical orientation in everyday work

• Development of an AI-powered quick-response generator for rapid classification and targeted retrieval

• Testing of the materials with GCE employees and finalization based on feedback