A new study has examined a McLaren Vale winery to explore tools for tourism businesses to help them meet the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. Led by Flinders University, the study compiled a comprehensive inventory of these tools to help tourism businesses to build SDG capabilities, including several new tools to help organisations meet SDG targets.
The results are based on a long-term industry research partnership with Gemtree Wines, a South Australian wine tourism business in the McLaren Vale region. The family-founded regional business is an internationally and nationally recognised leader in sustainable wine tourism.
“We found that Gemtree already addresses 14 of the 17 UN SDGs using an extensive array of tools,” said Flinders University researcher Dr Laura Lesar.
The results, published in the peer-reviewed The Journal of Travel Research by Dr Lesar and Dr David Weaver, from the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, present practical and fit-for-purpose tools that are suitable for individual tourism organisations.
“Our research also identified several new tools that any tourism organisation can use,” continued Dr Lesar.
“For example, we found numerous tools to address UN SDG12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG13 (Climate Action) and SDG6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
“As well as tools that can be used to address more than one SDG, offering high impact.”
“It has become increasingly important for all organisations to demonstrate how they contribute to the UN SDGs and these tools can help businesses address their environmental, sociocultural and economic impacts as per the triple bottom line of sustainability,” said Dr Lesar, an expert in tourism and sustainability.
“They also help businesses build their resilience so they can withstand, respond, or adapt to disruptive challenges.”
Well-known tool examples include sustainability indicators, environmental best practices, and climate change adaption strategies.
Adopted by the UN in 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared global vision for sustainability. At its core are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to protect the planet, ensure prosperity, and end poverty by 2030. The 17 SDGs and 169 associated targets seek to build global environmental, socio-cultural, and economic sustainability.
The results also revealed new tool options that tourism businesses can use to address 14 of the 17 SDGs, including SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG7 (Affordable/Clean Energy), SDG9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
“The tools that can be used to address the SDGs range from advanced to more basic tools that do not require high levels of technical expertise for use,” said Dr Lesar.
“This provides diverse tool options suitable for tourism organisations at varied levels of sustainability practice.”
The article, ‘Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Tourism Using Quality Control Tools’ (2024) by Laura Lesar and David B Weaver (International Academy for the Study of Tourism, Queensland) has been published in The Journal of Travel Research. DOI: 10.1177/00472875241281.
Article Credit: winetitles