Sustainable Tourism and ESG Reporting: Social impacts of Kavala

Jensen, Jacob Trolldenier Juul

4. term

Tourism, Master

2022

2022-05-31

73

Denne kandidatafhandling søger at flytte forskningen i turismens sociale konsekvenser i en mere kvalitativ, menneskecentreret retning. Gennem et omfattende litteraturstudie klassificerer projektet fjorten overordnede sociale effekter af turisme. Med udgangspunkt i en ny fase i forskningen foreslået af Deery m.fl. (2012) afprøves tilgangen i et casestudie af en typisk urban destination i Grækenland, nærmere bestemt Kavala. Afhandlingen sætter samtidig resultaterne ind i en bredere EU-kontekst. EU-Kommissionens Grønne Pagt (2019) og EU’s handlingsplan for bæredygtig finansiering skal flytte kapital mod bæredygtige aktiviteter og bygger blandt andet på en ramme for bæredygtighedsrapportering, der skal levere troværdige ESG-rapporter (miljø, sociale forhold og ledelse). Mange studier peger dog på svagheder i denne ramme, især når det gælder den sociale dimension, som ikke i tilstrækkelig grad opfylder investorers behov. Projektet undersøger derfor, om indsigter fra casestudiet kan kobles til relevante dele af EU’s rapporteringsramme og dermed pege på måder at styrke den sociale dimension. Der er anvendt flere kvalitative metoder for at opnå et rigt og nuanceret billede af turismens sociale konsekvenser i Kavala. Samtidig betyder den metodiske tilgang, at resultaterne ikke uden videre kan omsættes til konkrete krav i EU-rammen, hvilket begrænser det direkte bidrag. Alligevel bidrager studiet til at rykke feltet i en mere kvalitativ retning og giver praktisk værdi for den lokale turismeorganisation og andre aktører, der vil forstå og positivt påvirke opfattelsen af turisme i værtslokalsamfund.

This Master’s thesis seeks to move research on the social impacts of tourism toward a more qualitative, human-centered approach. Through a comprehensive literature review, the project identifies and organizes fourteen broad social impacts of tourism. Building on a next-stage agenda proposed by Deery et al. (2012), it puts this approach into practice in a case study of a typical urban destination in Greece, specifically Kavala. The thesis also places the findings in a wider EU policy context. The European Commission’s Green Deal (2019) and the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance aim to steer capital toward sustainable activities and rely on a sustainability reporting framework intended to produce trustworthy ESG reports (environmental, social, and governance). However, many studies highlight weaknesses in this framework, especially in the social dimension, which does not adequately meet investors’ needs. The project therefore explores whether insights from the case study can be mapped to relevant parts of the EU reporting framework to suggest ways to strengthen its social dimension. Multiple qualitative methods were used to build a rich, nuanced understanding of tourism’s social impacts in Kavala. At the same time, the nature of the methods means the findings do not translate directly into the EU framework’s requirements, limiting the thesis’s direct contribution. Nevertheless, the study advances the field’s qualitative focus and offers practical value to the local tourism organization and other stakeholders who want to understand and positively shape perceptions of tourism in host communities.

[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

Social sustainability ; Social impacts of tourism ; ESG reporting ; EU green deal

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