Marco ESG para empresas turísticas
Los criterios medioambientales, sociales y de gobierno (ESG) se han convertido en uno de los ámbitos clave para el sector privado a nivel global en la actualidad. En esencia, los criterios ESG abordan todos los aspectos no financieros relevantes para las empresas que normalmente no se encuentran recogidos en los informes financieros convencionales.
Dada la interacción directa que existe entre los operadores turísticos, el medio ambiente y las comunidades locales, los criterios ESG resultan de suma importancia para el sector turístico. En un sentido práctico, esta importancia para las empresas turísticas se puede visualizar claramente en áreas como la atracción y retención de clientes, la gestión de riesgos y regulaciones, el acceso a financiación sostenible o la gestión de relaciones con inversores.
Si bien ya existen varias iniciativas dirigidas al sector privado para reportar los criterios ESG, éstas se han desarrollado de manera relativamente independiente. Como resultado, en la actualidad los reportes ESG no se realizan de manera estandarizada en todas las organizaciones, lo cual se traduce en que su comparabilidad y utilidad sean limitadas. En este contexto, la OMT está aunando esfuerzos para desarrollar un marco estadístico ESG armonizado que pueda ser utilizado como referencia por todas las empresas turísticas.
Context
El turismo sostenible ha sido un tema abordado en la agenda pública desde principios de la década de 1990. Desde entonces, el trabajo desarrollado por la OMT en el sector turismo en materia de sostenibilidad se refleja en una variedad de contribuciones a la política y a la medición. Centrándose en los destinos turísticos, la OMT ha expresado que el turismo sostenible debería:
(i) Hacer un uso óptimo de los recursos ambientales y conservar los recursos naturales y la biodiversidad.
(ii) Respetar la autenticidad sociocultural de las comunidades de acogida.
(iii) Asegurar operaciones económicas viables a largo plazo, incluyendo empleo estable y contribuciones a la reducción de la pobreza.
La OMT tiene el firme compromiso de fomentar la medición del turismo para respaldar la toma de decisiones basada en la evidencia y conseguir, de este modo, contrastar la contribución real del turismo a la sostenibilidad.
El Marco de Medición de la Sostenibilidad en el Turismo (MST) es una estructura que integra estadísticas sobre las dimensiones económicas, ambientales y sociales del turismo. Su intención es abordar la necesidad de información que sirva de orientación sobre cómo medir el turismo a través de múltiples escalas y dimensiones.
El Marco de Medición de Sostenibilidad en el Turismo (MST, por sus siglas en inglés) es una estructura organizativa para la integración de estadísticas sobre las dimensiones económicas, ambientales y sociales del turismo. Su objetivo es abordar la necesidad de información que proporcione orientación sobre la medición del turismo en múltiples escalas y dimensiones. Este enfoque consistente para organizar los datos permite la selección y compilación de indicadores como parte de conjuntos de indicadores que podrían utilizarse para respaldar las capacidades de informes ESG (ambiental, social y de gobierno corporativo) de empresas individuales de una manera que sea factible para todo el sector turístico y más allá..
Tras la redacción inicial del marco ESG para las empresas turísticas, se llevarán a cabo al menos tres estudios de casos en el sector privado turístico utilizando esta primera versión preliminar. Estos estudios de caso deben representar al menos dos industrias diferentes y permitir el desarrollo de informes ESG, así como la evaluación de los ámbitos de mejora.
La información relacionada con la selección de empresas y los resultados de la implementación del marco ESG serán publicados en esta sección.
Sustainable tourism has been an emerging topic in tourism circles since the early 1990s. UN Tourism´s long-standing commitment to sustainable tourism is reflected in its contributions to policy and measurement. With a focus on sustainable destinations, UN Tourism noted that sustainable tourism should:
(i) Make optimal use of environmental resources and conserve natural resources and biodiversity.
(ii) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities.
(iii) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, including stable employment and contributions to reducing poverty.
To promote measurable sustainability actions, UN Tourism launched the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST), which supports evidence-based decision-making by integrating data on tourism’s economic, environmental, and social impacts across multiple scales and dimensions. SF-MST primarily focuses on the public sector, aligning tourism sustainability metrics with national statistics.
Building on the SF-MST, the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses responds to the industry's demand for standardised ESG reporting. By extending its applicability to the private sector, this framework enhances comparability across destinations, national and subnational levels, offering a unified approach to sustainability.
Despite several ESG initiatives, their independent development has led to fragmented reporting standards, limiting comparability and scalability. The inconsistency also raises concerns about "greenwashing”, where companies provide insufficient data to give investors and the public an accurate view of their sustainability performance.
The ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses addresses this gap by offering a tailored, sector-specific approach to ESG issues. The framework will serve as a key reference point for tourism companies to actively engage with sustainability-related issues and meet growing regulatory and market demands in the face of global challenges.
Information about the selection of businesses and findings on the implementation of the ESG framework for tourism businesses will be published in this website.
Partners
SDG Impact Lab: The Oxford SDG Impact Lab (University of Oxford) was founded in 2021. Based in the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID), it was developed in collaboration with the University’s Social Sciences Division and the Oxford Character Project in the Humanities Division. The Lab builds on the conviction that Oxford graduate students have the potential to lead transformative change. In order to unleash this potential, the Lab wanted to complement Oxford’s traditional academic education with transferrable skills training, in areas such as leadership and project management, and offer experiential learning opportunities to work directly with business and non-academic organisations. Through the Lab, Oxford students can design and deliver research-based solutions of social and commercial value, which can advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
easyJet holidays: Winners of the Sustainable Future Award at the Globe Travel Awards 2022, easyJet holidays has a sustainability strategy focusing on three key pillars – create better holiday choices which is about making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone, maximizing the benefits and minimizing the negative impacts of travel and tourism, and transform travel for everyone which means embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviors and driving meaningful change in the industry. Through ongoing collaboration with the University of Oxford, easyJet holidays is focused on building its research, partnerships and certifications, and taking action to make a positive impact on the people and places that make its destinations so special.
Research
Research to inform the development of the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses was conducted by UN Tourism and the University of Oxford SDG Impact Lab between 2023 and 2024, following the phases outlined below.
Phase 1 (January –September 2023) - Literature review and initial pilots (accommodation)
Phase 1 research consisted of:
- Desk research: A comprehensive mapping and examination of widely used ESG frameworks, standards, regulations, certifications, and guidelines to identify recurrently appearing indicators and assess their relevance for the tourism sector.
- Exploratory field research: Interviews, focus groups, and site visits with selected pilot tourism companies to gauge interest in the project and the development of a global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses. A total of 27 pilot tourism companies, primarily from the accommodation industry and located in Europe and the Middle East, participated.
The findings from Phase 1 confirmed a strong enthusiasm and appetite for the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses, informing key recommendations for the research’s next phases.
Phase 2 (January –September 2024) - Expansion to more tourism industries and geographies
Phase 2 of the research focused on broadening both desk and field research to include a wider range of tourism companies, industries, and geographies, thereby gathering more comprehensive insights for the development of the ESG Framework.
To achieve this, additional pilot tourism companies were engaged through a global survey, interviews, and focus groups, as explained below.
Recruitment of pilot tourism companies for Phase 2 of the research
An extensive outreach effort was made to raise awareness and recruit pilot tourism companies for Phase 2 of the research. This included:
- Survey for Member States, distributed by all UN Tourism Regional Departments (Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East) to Member States to collect insights on national and regional sustainability policies and invite recommendations for potential tourism companies. 59 Member States responded to the survey.
- Call for Tourism Companies, issued through UN Tourism social media and relevant networks, and inviting interested companies to sign up. A dedicated Call for Affiliate Members was also distributed by the Affiliate Members and Public-Private Partnerships Department via the AMConnected+ Platform, specifically tailored to UN Tourism Affiliate Members. 179 Tourism Companies and 12 Affiliate Members responded to the calls.
- Direct recruiting of tourism companies through relevant networks and snowballing.
From this rich database, some companies were purposively selected for interviews and focus groups, aiming to include a diverse range of (a) tourism industries, (b) regions, and (c) company characteristics. To further increase sample size and representativeness, a survey was distributed to additional companies, as well as through relevant global networks.
This research adopted a collaborative, bottom-up approach, engaging nearly 600 tourism companies from diverse industries and regions, to inform the development of the first global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses.
The findings highlighted the challenges many companies face in navigating the fragmented ESG reporting landscape and the strong appetite for the development of the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses. The Framework will help identify core ESG issues relevant to tourism and introduce clear, standardised measurement and reporting guidelines, enhancing transparency, accountability, and comparability across the sector. In doing so, it will support tourism companies in reducing their environmental and social impacts, thus contributing to the sector’s long-term sustainability.
However, the success of the Framework will hinge on the continued engagement of key stakeholders, broad awareness and promotion initiatives, and fostering education and capacity-building efforts. Additionally, careful attention will need to be paid to addressing challenges such as resource limitations, especially for smaller enterprises, and ensuring the Framework adapts to different contexts and the evolving sustainability landscape.
Based on these findings, the project’s next phases will focus on establishing an Advisory Panel, comprising experts from tourism ministries, the private sector, academia, civil society, and the investment community. This Panel will provide strategic and technical guidance to shape the first draft of the ESG Framework. Throughout 2025, the project will then focus on testing, further consultations, and finalising the Framework to prepare for global implementation.
Through these collaborative efforts, the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses has the potential to set a much-needed global standard for measuring and reporting sustainability impacts, fostering a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector.
ESG Project Overview and Research Findings (see presentation)
Oxford SDG Impact Lab Research Team
Research Leader
Laura Ballerini, DPhil in International Development
Oxford Department of International Development
Laura Ballerini is pursuing a PhD in International Development at the University of Oxford. Her research investigates the growing role of social enterprises in health projects in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Kenya. While doing her PhD, Laura also led the research team of Oxford SDG Impact Lab Fellows working with UN Tourism on the development of the first global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses. In this capacity, she coordinated data collection from over 500 businesses across all continents and tourism industries and conducted in-depth pilot case studies in 13 countries worldwide. Throughout her academic journey, Laura has gained diverse experience working with a range of organizations, taking on roles such as project manager, data analyst, business consultant, and reporter.
Researchers
Amy Booth, DPhil in Translational Health Sciences
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
Amy is a qualified medical doctor, currently doing a DPhil at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Her research is focused on bringing industry and policy stakeholders together to reduce the climate change impact of the pharmaceutical supply chain. She has published peer-reviewed articles and been invited to present on her research at national and international platforms.
Anvita Ramachandran, MPhil in Development Studies
Oxford Department of International Development
Anvita is an MPhil candidate in Development Studies at the Oxford Department of International Development. In her master’s research, she studies why migrant households might experience decreases in subjective well-being despite being materially better-off than non-migrants. She is funded by the ESRC Grand Union DTP and the Saven European Scholarship.
Tyler Pugh, MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation
Department of Social Policy and Intervention
Tyler is a current MPhil student in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the United States. His work has specifically centered around sexual violence survivors and policy optimization to ensure support in collegiate spaces. Previously, Tyler studied Industrial and Systems Engineering, working to understand how simulation modelling and data could impact systems that perpetuate racism, homophobia, and sexism in fields such as healthcare or engineering.
Zubin Deyal, MSc in Development Economics Oxford
Department of International Development
Zubin is interested in sustainability, especially in the tourism industry as it is the main economic driver of his small island developing home, Barbados. He has tried to facilitate sustainable development through his work as an economist at the IDB in Barbados, a data analyst at the Ministry of Tourism in Trinidad, and a consultant at the disruptive incubator, FUTUREBarbados.
Research Leader
Laura Ballerini, DPhil in International Development
Oxford Department of International Development
Laura Ballerini is pursuing a PhD in International Development at the University of Oxford. Her research investigates the growing role of social enterprises in health projects in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Kenya. While doing her PhD, Laura also led the research team of Oxford SDG Impact Lab Fellows working with UN Tourism on the development of the first global ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses. In this capacity, she coordinated data collection from over 500 businesses across all continents and tourism industries and conducted in-depth pilot case studies in 13 countries worldwide. Throughout her academic journey, Laura has gained diverse experience working with a range of organizations, taking on roles such as project manager, data analyst, business consultant, and reporter.
Researchers
Amy Booth, DPhil in Translational Health Sciences
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
Amy is a South African medical doctor currently pursuing doctoral research at the University of Oxford, focusing on the carbon footprint of the pharmaceutical supply chain. She co-leads Oxford's Sustainable Health Care course and has consulted for the WHO on environmental factors in antimicrobial resistance, the UN on sustainability frameworks, and participates in an Erasmus+ project on sustainable prescribing. Amy serves on the Global Lethal Humidity Council, has published widely on climate and health, and has presented at the UK Parliament and on BBC's Focus on Africa. She is a founding member of the UK Young Academy and an Emerging Research Leader in Climate and Health.
Buntu Fanteso, DPhil Freshwater Ecology
Department of Biology
Buntu is a Rhodes Scholar and a Ph.D student at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the effects of climate change, land use, and pollution on freshwater ecosystems. He has gained valuable experience through internships with prominent global organisations, including World Bank, Liberty Specialty Market, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Sara Sampieri, DPhil in Tourism
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Sara is a Ph.D candidate in Tourism at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and a visiting fellow of the Oxford SDG Impact Lab. Her research focuses on the balance between heritage conservation and tourism development, exploring how destinations can promote sustainable tourism while generating economic profit. With a background in history, archaeology, and art, Sara brings deep expertise in intercultural relations, particularly between Europe and the Mediterranean region.
Isabelle Haynes, MSc in Migration Studies
Oxford Department of International Development
Isabelle completed an MPhil in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where her research analysed the media framing of military interventions and their impact on French public opinion. She also holds an MSc in Migration Studies, focusing on public-private partnerships in the politics of migrant integration in France. As a fellow at the Oxford SDG Impact Lab, Isabelle developed the sustainability strategy for Oxford City Football Club. Prior to her academic work, she gained diverse experience in archaeology, sustainability, business operations, and defence.
Resources
Tourism businesses are facing mounting pressure to address ESG concerns due to increasing regulations and industry-wide goals. Furthermore, investors and consumers are exerting significant influence on businesses. In particular, investors are now seeking socially responsible investments and demanding transparency in non-financial information beyond traditional financial statements. Consumers, on the other hand, are becoming more environmentally conscious and tend to show higher satisfaction and loyalty towards companies that embrace sustainable practices. As a result, tourism companies have a direct and tangible interest in reporting ESG information.
By adopting ESG reporting practices, tourism businesses can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, meet regulatory requirements, attract socially responsible investors, and build stronger relationships with environmentally conscious consumers. It is an opportunity to showcase their efforts in addressing environmental and social challenges while ensuring long-term success and positive impact in the sector. Some of the tourism areas where the importance of ESG for companies can be clearly seen are:
- Customer acquisition
- Customer retention
- Managing risks and regulations
- Gaining access to sustainable financing
- Managing investor relations
| Environmental | Social | Governance |
| Environmental matters that consider a company’s impact on the natural world and its position to deal with climate change. | Social matters that consider a company’s social impact, both in and outside its organizational chart. | Governance matters that consider leadership’s commitment to positive change. |
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Most of the existing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks lack uniformity and are not tailored to reflect the specific needs of the tourism sector. ESG reporting remains largely voluntary, with tourism companies either adapting existing frameworks or developing their own reporting standards. Like businesses in other sectors, tourism companies also report being overwhelmed by the ESG “alphabet soup” and have recurrently complained of “reporting fatigue”. All this reinforces the need to harmonise existing efforts and develop an overarching and global ESG framework that is tailored and fit for purpose for the tourism industry.
- Sustainability: in tourism, this term refers to the optimal use of environmental resources, maintaining ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity. On the other hand, to be sustainable, tourism activities are expected to respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and ensure viable, long-term economic operations.
- Frameworks: provide the 'frame' to contextualize information and guide reporting. A framework can be thought of as a set of principle-based guidelines on how information is structured and prepared, and what broad topics are covered.
- Standards: provide agreed, detailed, and replicable requirements that reporting companies should meet. A standard can be thought of as containing specific and detailed criteria or metrics of 'what' needs to be reported and how. Standards make frameworks actionable, ensuring comparable, consistent, and reliable disclosure. Frameworks and standards are complementary and are designed to be used together. Both standards and frameworks derive authority because they are either made mandatory by law, or they are endorsed by a majority of (relevant) stakeholders (e.g. United Nations institutions). A global framework with clear set of ESG metrics and standards would simplify reporting for companies and make it easier for external stakeholders to understand their actions on ESG, enabling comparison across companies and time.
- Ratings & rankings: capture a 'score' of the maturity or 'ESG savviness' of organizations. Companies' ESG ratings are usually comprised of a quantitative score and a risk category and are compiled by dedicated ranking and rating agencies. To date, however, what these actual ratings are comprised of often remains a black box.
- Credibility: In a world where investors increasingly seek sustainable investments and customers become more conscious of the sustainable impact of tourism, a global ESG Framework would help reporting companies demonstrate their commitments to sustainability and improve their reputation.
- Efficiency: A global ESG framework would help to tackle the reporting fatigue for tourism businesses, rechannelling their efforts towards advancing ESG initiatives.
Might be useful
UN Tourism systematically collects tourism statistics from countries and territories around the world in an extensive database that provides the most comprehensive repository of statistical information available on the tourism sector.
UN Tourism’s Statistics, Standards and Data Department has coordinated important developments relating to the conceptualization of tourism and its measurement, progressively building consensus amongst the international statistical community
The United Nations recognizes UN Tourism as the appropriate organization to collect, to analyze, to publish, to standardize and to improve the statistics of tourism, and to promote the integration of these statistics within the sphere of the United Nations system