Responsible Production and Consumption in Tourism and Hospitality

Responsible consumption and production is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12) which requires actions from various stakeholders to protect the environment. The aim of this goal is to minimise negative environmental footprint through joint efforts whereby business providers, suppliers, customers and other parties play an essential role to preserve the environment for the future generation. As tourism and hospitality firms are major contributors to rapidly deteriorating climate change, many are engaging effectively in several ways wanting to champion this sustainability goal. Although they are shifting business operations to responsible production at a fast pace, cooperation from consumers remains unapologetically pitiful. This is partly due to their sense of entitlement as paying clients. Moreover, most consumers are not ready to change their existing consumption habits due to their ‘resistance to change’ nature. This chapter addresses the imbalanced equilibrium of production and consumption practices of service firms and customers respectively. From the production lens, effective resource management, social responsibility, ethical business practices and collaboration, innovative reformation, leadership and governance are discussed whereas from the consumer perspective, sustainability awareness and application, positive digital outlook and advocacy are explored. Additionally, challenges that both tourism and hospitality providers and consumers face are also highlighted followed by strategies to encourage responsible consumption behaviours among resisting consumers.