Is Corporate Social Responsibility a deciding factor for travellers?

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With an increasing emphasis of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) in organisations across all industries, there is still a divided view on whether it is a deciding factor that will impact travellers’ selection. 

What would be your priority when selecting a travel agent? Value-for-money packages? Accurate descriptions of a travel destination? Altruistic brand images of a company? Green initiatives adopted by them? 

With an increasing emphasis of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) in organisations across all industries, there is still a divided view on whether it is a deciding factor that will impact travellers’ selection. 

Both Jalaludeen Ariff, the director sales of Four Points by Sheraton and Yogesh B Mehta, the Head of Hotels of via.com thinks the CSRs can be a deciding factor that connects environmentally-conscious travellers with hotels.

However, Alexander Schulten, the member of board for DRV German Travel Association and  Endang LiniRin Widiastuti from the Lampung Tourism Board of Indonesia begs to differ. 

Schulten shared that even though brand image is important and CSR projects could strengthen buyer trust, “price would be more important as value-for-money packages are key in the selection of a travel agency”. 

In addition, customers “would still be the one that makes the final decision at the end of the day”, hence companies should strive to best meet the customer’s needs.

Endang too, shared that the ethics of organisations like the  “accuracy of the travel package promoted by the agency”, and that “managing customer expectations” such as a particular diet would be crucial in having an enriching travel experience. 

Therefore, it is evident from the divisive view on the importance of CSRs that the choice still lies in the hands of consumers.