SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION

Sustainability communication refers to the process of communicating information about sustainable development and practices, sustainable lifestyles, and the impact of human activities on the environment. Effective sustainability communication involves also sharing information about The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how individuals and organizations can act to achieve them. It also involves promoting sustainable behavior change, increasing awareness of the importance of sustainable development. Tourism enterprises are making commendable efforts in promoting sustainability; however, they appear to be falling short in effectively communicating their sustainability initiatives. Even when sustainability themes are integrated into their marketing strategies, it remains unclear if the intended audience is fully grasping the sustainability messages being conveyed. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainability messaging among different audiences, including the assessment of the impact of culture and communication on the understanding and acceptance of sustainability messages in tourism marketing.

One of the key challenges in sustainability communication is ensuring that the message is accessible, understandable, and relevant to different audiences. Sustainability issues are complex and interconnected, and it can be difficult to communicate them in a way that is easy to understand and engage with. Therefore, communication efforts should focus on using clear, concise, and engaging language and visuals that resonate with different audiences. For instance, messaging might be strengthened by using immersive technology, such as virtual tours or 3D scans, to present sustainable practices as well as cultural, environmental, and tourism aspects that are more appealing to younger generations. Although there are many excellent examples of sustainable practices being used in the tourism industry and cultural settings (e.g., tourism destinations, hotels and restaurants, and museums), they are often overlooked in the era of information overload.  To increase the efficacy of communication, neuromarketing approaches are increasingly being used to examine how people’s brains respond to messages by monitoring brainwave activity, eye tracking, and skin response. Many academic studies have demonstrated that brain data can predict the future success of products with greater accuracy than conventional market research methods, such as surveys and focus groups. One of the most popular neuromarketing tools is eye tracking. From a neuromarketing perspective, eye tracking links visual attention to people’s cognitive and emotional responses.