Twentieth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

“Sustainable tourism” is included in SDGs and play a significant role towards environment and the planet. Three SDGs are directly related to hospitality industry i.e., sustainable economic growth (SDG 8), sustainable production and consumption (SDG 12) and partnership for goals (SDG 17). Moreover, the hospitality industry stands as one of the largest industries globally, with researchers emphasizing its impact on sustainable performance. Recognized international associations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Development Program encourage hospitality industry players in Pakistan to implement SDGs in their business settings. Pakistan, despite being one of the early endorsers of the SDG agenda through a national assembly resolution in 2015 and considering it a national development agenda in 2016 (Pakistan, 2019), faces similar challenges. Despite media coverage, legislation, and endorsements of the SDGs in Pakistan, the necessary actions to promote and localize the SDGs have been lagging. Therefore, this research explores what factors are involved in poor performance on SDGs in Pakistan. For this purpose, 29 interviews were conducted from Ministries in Pakistan, Provincial Departments of Tourism, and key hospitality players in Pakistan.