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1. The meaning of accountability
2. Corporate, public and destination accountability
3. Sustainable development and tourism
4. Positive and negative externalities of tourism
5. Responsible, regenerative and sustainable tourism
6. The relationship between accountability, transparency and organisational legitimacy
7. Voluntary versus mandatory sustainability disclosure
8. The role of tourism organisations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

The course aims to provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills concerning accountability and sustainability reporting systems in the tourism sector. In particular, it enables students to understand how tourism organisations and destinations can identify, measure, manage and communicate their economic, environmental and social impacts.

Special attention is devoted to the main national and international sustainability reporting frameworks and their application to hotels, tour operators, destination management organisations, cultural attractions and other tourism-related entities. The course also explores the relationships between accountability, stakeholder engagement, materiality assessment, sustainability performance measurement and strategic decision-making.

Expected Learning Outcomes According to the Dublin Descriptors

Knowledge and Understanding

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the principles of accountability and sustainability applied to the tourism sector;
• the main economic, environmental and social impacts generated by tourism organisations and destinations;
• the principal national and international sustainability reporting standards and frameworks;
• the concepts of stakeholder engagement, materiality, double materiality and ESG performance measurement;
• the relationships between sustainability reporting, governance and strategic planning;
• the specific application of reporting systems to hotels, tour operators, destinations and cultural attractions.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding

Ability to apply the acquired knowledge in order to:

• identify and classify the economic, environmental and social impacts of a tourism organisation or destination;
• identify relevant stakeholders and analyse their expectations, interests and degree of influence;
• conduct a preliminary materiality assessment;
• select sustainability indicators that are consistent with the characteristics of the organisation or destination under analysis;
• apply the main sustainability reporting frameworks to practical cases;
• design sustainability strategies, objectives, actions and performance-monitoring systems;
• assess the consistency between sustainability strategy, performance and disclosure.

Making Judgements

Ability to:

• critically interpret the economic, environmental and social information disclosed by tourism organisations;
• assess the quality, completeness, reliability and comparability of sustainability information;
• identify reporting deficiencies, inconsistencies and potential greenwashing risks;
• formulate independent judgements on the significance of sustainability impacts and the adequacy of the strategies adopted;
• select the most appropriate reporting frameworks and indicators according to the specific organisational and territorial context;
• develop recommendations for improving accountability and sustainability reporting systems.

Communication Skills

Ability to:

• present the results of a sustainability analysis clearly and systematically;
• communicate economic, environmental and social information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• prepare reports, presentations and strategic documents concerning sustainable tourism;
• explain and justify the methodological choices adopted in identifying material topics and selecting performance indicators;
• use appropriate technical terminology in the fields of accountability, sustainability reporting and strategic management;
• participate effectively in group work and discussions concerning organisational and destination-based case studies.

Learning Skills

Ability to:

• independently examine developments in sustainability reporting regulation and professional practice;
• consult and interpret national and international standards, guidelines and technical documents;
• update knowledge in response to changes in sustainability reporting frameworks;
• transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to different types of tourism organisations and destinations;
• undertake independent analysis, research and planning activities in the field of sustainability;
• integrate economic, managerial, environmental and social knowledge when assessing the decision-making processes of tourism organisations.

The course adopts an applied and participatory approach based on interactive lectures, analysis of sustainability reporting standards and simulations

oral test

• Cho, C. H., Costa, E., & Korca, B. (Eds.). (2025). Cases and exercises on sustainability accounting. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Scientific articles and technical documents