Abstract:
The global environmental threats, scarcity of natural resources, and socio-economic
impacts force individuals and companies to evaluate their impact on natural, social, and
economic environments. During the past decade, consumers have become progressively
more interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Therefore, hoteliers have
focused on investing in CSR activities. The purpose of this research was to identify the
nexus between hotel CSR practices and traveler’s perception of hotel selection decisions.
The research was based on three key questions. The structured interview method was
used to investigate the traveler’s awareness on CSR, the link between hotel selection
perception and CSR activities, and to ascertain the impact of CSR. Data were collected
from 14 respondents using purposive sampling technique in a qualitative approach.
Collected data were transcribed and analysed manually using thematic analysis. Results
of the study revealed, there was no identifiable nexus between hotel CSR practices and
traveler’s perception of hotel selection decisions. Further, the impact of CSR practices on
hotel selection decision was very low. The results reflected that travelers perceived a
positive attitude towards CSR and expect hotels to engage more in CSR. But CSR was
not considered as a hotel selection factor. Therefore, it is necessary to work on enhancing
the importance of CSR among tourism stakeholders to convert the potentiality of CSR
into a key decision factor to attract tourists in the future.
Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Traveler’s perception, Hotel selection,
Awareness, Impact
