Sustainability In Tourism And Hospitality: Trends And Challenges

Tourism and hospitality are increasingly recognized as one of the main impulses of economy, both in the European context and worldwide. The concept of sustainability has been widely debated socially and in the context of scientific research for the past two decades. When applied to the hospitality sector, investigation towards this topic is more recent and raises several issues that can be seen as challenges but also as sources of competitive advantage. In this article we seek to explore the concept of sustainability in the context of hospitality, making a theoretical review of the main lines of research and launching clues to those that may be the future lines of investigation in this context. The digital world has come to challenge companies, approaching everyone everywhere. Challenges that extend to all levels, not only economic, but also at a relational level, since the relationships themselves, and the way in which people relate and behave, have also undergone modifications.Two examples (best practices) of sustainability in communication will be presented, in specific contexts of hospitality and tourism (in Portugal). This research presents contributions to sustainability, tourism, hospitality and communication. At the end, guidelines for the future will be presented.