Method
The Hospitality and Tourism Index was used as the source of hospitality journals. A
search was conducted and 128 articles were obtained and read for 2008. Forty-five of the articles
were deemed not relevant. Of the 83 remaining articles 31 came from academic journals and 52
from trade journals and magazines. Sixteen academic journals, trade journals, and magazines that
had either not been part of the Hospitality and Tourism Index or had not previously published
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articles on ethics were added for 2008. All of the 2008 articles fit easily into the 12 topic areas
that emerged during the past analyses of articles from 1990 to 2007.
Description of the Data
Figures 1 and 2 identify the topic areas, the total number of articles for each topic area,
when they were written, and the journals they appeared in. Figure 3 shows the total number of
hospitality journal articles on ethics appearing each year over a 19-year period. While this
paper's focus is on the articles appearing in 2008, it may be interesting to look at the articles
within the context of the previous 18 years.
From 1990 through 2001 there were approximately 10 articles on ethics written in the
hospitality journals each year. The publishers for the Hospitality and Tourism Index changed
around 2002. There were 32 articles on ethics in 2002, and the number has steadily increased
each year to 83 in 2008.
The distribution of articles changed dramatically in 2007 with 30% of the articles falling
into the categories of Corporate Responsibility and Green/Sustainable. This trend continued in
2008 with a total of 15 articles on the topic of Green/Sustainable –
one of the highest number of
articles on any topic in any year. (See Figure 1.)
Topics
Unethical Actions (Topic 1)
Ten articles (12% of 83) described unethical actions. A study of 321 college seniors in 3
hospitality programs found that the most likely forms of academic dishonesty would be, in order,
claiming group work for individual credit, obtaining exam answers from students who already
took the exam, handing in made up assignments rather than actually doing the work, adding
unused citations to bibliographies, and using cheat sheets in exams (Calvert, Martin, Beck, &
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Lin, 2008). The authors of the study believe that students must be taught ethics in their college
programs and have ethical standards enforced by their teachers.
It was pointed out by Panda (2008) that the area of marketing is where many unethical
practices occur because marketing people are less ethical. While there is interest in creating a
global code of ethics for marketing, Panda believes this to be an impossible task and should be
left to individual countries to do as they see fit (2008). The keynote speaker at a conference of
the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, Daniel Levine, suggested that
innkeepers should write and post favorable reviews of their own inns on consumer-generated
online review sites such as a la TripAdvisor and BedandBreakfast.com. Levine’s comments were
met with dismay and formally rebutted at a later session (Karen, 2008).
Even though tourism for the purpose of having sex with minors is a violation of human
rights under several pieces of United Nations legislation, child sex tourism is “booming” with
Asia at its center and 25% of child sex tourists coming from the U.S. (Tepelus, 2008). Numerous
tourism stakeholders including, international governmental and nongovernmental organizations,
the tourism industry, and national tourism authorities are attempting to create awareness of the
sex tourism problem, codes of conduct, training, and voluntary prevention tactics. Hospitality
and tourism are two of the fastest growing industries in the world and the least likely to have
well developed codes of conduct and Corporate Social Responsibility programs. If tourism is to
be sustainable it must accept its corporate civic responsibilities which include, not only the
environment, but social issues as well. The prevention of child sex tourism may need to move
beyond voluntary guidelines to enforceable policies and laws (Tepelus, 2008).
Contours, published by the Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism had an issue devoted
primarily to tourism issues in the Philippines. Tourism is seen as the simplest way to alleviate
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poverty in third world countries. However, mass tourism development by multinational
companies results in displacement of indigenous people and loss of agricultural land and fishing
grounds and will most likely increase child prostitution which is already a problem in the
Philippines (de Lima, 2008).
The Filipino government is promoting the Philippines as a medical market where newly
privatized and refurbished hospitals provide medical care for foreign patients. More than 50% of
the population is poor and without any medical care. Medical tourism has resulted, however, in
opportunities for poor Filipinos to sell their organs (Tuazon, 2008).
The Tourism Act of 2008 will entice foreign investment in Philippine tourism.
Unfortunately revenues from tourism go to the transnational companies that own the hotels and
resorts, and only low paid service jobs are created for some of the locals. The promise of tourism
to alleviate poverty has, in fact, “worsened inequalities and impoverishment in the third world
and between developed and underdeveloped countries” (Lumang, 2008).
A study of the residents’ perceived tourism impacts on Sagada in the Philippines
indicated both positive and negative impacts. The creation of tourism jobs and income for local
entrepreneurs are appreciated by residents. However, tourist garbage, vandalism, noise, and not
enough water for residents are problems. Also noted are increased drug use, crime, child
abductions, and the socio-culture character of the community has changed. Tourists come to
enjoy the environment and the culture. If tourism in Sagada is to be sustainable then the
environment and culture must be protected (Dulnuan, 2008).
The results of tourism in the Andamans (in the Bay of Bengal and east of India) were
studied, and it was determined that the economic benefits are insignificant. A list of
recommendations to ensure the sustainability of the area and culture, were addressed to a variety
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of stakeholders. Tourism must be regulated and the Environment Impact Assessment process
must be mandatory for all tourism projects (Rethink Tourism in the Andamans, 2008).
The Jamaica Environmental Trust presented a video on the high costs of tourism on
Jamaica’s people (Jamaica for sale!, 2008). The Trust hopes to distribute the video locally and
internationally to school and other audiences
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