If you have compared hotels, tours, or travel companies recently, you may have come across terms such as sustainable tourism, responsible travel, CSR, and ESG. They are related, but they do not mean the same thing.
ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. In tourism, it provides a way to look at how a travel business manages its environmental impact, its relationships with people and communities, and the way the business itself is operated.
Sustainable tourism is the broader goal. ESG focuses more specifically on how a business turns environmental and social concerns into policies, operating practices, responsibilities, measurement, and accountability.
That distinction is useful because a nature-based tour or a visit to a local community does not, by itself, demonstrate responsible tourism practices. ESG looks at what happens behind the experience as well as what travelers can see.
ESG in Tourism at a Glance
The three areas of ESG answer different questions.
| ESG area | Main question | Examples in tourism |
| Environmental (E) | How does the business affect the natural environment? | Energy, water, waste, emissions, biodiversity, pollution, transportation |
| Social (S) | How does tourism affect people? | Working conditions, safety, child protection, local livelihoods, communities, cultural respect |
| Governance (G) | How responsibly is the business managed? | Legal compliance, supplier standards, risk management, complaints, reporting, transparency |
UN Tourism has been developing an ESG framework for tourism businesses to improve how environmental, social, and governance issues are measured and reported across the sector.
In practice, the three areas often overlap. Choosing a supplier, for example, can involve environmental standards, working conditions, safety, local economic participation, and business compliance at the same time.
Why ESG Matters in Tourism
Tourism depends heavily on places and people.
Hotels use water and energy. Transportation creates emissions. River and nature-based tours depend on healthy ecosystems. Cultural experiences rely on communities being willing and able to maintain their traditions. Tour operators also work with guides, drivers, accommodations, restaurants, boat operators, artisans, farmers, and other suppliers.
Tourism can create jobs and support local businesses, but poorly managed tourism can also place pressure on natural resources, workers, communities, and cultural sites.
ESG offers one way to examine these impacts more systematically.
The goal is not to suggest that tourism can have no impact. A more useful question is whether a business understands its impacts, manages them responsibly, and communicates clearly about its practices and limitations.
E – Environmental: More Than Reducing Plastic
Environmental discussions in tourism often begin with plastic bottles or hotel towels. Those issues matter, but the Environmental part of ESG is much broader.
For tourism businesses, environmental considerations may include:
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energy and fuel use;
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water consumption;
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waste and pollution;
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greenhouse gas emissions;
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transportation choices;
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biodiversity and wildlife;
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purchasing and sourcing;
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operations in environmentally sensitive areas.
Tour operators also need to look beyond their own offices. A large part of a tour’s environmental footprint may come from transportation, hotels, boats, restaurants, attractions, and other suppliers.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council includes resource conservation, sustainable purchasing, pollution reduction, and biodiversity protection among the areas tour operators should manage.
For travelers, this means claims such as green or eco-friendly are more meaningful when a company explains what it is actually doing and how the practice is managed.
S – Social: People, Livelihoods, and Cultural Respect
The Social part of ESG goes beyond donations or charity.
It can include:
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fair working conditions;
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health and safety;
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child protection;
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equal opportunity;
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treatment of guides and suppliers;
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local employment;
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community participation;
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cultural heritage and respectful visitor behavior.
For tour operators, an important question is who participates in the tourism economy.
Does an itinerary work with local guides, family-run services, food producers, artisans, or community-based businesses where appropriate? Are residents involved on reasonable terms? Are cultural traditions presented in context, or altered simply to meet visitor expectations?
A cultural experience can create opportunities for local income and interpretation. It can also become intrusive or overly commercialized if community expectations, timing, visitor behavior, and scale are ignored.
Social responsibility therefore depends not only on what travelers visit, but also on how the experience is organized.
G – Governance: The Part Travelers May Not See
Governance is usually less visible than environmental or community activities, but it influences whether those commitments are followed consistently.
For a travel company, Governance can include:
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legal compliance and licensing;
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clear internal responsibilities;
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supplier selection and monitoring;
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risk and safety procedures;
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transparent pricing;
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cancellation and refund policies;
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complaint procedures;
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anti-bribery and anti-corruption measures;
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documentation and reporting;
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checking whether public claims can be supported.
This is one reason ESG should not be reduced to “green tourism.”
A company might reduce single-use plastic while still having unclear customer policies, weak labor practices, or no process for assessing suppliers. Environmental improvements are useful, but they represent only one part of ESG.
ESG vs. Sustainable Tourism, CSR, and the SDGs
These concepts overlap, but they serve different purposes.
| Term | What it mainly refers to |
| ESG | How a business manages Environmental, Social, and Governance issues |
| Sustainable tourism | The broader long-term management of tourism's environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts |
| CSR | Corporate responsibility initiatives and commitments involving communities, employees, or social causes |
| SDGs | The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals for global development through 2030 |
ESG and Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism looks at the wider relationship between tourism, destinations, communities, economies, and the environment.
ESG is more business-focused. It examines how an organization manages relevant issues and whether suitable governance exists to support its environmental and social commitments.
The two overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
For Mekong Smile’s broader perspective on tourism, communities, culture, and the environment, see Mekong Smile’s sustainable tourism mission.
ESG and CSR
CSR generally refers to corporate responsibility programs or commitments.
A community initiative may create real social value, but one CSR project does not demonstrate an entire ESG management system.
For example, Mekong Smile’s Celebrating Tet on the River initiative is a specific community-focused activity connected with families at Cai Rang Floating Market. It is evidence of a particular CSR effort rather than proof of the company’s overall ESG performance.
ESG and the SDGs
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are 17 global goals addressing issues such as poverty, health, education, inequality, climate change, responsible consumption, and sustainable communities.
Businesses may identify activities that contribute to particular SDGs, but SDG alignment is not a certification, just as ESG itself is not a certification.
What ESG Can Look Like in a Real Tour
ESG becomes easier to understand when it is connected to a real itinerary.
Mekong Smile’s Water Lily Harvesting Tour in Chau Doc offers one example.
The tour includes an early-morning water lily harvest with local farmers during the floating season. Farmers may begin working before daylight so the lilies can be prepared for the day’s market. Visitors join an activity that is already part of the local working routine rather than attending a separate harvesting performance created only for tourists.
This illustrates a Social consideration: how tourism interacts with an existing livelihood and how that activity is presented to visitors.
The itinerary also includes a local host family, Cham weaving, a Khmer pagoda, and a Khmer weaving village. These activities can support cultural interpretation and local participation, but their presence alone does not make a tour socially sustainable. How the visits are operated still matters.
Governance appears in less visible details: communicating seasonal conditions, mobility limitations, pricing, safety information, and cancellation terms clearly to travelers.
Environmental claims require the same care. Traveling by sampan or visiting a wetland does not automatically make an activity environmentally sustainable. Any environmental claim should be linked to actual operating practices and evidence.
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How Travelers Can Evaluate ESG Claims
Travelers do not need to become sustainability auditors. A few questions can still help distinguish specific practices from broad marketing language.
Does the company explain what it actually does?
Words such as sustainable, responsible, and eco-friendly are broad. Stronger claims explain the practice behind the wording: how suppliers are selected, what waste is being reduced, how staff are trained, or how communities participate.
Are goals separated from achievements?
A target for the future is not the same as a result already achieved. Credible sustainability communication should make that distinction clear.
Are certifications identified precisely?
If something is described as certified, travelers should be able to identify the certification, the organization that issued it, what was certified, and whether it is still valid.
ESG itself is not a certification.
Does the company acknowledge limitations?
Tourism has environmental and social impacts. Claims that recognize trade-offs and areas still being improved are generally more informative than statements suggesting every activity creates only positive results.
Is there evidence beyond marketing copy?
Useful evidence may include policies, supplier standards, measurable targets, operating procedures, community initiatives, staff responsibilities, and clear customer information.
No single item proves everything. Several forms of evidence provide a more complete picture.
How Mekong Smile Approaches ESG
At Mekong Smile, ESG is better understood as a management lens than as a label applied to every tour.
The public Mekong Smile Sustainability Policy covers governance and legal compliance, people and human rights, environmental management, suppliers, guides and excursions, community relationships, cultural respect, customer communication, and anti-greenwashing.
The policy also outlines responsibilities for monitoring and improvement and distinguishes between current commitments and longer-term goals.
That distinction matters. A policy shows that a framework and expectations exist; it does not mean every target has already been achieved.
The same principle applies to tours, community initiatives, environmental actions, and other sustainability claims. Each should be described according to the evidence available for that activity.
Readers who want more context about the company and its tourism operations can visit About Mekong Smile.
What ESG Does Not Mean in Tourism
A few distinctions are especially important.
ESG is not a tourism certification. It is a framework for managing environmental, social, and governance issues.
A nature tour is not automatically sustainable. A tour can take place in a forest, wetland, river, or national park and still create environmental pressure.
A local experience is not automatically socially responsible. How residents participate, how workers are treated, and how cultural boundaries are respected still matter.
CSR and ESG are not the same thing. Community programs can support social goals, but ESG also covers environmental management and governance.
The SDGs are not a certification system. Businesses can explain how their activities relate to the goals, but SDG alignment should not be presented as certification.
ESG does not mean zero impact. Responsible management begins with recognizing tourism’s impacts rather than claiming they do not exist.
From ESG Language to Evidence
For tourism, ESG becomes useful when it leads to practical questions.
How are suppliers selected? Are workers protected? Are cultural visits respectful? Is waste managed? Are travelers given accurate information? Can environmental or social claims be supported?
Those questions matter more than whether the letters E-S-G appear in a tour description.
For travelers, ESG offers another way to look beyond price and itinerary. For tour operators, it can help turn broad sustainability goals into clearer responsibilities and operating practices.
Ultimately, the strongest ESG claim is one that can be explained, measured where appropriate, and supported with evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions about ESG in Can tho tourism
What does ESG stand for in tourism?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. In tourism, it refers to how travel businesses manage environmental impacts, workers and communities, risk, transparency, and responsible business practices.
Is ESG the same as sustainable tourism?
No. Sustainable tourism is the broader goal of managing tourism’s long-term environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts. ESG focuses more specifically on how a business manages environmental, social, and governance issues.
Is ESG a certification for hotels or tour operators?
No. ESG itself is not a certification. Any certification claim should identify the actual standard, certifying organization, and scope.
What are examples of ESG practices in tourism?
Examples may include reducing waste and resource use, protecting biodiversity, supporting fair working conditions, improving safety, working responsibly with local communities, assessing suppliers, and maintaining transparent customer and governance policies.
How can travelers identify credible ESG claims?
Look for specific practices, published policies, named standards, measurable goals, transparent information, and evidence that distinguishes current achievements from future plans.
How is ESG different from CSR?
CSR generally refers to corporate responsibility initiatives or commitments. ESG has a broader management focus that includes environmental impacts, people and social issues, and corporate governance.
