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An Analysis of the Demand for Education for Sustainable Development among Tourism Majors

Min, Chang-Kee 1

1동서대학교

Excellent Accredited

ABSTRACT

The concept of sustainable development is important in tourism as its various forms of are closely related to this concept. They all appear under the name of sustainable tourism. However, there are very few courses teaching this concept within the tourism curriculum and only a small number of tourism departments provide these courses. This study was implemented to examine the need for ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) within the tourism major and suggest directions for ESD in tourism education. An empirical study of 766 students from 5 universities was conducted using quota sampling and these showed a high demand for ESD themes in general (M=3.78) It also showed that the current teaching level of ESD however was low (M=2.81). The major themes in ESD and the themes in socio-cultural domain are: international understanding, multi-cultural understanding, conflict resolution, and civil education. These themes all showed high demand followed by themes of corporate social responsibility and responsible consumption in economic domain. The themes concerning environmental domain showed relatively low demand, but themes like eco-friendly energy, waste disposal/recycling of resources, and disaster prevention showed relatively high demand when compared with the current level of teaching. In conclusion, the need for a holistic approach through ESD in sustainability education in tourism is paramount. A follow-up study on the relationship between the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable tourism through an analysis of the contents of ecotourism courses in tourism curricula is also recommended.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.