Sustainability Priorities Disclosures in Annual Reports and the Contribution of Museums to Sustainable Development and Overtourism

Abstract

This paper examines the sustainability priorities emerging in the non-financial reports of museums and how they indicate the approach of museums to promoting sustainable development and addressing over-tourism. The topic relates to the debates surrounding over-tourism in cultural destinations, the contribution of culture to sustainable development, and reporting as a necessary tool to make museums and cultural organisations accountable for their sustainability actions. The paper focuses on the case study of a museum in Barcelona – a city known for its over-tourism challenges and mitigation efforts – to understand how museums interpret their role concerning the above-mentioned issues and how they disclose information related to sustainability and over-tourism. Through a qualitative analysis (based on both secondary and primary sources) that focuses mainly on the Annual Reports of the museum, the study identifies the museum’s sustainability accounting and reporting priorities. The results contribute to both theory and practice concerning the topics of over-tourism and sustainable development; they provide insights into the importance of reporting and non-financial disclosures in testifying to the role of cultural organisations in the sustainability paradigm.