Ethics in Tourism

Abstract

This chapter argues that ethics provides an alternative way in which to better understand an act upon tourism industry dilemmas (as an alternative to the over-reliance on the impacts literature). There is a rich foundation of ethics knowledge emerging in the tourism literature, and this foundation continues to expand at a modest rate. In an effort to present this knowledge in an organised manner, six main sections have been developed: (1) foundations and theories of ethics and tourism; (2) applied ethics and tourism; (3) types of tourism and ethics; (4) ethics in tourism education and research; (5) sustainability ethics; and (6) tourism and animal ethics. The chapter concludes by suggesting that there is often a disconnect between theory and practice when it comes to ethics. This disconnect makes it especially important for educators to adopt moral theory in the curriculum in developing the proper character for learners who may later become practitioners.