Green marketing towards sustainable tourism emerging opportunity and challenges: The case of Mashhad

ABSTRACT: The tourism industry has evolved into a formidable and dynamic sector that legitimizes a systemic approach to its structure and development. Its impact and influences as a social and economic force has been registered in various ways, especially, in the context of environment and sustainability discourse. There is ample evidence of positive and negative environmental impact of tourism, as well as, influencing the process and objectives of sustainable development. The „sustainability‟ concept has been embedded in tourism industry‟s dynamism in order to reduce the negative environmental impact of so called the number one industry in the world. Numerous mechanisms and planning techniques have been developed and designed to address these issues. As a system of production and consumption, various strategies and policies have been formulated in the context of marketing, operation, customer, consumer and production. This study aims to focus on „Sustainable Supply Chain Management‟ (SSCM) within the tourism industry as a relational and practical management approach towards achieving transformation of its institutions , organizations and operations in the process of consumption and production towards upholding the principles of sustainability. The assumption is that SSCM, as a model, has the potential to contribute to the sustainable tourism planning as well as greening the industry that is also known as Green Marketing (GM). However, green marketing, as a mechanism, is embedded in the SSCM. This study aims to examine the state of SSCM and GM in the city of Mashhad (i.e., the most popular tourist destination in Iran) by focusing on operators and experts who are involved and are knowledgeable on tourism. The factors and dimensions of SSCM are identified based on relevant theories and literature. To achieve the study‟s aims, a qualitative research method based on in-depth interviews has been applied. The assumption is that SSCM and GM have yet to become a practical policy in the case of Mashhad; therefore, such an effective policy process remained unutilized. This not only handicaps the process of sustainability, but rather it hampers the competitiveness of the destination in the future. Keywords: Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM); Green Marketing (GM); Tourism planning and development; Sustainability and Environmental impact; Mashhad, Iran. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………