Sustainability Initiatives in Cypriot Hotels and the way Forward Through Digital Marketing Communication

At the intersection of Sustainability and Digital Marketing Communication (DMC), the current paper examines the initiatives of Cypriot hotels while collaborating with the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative (CSTI), a non-for-profit organization. Also, the paper examines how hotels communicate their sustainability activities and achievements online, on rating platforms (e.g. Trip Advisor), own corporate platforms, social media, and how hotels deal with customers’ reactions, feedback, opinions, and market sensitivities concerning sustainability attributes. Drawing on personal Interviews and a Focus Group with various stakeholders, the contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses for the first time how Cypriot hotels collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NOGs) in the field of sustainability. Second, it explains how hotels can utilize Digital Marketing Communication (DMC) along with their Sustainability schemes, to enhance the publicity of such initiatives and cultivate an awareness among the hotels’ clientele.