Ethical Theories Applied in the Field of Tourism

Abstract

The paper aims to synthesise the main ethical theories that can be applied in any economic area in general and in the tourism field in particular. It is widely believed that each economic sector in which human interaction is principal, has a moral side. This moral side is translated into tourism through concepts such as ethical tourism, responsible tourism, and sustainable tourism. Three main ethical theories are described from a philosophical perspective. They can be applied in a concrete manner to real tourism processes and activities and will enable clarification of key concepts that form any applied ethics expert’s tool: values, principles, standards, ethics, and/or codes of conduct, etc. In the last part of the paper, among the main conclusions, future research directions are detailed.

Keywords

• ethical tourism
• kantian theory
• responsible tourism
• sustainable tourism
• utilitarian ethics
• virtue theory