Corporate social responsibility in tourism has great potential if its application in environmental protection, relation to the staff, collaboration with local partners and subcontractors, meeting the needs of the customers, and responsibility to the local community is taken seriously, thus as a priority. CSR in tourism questions the way in which the companies use natural and cultural resources, protect the environment, and maintain the landscape, biodiversity, and cultural heritage. In relation to employees but also suppliers and guests/clients it is encouraged to show fairness and responsibility. CRS in tourism also encourages fair use of local products and services, as well as greater cooperation with the local community to improve the quality of life of local people.

A systematic approach to the development of CSR in tourism started in the hotel business in the late 1990s. Large international hotel chains have launched a variety of programs that serve as the basis for representing a responsible business. Today, most of the major international hotels publish their CSR reports on their websites.

There are different formalized instruments for measuring CSR such as ISO standard 14001, ISO 26000, and EMAS (III) - Schemes of environmental management and its evaluation or different quality or environmental responsibility labels and marks such as The Blue Flag. On the other hand, there is a number of informal schemes, codes, and organizations that set the standards for CSR in tourism such as the Global Ethics Code for Tourism, Ethics and Social Dimensions of Tourism Programme, Global Sustainable Tourism Council - GSTC, Tour Operators' Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development, etc.