Food tourism, corporate social responsibility and environmental management: a systematic review on contributions to the sustainable development goals

Abstract

Food tourism is a growing niche within the travel industry that merges gastronomy, culture, and destination branding. Its potential to contribute to environmental sustainability and social development has gained increased scholarly interest, especially in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article presents a systematic review of 139 peer-reviewed publications (2020–2024) indexed in the Web of Science, aiming to evaluate how food tourism and corporate communication strategies—particularly public relations—intersect with sustainability objectives. The study applies bibliometric methods and the PRISMA framework to identify dominant trends, geographical hotspots, key stakeholders, and the most frequently addressed SDGs in this field. Findings reveal that most research focuses on SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), with limited holistic coverage of all 17 goals. Furthermore, companies within the tourism and food sectors are emerging as key corporate actors implementing environmental management practices such as renewable energy use, food waste reduction, and sustainable sourcing. Public relations play a critical role in shaping stakeholder perceptions, enhancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, and legitimizing sustainability strategies. This review highlights the need for stronger integration of communication, governance, and sustainability frameworks to achieve long-term environmental and social goals in tourism. Future research should explore applied assessments of SDG implementation across tourism-related business ecosystems.