Open Access

Sustainable tourism is a niche market that has been growing in recent years. At the same time, companies in the mass tourism market have increasingly marketed themselves with a “green” image, although this market is not sustainable. In order to successfully market sustainability, targeted marketing tactics are needed. The aim of this research is to establish appropriate marketing tactics for sustainable tourism in the niche market and in the mass market. The purpose is to uncover current marketing tactics for both the mass tourism market and the sustainable tourism niche market. It also intends to explore how consumers who are more interested in sustainability differ from consumers with less interest in sustainability in terms of their perception of sustainability in tourism. Furthermore, this research paper will assess the trustworthiness of sustainable travel offers and the trustworthiness of quality seals in sustainable tourism. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted, which was addressed at German-speaking consumers. The survey showed, that consumers with more general interest in sustainability also consider sustainability to be more relevant in tourism. Offers for sustainable travel and quality seals were perceived as not very trustworthy. Moreover, no link could be found between the interest in sustainability and the perception of trustworthiness. On the basis of the above, it is advisable to directly advertise sustainability in the niche market and to mention sustainability in the mass market only as an accompaniment or not at all. Further research could be undertaken to identify which factors influence the trustworthiness of offers, and trustworthiness of quality seals in sustainable tourism.