SUSTAINABILITY AND EDUCATIONAL TOURISM Jones, R.T., Delie, J., Thomas, M., Wilson, K., Kimberly, N., McClintock, M., Olsen, T., Gors, E., Quintero, A., Angell, R. Franklin College Switzerland, Environmental Studies, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland ABSTRACT Purpose: Our research examined the educational tourism program at Franklin College Switzerland and its implementation of sustainability concepts. Design/Methodology/Approach: Our study used four different analyses to measure cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability on eight travels in Franklin’s Academic Travel program. We calculated carbon dioxide emissions for each travel for group transportation. We developed a sustainability index to rate accommodations and educational activities on each travel. We surveyed student participants and faculty leaders of the travels. Findings: Travels “focused” on the three “pillars” of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) scored higher across most indicators while “unfocused” travels had lower average responses. Thus, we deduce that sustainable goals resulted in more sustainable outcomes. We found that students felt informed about sustainability and regularly participated in sustainable practices during travel, which often results in high levels of intercultural competency. Accommodations and transportation emissions were among the lowest scoring (i.e. least sustainable) aspects of Academic Travel. Research Limitations/Implications: The use of eight specific travels may limit the findings’ applicability to the whole program, which offers 15+ travels a semester. However, it examined a diverse group of travels to ensure relevancy. Practical Implications: Our research suggests educational travel leaders need to focus more on environmental sustainability. Our study provides a baseline against which to measure future travel programs and sustainability initiatives, both at Franklin and in education in general. Its methodology is applicable to other educational travel programs and would allow interesting comparisons across academic programs. Originality/Value: Our study provides research on educational tourism and a methodology to measure the sustainability of educational travel programs. This study is original research. Through our examination of Franklin College’s unique academic travel program we provide a framework that can be applied to many sectors in the sustainable tourism field. Keywords: Sustainable Tourism, Educational Tourism, Sustainability, Intercultural competency Paper Type: Research paper