Hospitality Environmental Indicators Enhancing Tourism Destination Sustainable Management

Filipa Campos, Conceição Gomes, Cátia Malheiros and Luís Lima Santos ()
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Filipa Campos: CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic University of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
Conceição Gomes: CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic University of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
Cátia Malheiros: CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic University of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
Luís Lima Santos: CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic University of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal

Administrative Sciences, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Environmental aspects are considered a specific process that requires a multidisciplinary analysis, as the application of indicators in organizations stems from effective performance management; the tourism sector is no exception. In 2015, the United Nations formulated 17 sustainable development goals to contribute to a common vision for people and the planet. The main objective of this study is to propose a framework of science-based environmental sustainability indicators for the hospitality industry, which can be used by hotel managers to improve the efficiency of sustainable management of tourism destinations. This study used a mixed methodology of systematic review and content analysis, which is an innovative methodological approach; an in-depth analysis of various scientific articles, consultancy firms’ websites, and technical books was carried out. The results categorized the environmental indicators into four domains: water, energy, waste, and emissions. After a framework was established with 24 environmental indicators, the most relevant were water consumption per guest, water consumption per occupied room, and energy consumption per square meter/foot. However, there were disparities in the use of indicators between the scientific literature, consultancy firms, and the technical books. In this way, there is a need to create stronger relationships between these sources for effective adoption by hoteliers, allowing for adequate environmental indicators with positive impacts on the tourism destination management.

Keywords: hospitality industry; environmental indicators; sustainability indicators; tourism destination; sustainable management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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