Adopters versus Non-Adopters of the Green Key Ecolabel in the Dutch Accommodation Sector

Eelco Buunk and Edwin van der Werf
Additional contact information
Eelco Buunk: KplusV, P.O. Box 60055, 6800 JB Arnhem, The Netherlands
Edwin van der Werf: Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 13, 1-18

Abstract: Accommodation providers such as hotels, campsites, and holiday villages can use ecolabels to show their green credentials to potential customers. Whereas there is extensive literature on ecolabel adoption in the Hotel and Bed and Breakfast (B & B) sector, no such research exists for other accommodation sectors. In this paper, we present the results of statistical analyses of survey data from firms in the Dutch accommodation sector (including hotels, campsites, and group accommodations) with and without the Green Key ecolabel, which is a third-party certified international label for the tourist and leisure sector. We obtain insights into the motivations for adopting (or not), analyze the characteristics of firms with and without the label, and get an indication of the perceived impact of ecolabel adoption on costs and profits. We find that previously found results for hotels and B & Bs do not always apply to other subsectors of the accommodation sector. We also find that obtaining the label required a limited investment for almost half of the sample, and resulted in cost reductions for more than half of the responding firms.

Keywords: ecolabel; sustainable tourism; certification; hotel management; campsites; ecolabel adoption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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