Life Cycle-Based Sustainability and Circularity Indicators for the Tourism Industry: A Literature Review

Ioannis Arzoumanidis, Anna M. Walker, Luigia Petti and Andrea Raggi
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Ioannis Arzoumanidis: Department of Economic Studies, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Anna M. Walker: Department of Economic Studies, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Luigia Petti: Department of Economic Studies, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 65127 Pescara, Italy
Andrea Raggi: Department of Economic Studies, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 65127 Pescara, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors, even though in the last couple of years there has been a negative effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth has led to an increase in environmental, economic and social impacts. Furthermore, the transition towards a circular economy has become one of the priorities of the European Union given its orientation towards sustainable development. However, the concept of circular tourism has been poorly analysed until now. This paper aims at identifying a set of life cycle-based sustainability- and circularity-related indicators for the hospitality sector by means of a literature review and a content analysis. It presents an overview of the most relevant themes and indicators in the tourism sector, showing that carbon footprint and resource-related indicators are especially relevant. Given the complexity of the measurement of circularity and the fact that life cycle-based indicators have started to be considered in this field, the paper also proposes some criteria for indicator selection to make their application more feasible for hospitality actors.

Keywords: circular tourism; life cycle assessment; sustainable tourism; accommodation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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