Hospitality Environmental Indicators Enhancing Tourism Destination Sustainable Management

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.

The Analysis of Tourist Visit Decision to Tanjung Lesung

“…The environmental indicators could enhance sustainable management of tourism destinations. The most relevant environmental indicators are water consumption per guest, water consumption per occupied room, and energy consumption per square meter/foot (Campos et al, 2024). Addressing environmental sustainability in the development of the tourism industry aims to preserve natural resources and protect the global ecosystem, even though decisions with environmental impacts may be delayed in producing perceived effects.…”