Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Gigi Hui
HTMi Switzerland
Introduction
The hospitality industry is one of the biggest industries in the world (Scorțe et al.,
2013). And within this, the Hotel and Tourism industry is the main component of
the hospitality industry (Scorțe et al., 2013). The hospitality industry provides lots
of job opportunities and contributed more than 10% Gross Domestic Product of the
world. (Patricia and Cristiana, 2007). However, the rapid growth of the hospitality
problems such as the climate change and the pollution problems have drawn the
attention of the world and they are also the biggest problem that our world is now
in the past ten years (United Nation Environmental program and World Tourism
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’’ (Beder, 1996 p.3). The three components of
Sustainable development can help the present and the future generation of all living
things on the Earth to create a better environment (Nayar, 2013). People are trying
(MIER, 2008). The industry is trying to reduce the damages on the environment
when developing.
This research is going to analyse how the hospitality industry is trying to develop
different models and theories. Last but not least, the research paper will include the
Sustainable Development refers to the development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs (Beder, 1996). The definition means that the economic development or
activities that are carried out to meet the needs and wants of humans should not
affect or make any damage on the environment to reserve the natural resources for
(Dresner, 2002).
3-overlapping-circles Model
environmental, and social factors. Also, the 3-overlapping circles are the
sustainable development, the three circles must be balanced which are shown in the
model where sustainability lives. Economy refers to economic development that can
society refers to all the people in the world (Flint and House, 2010).
all areas of life (Flint and Houser, 2010). However, some businesses prefer to show
the economy circle as the largest circle because it is the most important for them to
run the business and earn a living. The reason that some businesses need to run
their business caused the imbalance of these three circles (Willard, 2010).
The hospitality industry has different green practices and policy implanted since the
1990s due to fluctuating economic levels and a strong focus on customer service
regulatory pressure, and also since consumers become more demanding (Graci and
Kuehnel, 2010).
There are multiple factors that encourage business owners and managers to adopt
Primlani, 2012).
It shows that the decisions that made by the hospitality industry are affected by the
three components of the 3-overlapping circles as the decisions that they made have
The model above shows that the economy must not undermine the sustainability of
threaten the sustainability of natural systems. Environmental sinks and sources are
Ecological economics have to be involved where social and financial aspects are
merged (ibid).
Economic sustainability is the term used to identify various strategies that make it
possible to use available resources to their best advantage (Tatum, 2003). Economic
sustainability encourages the responsible use of resources. It can ensure that the
business is not only concerned about making profit, but that the operation is not
affecting the environment and can strike a balance between the economic
As there is no economy outside the society, no human activity can occur without
some connection with the environment. The decisions and actions made by the
2007). The rapid growth in hospitality industry brought out several environmental
problems and these problems have successfully drawn the attention of the
the impacts of their actions on the environment (Graci and Kuehne, 2010). There are
various practices in hotel that mainly focus on different part of the hotels such as the
using of water and energy, waste management system and green building practice
(ibid). These green practices not only can protect the environment, it can also
development with regards to the following example. Guernsey is the second largest
of the Channel Island, which have 60,000 resident populations (Stabler and Goodall,
1997). All energy and productive resources used in this Island has to be imported. It
also has an insufficient sewage system and limited capacity of disposing wastage.
Guernsey has committed to make efficient use of resource and minimize pollution
‘Keep Guernsey Green Award’ program has launched in Guernsey for different
program not only plans the energy conservation and the waste management in
hotel. It also raises the staff awareness of the importance of environmental issues.
Moreover, it seeks the ways to improve the managing of the organization’s
energy and waste. These can help to reduce their energy usage and
A few hotels in Guernsey also have joined the ‘Green Tourism Business Scheme’
which is a non-profit organization that has be running since 1997 (Sarina Hotels,
2010). Two of the hotels in Guernsey that join the ‘Green Tourism Business Scheme’
make their operation more sustainable while still delivered a high quality service at
the same time (ibid). Therefore, they received Bronze award, which means that they
Karek Harris who is the director of the Sarnia Hotel also has mentioned that the
guests who stay in their hotels could trust that their hotel is committed to the
environment and that the decisions and the development made by the hotel will
minimize the damage on the environment. The hotel will take the needs of the
environment in Guernsey into account when they make their decisions (ibid).
In the past ten years, hotels have been implementing different green practices in
their operations (Revilla et al., 2001). The reasons that the hotels were willing to
implement these green practices is that there were a few researches showing that
the sustainable hotel practices have a direct impact on guest satisfaction and guest
hospitality industry (Reuland, 2008). Hotel guests are more aware of the
environmental problems that are occurring in the world. Therefore, the hotel
practices might influence the customer’s choice for their accommodations (Millar
Moreover, the hotels can reduce the hotel operational costs and harmful impacts on
the environment at the same time (Claver-Cortes et al., 2007). Reports that were
done by hundreds of businesses around the world show that the green practices
implemented in hotel can reduce energy and water consumption costs by more than
20 percent, solid waste and wastewater disposal costs by more than 15 percent
(Graci and Kuehne, 2010). It can also improve the quality of the environment and
In conclusion, the hotels and tourism industry is one of the biggest component in the
hospitality industry. From the research by the author, green hospitality practices
are implemented in the hotels, which can help them to protect the environment and
reduce the operational cost at the same time. There are also direct impacts on the
guest satisfaction and guest intention to return to the hotel. Going green has become
According to the information that was found by the author, the future trend is that
more and more business in the hospitality industry will care more on the
Different green practices in the hospitality industry can create a better world for the
future generations.
make sure that the rapid growth of the hospitality industry does not damage our
environment.
over the world. However, most of the researches are focused on one particular
industry such as the hotel industry or the tourism industry. There is also large
practices. Further information is needed to identify different actions that are carried
out in different hospitality sectors which are aimed at protecting the environment
Even though there are already many existing practices in the hospitality industry to
help protecting the environment, there are still many things that the industry can
improve to ensure that the life of the future generations can live in a sustainable
environment.
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