Toward Sustainable Hotel and Restaurant Operations

Abstract

The world tourism industry has moved forward on improving operational sustainability and on reporting the results of those efforts. However, the overall picture is complex, given the difficulty in determining what to report, which benchmarks to apply, and how consumers respond to sustainability reports. Many operators have compiled sustainability statistics up and down their supply chain—given that customers have espoused a broad interest in the industry’s carbon footprint. Carbon is one of the areas that is reported by many operators, as is water conservation. Continuing research will help the industry clarify and report on the industry’s sustainability status, but this remains a work in progress.