Environmental management practices in the tourism sector and creation of a better tourism environment

The application of environmental management practices to tourism SMEs is essential for reducing carbon footprint and the emissions in several tourist activities. For all tourism actors in the industry, there has to be an environmental management system and supply chain management. The key perspectives for these tourism actors are as follows [2]):

Destination managers: 1) Developing strategic destination plans; 2) Biodiversity and conservation management; 3) Infrastructure and service provision, and; 4) Environmental management of tourism events

Tour operators: 1) Decrease and mitigate the environmental effects of transport operations; 2) Drive environmental improvement of accommodation providers; 3) Drive destination improvement; 4) Develop and promote sustainable/environmental friendly tours and; 5) Encourage sustainable tourist behavior

Accommodations focusing on water management: 1) Water system monitoring, maintenance, and optimization; 2) Efficient water fittings in guest areas; 3) Efficient housekeeping; 4) Laundry management; 5) Optimized pool management, and; 6) Rainwater and greywater harvesting

Accommodations focusing on waste management: 1) Waste prevention; 2) Waste sorting and recycling, and; 3) Wastewater treatment

Accommodations focusing on energy management: 1) Maintaining an energy management system; 2) Improved building envelope; 3) Efficient application of heat pumps and geothermal heating/cooling; 4) Efficient lighting and electrical equipment, and; 5) Renewable energy sources

Kitchen: 1) Green sourcing of food and beverage products; 2) Organic waste management; 3) Optimized dishwashing and food preparation, and; 4) Optimized cooking, ventilation and refrigeration

Campsites: 1) Environmental/sustainability education of visitors; 2) Environmental management of outdoor areas; 3) Energy efficiency and renewable energy installation; 3) Water efficiency; 4) Waste minimization, and; 5) Natural pools

To successfully implement long-term strategies for developing a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable tourism ecosystem, touristic destinations need to focus on strategic objectives [1]

1. Delivering exceptional, sustainable guest experiences
2. Stimulating and supporting competitive and sustainable tourism businesses
3. Enhancing the quality of life for the locals
4. Planning, developing, and managing tourism according to sustainable tourism principles

The tourism industry produces a substantial amount of pollution and waste due to the population increase and excessive consumption. The production of waste by tourists can put a burden on local waste management systems, causing landfills and sewage plants to overflow. It is pivotal for hotels to have an effective waste management system that focuses on reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling. Commercial processes tend to generate lots of waste and require regular maintenance and waste disposal. When supplies are widely used, it saves lots of money on raw materials. You can generate additional income by selling old resources and reusing, and recycling useful materials. Here are the steps of effective waste management in hotels [14]

1. Categorization and quantification of waste: It is essential to categorize the types and quantity of waste produced by each department to manage it properly. For instance, office waste (papers, documents, and brochures), household waste (jars, bottles, cardboard), and organic waste (vegetable and fruit peels, flowers) can be segregated into colored bins for easy waste management.
2. Understand waste hierarchy: The hierarchy provides options to manage waste by prevention, minimization, reuse, d recycling, recovery, and disposal, which prevents waste from going to the waste stream. Recovery is the most important part of the process because some value of the material is retrieved through recycling. The last step is disposal which involves landfill and incineration of waste.
3. Data analysis: The hotel industry generates lots of waste and generally it is sent to landfills without proper treatment. The first step in managing the data analysis of waste is to perform a waste audit. Waste auditing is identifying the process of productivity from waste management practices in hotels. With the help of trash compactors, the volume of waste can be reduced. The organic waste in the hotel can be reduced with food composters. Composting is a biological process that needs certain temperature moisture, ventilation, and carbon and nitrogen ratio. Compost is a useful soil conditioner and fertile manure.
4. Framework development: A framework is developed with a focus on which can save costs on local vendors and labor costs for handling waste. It is classified into two:

• Profit from recyclable and compostable waste: This is the method of generating profit from business events.
• Sustainability from waste management: When the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability are paid attention to and had the necessary conditions to sustain managing waste, any framework can work.

Best environmental management practices can maintain the attractiveness and competitiveness of the destination for tourism in the future. Some measures can raise revenue directly, such as efficiency-related energy and water charges. The additional cost of providing services of sufficient capacity to cope with peak tourism demand should be seen in the context of safeguarding or enhancing tourism revenue by maintaining or improving the attractiveness of the destination. Some services, such as recycling, traffic management, and renewable energy generation can generate economic activity within the destination [22]

sustainable tourism aims to increase the benefits, raise awareness, and reduce the negative impacts caused by tourism for destinations. This can be achieved by protecting the natural environment, wildlife, and natural resources when developing and managing tourism-related activities.

Traveling with environmentally friendly transport instead of fossil fuel vehicles will increase the level of awareness of sustainability in the eyes of the visitors. Sustainable/green travel alternatives for a vacation are as follows [7]

1. Minimize or cut air travel
2. Stay longer when you travel
3. Choose the train
4. Choose an eco-friendly agency
5. Hitchhike
6. Lower meat consumption when traveling
7. Wildlife, not entertainers
8. House Sitting
9. Prefer reusable products

The United Nations World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as “tourism that considers its current and future economic, social and environmental effects, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities”. It means sustainable tourism must optimally use environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of locals, and ensure long-term economic activities. Here are some key ways to promote sustainable tourism [8] ):

1. Do not prefer the plane, or take non-stop flights
2. Go green
3. Spread awareness on sustainable tourism
4. Support local restaurants/stores
5. Support legislation that promotes sustainable tourism
6. Buy souvenirs from local stores
7. Support the fight against illegal trade
8. Walk
9. Promote sustainable tourism with your inner circle
10. Travel more locally
11. Share your sustainable travel experiences
12. Volunteer to organizations increasing awareness of sustainability

No plastic use.

The following points summarize Environmental Management System implementation concerning the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach and address the relevant aspects for each stage. Key points are the establishment of an organization-level environmental policy, along with the development of action plans with specific targets (Styles, 2013), which will help create a better tourism environment beyond the measures of environmental pollution.

The identification of significant environmental aspects is the first stage of environmental management. Following the environmental review, the monitoring of environmental performance indicators forms a reference point for the implementation of best practices in sustainable sourcing, water, waste, and energy minimization.

Plan:

• Identify priorities (environmental perspectives, e.g. energy and water use, waste minimization, sustainable sourcing, recycling, pollution control)
• Establish a policy to address these issues
• Identify performance standards and improvement opportunities
• Allocate responsibilities
• Set objectives and targets
• Prepare action plans, programs, and procedures for achieving performance objectives

Do:

• Responsible people implement plans, programs, and procedures

Check:

• Monitor results
• Assess performance against objectives and targets
• Determine reasons for deviations, failures, and non-conformances

Act:

• Take corrective action for non-conformances
• Consider the performance of system elements concerning targets
• Identify changing conditions
• Change system elements if necessary (policy, objectives, targets, responsibilities, plans, etc.)