Good environmental practices for hospitality and tourism: The role of information and communication technologies

Abstract

Purpose

There is a consensus about the negative effects of transportation and some activities related to hospitality on the environment. In this sense, several proposals have been pointed out to pursue environmental sustainability of tourism activities and minimize their impact on climate change. In particular, some applications of information and communication technologies (ICT) have a direct contribution to the reduction of the demand of supplies and energy by the hospitality industry. The present paper has a double aim: first, to focus on evaluating the potential of several ICT applications to reduce the environmental impact of hospitality and tourism activities. Second, considering the Spanish tourism industry, the paper aims to analyze the level of development of the environmentally sustainable technologies and the difficulties experienced in their implementation as well as the future challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis was conducted based on the literature in hospitality.

Findings

The use of online promotion and booking, information analysis and report management systems, ERP systems, ICT systems connected to providers, GPS and ambient intelligence, among others, may help hospitality companies to minimize the environmental impact of their activities.

Originality/value

Taking into consideration the evidence obtained from Spain, the second tourism destination in the world, the paper provides a set of implications for practitioners and policy makers that may orientate their decisions on ICT for the tourism and hospitality industry.

Citation

Ruiz‐Molina, M., Gil‐Saura, I. and Moliner‐Velázquez, B. (2010), "Good environmental practices for hospitality and tourism: The role of information and communication technologies", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 464-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777831011049106