Adoption of Circular Economy and Environmental Certifications: Perceptions of Tourism SMEs

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most important industries in the world. On the one hand, tourism activities provide a significant boost to many national economies but on the other hand, they severely impact the environment. Tourism SMEs are therefore needed to transform their activities from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE). However, the tourism industry has not yet shown a clear and decisive transition towards CE. There is no or very little academic discussion on why the tourism industry has not yet adopted CE and how tourism SMEs can adopt CE. In this context, we analyzed a sample of 256 tourism SMEs (hotels and accommodations, travel agencies, tour operators, and reservation service activities) based in Cyprus, France, Italy, and Spain. Our survey reveals a ruthless situation regarding the adoption of environmental certifications. There is a very low demand to adopt an environmental certification in the tourism industry. Moreover, the adoption of CE among tourism SMEs is not so high. The main factors that hinder the adoption of green or CE practices are lack of funds, lack of information about potential partners, and lack of skilled personnel. Nonetheless, many tourism SMEs perceive that CE adoption leads to various positive outcomes. Our study provides some suggestions to facilitate the transition towards CE in the tourism industry.

Full text

Journal of Management and Sustainability; Vol. 11, No. 1; 2021
ISSN 1925-4725 E-ISSN 1925-4733
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education
218
Adoption of Circular Economy and Environmental Certifications:
Perceptions of Tourism SMEs
Owais Khan1, Luca Marrucci1, Tiberio Daddi1 & Nicola Bellini1
1 Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy
Correspondence: Owais Khan, Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri
della Libertà, 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: o.khan@santannapisa.it
Received: March 1, 2021 Accepted: April 2, 2021 Online Published: May 12, 2021
doi:10.5539/jms.v11n1p218 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jms.v11n1p218
Abstract
Tourism is one of the most important industries in the world. On the one hand, tourism activities provide a
significant boost to many national economies but on the other hand, they severely impact the environment.
Tourism SMEs are therefore needed to transform their activities from a linear economy to a circular economy
(CE). However, the tourism industry has not yet shown a clear and decisive transition towards CE. There is no or
very little academic discussion on why the tourism industry has not yet adopted CE and how tourism SMEs can
adopt CE. In this context, we analyzed a sample of 256 tourism SMEs (hotels and accommodations, travel
agencies, tour operators, and reservation service activities) based in Cyprus, France, Italy, and Spain. Our survey
reveals a ruthless situation regarding the adoption of environmental certifications. There is a very low demand to
adopt an environmental certification in the tourism industry. Moreover, the adoption of CE among tourism SMEs
is not so high. The main factors that hinder the adoption of green or CE practices are lack of funds, lack of
information about potential partners, and lack of skilled personnel. Nonetheless, many tourism SMEs perceive
that CE adoption leads to various positive outcomes. Our study provides some suggestions to facilitate the
transition towards CE in the tourism industry.
Keywords: barriers, circular economy, drivers, environmental certifications, outcomes, sustainable tourism
1. Introduction
Over the past decades, tourism has become an important industry in the world. It is estimated that the tourism
industry contributes to 10.3% of global GDP, accounts for 6.8% of total exports, and provides 1 in 10 jobs
(WTTC, 2020). Tourism is indeed the most important source of income for many countries as 1.3 billion people
travel for business or pleasure every year (UNWTO, 2018). While providing a significant boost to many local
and national economies, tourism activities have been strongly impacting the environment, contributing not only
to environmental degradation but also to the raising of GHG emissions (Pang, McKercher, & Prideaux, 2013).
The tourism industry is currently responsible for 8% of the global GHG emissions (Lenzen et al., 2018), but
future projections are even higher as the number of people traveling around the world will continue to grow by
2030 (UNWTO, 2019). In short, the concept of sustainability has become imperative for the tourism industry not
only to conserve the environment but also to maintain economic growth.
The tourism industry in the EU is considered a powerful means to pursue broader EU employment and growth
objectives. The competitiveness of the tourism industry in the EU is closely linked to its sustainability, which is
understood as environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. The EU policies on
tourism development are mainly focused on driving Europe towards maintaining its competitive position as a
leading tourism destination worldwide but at the same time developing more sustainable forms. However, this
can only be possible if tourism SMEs will implement sustainable management in terms of both technological and
non-technological innovations (Jaroszewska, Chaja, & Dziadkiewicz, 2019). Put differently, tourism SMEs will
have to transform their activities from a linear economy model (take-make-dispose) to a circular economy (CE)
model (take-make-use-reuse).
CE is considered vital for sustainable development (Ghisellini, Cialani, & Ulgiati, 2016) and therefore the EU
and several national governments have been urging SMEs for CE implementation (Khan, Daddi, & Iraldo, 2021).
CE is indeed a potential solution to problems such as resource scarcity, climate change, and environmental
pollution. The literature on CE was mainly developed for the manufacturing sector and is still concentrated

jms.ccsenet.org Journal of Management and Sustainability Vol. 11, No. 1; 2021
219
around the same sector (Rodríguez, Florido, & Jacob, 2020). To the best of our knowledge, there is a scarcity of
research on CE in the tourism industry despite the fact this industry is predominantly based on a linear economy.
Although tourism SMEs may adopt an environmental certification and various green or CE practices to reduce
consumption of natural resources, waste generation, and GHG emissions. However, the tourism industry has not
yet shown a clear and decisive transition towards CE (Rodríguez et al., 2020). There is no or very little academic
discussion on why most tourism SMEs are not adopting CE and in case if they want to adopt CE how they may
do so.
In this context, this paper aims to investigate the following questions.
1) How much is the demand for environmental certifications and do tourism SMEs intend to adopt them?
2) What are the drivers and barriers to CE adoption in tourism SMEs?
3) What is the status of CE adoption in tourism SMEs?
4) Which specific green or CE practices do tourism SMEs intend to adopt?
5) What are the outcomes of green or CE practices adoption in tourism SMEs?
The rest of this paper is divided into five sections. Section 2 reviews the literature on sustainable tourism and CE.
Section 3 describes the methodology used to investigate the proposed questions. Section 4 presents the statistical
results. Section 5 discusses these results and point out their implications. Section 6 concludes the discussion,
highlights the limitations, and suggests future research opportunities.
2. Literature Review
Sustainable tourism is defined as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and
environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities”
(UNWTO, 2005, pp. 11−12). In light of this definition, tourism SMEs are supposed to use resources wisely and
conserve natural heritage and biodiversity. Sustainable tourism aims to “satisfy the need of tourists and hosting
regions and, at the same time, preserves and improves future opportunities” (UNWTO, 1998). Put differently,
sustainable tourism aims to contribute to poverty alleviation and therefore it emphasizes the viability of
economic operations that could provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders (i.e., stable employment or
earning opportunities and social services to host communities) (Girard & Nocca, 2017). To develop such a
sustainable industry, tourism SMEs will have to adopt environmental certifications and implement green or CE
practices.
The current economic system is simply unsustainable. Hence, the concept of CE has been gaining increasing
attention not only from scholars but also from policymakers. Lieder and Rashid (2016) pointed out that there are
various possibilities for defining CE. There is still no clear or standard definition of CE. Nevertheless, CE can be
understood as “an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design and aims to keep products, components,
and materials at their highest utility and value at all times” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015, p. 2). Kirchherr,
Reike, and Hekkert (2017, pp. 224−225) defined CE as “an economic system that is based on business models
which replace the ‘end-of-life’ concept with reducing, alternatively reusing, recycling and recovering materials
in production/distribution and consumption processes, thus operating at the micro-level (products, companies,
consumers), meso-level (eco-industrial parks) and macro-level (city, region, nation and be-yond), with the aim to
accomplish sustainable development, which implies creating environmental quality, economic prosperity and
social equity, to the benefit of current and future generations”.
To stimulate the transition towards CE in the EU, the European Commission proposed a Circular Economy
Action Plan (CEAP) in 2015. CEAP mapped out 54 actions as well as some legislative proposals on waste (EC,
2019). However, the EU recycled on average only 30% of all plastic waste by 2018 and thus the European
Commission announced a European strategy for plastics and set new recycling targets for plastics at a minimum
of 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030 (Khan, Daddi, Slabbinck, et al., 2020). In the current era, many environmental
certifications exist in the world. An SME may adhere to any national or international certification for improving
environmental performance and obtaining public recognition (Daddi, De Giacomo, Frey, & Iraldo, 2018). The
most widespread and renowned are ISO 14001 and Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
These certifications are recognized by the EU as part of Sustainable Production and Consumption (SCP) tools
that may support the transition towards CE (Marrucci, Daddi, & Iraldo, 2019).
Scholars have recently started to discuss CE in the context of the tourism industry. Girard and Nocca (2017, p.
68) pointed out circular tourism as “a model able to create a virtuous circle producing goals and services without
wasting the limited resources of the planet that are raw materials, water and energy”. However, the literature on

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220
CE in the tourism industry is still in its early infancy (Rodríguez-Antón & Alonso-Almeida, 2019). It is
understood that by applying the principles of CE, tourism SMEs can contribute to sustainable tourism. The
hotels and accommodations have been already implementing some green practices focused on energy efficiency,
water efficiency, and recycling waste (Erdogan & Baris, 2007). Green practices are defined as “a profitable
business strategy that adds value to tourism operations that involve environmental conservation initiatives” (Kim,
Lee, & Fairhurst, 2017). Green practices provide opportunities for sustainability and long-term recreation
activities (Merli, Preziosi, Acampora, Lucchetti, & Ali, 2019), and so by implementing green or CE practices
tourism SMEs can reduce their negative impacts on the environment and attract green customers.
In the past two decades, scholars have widely discussed green practices (Ma, Hou, Yin, Xin, & Pan, 2018). They
mainly focused on the drivers of green practices. While some scholars investigated the relation between green
practices and profitability (Donald, 2009; Yang, Zhang, Jiang, & Sun, 2015), others studied the effect of green
practices on customer satisfaction and purchasing intentions in the hospitality industry (Chen & Tung, 2014; Gao
& Mattila, 2014; Kassinis & Soteriou, 2015; Kim et al., 2017; Yusof, Jusoff, Ibrahim, & Awang, 2017). Some
scholars have studied to what extent tourism development impacts the quality of the environment (Erdogan,
2009; Kasim, 2007). However, to the best of our knowledge, there is a scarcity of research on the adoption of CE
from an organizational perspective, particularly in the tourism industry. Moreover, the literature lacks evidence
on green practices adoption in travel agencies and tour operators.
3. Methodology
To investigate the adoption of CE and environmental certifications in the tourism industry, we adopted a
quantitative research approach and carried out an online survey among tourism SMEs in Cyprus, France, Italy,
and Spain. It is worth noting that tourism contributes to employment and GDP in many countries, especially in
the EU, where 5 countries are among the top 10 tourism destinations in the world (Rodríguez et al., 2020).
Furthermore, the EU has been taking various initiatives to facilitate CE implementation. The European
Commission has recently adopted a new CEAP for a cleaner and more competitive Europe (EC, 2020). Hence, a
sample from the above-mentioned EU countries fit perfectly to investigate our proposed questions.
As a first step, we reviewed relevant literature and accordingly developed our survey questionnaire. Next, we
asked four academicians and practitioners to review the suitability and contents of our survey questionnaire. In
this way, we further improved the quality of our survey questionnaire. Afterward, we translated the survey
questionnaire into regional languages (French, Italian, Spanish, and Greek) with the help of project partners. We
assumed that questionnaires in regional languages may increase the response rate.
We extracted a list of tourism SMEs through the ORBIS database. Then, we randomly selected a sample of 5000
SMEs. Finally, we invited those SMEs via SurveyMonkey to participate in our study which remained active
from January to March 2021. In parallel, we requested our project partners to disseminate the online survey link
to SMEs by involving local associations. Although we sent reminder messages in due time, we just got 256
responses at the end of the survey. It is worth mentioning that most of the tourism SMEs that responded to our
online survey are micro-enterprises with a low annual income (see Table 1).

jms.ccsene
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Tab l e 1 .
D
Character
i
Country
Type of O
r
Number o
f
Annual In
c
Responde
n
4. Results
4.1 Gener
a
We found
SMEs kn
o
p
articular,
CE adopti
is financi
a
rewarding
t
.org
D
escription of
s
i
stics
r
ganization (NA
C
f
Employees
c
ome
n
t Profile
a
l Perception
s
that 86.3% o
f
o
w the potenti
a
90.5% of S
M
on would giv
e
a
lly rewarding
for their busi
n
J
s
ample
Descripti
o
Cyprus
France
Italy
Spain
C
E) Hotels a
n
Holiday
a
Travel a
g
Tour ope
r
Other res
e
1−5
6−9
10−25
26−49
50−99
100−249
More tha
n
Less tha
n
1,000,00
0
More tha
n
Owner
Manager
Other
s
f
tourism SM
E
a
l benefits of
C
M
Es perceive t
h
e
them great
m
for their busi
n
n
ess and 27.9
%
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a
o
n
n
d similar accom
m
a
nd other shor
t
-st
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g
ency activities (7
9
r
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9
e
rvation service a
n
n
250
n
1,000,000 Euro
0
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n
2,000,000 Euro
E
s are aware o
f
C
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fo
h
at CE is ben
e
m
oral satisfact
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ess. It is wort
h
%
do not have
Figure 1.
G
a
gement and Su
s
221
m
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a
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n
9
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9
.12)
n
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7
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G
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p
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n
(55.20)
es (79.90)
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r
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a
w
hole society
only 26.1%
o
7
.9% of SMEs
on this statem
p
tions
Frequency
23
42
131
60
129
51
39
27
10
132
49
51
9
10
3
4
180
34
42
161
71
24
ity and CE. I
n
a
positive attit
u
and 84.5% o
f
o
f SMEs stron
g
believe that
C
ent (see Figur
e
Vol. 11, No. 1;
Percentage (%
)
9.0
16.4
51.2
23.4
50.4
19.9
15.2
10.5
3.9
51.6
18.4
19.9
3.5
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)
most
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that
a
t CE
c
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u
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4.2 Status,
We found
ISO 9001
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onethele
partners,
s
tourism i
n
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c
expectatio
a high de
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t
.org
that 62.4% o
f
a
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ngly believe t
h
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r
demotivatin
g
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i
5
% of SMEs
l
most everyth
i
w
how to recov
n
g that only 7
u
s pandemic
w
e
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4
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d
that 77.7% o
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and ISO 140
0
b
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r
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h
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this statemen
t
g
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m
i
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agree with t
h
i
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er the loss, in
c
.1% of SMEs
w
hile 31.4% s
e
4
1.6% do not
h
d
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A
f
tourism SM
E
0
1 certificatio
n
S
, respectively
Fi
g
reasons why
n
t reason as i
n
trade associ
a
o
f SMEs respo
n
o
nly 14.4% o
f
r
s for green p
r
n
products or s
e
F
igure 3. Dem
a
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a
h
at most peop
e
transition to
w
demand or w
a
f
ace pressure
t
(see Figure 1
m
ost tourism
S
u
stainability h
a
h
is statement
M
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n
c
rease profit,
a
strongly beli
e
e
em to be a b
i
h
ave a clear st
a
A
dopt Certific
a
E
s do not have
n
s, respectivel
y
(see Figure 2)
g
ure 2. Status
most touris
m
n
dicated by
S
a
tions to adop
nded that ther
f
SMEs respo
n
r
oducts or ser
v
e
rvices while
2
a
nd for certifi
c
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gement and Su
s
222
le inside their
w
ards CE in t
h
a
nt to see the
m
from custom
e
). We can say
S
MEs are not
a
a
s increased
a
while 9.3%
d
n
g the most a
f
a
nd sustain the
i
e
ve that
t
hey
c
i
t confident to
a
nce on this st
a
a
tions
any sort of ce
r
y
. Moreover,
o
.
of certificatio
n
m
SMEs do n
o
S
MEs is that t
h
t an environ
m
e is a low de
m
n
ded that ther
e
v
ices is relativ
e
2
6.2% disagre
c
ations and gr
e
s
tainability
organization
a
h
e tourism in
d
m
adopting CE
e
rs to adopt C
E
that lack of p
u
a
dopting CE.
a
fter the COV
I
d
isagree. Alth
o
f
fected ones.
W
i
r business aft
e
c
an recover a
n
tackle this si
t
a
tement.
r
tification. O
n
o
nly 6.3% and
n
s adoption
o
t have adop
t
h
ere is a ver
y
m
ental certific
a
m
and to adopt
e
is high dem
a
e
ly higher. 35.
e with this sta
t
e
en products
o
a
re in favor to
d
ustry. In cont
r
E
. Put different
E
while 39.4
%
u
sh from cust
o
I
D-19 or cor
o
o
ugh coronav
W
e asked tour
i
e
r the coronav
n
d sustain thei
r
t
uation. How
e
n
ly 9.0% and
2
1.2% of SM
E
t
ed environm
e
y
low demand
a
tion or ecol
a
an environme
n
a
nd. Interestin
g
1% of SMEs
b
t
ement (see Fi
g
o
r services
Vol. 11, No. 1;
adopt CE, wh
i
r
ast, only 11.
9
ly, 14.6% of
S
%
of SMEs n
e
o
mers is one
o
o
navirus pand
e
v
irus pandemi
c
i
sm SMEs w
h
irus pandemic
r
business aft
e
e
ver, 20% of
S
2
.7% of SMEs
E
s are certifie
d
e
ntal certifica
t
or expectatio
n
a
bel scheme i
n
n
tal certificati
o
g
ly, the dema
n
b
elieve that th
e
g
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2021
i
ch is
% of
S
MEs
e
ither
o
f the
e
mic.
c
has
ether
. It is
e
r the
S
MEs
have
with
t
ions.
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the
o
n or
n
d or
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4
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We foun
d
successful
already r
e
implemen
t
t
.org
m
any internat
i
b
el, Green G
l
. Nevertheles
s
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ate) would i
m
not know ab
o
4
.3% and 5.1
%
of CE Adopti
o
d
that most S
ly implement
i
e
ducing energ
y
t
ing measures
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i
onal environ
m
l
obe, Green
K
s
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y
they knew lis
t
m
prove, we as
o
ut listed certi
f
%
of SMEs
h
Figure
4
o
n
MEs are foc
u
i
ng recycling
y
consumptio
n
to reduce plas
J
ournal of Man
a
m
ental certific
a
K
ey, Travelife
,
y
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t
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ed certificati
o
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e
f
ications or ot
h
h
ave successf
u
4
. Intention to
a
u
sed on recy
c
waste while
1
n
and food
w
s
tic use and w
a
a
gement and Su
s
223
a
tions or ecol
a
,
Biosphere
T
pt national en
v
o
ns. Moreove
r
e
ir intention t
o
h
erwise are n
o
u
lly adopted I
S
a
dopt certific
a
c
ling and red
u
1
9.1% of SM
E
w
aste. 32.4%
a
ter consumpti
s
tainability
a
bel schemes.
F
T
ouris
m
, Eart
h
v
ironmental c
e
r
, to predict
w
o
wards listed
c
o
t considering
S
O 14001 an
d
a
tions or sche
m
u
cing measur
E
s have been
and 31.6% o
f
on, respective
l
F
or instance,
I
h
Chec
k
,
N
ord
i
e
rtifications.
T
w
hether the cu
r
c
e
r
tifications.
their adoptio
n
d
EU Ecolabe
l
m
es
es. 47.3% o
f
initiating it.
f
SMEs have
l
y (see Figure
Vol. 11, No. 1;
I
SO 14001, E
M
i
c Swan, and
T
herefore, we
a
r
rent situation
Surprisingly,
n
. It is worth n
l
, respectivel
y
f
SMEs have
34% of SM
E
been succes
s
5).
2021
M
AS,
Blue
a
sked
(low
most
o
ting
(see
been
s are
s
fully

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It is wort
h
that they
a
may be d
u
furniture,
accommo
d
tourism s
e
4.4 Drive
r
An SME
m
tourism S
M
p
erforma
n
or CE pr
a
request fr
o
associatio
n
Some sch
o
(Khan, D
a
t
.org
h
noting that
m
a
re not doing
n
u
e to hygieni
c
small applia
n
d
ations and so
e
ctor is not hig
h
r
s, Barriers, a
n
m
ay have two
M
Es indicate
d
n
ce, quality of
a
ctices are to
o
m trade asso
c
n
s to adopt gr
e
o
lars point ou
t
a
ddi, & Iraldo,
J
m
ost SMEs ar
e
n
or considerin
g
c
reasons. It
s
n
ces, and ame
n
this practice
i
h
(see Figure
5
n
d Intention to
or more drive
r
d
that the top
services, and
p
keep up with
c
iations (see
F
e
en or CE pra
c
t
that pressure
2020).
J
ournal of Man
a
Figure 5. S
t
e
not interest
e
g
reusing wat
e
s
eems to be
s
n
ities. Perha
p
i
s least prefer
r
5
).
Adopt Green
r
s (motivatin
g
drivers for a
d
p
ublic reputat
i
main compe
t
F
igure 6). It i
m
c
tices as well
a
from custom
e
a
gement and Su
s
224
t
atus of CE ad
o
e
d in the reusi
n
e
r and/or wast
e
s
urprising tha
t
p
s, luxury an
d
r
ed by them. I
n
or CE Practi
c
g
factors) for a
d
d
opting green
o
i
on. In contras
t
t
itors, to imp
r
m
plies that th
e
a
s negligible c
o
e
rs and compe
t
s
tainability
o
ption
n
g strategy o
f
e
water. A ver
y
t
25.4% of S
M
d
comfort are
n
short, the o
v
c
es
d
opting green
o
r CE practic
e
t
, the least im
p
r
ove relations
e
re is a low p
o
mpetition fo
r
t
itors may acc
f
CE. 36.3%
o
y
low prefere
n
M
Es have no
the priority
o
v
erall level of
or CE practic
e
s are to imp
r
p
ortant drivers
with supplie
r
ressure from
s
r
CE ideas am
o
elerate the tra
n
Vol. 11, No. 1;
o
f SMEs resp
o
n
ce for this pr
a
interest in re
u
o
f most hotel
s
CE adoption
i
es. The major
i
r
ove environ
m
for adopting
g
r
s, and to sati
s
uppliers and
o
ng tourism S
M
n
sition towar
d
2021
o
nded
a
ctice
u
sing
s
and
n
the
i
ty of
m
ental
g
reen
s
fy a
trade
M
Es.
d
s CE

jms.ccsene
t
We found
funds, inf
o
that lack
o
investmen
informati
o
indicated
t
To unders
tourism S
M
p
ractices
equipmen
t
t
.org
that the mai
n
o
rmation abo
u
o
f funds cause
s
n
ts while SME
s
o
n about pote
n
t
hat they do n
o
tand the curr
e
M
Es whether
that most to
u
t
, double-glaz
J
Figure
6
n
factors that
h
u
t potential p
a
s
hindrance in
s
usually do n
o
n
tial partners
w
o
t have skilled
Figure
7
e
nt situation a
n
they intend
o
u
rism SMEs
ed windows,
J
ournal of Man
a
6
. Drivers for
a
h
inder the ado
p
a
rtners, and s
k
the adoption
o
o
t have such i
n
w
ho may assi
s
personnel to i
7
. Barriers to
a
n
d to know w
h
o
r have alrea
d
have already
motion sens
o
a
gement and Su
s
225
a
dopting gree
n
p
tion of gree
n
k
illed personn
e
o
f green or C
E
n
vestments. 6
6
s
t them in the
mplement gre
e
a
dopting gree
n
h
ich are the
m
d
y adopted th
adopted are
o
r light switc
h
s
tainability
n
or CE practi
c
n
or CE practi
c
e
l. Unsurprisi
n
E
practices. C
E
6
.3% of SME
s
transition to
w
e
n or CE prac
t
n
or CE practi
c
m
ost preferred
e listed pract
i
the installat
i
h
es, wate
r
-ef
f
c
es
ces in touris
m
n
gly, 78.8% o
E
solutions of
t
s
responded th
a
w
ards CE, wh
i
t
ices (see Fig
u
c
es
green or CE
p
i
ces. The co
m
i
on of energ
y
f
icient fittings
Vol. 11, No. 1;
m
SMEs are la
c
f SMEs resp
o
t
en need signi
f
at they do not
i
le 64.5% of
S
u
re 7).
p
ractices, we
a
m
mon green o
y
-efficient lig
, and encour
a
2021
c
k of
o
nded
f
icant
have
S
MEs
a
sked
r
CE
h
ting
a
ging

jms.ccsene
t
customers
do not int
e
of filtered
solar wate
r
b
ut not li
charging
s
green
p
ro
c
4.5 Outco
m
Scholars
h
Daddi, &
I
too. It is
w
improved.
responde
d
financial
a
with the
s
statement
t
t
.org
for public tra
n
e
nd to adopt i
n
d
water bottlin
r
heating syst
e
mited to the
s
tation nearby
c
urement crite
r
m
es of Green
o
h
ave demonstr
a
I
raldo, 2020).
w
orth noting t
h
61.7% of S
M
d
that their qu
a
a
spect was le
a
s
tatement that
t
hat their prof
i
J
n
sport or bicy
n
clude collecti
o
g system to r
e
e
m. Neverthel
e
formulation
o
facility, instal
l
r
ia, and so on
(
Figure 8. I
n
o
r
C
E Practic
e
a
ted that the a
d
We found th
a
h
at 62.2% of
S
M
Es respond
e
a
lity of servic
e
a
st improved
c
their annual
i
t growth was
J
ournal of Man
a
cle (see Figur
e
o
n and use of
r
e
use glass bo
t
e
ss, the majori
o
f a sustaina
b
l
ation of smar
t
(
see Figure 8)
.
n
tention to ad
o
e
s Adoption
d
option of gre
a
t tourism SM
E
S
MEs indicat
e
e
d that their
e
e
s was improv
e
c
ompared to o
turnover was
increased.
a
gement and Su
s
226
e
8). The mos
t
r
ainwater, ins
t
t
tles, optimiz
a
ty of SMEs ar
b
ility policy,
s
t
thermostats,
.
o
pt specific gr
en or CE prac
t
E
s who adopt
e
e
d that their r
e
e
nvironmental
e
d (see Figur
e
ther aspects.
S
increased an
d
s
tainability
t
unfavorable
g
t
allation of en
e
a
tion of laund
r
e keen to ado
p
s
ustainable t
o
purchase of f
o
een or CE pra
c
t
ices provides
e
d green or C
E
e
putation tow
a
impact was
e
9). However
,
S
imply put, 2
9
d
26.3% of S
g
reen or CE
p
e
rgy-efficient
k
r
y operations,
p
t many green
o
ur packages,
o
o
d
or other
pr
c
tices
several positi
v
E
practices go
t
a
rds customer
s
reduced whil
e
,
many SMEs
9
.0% of SME
s
MEs strongl
y
Vol. 11, No. 1;
p
ractices that
S
k
itchen, instal
l
and installati
o
practices incl
u
installation o
r
oducts consi
d
v
e outcomes (
K
t
positive outc
o
s
and supplier
s
e
55.8% of
S
indicated that
s strongly dis
a
y
disagree wit
h
2021
S
MEs
ation
o
n of
u
ding
f
car
e
ring
K
han,
o
mes
s
was
S
MEs
their
a
gree
h
t
he

jms.ccsene
t
5. Discus
s
Our study
various p
e
investigat
e
the ongoi
n
p
ut, unlik
e
hotels or
a
operators,
analyzing
customers
Our result
s
to not ha
v
have a lo
w
on the lo
w
some sch
o
(Marrucci
analysis
w
green acc
o
Despite t
h
p
ositive a
t
the diffus
i
importanc
e
their orga
n
p
ractices
n
To avoid
a
added so
m
assume t
h
coronavir
u
to sustain
level of k
n
tourism i
n
certificati
o
certificati
o
Our study
t
.org
s
ion
focused on
m
e
rspectives su
c
e
d the adoptio
n
n
g academic d
e
e
most of the
p
a
ccommodati
o
and other re
s
the adoption
for environm
e
s
show a ruthl
e
v
e any sort of
c
w
er adoption r
a
w
diffusion of
o
lars, tourist
et al., 2021;
P
w
hich indicate
d
o
mmodation,
e
h
e negative tr
e
t
titude toward
s
i
on of green
o
e of sustaina
b
n
izations but
o
n
or they felt p
r
a
biased analy
s
m
e questions s
p
h
at practically
u
s pandemic.
T
t
heir business
n
owledge wa
s
n
dustry. A ma
j
o
ns. If we ad
d
o
n, this majori
t
though focus
e
J
Figure 9
.
m
ultiple objecti
c
h as drivers,
b
n
level of env
e
bate on susta
i
p
revious studi
e
o
ns but also a
n
s
ervations. T
h
level of gree
n
e
ntal certificat
e
ss situation r
e
c
ertification.
M
a
te than a qua
l
EU Ecolabel
(
accommodati
o
P
reziosi, Tour
a
d
that supplie
r
e
ven though c
o
e
nd in the ad
o
s
environment
a
o
r CE practic
b
ility and its
p
o
n the other
h
r
essure from c
u
s
is due to the
c
p
ecifically de
d
all responde
n
T
hey declared
which indeed
s
also confirm
e
j
ority of the s
d
to this gro
u
t
y becomes ar
o
e
d on the tou
r
J
ournal of Man
a
.
Outcomes o
f
ves. We anal
y
b
arriers, and
o
ironmental ce
r
i
nable touris
m
e
s, we did not
o
n
alyzed the p
e
h
is paper pro
v
n
or CE prac
t
ions and gree
n
e
garding the a
d
M
oreover, env
l
ity certificati
o
(
Iraldo & Bar
b
o
n is one of
a
is, Acampora,
r
s, trade asso
c
o
nsumers regi
s
o
ption level
o
a
l sustainabili
t
es among to
u
p
ositive influe
n
h
and, they did
u
stomers to b
o
c
oronavirus p
a
d
icated to this
n
ts are fully a
w
a high-level a
w
indicates thei
r
e
d regarding
t
ample declar
e
u
p those SM
E
o
und 90% of t
h
r
ism industry,
a
gement and Su
s
227
f
green or CE
p
y
zed environ
m
o
utcomes for
a
r
tifications in
m
by providing
o
nly analyze t
h
e
rceptions of
o
v
ides useful i
n
t
ices as well
a
n
products or
s
d
option of cer
t
ironmental ce
r
o
n such as IS
O
b
erio, 2017;
M
the less purc
h
Videira, &
M
c
iations, and
c
s
tered slightly
o
f certificatio
n
t
y. However,
o
u
rism SMEs.
O
n
ce on societ
y
not perceive
o
ost environm
e
a
ndemic whic
h
aspect. Our s
u
w
are of the i
m
w
areness but
a
r
low level of
t
he environme
n
e
d to not awa
r
E
s, who are
n
h
e whole sam
p
but our result
s
s
tainability
p
ractices adop
t
m
ental sustaina
b
a
dopting gree
n
the tourism i
n
a comprehen
s
h
e perception
s
o
wners or ma
n
n
sights for bo
a
s by analyzi
n
s
ervices.
t
ifications. Th
e
r
tifications su
c
O
9001. Our r
e
M
arrucci, Irald
o
h
ased EU Ec
M
erli, 2019). T
h
c
ustomers hav
higher attenti
o
n
s, the majori
t
o
ur analysis h
i
O
n the one h
a
y
as well as u
n
a financial re
w
e
ntal sustaina
b
h
has strongly
u
rvey results
s
m
portance of
a
t the same ti
m
knowledge o
n
n
tal certificat
i
r
e of the exist
n
ot willing to
p
le.
s
are in line
w
t
ion
b
ility among t
o
n
or CE pract
i
n
dustry. This
p
s
ive view of t
h
s
of owners or
n
agers fro
m
tr
th scholars a
n
n
g the dema
n
e
majority of t
c
h as EU Eco
l
e
sults confirm
e
o
, & Daddi, 2
olabel catego
r
h
is trend is als
o
e low expect
a
o
n on sustaina
b
t
y of the sam
p
i
ghlighted a t
w
a
nd, responde
n
derlined the
w
ard from th
e
b
ility in the to
u
affected the t
o
s
eem to be m
o
fostering sus
t
m
e, they claim
e
n
green or CE
i
ons specifica
l
ence of the li
s
adopt despit
e
w
ith previous s
Vol. 11, No. 1;
o
urism SMEs
i
ces. Moreove
r
p
aper contribu
t
h
e situation. Si
managers fro
m
r
avel agencies
,
n
d practitione
r
n
d of supplier
s
t
he sample de
c
l
abel or ISO 1
e
d previous st
u
021). Accordi
n
r
ies by cons
u
o
confirmed b
y
a
tions connect
b
ility.
p
le showed a
w
ofold tenden
c
nts recognize
d
benefits of C
E
e
adoption of
g
u
rism industry
.
o
urism industr
y
o
re surprising
t
ainability aft
e
e
d to not kno
w
practices. Thi
s
l
ly dedicated
t
s
ted environ
m
e
knowing a
l
s
tudies that fo
c
2021
from
r
, we
t
es to
m
ply
m
the
tour
r
s by
s
and
lared
4001
u
dies
n
g to
u
mers
y
our
e
d to
very
c
y on
d
the
E
for
g
reen
y
, we
i
f we
e
r the
w
how
s
low
o
the
m
ental
l
isted
c
used

jms.ccsenet.org Journal of Management and Sustainability Vol. 11, No. 1; 2021
228
on green certifications in other industries. Environmental certifications are facing a difficult time due to two
main issues which are indeed the two faces of the same coin. On the one side, the raising of the greenwashing
phenomenon (i.e., the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a
company’s products are more environmentally sound) is damaging the credibility of the environmental
certification (Testa, Boiral, & Iraldo, 2018). Although consumers are interested in green and circular products
(Testa, Iovino, & Iraldo, 2020; Yang, 2017) but they are more skeptical of environmental certification reliability
(Martín-de Castro, Amores-Salvadó, Navas-López, & Balarezo-Nuñez, 2017). On the other side, the synergies
between environmental certifications such as ISO 14001, EMAS, and EU Ecolabel with the CE are not yet fully
exploited (Marrucci et al., 2019).
Although these certifications are part of SCP tools, their contribution to CE transition is still scant (Marrucci et
al., 2019). In addition to EMAS and EU Ecolabel, even product/organization environmental footprint (PEF/OEF),
the EU version of the life cycle assessment (LCA) should take into account by the tourism industry as a useful
strategy not only to boost sustainability into their activities but also to communicate to all stakeholders their
efforts and commitment towards the environment. The adoption of these tools or other similar tools such as
carbon footprint would allow tourism SMEs to achieve a twofold objective. First, they would be able to identify
their environmental hotspots i.e., the most impactful activities from an environmental point of view. In this way,
they can identify the best solution, to reduce their pressure on the environment, fostering CE facing climate
change. Second, they would be able to quantify the environmental savings obtained by the adoption of the green
practices using a different unit of measures such as tons of CO2, etc. SMEs from different sectors have already
started this path and thus obtaining successes both in terms of both economic savings and environmental
performance (Daddi, Nucci, & Iraldo, 2017; Marrucci, Marchi, & Daddi, 2020).
This paper highlights a substantial stillness and aversion towards the adoption of green or CE practices,
regardless of the typology of the activities. The main barriers that we identified are the lack of financial
resources and the lack of information about potential partners. Thus, despite tourism SMEs recognized a desire
to improve their environmental performance, the lack of benefits in terms of turnover, profit growth, and
reputation among clients is hampering the adoption of green or CE practices.
6. Conclusion
This paper contributes to the debate on the adoption of green or CE practices in the tourism industry. Through
our online survey in hotels, accommodations, travel agencies, and tour operators, we approached the topic from
different points of view considering several managerial and technical issues connected with sustainable tourism
development. Even though limited to the sample, we can draft some recommendations based on our study. Our
results seem more similar to a qualitative study rather than a quantitative, they can be the basis for a deeper and
wider analysis of the whole sector.
As regards the drivers that push tourism SMEs to adopt green practices, the possibility to improve their
environmental performance and to increase the quality of the service are the main reasons perceived by the
sampled SMEs. The main issues that hindered the widespread of green or CE practices are mainly economic.
Indeed, the lack of funds and the lack of return in terms of financial benefits such as increased turnover and
profit, are respectively the main barrier and the less perceived benefits for the adoption of green or CE practices.
Moreover, respondents indicated energy-efficiency practices such as double-gazed windows and LED lighting
equipment as the most suitable green practices for their organizations. Lastly, even though tourism SMEs are
declared to have a high level of awareness on environmental issues such as climate change and resource
consumption, at the same time their level of knowledge on the strategy to reduce their environmental impact is
limited.
Policymakers can contribute to overcoming both the economic and the informative barriers. As regards the lack
of funds, economic investments may be financed, and subsidies may be channeled from governmental
organizations towards those tourism SMEs which prompt the adoption of green or CE practices. As regards the
lack of knowledge, policymakers may foster training courses on sustainable tourism engaging also trade
associations and chambers of commerce in order to increase the widespread of these activities. As regards
environmental certifications, even on this issue policymakers can have a central and crucial role. To foster their
adoption among tourism SMEs, policymakers may prompt some form of regulatory relief, such as extended
duration of some permits, reductions in financial guarantees, and tax reductions, to facilitate and support SMEs
in the path to the adoption of environmental certification. This strategy may help also to revitalize some
certifications whose number of registration are significantly decreasing (Daddi et al., 2018).
This paper, besides its merits, has some limitations. We followed the recommended guidelines to ensure the

jms.ccsenet.org Journal of Management and Sustainability Vol. 11, No. 1; 2021
229
quality of the data. However, social desirability bias which is commonly found in surveys could not be ruled out.
In other words, the respondents’ perceptions may not coincide with the objective and rational reality. Moreover,
this paper is limited to the sample size of 256 SMEs from four EU countries. Therefore, the results of this paper
may only be generalized to other countries with caution. One of the main limitations of this paper can also be a
future topic to investigate. Indeed, our analysis did not fully consider consumers’ awareness, perception, and
willingness to buy sustainable accommodation. Future studies may in-depth analyzed these aspects also
investigating the relationship between consumers’ purchasing choices and environmental certification of tourist
accommodations.
Acknowledgment
We thank the COSME programme of the European Union for funding the TOURISME project. We also thank
the project partners for facilitating this study and the respondents for their participation in the survey.
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