An Assessment for the Environmental Practices of Five-Star Hotel Chains in İstanbul

Abstract

Environmental pollution, which has started on a local scale and continues to spread rapidly all over the world, has become the most important problem of our age. This problem has also been important for tourism businesses such as hotels as well as for all businesses. Water, electricity, and fuel, particularly used in large-scale hotel enterprises, and wastes generated by hotels, have caused environmental degradation and environmental pollution. The fact that the environmental issue is included in an international dimension entails a body of literature about the environmental practices of the hotel chains operating worldwide. This study predominantly focuses upon environmental protection practices in the European Union, which is the region that welcomes the most tourists among tourism destinations. In the study, it has been explored what has been done within the scope of environmental protection practices (electricity, water and waste) in the European based hotel chain enterprises. The research data has been obtained through the interviews with 13 five-star hotel chain enterprises with a semi-structured interview form prepared within the context of literature. The data obtained has been examined by the content analysis. According to the findings, one of the issues that the interviewees focused on and criticized was the source of environmental pollution. Most of the interviewees emphasized that the human factor itself and the unplanned economic activities carried out by the human have affected the environmental pollution.