The Green Concept In The Hotel Industry

The yard Concept In The Hotel IndustryTourism assiduity is wholeness of the leading industries around the world. It has been proved that this patience generates billions of money and it also helps people around the world to travel and increase their knowledge ab place other cultures and languages. But unfortunately, after thousands of years we found out that the touristry industry have a negative impact on the surroundings. However, in that location has been awargonness both for the research arena and people since decades in the auspices of the environment, and the need to safeguard the natural resources for the future generation. This awareness has spread all over the world starting first in US and Europe. The fountain practices were puke into action after the deal Mauritius made with France for the contract of Maurice Ile Durable. The population of Mauritius comprising both consumers and producers have recently shown an increase pertain nearly the environmental impact of intersections right smart attention has been directed toward green products such as organic foods, recyclable paper, phosphate-free detergents, energy-efficient lighting. Consumers make product choices based on which combination of product attributes that witness their involve based on dimensions of value, cost, and prior satisfaction (Kotler, 1997). Considering the tourism industry in Mauritius, we posterior say that it is the leading growth sector. Somehow the country depends a chaw on this industry and same as foreign countries, Mauritius also has made a lot of evolution. Big hotels were built in every coastal battlefield to accommodate tourists and the minister of tourism has also embellished our historical gardens and other visiting sites. It is also well known that tourists are attracted by the 3S of our country, that is, the sea, sun and the sand. Mauritius is a splendid Island and we must conserve and preserve the natural resources and also protect the environment surrounding us. As mentioned above, same as in Goa, Mauritius as well is confront serious problems venerationing pollution and over use of resources. At present hotels, travelers and other tourism industries are aware of the measures that should be taken to preserve the nature unneurotic with the satisfaction of customers. This is why, nowadays it can be seen that there are hotels that are innovating into green hotels and much green hotels are built so as to be sustainable.2.1 The cat valium Concept in the hotel industryThe Green concept of the hotel industry is an increase in awareness since the late 1980s. The hotel sector is said to be one of the most energy and water intensive sectors in the tourism industry. (Bohdanowicz, 2005). When hotels are constructed there is a need to make use of the environments resources like the land. Hotels can interlace in different parts of the environment. The facilities like comfortable services, supplies (heating, cooling, lighting, ventil ation, etc) to customers are necessary for their operations. (Bohdanowicz, 2005 Han et al., 2009). All these are said to be contributions to negative impacts on the environment. However, the success of the tourism industry, as well as the hotel sector will depends on the availability of a clean environment. Hotels operation lead to pollution, waste, and other elements represent a menace for the environment. The Green concept in this context is to turn these elements into a recycle process that will cause less abuse to the environment. It is believed that hotels have produced great harm to the environment by, for example, consuming vast quantities of non recyclable products that generate tremendous waste, consuming substantial amounts of water and energy and emitting carbon dioxide and air, water and soil pollutants (Bohdanowicz, 2005 Chan, 2005). According to Wolfe and Shanklin (2001), the barrier green, which can alternatively be called eco-friendly, environmentally responsible , environmentally friendly, sustainable and environmentally oriented (Han et al., 2009 Pizam, 2009), are referred to actions (for e.g. recycling) that diminish harmful impacts on the environment.Green hotels are consortly described as environmentally responsible hotels that actively follow environmentally friendly guidelines, practice environmental management, implement diverse eco-friendly practices, institute sound green programs and commit themselves to achieving environmental improvement by displaying eco-labels or a green globe logo (Department of Environmental Protection, 2001 Green Hotel Association, 2008 Han et al., 2009, 2010 International Hotels Environmental Initiative, 1993).There is a public concern over environmental damage and customers desire for environmentally oriented products have stimulated hotel operators to green their operations (Han et al., 2009 Manaktola Jauhari, 2007 Wolfe Shanklin, 2001). Researchers and practitioners agree that the greening of a hote l contributes to satisfying eco-friendly customers green needs, avoids criticism of existing tourism practices, fulfils the requirements of government regulations and substantially decreases costs through waste reduction, water or energy conservation and recycling (Chan, 2005 Han et al., 2009 Wolfe Shanklin,2001).2.2 The Green BuildingGreen build is a new term which refers to environmentally friendly practices from the create design to the landscaping choice. With the introduction of sustainable development, building also need to be sustainable because buildings generate large amount of wastes from its construction and during its lifetime. And these wastes impacts on the surroundings, the environment and the people.According to Scatterfield (2009) the less impact a building has on human health and the environment, the more green it is. A green building can cost a lot at the beginning, but is bankable in the long run. It brings more benefits such as less pollution, more comfort f or the employees and guests, and increase in productivity. The U.S Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2010 organised a competition with the aim to identify the best and brightest vision in the designing of an environmentally friendly hotel suite. The title of the competition was the sustainable Suite Design Competition. The judge have to consider several elements such as the resources efficiency of the suite (water, energy and materials), the guest room overall attributes, innovation nad aesthetic and at last the cost associated with the design of the suite. The winners name was Haptik. The techniques developed by Haptik concerns the saving of energy in the room by using the PIS which is the passive infrared sensors. The PIS switch withdraw light automatically when nobody is in the room. Haptik utilized the Trombe wall in the bathroom which uses sunlight to heat the water. A model of the suite was shown to the public during the HD exposition 2010.2.2.1 The Green Building Certificat eThere are several certifications given to hotel all over the world to encourage them to move towards eco friendly attitude. The certification includes special(prenominal) norms from energy saving to waste water disposal. Having a certification is often considered as a marketing tool also. The certifications are often internationally known.2.3 The Green TouristNowadays, tourists are showing preferences for destinations that protect and preserve the environment. In the literature there has been a tendency to use the terms green and sustainable interchangeably. However, there are very distinct differences between the two. Green is defined as a product or service that is both environmentally and socially responsible. It is responsible to and respectful of the places and people that provide and use them (Mc Laren, 2006). Sustainable is defined as the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Brundtland, 19 87). Green Tourism is defined by the Green Association as travel and exploration within and around an area that offers visitors enjoyment and cargo area of the areas natural as puts and cultural resources, while inspiring physically active, intellectually stimulating and socially interactive experiences (Blackstone Corporation, 1996). The United Nations designated the year 2000 as the international year of Ecotourism. Eco tourists or green tourists attempt to travel in a manner not harmful to the environment. To travel green means to travel responsibly while conserving the environment and minimizing the social, cultural and ecological impacts, a green tourist enables other people to visit the same place later and relieve enjoy the same experience. Green tourism is informative because travelers learn their destination and local people learn what to appreciate what they have to offer. It supports the integrity of the place because conscientious travelers seek out things that are cha racteristic of the locality in terms of architecture, cuisine, heritage or environment. Quality not quantity should be the goal of Green Tourism, therefore permanence and immenseness of experience is what both parties are striving for.According to environmentalists, the Green Practice was cat into action when the view of the Earth was broadcasted through satellites programs. From that moment itself an increase concern to protect the earths fragility, and there is a need to conserve and protect it. This is the result in an increase of awareness of the following terms like the ozone layer, greenhouse moment and acid rain. (Walker, 2000). Despite the complexities surrounding green behavior the tourism industry is still keen to understand how the green concerns of consumers correlate to tourists and how the concerns convert to travel- or holiday-related behavior. Moreover, Peattie (2001) has claimed that although all consumers are green consumers at some point in their lives, most gr een purchases involve a trade-off. These compromises include haveing a green agiotage or accepting a lower standard product or service for better eco performance. However, differences in concerns and behaviors among tourists highlight the lack of homogeneity in this market. For example, concerns about the impact of transport and conservation of wildlife tend to be more mainstream issues, whereas erosion of recreational areas by walking or riding may only concern niche market segments, such as eco-tourists, environmentally responsible tourists or ethical tourists, which are the alternative terms given to green tourists ( Horner and Swarbrooke, 2006 ). These differences have been explained according to four factors awareness and knowledge of the issues attitudes towards the environment in general other priorities in life information obtained from the media and pressure groups and their health, family commitments and housing ( Horner and Swarbrooke, 2006, p. 181 ).Although many in the tourism industry question whether the environmental concerns of tourists influence decision making, there is evidence that some tourists may subscribe anairline based on their environmental management practices ( Horner and Swarbrooke, 2006 ). They may also boycott events involving animal cruelty (for example, bull-fights) or campaign against tourism development that destroys wildlife habitats. Furthermore, the extent of change varies from one type of tourist to another. The very repulsiveness green consumers may convert their beliefs into action by not taking holidays a demeanor from home so as to prevent harm to the environment and in doing so do not become tourists. On the other hand, the not all green tourist may show only a flying interest by reading about the environmental issues caused by tourism (Hornermand Swarbrooke, 2006).2.4 Attitudes towards the Green PracticeOver the last few decades, protecting the environment has been a major issue in our society (Easterling et al., 1996). Recognizing the seriousness of ecological problems, people have become change magnitudely environmentally conscious. This ecological awareness has led an increasing number of individuals to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors in their everyday lives. (Kalafatis et al., 1999 Laroche et al., 2001). In addition, Amyx et al. (1994) has focused on the perceived importance of the environment to the degree to which individuals put forward their consciousness of environmental issues. In conceptualizing the perceived importance of the environment as the primary indicator of attitudes toward environmentally compatible behaviors, Laroche et al. (2001) determined the levels of these attitudes by whether individuals considered eco-friendly behaviors to be all-important(a) to themselves or the entire society. This ATGB mainly involves the perceived importance or inconvenience of environmental consciousness, the severity of environmental problems, and the level of respon sibility of corporations (Laroche et al., 2001 McCarty and Shrum, 1994 Roberts, 1996). In other words, individuals ATGB can be established by the level of their awareness of these dimensions of ATGB for themselves and for society as a whole. Some researchers has also pointed out that only a small distribute of environmentally conscious customers actually purchases eco-friendly products in the marketplace because of high monetary and non-monetary costs and inconvenience (Maibach, 1993 Roberts, 1996).However, numerous findings indicated that more environmental concern tends to result in more environmentally friendly buying behaviors (e.g., Kalafatis et al., 1999 Laroche et al., 2001 Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007). Consumers may be spontaneous to purchase environmentally-friendly products but are faced with constraints or conflicts that create a impedance to adopting pro-environmental behavior. For example, consumers may want to be environmentally responsible but still want to maintai n their existing life-style (Schwartz, 1990 McDaniel and Rylander, 1993). They may not be ready to sacrifice convenience (Simon, 1992 Stern, 1999), accept lower performance levels, or pay a price premium (Peattie, 1999b). Based on Ajzens (1988) theory of planned deportment consumers environmental purchasing intentions and behaviour may be influenced by a number of factors, such as the individuals knowledge and motivation, the ability to perform the behaviour and the luck to behave in an environmentally-friendly way (Pieters, 1989 O lander and Thgersen, 1995).2.5 Tourists willingness to buy Green merchandisesProducts are defined as environmentally friendly if in some way they aim at reducing a products negative environmental impact. Some authors have suggested that the failure to reassure consumers on the products functional performance was partly attributable to the early failure of many environmentally-friendly products (e.g. Davis, 1993 Ottman, 1999). Although it has been foun d that some consumers may, for example, accept a lower functional performance in order to buy a product that delivers environmental benefits, the environmental benefit in itself is neither the primary benefit sought nor the primary motivation for purchase (Speer, 1997 Ottman, 2001). As Wong et al. (1996) observed Green is seldom the over-riding determinant of product or brand choice but just another benefit or attribute that adds value, usually a feel grave factor to the overall product. (Wong et al., 1996, p. 269).Some marketers appear to have overlooked this and assumed that an environmental positioning alone was sufficient to guarantee product success (Ottman, 1995). Product performance appears to play a key role in influencing consumer adoption and retention of environmental products. So, when there is consumer skepticism of the relative performance of environmental products or a performance gap exists (i.e.consumer expectations of the products performance have not matched up t o the in-use experience), this may strongly influence the products acceptance (Wong et al., 1996).Within the hotel sector, increasing numbers of customers prefer to choose a green lodging facility that follows environmentally friendly practices, showing concern about the seriousness of ecological degradation (Han, Hsu, Sheu, 2010 Manaktola Jauhari, 2007). In recognition of this eco-friendly use of goods and services need, nowadays many hotel firms seek to incorporate customers emerging concerns about the environment in their management or a marketing decision-making (Bohdanowicz, 2006 Lee, Hsu, Han, Kim, 2010 Mensah, 2006). Altering their hotel operations to be green (i.e. significantly reducing environmental impacts) is becoming a necessity to attain noticeable improvement in their competitiveness in the market (Han, Hsu, Lee, 2009 Manaktola Jauhari, 2007). whiz of the most credible pieces of evidence demonstrating the increase of environmentally friendly customer behaviors is the increased number of customers who have a strong intention to pay more for green products (Laroche, Bergeron, Barbaro-Forleo, 2001). In the hotel context, in reality, green hotel prices do not significantly differ from those of comparable conventional (or non-green) hotels (Han et al., 2009 Manaktola Jauhari, 2007). The green hotel operators interest is in whether travelers are willing to pay comparable regular-hotel prices for their hotel, perhaps sacrificing little conveniences while staying at their green hotel (reusing towels, limited use of disposable products, use of recycled products/furniture, recycling bins, buffet-style foods without garnishes, meeting tables without tablecloths, decrease decor, non-smoking areas, dispensers for soap/shampoo, etc.). For consumers who are more receptive to environmental products and purchase them through choice, there may be a segment that are willing to pay more for the environmental benefit. But, whilst some authors suggest that consumers are willing-to-pay more for an environmentally-friendly products (Kassarjian, 1971 Freeman, 1989 Klein, 1990 McCloskey, 1990 Kapelianis et al., 1996 Laroche et al., 2001), others suggest otherwise (Wood, 1990 Simon, 1992 Sims, 1993). Marketplace examples also suggest that in reality consumers are not always prepared to pay the premium prices suggested by research (Fuller, 1999). Although our knowledge about consumers acceptance of paying a higher price for environmentally-friendly products appears to be at odds(predicate) and inconclusive, it has often been found that consumers will pay on average around 5 percent more (Schwartz, 1990 Kapelianis et al., 1996 Speer, 1997).2.6 Cost of going green in the hotel industryWith a broadly point of view, there are two approaches in the environmental cost analysis. One emphasizes the costs associated with environmental damage and its remediation, the other stresses on the price of control. In practice, this damage costing approach f aces some essential problems in estimating the environmental impact as described by Bernow at al. (1991). Hotel developers still face specific barriers in developing and operating green properties, such as finding vendors, contractors, engineers, housekeepers, landscapers and managers that understand new systems, products and procedures. Complicating matters for hotels is to cover the typical hotel management and claim agreements. The highly structures arrangements negotiated between hotels owners and hotel managers have not yet addressed a number of issues raised by green development, redevelopment or operation that affects the quarter line of both entities.Finally, there is the issue of meeting the expectations of paying guests. Although we believe guests expect hotels to operate in an environmentally conscious fashion, it may also be that those same guests may have unrealistic expectations of luxury and comfort in terms of green operation. To take simple example, do hotels stil l need to put out individual shampoo bottles and does the spa need to smell faintly like chlorine to satisfy guests expectations. The costs arising from the implementation of ISO 14001 include those associated with initial set up, maintenance and improvement (Chin et al., 1998). The price of initial set up refers to all costs associated with the provision of hardware and software facilities, plus tools for establishing the system in obligingness with the ISO 14000 EMS standards.