Sustainability

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editor

Assoc. Prof. Marinela Krstinić Nižić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Opatija, Croatia
Interests: energy management; tourism; spatial planning; sustainable development; urban economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insufficient energy and uncertainty in energy supply, continuous increase of energy prices and energy generating products, in addition to climate changes and environmental pollution caused by nonsustainable energy use, are the evolving problems that world tourism faces. Better living standards contribute to an increase in energy demand for heating and cooling purposes, especially as a consequence of massive installations of air conditioning appliances in different touristic facilities. The share of energy consumption in buildings in total energy consumption is currently at 41% and constantly rises. This Special Issue focuses on the hospitality industry as an important part of the tourism sector that impacts various national segments, such as economic activity, employment, entrepreneurship, etc. Among other resources, the hospitality industry uses substantial amounts of energy to provide comfort and services to its guests, typically with an alarmingly low level of energy efficiency. The effects on the environment include emissions to and pollution of water resources, soil and air, noise, as well as the excessive use of natural or cultural resources. The purpose of this Special Issue is to build on, challenge, and criticize perspectives and pressing issues concerning sustainable energy and tourism. The hospitality industry has a considerable opportunity to lower their carbon footprint and make a positive impact towards the green movement.

This Special Issue includes but is not limited to the following topics:

Sustainable energy management in tourism—challenges;
Energy and water efficiency, waste reduction and management, sustainable and local purchasing and use of alternative transportation;
Stimulating demand for sustainable energy skills in the tourism sector;
Business case for energy efficiency in tourism;
Renewable energy as an energy resource;
Socioeconomic analysis regarding energy management in hospitality industry;
The role of the local government/managers/tourists in changing the behavior in energy consumption through informed decisions and collective actions;
Educational capacities for energy transition in tourism;
Environmental and economic benefits for smarter hotels and resorts.

While this overview presents a summary of the Special Issue, we are open to your proposals that relate to or challenge understandings of sustainable energy management in tourism.

Assoc. Prof. Marinela Krstinić Nižić
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable energy management
diffusion of renewable energy sources
energy efficiency
planning and controlling energy costs
carbon footprint
hospitality industry

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

16 pages, 287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Governance of Coastal Areas and Tourism Impact on Waste Production: Panel Analysis of Croatian Municipalities

by Davor Mance, Siniša Vilke and Borna Debelić

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7243; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187243 - 4 Sep 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2896

Abstract

The research problem this paper is concerned with is the effect of tourism on solid waste generation in Croatia’s coastal area. We are aware of the fact that this has not been thoroughly addressed, especially considering tourism’s share in the Croatian economy and the pressure it generates on sustainable coastal management. This is of particular importance considering the governing complexity of coastal areas. Thus, we ask a simple question regarding the role of the tourism industry in the solid waste generation in the Croatian coastal area: Do tourists generate relatively more solid waste than the domestic population? The falsifiable hypothesis is stated in terms of the difference in the production of communal waste between domestic population and tourists, taking into account local idiosyncratic factors, when such a difference is recoverable through statistical analysis of measurable tourist presence in panel data. The first hypothesis is thus: The amount of solid waste produced by local residents in Croatian coastal municipalities diverges significantly in statistical terms from the amount of solid waste produced by tourists. The second hypothesis is: The amount of waste-streams is influenced by local idiosyncrasies of coastal settlements, their economic structure, per capita GDP and/or cultural background of local people. Our dataset is a panel of 160 municipalities in the Croatian coastal area spanned across a time period of 12 months during 2019, giving us a total of 1920 panel observations. We performed a Panel Estimated Generalized Least Squares cross-section fixed effects analysis with Panel Corrected Standard Errors on domestic population and tourist overnight stays and their solid waste generation. We used the above mentioned method to achieve better results with higher significance, and lower Standard Errors than comparable methods. We complemented the analysis with a dynamic Panel Generalized Method of Moments First Differences test. Results show a relatively larger relative impact of tourist overnight stays on municipal solid waste generation than what is to be expected from the locals only. Our different methods of analysis ended with non-contradicting results. The number of tourist overnight stays in some municipalities shadows the overnight stays of the local population as an indicator of solid waste generation, exacerbating the problem of sustainability of waste disposal. We conclude that the relative waste disposal impact of the tourists is at least 22% greater and possibly up to 55% greater than the one of local inhabitants, contradicting some other research. We also found evidence of possible Environmental Kuznets Curve behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Sustainability and Tourism)

15 pages, 871 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Managers’ Informedness of Energy Issues in Tourism

by Dora Smolčić Jurdana, Zvonimira Šverko Grdić and Marinela Krstinić Nižić

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6733; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176733 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2610

Abstract

Energy and environmental issues are nowadays becoming more prominent, and business subjects in tourism should dedicate more effort to energy management. This can lead to a reduction in energy-related expenses, and it shows social responsibility and concern for the environment. In order to determine the informedness of managers in tourism concerning energy issues, empirical research was conducted in all seven counties of Adriatic Croatia. The questionnaire was filled out by 254 managers in tourism in such a way that the research covered business management (hotel, villa, camp, and apartment managers), managers in tourist boards, managers in units of local self-government, and managers among other stakeholders directly or indirectly involved in tourism. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions answered using the Likert scale with 1 being the worst and 5 the best. The questionnaire’s reliability was tested using factor analysis and internal consistency analysis. The results showed that managers still have insufficient knowledge concerning the impact of energy and its link to tourism. Additionally, 66.4% of the participants considered their knowledge regarding energy issues in tourism to be poor or negligible. It can be concluded that continued education for managers is required as higher awareness leads to “greener” attitudes among managers in tourism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Sustainability and Tourism)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Energy Sustainability and Tourism

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (2 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI