Search Results (489)

Environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality has emerged as a critical focus of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aligning with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national priorities such as environmental stewardship, human health, and future economic diversification. This study examines how perceived leader favoritism influences non-green behavior among hospitality employees, exploring malicious envy as a mediator and perceived organizational injustice as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 412 employees across five major hotels in Riyadh. Measures included validated scales for perceived leader favoritism, malicious envy, non-green behavior, and organizational justice. Structural equation modeling tested hypothesized relationships and moderation effects. Perceived leader favoritism was positively associated with non-green behavior (β = 0.39, p < 0.001) and malicious envy (β = 0.58, p < 0.001). Malicious envy mediated the favoritism–behavior link (indirect effect β = 0.17, p < 0.01). High perceptions of organizational injustice strengthened these effects, exacerbating environmentally harmful behaviors. Interpretation: The findings reveal that unfair leadership practices undermine corporate sustainability efforts by provoking negative emotions and unethical environmental actions. Managerial interventions to enhance fairness and mitigate envy are imperative for achieving SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), supporting Saudi Arabia’s goals in environmental sustainability, basic needs fulfillment, and future economies. Implementing justice-centered leadership programs can foster healthier organizational climates, promoting both employee well-being and ecological resilience. Full article

This study introduces a Fuzzy–AHP–based analytical model for the quantitative assessment of authenticity loss in adaptive reuse practices, addressing a persistent gap in heritage research—the lack of reproducible mathematical frameworks capable of linking authenticity evaluation with sustainability indicators. Unlike previous studies that approach authenticity conceptually or qualitatively, this research develops a hybrid decision-support system that translates both intangible and tangible heritage attributes into measurable linguistic variables, enabling systematic and comparable authenticity assessments. The model was applied to ten traditional houses in Alanya, Türkiye, representing different adaptive reuse types (residential, cultural, commercial, and touristic). A total of 17 experts contributed to the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) weighting stage, producing a Consistency Ratio of 0.0156 (<0.10), and 8 experts provided scoring inputs for the fuzzy system. The fuzzy inference system was implemented in MATLAB R2023a, incorporating seven main criteria and three subcriteria, nine input variables, five linguistic categories, and a rule base of 3400 fuzzy rules. Membership functions were defined within the 0–100 numerical range, and the centroid defuzzification method was used to compute final authenticity values. Model reliability was confirmed through Kendall’s W = 0.87, demonstrating strong inter-rater agreement. Results show that buildings retaining their original residential function achieved the highest authenticity scores (Final Score ≈ 86), while structures converted into boutique hotels or restaurants exhibited substantial authenticity losses (Final Score range: 25–45), especially within Group 2 criteria (environment, function, spirit, and intangible cultural heritage). This divergence illustrates a sustainability paradox: although adaptive reuse prolongs building life cycles and reduces embodied carbon, it may simultaneously undermine cultural sustainability when authenticity is significantly compromised. The proposed Fuzzy–AHP authenticity model provides a replicable, transparent, and empirically validated tool for evaluating the effects of functional transformation within a sustainability framework. By quantifying the relationship between adaptive reuse types and authenticity retention, the study contributes to sustainable heritage management research and supports the implementation of SDG 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities. Full article

Zanzibar has witnessed fast growth in tourism due to its natural beauty and unique cultural values. On average, about 600,000 tourists arrive annually, creating demand for more hotels, which significantly adds to the generation of waste streams on the island. Food waste is a multifaceted issue and a cross-sectoral problem. However, existing research on food waste management in hospitality focuses mainly on operational and managerial perspectives, while overlooking the role of stakeholder engagement and their social interactions, creating a gap in understanding the relational and context-specific factors shaping sustainable practices, particularly in small island destinations. Therefore, collaborative efforts from different stakeholders are required to ensure sustainable waste management. This study aims to map the key stakeholders and analyze engagement dynamics and structural patterns of social networks to improve hotel food waste management as part of a sustainable tourism strategy in Zanzibar. Stakeholder mapping and analysis, and social network analysis, were applied to examine both the dynamic and interaction patterns. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders related to tourism and waste management operations to solicit their roles, responsibilities, interests, knowledge, interaction, information sharing, influence, and power in decision-making. The results revealed that waste management is the responsibility of local authorities, and there was limited interaction, information sharing, and coordination among stakeholders and across sectors. Building collaborative relationships is important and can be achieved by stimulating interactions through active communication platforms, including social media and online webinar sessions. Moreover, the study proposes a context-specific model for analyzing small-scale stakeholder interactions regarding food waste management in tourist hotels that can inform future stakeholder coordination and policy interventions. Full article

While prior research has examined the role of smart technologies (e.g., IoT and AI) in sustainability, the combined influence of IoT, AI, and organizational capabilities on hotel sustainable performance, particularly through the mediating roles of data-driven decision-making and innovation capability, remains underexplored. This study investigates how the integration of smart technologies, specifically the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as dynamic managerial capabilities focusing on data-driven decision-making (DDM) and innovation capability (IC), enhances hotel sustainable performance (HSP) within the context of Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the research develops and tests a conceptual model that explores both the mediating roles of DDM and IC in the link between IoT and HSP and the moderating role of AI application in the relationships between IoT and DDM, IC, and HSP. Using data collected from 312 managers of four- and five-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, the study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the hypothesized relationships. The results reveal that IoT has a significant positive effect on HSP, DDM, and IC. Further, the IoT-HSP relationship is partially mediated by both DDM and IC. Furthermore, AI significantly strengthens the relationships between IoT and DDM, IoT and IC, and IoT and HSP, highlighting AI’s crucial role as an enabler of digital transformation and sustainability. The findings extend the RBV and DCT by demonstrating how technological resources, when combined with dynamic managerial capabilities, lead to superior sustainability outcomes. Practically, the study emphasizes that hotels must pair digital adoption with employee training, innovation culture, and AI-powered analytics to enhance HSP. Full article

Accurate prediction of building energy performance is critical for achieving sustainability goals and reducing operational costs. This study presents a novel and automated simulation framework that integrates EnergyPlus 25.1 with modular JSON configurations and Python 3.11 scripting to streamline the modelling and analysis process. Using the Hilton Watford Hotel in the UK as a case study, the framework generates detailed Input Data Files (IDFs) based on architectural and operational data, enabling efficient exploration of various usage scenarios through batch simulations. Automation is achieved using custom Python scripts built on the Eppy library, allowing scalable modification and generation of simulation inputs. Post-processing and visualisation are performed using Pandas 2.0.3, NumPy 1.25.2, and Matplotlib 3.7.2, while model outputs are calibrated against measured performance data in accordance with ASHRAE guidelines. To enhance predictive capabilities, machine learning algorithms—Random Forest and XGBoost—are applied to estimate annual energy consumption under different operating conditions. This integrated approach not only reduces manual modelling effort but also narrows the gap between predicted and actual performance, offering a replicable pathway for retrofitting analysis and energy policy support in similar commercial buildings. Full article

Tourism-driven growth in Zanzibar has intensified solid waste generation, creating critical environmental and resource management challenges for the hotel sector. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the volume, composition, and management of solid waste in Zanzibar’s hotels, establishing a quantitative basis for evidence-based sustainable practices beyond prior research on food waste. Ten hotels were examined through direct waste sampling, structured interviews, and field observations. Results show that hotels generate high levels of unsorted waste (2.45 kg/guest/day), with plastics posing major challenges under the prevailing linear disposal system. Findings reveal that waste patterns depend primarily on management, service, and collection practices, with no significant differences across hotel types or sizes. While the assessment covered the entire waste stream, a tailored circular economy framework is proposed for plastic waste, given its significant contribution to environmental pollution and ecological impact, providing a practical, structured guide for sustainable interventions across hotel operations. Achieving these outcomes requires collaboration, institutional support, and capacity building. By embedding waste audits, reduction strategies, and circular innovations into hotel operations, this framework charts a forward-looking pathway for coastal destinations to transform waste challenges into opportunities, promoting sustainable tourism, resource-use efficiency, and the transition toward a circular economy. Full article

The sustainable development of ecologically sensitive areas, such as geoparks, requires a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between tourism expansion and ecosystem services (ESs). This study investigates these relationships through a case study of the Enshi Grand Canyon—Tenglongdong Cave UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) Global Geopark, a representative karst landscape in China. We developed an integrated analytical framework that combines multi-source data with coupled modeling approaches, including the Integrated Valuation of ES and Tradeoffs (InVEST), Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR), Boosted Regression Tree (BRT), and structural equation modeling (SEM). This framework overcomes the limitations of single-method analyses and enables a comprehensive diagnosis of the spatiotemporal drivers and pathways influencing ES dynamics. Using this approach, we analyzed the evolution of ESs and their driving factors from 2010 to 2020. The results reveal that natural factors remained the dominant drivers of ESs (accounting for over 73% of total variation), while tourism impacts increased substantially over time and exhibited pronounced spatial heterogeneity. Specifically, (1) the tourism-driven expansion of construction land occurred largely at the expense of cultivated land and grassland, directly reducing ESs; (2) proximity to scenic areas intensified negative ecological effects, whereas proximity to roads and hotels displayed more complex, and occasionally positive, influences; and (3) tourism primarily affected ESs indirectly through land use/cover change (LUCC). This study provides a transferable framework for analyzing tourism–ecosystem service interactions and underscores the necessity of ecological zoning and adaptive management in vulnerable karst regions, offering valuable insights for the sustainable governance of other fragile ecosystems worldwide. Full article

Accurate short-term load forecasting (STLF) is essential for energy management in buildings, yet remains challenging due to the nonlinear interactions among weather, occupancy, and operational patterns. This study presents a reproducible forecasting pipeline applied as a case study to a single anonymized hotel in Greece, representing a highly variable building-scale load. Three heterogeneous data streams were programmatically ingested and aligned: distribution-operator smart meter telemetry (15 min intervals aggregated to daily active energy), enterprise guest-night counts as an occupancy proxy, and meteorological observations from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA). Following rigorous preprocessing, feature construction incorporated lagged demand, calendar encodings, and exogenous drivers. Forecasting was performed with a stacked LSTM architecture (BiLSTM → LSTM → LSTM with dropout and a compact dense head), trained and validated under a leakage-safe chronological split. A bounded random hyperparameter search of forty configurations was tracked in MLflow 3.5.0 to ensure full reproducibility. The best model achieved RMSE of 4.71 kWh, MAE of 3.48 kWh, and MAPE of 3.29% on the hold-out test set, with stable training and robust diagnostics. The findings confirm that compact recurrent networks can deliver accurate and transparent hotel-level forecasts, providing a practical template for operational energy planning and sustainability reporting. Future research should extend this case study to multi-building portfolios and hybrid deep learning architectures. Full article

While community energy initiatives and pilot projects have demonstrated technical feasibility and economic benefits, their site-specific nature limits transferability to systematic, scalable investment models. This study addresses this gap by proposing a modular framework for Renewable Energy Valleys (REVs), developed from real-world Community Energy Lab (CEL) demonstrations in Crete, Greece, which is an island with pronounced seasonal demand fluctuation, strong renewable potential, and ongoing hydrogen valley initiatives. Four modular business schemes are defined, each representing different sectoral contexts by combining a baseline of 50 residential units with one representative large consumer (hotel, rural households with thermal loads, municipal swimming pool, or hydrogen bus). For each scheme, a mixed-integer linear programming model is applied to optimally size and operate integrated solar PV, wind, battery (BAT) energy storage, and hydrogen systems across three renewable energy penetration (REP) targets: 90%, 95%, and 99.9%. The framework incorporates stochastic demand modeling, sector coupling, and hierarchical dispatch schemes. Results highlight optimal technology configurations that minimize dependency on external sources and curtailment while enhancing reliability and sustainability under Mediterranean conditions. Results demonstrate significant variation in optimal configurations across sectors and targets, with PV capacity ranging from 217 kW to 2840 kW, battery storage from 624 kWh to 2822 kWh, and hydrogen systems scaling from 65.2 kg to 192 kg storage capacity. The modular design of the framework enables replication beyond the specific context of Crete, supporting the scalable development of Renewable Energy Valleys that can adapt to diverse sectoral mixes and regional conditions. Full article

Generation Z is becoming a dominant market segment and an essential source of talent in the hospitality industry. Their digital fluency, sustainability expectations, and preference for meaningful and personalized experiences are increasingly reshaping service delivery, marketing strategies, and workforce management in the hotel industry. Following the PRISMA 2020 guideline, this review systematically analyzed 131 peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2025. Performance analysis, science mapping through co-word and Leiden clustering, and trend analysis were conducted using VOSviewer (v1.6.20) and Biblioshiny in RStudio (v2025.09.2). The findings reveal a rapidly expanding but relatively young field, with key themes clustered around technology acceptance (AI, service robots), experiential and sustainable consumption, digital engagement (word-of-mouth, social media), workforce dynamics (person–environment fit, leadership, quiet quitting), and emerging topics such as experiential education, ethics, and self-efficacy. The study highlights the centrality of the Theory of Planned Behavior and technology acceptance models in explaining Gen Z’s decision-making, while also identifying substantial gaps in cross-cultural, ethical, and experiential research. Practical implications call hoteliers to integrate seamless digital services, robust sustainability initiatives, and adaptive talent management system to meet Gen Z’s evolving expectations. Full article

Employees are the fundamental source of a sustainable competitive advantage. Without the high quality of human capital, organisations cannot attain a competitive advantage that can be sustained over time. Employer branding is a strategy that focuses on engaging and attracting the best talent from the job market, which is crucial for sectors known for high employee turnover rates. In recent years, digital platforms and information technology systems have revolutionised employer branding by helping organisations connect with talent in more personal and innovative ways. In this study, we sought to explore and understand the role of LinkedIn in employer branding efforts and evaluate the benefits of using LinkedIn to brand an employer as the first choice for prospective employees. Additionally, the research proposes a LinkedIn-Integrated Employer Branding Model (LIEBM) that incorporates LinkedIn strategies. Qualitative data were collated from the recruiting heads of the leading four- and five-star hotels in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The findings indicate that LinkedIn is widely used to improve an organisation’s employer brand image through various strategies. The results also demonstrate that employing LinkedIn strategies enhances the benefits of employer branding, contributing to actionable insights in the hotel industry to make excellent decisions at pre-recruitment, recruitment and selection stages. Full article

Tourism enterprises are increasingly pressured to align competitiveness with sustainability, yet limited evidence exists from Central and Eastern Europe. This study investigates the role of eco-friendly orientation as a determinant of customer satisfaction and perceived competitiveness in the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary). Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 478 enterprises, including hotels, guesthouses, spas, agritourist facilities, and travel agencies. Data were collected between January and June 2025 using a standardized questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and ANOVA. The findings demonstrate that enterprises adopting more extensive environmental practices report significantly higher customer satisfaction (r = 0.43, p < 0.01) and perceived competitiveness (r = 0.38, p < 0.01). Factor analysis identified three key dimensions of environmental orientation: ecological operations, ecological innovations, and ecological marketing. Regression analysis highlighted ecological marketing, particularly the adoption of certifications and eco-labels, as the strongest predictor of competitiveness. ANOVA revealed significant cross-country differences, with Slovak and Czech enterprises outperforming Polish and Hungarian counterparts. The results suggest that ecological initiatives are essential for long-term competitiveness, providing both strategic guidance for managers and policy implications for fostering supportive regulatory and financial frameworks across the region. This study makes a novel contribution by offering one of the first large-scale empirical analyses of the link between sustainability and competitiveness in Central and Eastern Europe, a region where such research is still scarce. Theoretically, it extends the application of Ecological Modernization Theory to the tourism sector, while practically it provides actionable recommendations for managers and policymakers on integrating eco-certification and ecological marketing into their strategies. These insights underline the dual role of environmental orientation as a driver of both customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. Full article

Plastic is a key industrial innovation with wide ranging applications. However, its extensive production, consumption, and inadequate disposal practices have created a complex environmental challenge, resulting in escalating ecological and public health impacts. This study examines plastic waste management practices in the rural coastal communities of Kendwa, Nungwi, Paje, and Michamvi, located near tourist hotels in Zanzibar’s Northern and Southern districts, Tanzania. Structured interviews, observation checklists, and participatory workshops were used to assess the types of plastic waste generated and the level of community engagement in disposal practices. Findings indicate that single-use polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) packaging, particularly beverage bottles and other disposable items from hotels, dominate the waste stream. Nungwi and Kendwa demonstrate proactive responses, supported by a professional waste management company and NGO-led awareness programs promoting sustainable practices. In contrast, Paje and Michamvi continue to face challenges from tourism-linked waste, highlighting disparities in local management capacity. Despite positive initiatives in Nungwi and Kendwa, persistent littering remains a problem due to weak enforcement, limited infrastructure, and inconsistent community compliance. To address these gaps, the study recommends implementing waste bank programs alongside financial sustainability measures and community empowerment initiatives, to reinforce existing efforts and advance more sustainable waste management. Full article

The research investigates the mediating influence of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices—including environmentally focused recruitment, training, and performance management—on the relationship between green leadership and employees’ green advocacy within Saudi Arabia’s hospitality and tourism industry. Data were gathered through a structured questionnaire administered to supervisors and managers working in five-star hotels, producing 544 valid responses for analysis. The conceptual framework was examined using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the WarpPLS 0.7 software to rigorously assess both the measurement validity and structural associations. The analysis demonstrated that green leadership exerts a positive and significant impact on GHRM practices as well as on employees’ willingness to advocate for environmentally responsible behaviors. Furthermore, GHRM initiatives were found to strengthen employees’ pro-environmental engagement and serve as a partial mediating channel between green leadership and green advocacy. Overall, the findings highlight that institutionalizing sustainable HRM approaches is a fundamental route through which leadership enhances environmental accountability and promotes the long-term economic viability of the hospitality sector. The study concludes by underscoring its theoretical and managerial implications, emphasizing how leadership-guided sustainability actions can foster an organizational culture grounded in ecological responsibility. Full article

Despite growing attention to sustainability in the global tourism industry, empirical evidence explaining how internal organizational capabilities translate into superior environmental performance remains scarce—particularly in emerging markets. This study investigates the performance effects of green dynamic capabilities (GDC) in driving environmental performance in the hotel industry, with a particular focus on the mediating effect of eco-innovation (ECI) and the moderating effect of environmental management accounting (EMA). Although environmental sustainability in tourism has become a global imperative, limited empirical evidence exists on how internal capabilities and accounting practices jointly enhance hotels’ green performance—particularly within emerging economies such as Türkiye. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory and resource orchestration perspectives, this study addresses this research gap by analyzing survey data collected from 108 managers of Green Key-certified hotels in Türkiye. The developed research framework was tested through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4. The results reveal that GDCs positively influence environmental performance, and this relationship is significantly mediated by ECI. Moreover, EMA strengthens the positive effect of GDCs on ECI, highlighting its role as an enabling internal infrastructure. These findings suggest that the realization of sustainability outcomes depends not only on the presence of capabilities but also on how these are embedded within innovation processes and internal organizing systems. The study contributes to sustainability and management literature by offering a context-specific understanding of the capability–infrastructure–performance nexus and providing actionable insights for hotel managers in emerging tourism markets. Full article