Dr Rebecca Hawkins

Food waste remains an ongoing problem in hotel operations, and changing employees’ behaviour is key to tackling this issue. Analysing the influences on employees’ working practices can help to drive pro-environmental behaviour changes that reduce food waste, thus supporting the UN’s SDG 12: ensuring responsible consumption and production patterns. This study used the theory of planned behaviour as its theoretical framework and empirical data generated through participant observation, analysis of organisational documents, and semi-structured interviews in luxury hotels to examine waste drivers among employees. The findings suggest that hotel workers adopt a rational rather than moral lens toward food waste. Moreover, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control strongly influence intentions to perform pro-environmental behaviours. Positive attitudes and strong subjective norms propel employees toward pro-environmental behaviours while a lack of perceived control acts as a constraining force.

The significance of  involving stakeholders in sustainable tourism (ST) initiatives  is increasingly acknowledged and recommended within both academia and practice. This appreciation stems from the nature of tourism destinations as networks of interdependent  stakeholders (Cooper et al.,  2009 and d'Angella and Go, 2009) and emerging ST practices that rely on stakeholder partnerships (Gossling, Hall, & Weaver, 2009). However, there are reports of failures of ST strategies associated with ineffective stakeholder involvement (e.g. Dodds and Butler, 2010, Getz and Timur, 2005 and  Ryan, 2002) and of  scepticism in the capability of some stakeholders to contribute meaningfully to tourism processes ( Hamilton & Alexander, 2013). Through the Traffic Light Routes Framework (TLRF), this research note shows how stakeholders can be better involved in ST. The TLRF emerged from case study data on the Cornwall Sustainable (CoaST) Project, located in South West England, UK.

Within the extensive body of literature on sustainable tourism (ST), its successful implementation is anemerging and important theme. The lack of or ineffective stakeholder participation is a major obstacle toST realisation and there is little clarity as to how best to resolve this problem. This paper presents thefindings of a purposive UK-based case study that evaluated stakeholder involvement in the implementationof ST. Using over fifty stakeholders' accounts drawn from eight primary stakeholder groups,a ‘multi-stakeholder involvement management' (MSIM) framework was developed. The MSIM frameworkconsists of three strategic levels: attraction, integration and management of stakeholder involvement.Six stages are embedded within the three levels: scene-setting, recognition of stakeholderinvolvement capacity, stakeholder relationship management, pursuit of achievable objectives, influencingimplementation capacity and monitoring stakeholder involvement. These are supported by theoverarching notion of ‘hand-holding' and key actions [e.g. managing stakeholder adaptability] thatenhance stakeholder involvement in ST.

In the last decade, hotel companies have become increasingly interested in the application of environmental management systems (EMSs). However, research on the effectiveness of EMSs in the hotel industry has been sparse. This study aims to address this research gap by exploring and evaluating the application of EMSs in a hotel context. Various approaches to EMSs are identified in the literature on environmental management and EMSs, including six core EMS elements specific to the hotel industry context. To develop a rich and deep understanding of the application of EMSs in the hotel industry, a qualitative case study was conducted in which data were collected from three levels of employees, executive, supervisory and general, from an international hotel. A series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted and relevant documents were collected for analysis. Four influential factors were identified in the formation stage of the hotel's EMS: (1)Corporate governance, (2)Piloting activities, (3)Initial gap analysisand (4)Partnership with external consultancy. It was also found that the six elements identified in the environmental management literature play important roles in the implementation of EMS in this case. In addition, although EMSs can help promote a bottom-up approach to change, a top-down approach to implementing EMSs was more suitable for a hotel with a predominantly Chinese workforce, due to cultural issues. This study identified a number of factors specifically related to EMSs to complement mainstream environmental management research.

This study examines key socio-cultural factors that influence Saudi tourists’ decisions to travel abroad. The paper utilises qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with males and females, whose views remain under-researched. It explores how Saudi Arabia’s deeply embedded religious and tribal value systems and structures, shape tourists’ destination choices and travel behaviours. The findings show that social norms and cultures of surveillance, alongside social obligations, act as push factors, decreasing the appeal of domestic tourism. Moreover, data suggest that seeking personal space and freedom, and the ability to engage in norm-breaking practices, are pull factors that make international destinations, especially those with fewer co-nationals, appealing. Practically, the study helps to identify marketing strategies that domestic and international destinations can adopt to target and accommodate Saudi tourists more effectively. Theoretically, the findings help to conceptualise a middle ground between what we call ‘extensionist’ and ‘rejectionist’ views of cultural influence, and to appreciate the cumulative, intersecting impacts of socio-cultural imperatives.