10 5923 S Tourism 201304 01
10 5923 S Tourism 201304 01
10 5923 S Tourism 201304 01
DOI: 10.5923/s.tourism.201304.01
University for Development Studies, Dept. of Ecotourism and Environmental M gt, Nyankpala Campus, Tamale, Ghana
2
University for Development Studies, Dept. of Community Development, Wa Campus, Ghana
3
Sunyani Polytechnic, Dept. of Tourism and Hospitality, Sunyani, Ghana
Abstract This study was aimed at identifying environ mentally friendly practices adopted by accommodation facilities in
Tamale Metropolis. Fro m time immemorial environ mental problems have been associated with the operations of
accommodation facilities world wide. In th is regard, measures and initiat ives have been put in place in recent times to
minimize the effects of the accommodation sector on the environment. What is the effort of the accommodation sector in the
Tamale Metropolis and Ghana holistically in this regard? A total of 42 facilit ies were sampled fro m 68 registered hotels in the
Metropolis for the study. The data collection tool used was questionnaire. Parameters of concern centered on water
conservation, energy conservation, waste management and corporate social responsibility. Fro m the study, it was realized
that only 8% had environ mental policies in p lace. Close to 97% of the facilities d id not live up to their corporate social
responsibilit ies. Ho wever, about 60% used low flow shower heads while 97% used treated water to irrigate gardens and lawns.
The use of energy saving bulbs as well as towel and napkin reuse were popular practices observed. Based on the above,
training programmes are reco mmended for hotel operators and employees on environmental management practices.
Keywords
1. Introduction
Management of the environment has become a crit ical
issue to the hotel industry in recent times in the wake of calls
for a more responsible tourism development and the growing
environmental awareness among tourists, associations,
organizations and governments. This has led to the evolution
of the green hotel movement wh ich has become a new trend
in the hospitality industry. As a new trend, environmental
management has been vigorously pursued especially by
mu ltinational hotels. This has given birth to international and
regional init iatives, certificat ion schemes and award of
eco-labels which have been used to encourage development
of less damaging and environmentally friendly hotels as well
as educating the customer.
In this light, it is therefore important that environmental
man ag ement in hot els be p laced in th e framewo rk o f
sustainable development since this will always result in a
sustained tou ris m industry . Env iron mental man agement
p ract ices in ho tels are usually geared to wards en ergy
conservation, water conservation, reduct ion of waste and
* Corresponding author:
[email protected] (Conrad-J. Wuleka Kuuder)
Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/tourism
Copyright 2013 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved
Conrad-J. Wuleka Kuuder et al.: Energy, Water and Waste M anagement in the
Accommodation Sector of Tamale M etropolis, Ghana
2. Environmental Management
Practices in Hotels
The hospitality industry has been traditionally considered
one that does not have a great impact on the natural
environment co mpared to such industries as gas and oil and
other consumer product manufacturing industries. However,
the hotel , in particular generates much mo re negative
environmental impacts than the public perceives, consuming
a vast amount of local and imported non-durable goods,
energy and water, as well as emitting a large amount of
carbon dioxide[26],[8].
As an emerg ing business strategy in the hospitality
industry, environmental management has attracted much
interest fro m industry practitioners as well as scholars.
Though there are several environmental management
practices, this study focuses on energy and water
conservation and waste management.
2.1. Energy Consumpti on and Efficiency
Energy saving has been considered one of the most
significant areas of environmental management in the hotel
industry because hotels in general consume considerable
amount of electricity and fossil fuel energy in various
operational areas. According to the U.S Environ mental
Protection Agency (EPA), reducing energy use by 10 percent
across the hospitality industry would save $285 million[30].
It is reported that the potential for energy saving through
green practices such as replacing light bulbs with energy
efficient ones has been estimated at 10-25 percent depending
on the age and size of the hotel[8].
Based on literature reviewed on various studies on energy
Conrad-J. Wuleka Kuuder et al.: Energy, Water and Waste M anagement in the
Accommodation Sector of Tamale M etropolis, Ghana
Conrad-J. Wuleka Kuuder et al.: Energy, Water and Waste M anagement in the
Accommodation Sector of Tamale M etropolis, Ghana
Number
5
39
12
3
9
68
Sample
2
20
8
3
9
42
Based on this grading, all the 1-star and 2- star hotels were
purposively sampled due to the fact that they had a greater
4. Results
4.1. Environmentally Friendl y Practices
5. Conclusions
The study was carried out to identify act ivities in hotels
within the met ropolis that are unsafe to the environment and
to equally find out environmentally friendly management
initiat ives adopted by the hotels. The use of energy saving
bulbs, reusable dinning items such as cups, plates and spoons
as well as towels and napkins were the most popular
practices. Other environ mentally friendly practices such as
use of energy saving bulbs including reuse of towels and
napkins which were identified among these facilities were
noted to be aimed at reducing cost and attracting or satisfying
guests. Environmental in itiat ives such as recycling of waste,
composting of organic kitchen waste and support for
environmental agencies were the least popular practices
among the accommodation facilit ies sampled.
Fro m the study it can also be concluded that about 97% of
the facilities surveyed do not live up to their social
responsibilit ies of assisting the locals and environ mental
agencies and NGOs towards management of the
environment. In addition, 92% of the facilities had no
environmental policy. Ho wever, the study was an
exploratory one and did not go much further to identify
reasons why particular environ mental management practices
were either adopted or not adopted by these facilities.
6. Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study it is recommended that
the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Environ mental
Protection Agency (EPA) in conjunction with the Tamale
Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) and other bodies tasked
with enfo rcing environmental standards should organize
training programmes for managers and employees of
accommodation facilities on environmentally friendly
management practices as identified in the study. These
training programmes will help sensitize them on their mo ral
and social responsibilities with respect to the environment
Conrad-J. Wuleka Kuuder et al.: Energy, Water and Waste M anagement in the
Accommodation Sector of Tamale M etropolis, Ghana
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