Measuring the impact of sustainability policy and practices in tourism and hospitality industry

This paper aims to investigate the impact of environmental policy and training aspects on hotels' sustainability practices, as well as the impact of these practices on their environmental and financial performance. Based on survey data from 312 managers operating in tourism and hospitality industry, this study applies structural equation modelling. Empirical results reveal that hotels' environmental policy and training aspects are positively related to sustainability practices. Environmental communication has almost equal degree of impact on resource and energy conservation, whereas both resource conservation and energy conservation have a significant positive impact on both environmental and financial performance. The main findings of this research highlight that hotels are increasingly considering sustainability issues in their business models and strategies. These findings provide practical managerial implications for the development of tourism and hospitality industry in emerging countries.