Project Description
This ARC Discovery project is motivated by the urgent need to improve the environmental performance of tourism accommodation businesses. The aim of the research is to work with a diverse range of accommodation providers to achieve reductions in resource use to mainstream tourism. This will be achieved using an experimental design to test the efficacy of combining smart technology and interpersonal communication into a smartservice intervention to change guest and staff resource use. The project challenges the view that pro-environmental attitudes are a pre-requisite for pro-environmental behaviours, and in doing so promotes redesigning social practices in accommodation to achieve greater sustainability outcomes and guest experiences.
Project Personnel and Beneficiaries
The project engages with hotel owners, guests and staff with the goal to reduce energy water and gas consumption in tourist accommodation.
Outcomes to Date
The progress is ongoing and is expected to conclude with results in January 2024.
To date, an international portfolio of hotels have been engaged and set up with smart meters to monitor their energy, water and gas consumption. Behavioural interventions have been designed and are currently being implemented across the various sites.
Project Significance
Global natural resource consumption and associated negative impacts, including on the climate, are reaching potentially dangerous tipping points. Tourism is a major contributor to the rate and scale of resource consumption with a projected doubling of energy and water use over the next fifteen years.
This research tests ways of engaging consumers towards significantly greener experiences, relying on much lower resource consumption and without impacting on their enjoyment or service satisfaction. The research will provide a blueprint for developing a more sustainable economy based on a wellbeing approach. The findings will have implications for other service sectors in Australia, facilitating sustainable growth without impacting on consumer preferences.
Related Link
External link to https://www.griffith.edu.au/institute-tourism/greening-hotels