Purpose -While environmental sustainability is increasingly gaining relevance, it appears to have been ignored in certain areas, such as in research on water usage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality and tourism industries. The purpose of this paper is to examine this dimension from the perspective of the operators. Design/methodology/approach -Semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with ten managers/operators in the Swan Valley region of Western Australia. Findings -Strong manager/operator awareness of the impact of their actions on the environment was demonstrated. Also salient was the factors impinging on implementation of environmental initiatives. Business demands or added costs also present challenges in fully materializing an operator's environmentally sustainable practices, particularly concerning water consumption in service areas, such as in toilets, which represents a large proportion of total water usage.Research limitations/implications -The limited number of participants does not allow for making generalizations of environmentally sustainable practices among SMEs in the hospitality and tourism sector. However, this exploratory study provides insights into an area that has received very limited attention in academic research. Practical implications -As environmental issues may increasingly become more serious, the engagement of managers, operators, the wider business community and other bodies at different levels is critical. In this regard, the study provides several implications for these stakeholders. Originality/value -Very few studies have attempted to investigate environmental issues among small hospitality and tourism enterprises. This paper not only seeks to close knowledge gaps in an under-researched area but also to open the door for future studies in the area.
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. His research interests include business-related areas of concern of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), urban (eg, hospitality) and rural (eg, wineries), as well as wine consumer and winery visitor behaviour. Alfred Ogleis Lecturer in Hospitality Management, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Ogle ' s research interests include hotel guest -management interface, hotel product and service innovation, and HRD and training in the hospitality industry. AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of winery facility design among operators of small wineries open to the public, and to what extent operators use this element to market their winery to visitors. A total of ten small wineries, eight of them representing the entire Chittering Valley Wine Trail near Perth in Western Australia, agreed to participate and to be interviewed face to face. Operators view their role in the design of their winery building in various ways, including using the cellar door as a critical tool to enhance visitors ' winery experience. Of particular importance is the environment wineries promote through their uncomplicated yet inviting design. The very small sample of wineries in this study does not allow for making generalisations of the many existing small wineries in Western Australia. The value operators place on the association between the winery, the surroundings and the area where the winery is located is a critical component that will positively refl ect on visitors ' experience and may transcend beyond their visit. The study examines an emerging wine trail and a dimension, small winery design, that to date have received limited attention in academic research.
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