Climate change mitigation among accommodation providers in the South West of England: Comparisons between members and non-members of networks

Abstract

1Climate change mitigation among accommodation providers in the South West of England: comparisons between members and non-members of networks. ABSTRACTNetworks are a well-established feature in contemporary tourism governance and management. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which there are differences among members and non-members of tourism networks in their efforts to introduce measures to mitigate the effects of climate change in their operations. Among accommodation providers in the South West of England, there is no significant difference between members and nonmembers of networks in the modest levels of innovation they have introduced. Possible reasons for the lack of difference are identified including the nature of the networks and the way in which knowledge is exchanged and retained among businesses. The paper argues that, while formal networks still represent an important platform to promote climate change mitigation, their importance may also be in knowledge spillovers and boundary spanning behaviours 'beyond the network'.

Climate Change and Sustainable Tourism: Carbon Mitigation by Environmentally Certified Tourism Enterprises

“…Out of 380 operators contacted, some 83 surveys were completed by environmentally certified Queensland tourism enterprises, with a response rate of 25%. This response rate and number of respondents compare favorably with other research on this topic reviewed in this article (e.g., Becken, 2012;Belle & Bramwell, 2005;Biggs et al, 2012;Coles & Zschiegner, 2011;Curtis, 2002;Dalton et al, 2007;Eijgelaar et al, 2010;Gössling & Schumacher, 2010;Hall, 2006;Nelson, 2010a;Su et al, 2013;Vernon et al, 2003;Zeppel, 2012a). Similar response rates were obtained by Becken (2012) The survey results were analyzed with descriptive statistics and frequency distributions of responses, supported by written comments by tourism operators about the relevance of various carbon mitigation measures.…”

“…In 2007, it established a National Tourism and Climate Change Taskforce. A subsequent national action plan for tourism and some have found low uptake of carbon mitigation actions (e.g., Becken, 2012;Curtis, 2002;Dalton, Lockington, & Baldock, 2007;Su et al, 2013) while others have found relatively high levels of ecoefficiency actions adopted by tourism enterprises (e.g., Coles & Zschiegner, 2011;Vernon et al, 2003;Zeppel, 2012a).…”

“…In 2007, it established a National Tourism and Climate Change Taskforce. A subsequent national action plan for tourism and some have found low uptake of carbon mitigation actions (e.g., Becken, 2012;Curtis, 2002;Dalton, Lockington, & Baldock, 2007;Su et al, 2013) while others have found relatively high levels of ecoefficiency actions adopted by tourism enterprises (e.g., Coles & Zschiegner, 2011;Vernon et al, 2003;Zeppel, 2012a).This article presents the results of a survey of environmentally certified Queensland tourism enterprises across a number of industry sectors (i.e., accom modation, tour operators, attractions, and convention centers). The aims of the survey were to identify the attitudes of the tourism enterprises to climate change and reducing their carbon emissions; to profile the carbon mitigation actions that the tourism enterprises have implemented; and to analyze the motivations of the tourism enterprises for implementing these actions.…”

“…According to Becken and Hay (2007), there are four mitigation strategies whereby the tourism industry can reduce GHG emissions, namely: reduce energy use, improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy, and sequester or store carbon through sinks (i.e., offsetting). The key mitigation strategies adopted by most tourism businesses are reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency, along with water conservation and waste recycling measures (Becken, 2012;Carmody & Zeppel, 2009;Coles & Zschiegner, 2011;Vernon et al, 2003;Zeppel, 2012a). An additional mitigation strategy is to modify or influence tourists' travel behavior with regard to frequency, distance, type of travel, or mode of transport (Gössling, Scott, Hall, Ceron, & Dubois, 2012;Hall, 2011;Scott et al, 2012).…”

“…Only a third of reef operators provided information to their guests on energy efficiency (34%) and offsetting travel emissions (29%). Coles and Zschiegner (2011) found that accommodation providers in Southwest England had initiated an average of 8.2 mitigation actions, with close to 95% adopting recycling behavior, over 80% installing insulation, and 67% adopting energy-efficient appliances. However, membership of tourism networks did not increase the uptake of carbon actions, with managers using local knowledge, workshops, and the Internet.…”