Sustainability Concept and Its Implications in the Tourism Industry - Case Study Example

Sustainability Practice Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Research Methods 4 Discussion 5 Critically Understanding of the Sustainability Concept and Its Implications in the Tourism Industry 5 Sustainability Issues Faced By Tourism Industrial Operation 8 Types of Industrial Certification Standards 9 Recommendations for Improving Sustainability Practices 12 Conclusion 14 References 15 Executive Summary Sustainability can be stated as the prime necessity of hospitality and tourism industries to maintain their stance and flourish within the current marketing scenario. The main aim of this discussion is to unfold every possible aspect of industrial sustainability from an advantageous and disadvantageous point of view. This discussion will also aim towards understanding the multiple industrial sustainability standardisation techniques which are required for devising out the authenticity of multiple industry players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney in terms of their performance and service quality. The interrelationship between the environmental, cultural and economic factors which might affect the sustainability concept will also be elaborated accordingly. Recommendations regarding improvisations steps will also be included. The method selected to evaluate the sustainable tourism scenario is qualitative approach of research. It has been found that Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney has focused on ensuring sustainable practices regarding its operations by ensuring its compliance with Green Globe certification. It has emphasised sustainability practices regarding event management, dining services, spa and health club services, transportation and travelling services among others. Correspondingly, it is recommended that the organisation should ensure clarity of the industrial along with business objectives and continuously monitor the activities so that any discrepancy related to sustainability practices can be averted. Introduction In the current marketing trends, tourism industry has projected a significant amount of prosperity. This development trend has been the result of multiple efforts made by the tourism sector over the past few years. Besides, being a people oriented sector, the tourism industry is also believed to be contributing a significant portion to the economic development. However, despite its contributions to the economy, the tourism industry is often observed for getting into unethical and non-environment friendly activities. Popular instance being that in order to attract customers, multiple tourism industry players prefer the use of animal products such as skin. Multiple tourism industry players are also ascertained to be causing issues in terms of social and cultural degradation (Day, 2012). Correspondingly, multiple customers might find these practices as unethical and illegal which further risks the sustainability of such tourism industry players. As a result, the concept of sustainable tourism comes into the picture. In accordance to this concept, sustainable tourism can be described as a tourism process which takes into account the likes and the dislikes of the travellers or customers without distorting the surrounding environment. This concept also ensures the preservation of the cultural heritage (Day, 2012). In the current scenario, a number of tourism industry players are tending towards the use of this environment friendly concept as a unique way of promoting themselves to their customers. The key aim is to ensure sustenance and provide a memorable experience to the customers. The main focus of this report will be towards evaluating the concept of sustainable tourism in a detailed manner. This discussion will also be focusing towards the multiple sustainability issues faced by the tourism industry players along with the multiple certification techniques adopted. Subsequently, Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney has been chosen for the background operation. The hotel in concern is located at 11, Jamison Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and the web link for this hospitality company is http://www.sydney.amorahotels.com/news-en.html Research Methods Based on the stated sustainability issue which is being faced by tourism industry players, the study has followed qualitative approach of research. In theoretical terms, qualitative approach of research can be described as a process of initial thinking before conducting any sort of research work (Northeastern University, 2014). The intention behind choosing the qualitative approach for evaluating the effectiveness of the existing data is that it would provide significant information. This in turn will help in obtaining a clear understanding about the types of sustainability issues and the multiple certification standards which such tourism industry players need to implement for improvising their standards and service quality. Moreover, a major proportion of the data required for carrying out this entire study has been collected from secondary data sources, which include a detailed analysis of case studies, online journals, books and scholarly based articles. Discussion Critically Understanding of the Sustainability Concept and Its Implications in the Tourism Industry The concept of sustainability has been in existence since long and it mainly implies the effective and optimal utilisation of currently available resources without endangering the capability of fulfilling the needs of the future (Bartlett, 2011). In the current scenario, due to the down-gradation of natural reserves and the gradual rising of competition, the concept of sustainability is being implemented to every possible field. This is irrespective of the fact that the sustainability meaning might vary for different areas. For instance, the sustainability concept in terms of tourism industry mostly implicates the level of environmental and social contributions the industry players make in terms of their services (Griggs, 2013; Drexhage & Murphy, 2010). This sustainability concept has currently become an utmost focus of the tourism industry as they look forward towards protecting their survival interests in the upcoming future. Moreover, an increased number of customers are currently projecting their focus in terms of promoting ‘go green’ programs as their initiative and concern towards supporting sustainable tourism development (Bergin-Seers & Mair, 2008). Furthermore, multiple efforts are also being carried out in the current scenario for ensuring the authenticity of the sustainability concept. Popular examples are the certification procedures (e.g. BIS or Green Globe). A lasting sustainability mainly requires a balance to be maintained in terms of environment, socio-culture and economy (Bergin-Seers & Mair, 2008). However, attaining a balance between these three aspects often gives rise to multiple ethical dilemmas. In addition, multiple success and failure factors are also associated to this concept of sustainable development. Below mentioned are a few of the challenging facts based on which the success and the failure rate of tourism industrial sustainability is measured (European Commission, n.d.; United Nations, 1987). Preserving Natural and Cultural Resources This is the prime challenge faced by multiple tourism industries. As already stated above, sustaining in an effective manner requires maintaining of a delicate balance between the natural and cultural aspects. Apart from these two, the social aspect and the customer behaviour pattern also play significant roles in this provided context (European Commission, n.d.). Limiting Negative Impacts At Tourist Destinations, Including Use of Natural Resources and Waste Production Multiple negative factors such as unsatisfactory tourism services, use of artificial products and excessive production of environment effecting wastage also hamper customer preferences and interest levels towards the tourism industry and thus directly or indirectly endanger the sustenance of such industries (European Commission, n.d.). Promoting the Wellbeing of the Local Community Community satisfaction plays a vital role in terms of ensuring the survival of the tourism industry. Thus, it becomes an utmost priority for the tourism industry players to undertake initiatives that ensure community welfare (European Commission, n.d.). Reducing the Seasonality of Demand Since the tourism industry players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney are majorly based on customer service so it is necessary that these organisations keep their services in prior functionality throughout the year rather than just being seasonal. Through this way, they will be increasing their customer responsiveness along with attaining significant amount of customary and societal preferences (Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, 2014; European Commission, n.d.). Limiting the Environmental Impact of Tourism Related Transport Continuous monitoring of the level of environmental degradation which is generally caused by the transportation processes carried out by these tourism industry players is a must. Ignorance to these factors might result is posing of high level of sustainability risk from the societal as well as from the governmental perspectives (European Commission, n.d.). Making Tourism Accessible To All The tourism industry should also make sure that their services are accessible to every customer. This is a vital point which might contribute towards ensuring the sustenance of such tourism industry based organisations in terms of customer count, customer preference and higher market competitive stand. Improving the Quality of Tourism Jobs Maintaining quality in terms of service is also vital for tourism and hospitality industry organisations such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney to keep abreast with a continuous inflow of customers. Higher number of satisfied customers gradually means higher reputation level (European Commission, n.d.). Sustainability Issues Faced By Tourism Industrial Operation This section will be containing an elaborated description of the type of sustainability issues which are being faced by Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney. This is a five star rated hotel situated in Sydney and mostly comprises operations such as accommodation, dining, holiday packages, official meeting hosting, organising wedding parties, spa and leisure (Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, 2014). Moreover, effectively carrying out all these operations seems to be a complex process. Despite all these operations and customer satisfying efforts, multiple negative reviews have emerged against this hotel. One such negative response projected against this hotel is that it is said to be expensive but not up to the expected level of poshness. This might be considered as one of the sustainability issues which the hotel might face in terms of its appearance and ambience. Besides, this hotel also faced standardisation rating issues in comparison with that of other competitors such as ‘Astral Residences’ and ‘InterContinental’ hotel. The hotel might also face problems in terms of service accessibility. This is owing to the fact that it is a 5 star rated hotel thus the service prices are kept pretty high. Consequently, only the high class customer segment might afford it. This might also be considered as another sustainability issue since the customer count which this hotel will receive will be limited (Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, 2014). The third most crucial issue facing this hotel is regarding the optimal utilisation of resources in terms of executing their specific operations. For instance, the use of environment friendly textiles or low energy consuming electrical utilities can be stressed upon. Another crucial sustainability issue which this hotel might face is regarding its contribution towards community welfare programs. Failure in terms of attaining effective preference from the local community might raise the sustainability risk factor for this hotel. Above all, the most crucial issue which might risk the sustainability of this hotel to the highest level is regarding the effective and efficient disposal of waste material. Since the hotel undertakes multiple number of operations so the chances of generating higher level of disposable waste material is much more. Moreover, along with all these major factors, there seems to occur certain minor factors as well which might rise up issues in terms of operations carried out by the hotel. These minor factors include ineffectiveness in terms of handling customers belonging from varied geographic, demographic and cultural backgrounds. These minor issues are faced by a majority of the hospitality and transport industry based players which often raise situations of customer dissatisfactions. All these above mentioned issues might lay serious impacts on the existence of this hotel. The major portion of this impact will be observed from the customer’s side since this hotel is completely customer service based. Types of Industrial Certification Standards By taking into consideration all the above mentioned issues, multiple quality certifications standards have been established. These sustainability certifications generally act as a proof, stating the efforts made by the various hospitality and tourism industry based companies in context of projecting their concerns towards the environment and local community. Multiple hospitality and tourism industrial players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney often uses these attained sustainability certifications as references in terms of projecting their superiority over other competitors along with attracting customers as well. One of these certifications has been described as under. The Green Globe Certification The Green Globe certification standard is an organised procedure which is mostly used for measuring the sustainability performance. It is mainly applicable for tourism or hospitality industries along with their Supply Chain Management (SCM) partners. Multiple hospitality giants utilise this certification tool for tracking their improvements in terms of their performance and service quality. Based on the ratings attained from the multiple assessment stages, the hospitality industry based companies are ranked and documented accordingly (Green Globe Certification, 2014). This Green Globe standardisation program takes into account a set of 337 acceptance indicators which are further implemented on 41 sustainability norms. These acceptance indicators mostly vary depending on the certification type. The geographical and the local factors also lay significant impact on these acceptance indicators. The tourism and hospitality certification procedure gets revised and updated twice in a year (Green Globe Certification, 2014). Moreover, the Green Globe certification technique also helps in settling up specific guidelines with the prime intention of reflecting the main values of every single brand under this certification process. The industries and businesses processes which are linked up with this certification process must operate as per the set guidelines with the sole purpose of demonstrating their active participation in the sustainability practices. They also act as referral figures for other business organisations in terms of projecting the amount of benefit they adhered from this standardisation process. This can also be used for attracting stakeholders and investors (Green Globe Certification, 2014). Moreover, the guidelines set up by the Green Globe industrial standardisation technique has been mainly segregated into two parts. These two parts have been explained as under. The first part describes that every business associated with the Green Globe standardisation process, to a minimum level should adapt to the core norms of sustainable management and operation. They should include these core norms in their every organisational operation (Green Globe International, 2010). The second part describes one specific norm regarding the use of the Green Globe logo in case of promoting every single brand associated with the standardisation program (Green Globe International, 2010). In the present given context, Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney has also attained this certification of being a green globe standardised industry player. Accordingly, this industrial certification technique can also be used for standardising the industrial types which includes operations such as ‘attraction’, ‘business (wholesale and retail)’, ‘meeting conducts’, ‘water way trips’, ‘golf course programs’, ‘event management’, ‘dining services’, ‘spa and health club services’, ‘transportation’ and ‘travelling services’ (Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, 2014; Green Globe Certification, 2014). In terms of correlating these criteria with the operations of Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney, certain multiple similarities can be found and thus can be related accordingly. This hotel has been benchmarked depending upon the effective and optimal utilisation of resources and power. The Green Globe industrial certification technique also takes into account of four major criteria which are Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney which have been mentioned as under: Effective Sustainable Management Social Economic Environmental Factor Cultural Factor As already stated in certain parts of the above discussion that although these four pointed criteria might be simple but they are crucial in terms of successful certification of an industry or business organisation (Green Globe Certification, 2014). Recommendations for Improving Sustainability Practices Even though sustainability practice is an effective and crucial part of the current industrial scenario, multiple recommendations can be drawn on this concept which if followed might help in terms of gradual increase in the efficiency and effectiveness levels. The first recommendation will be in terms of looking beyond the set boundaries. In simple words, the concept of sustainability practises should not only be confined to environmental factors but should be beyond it. The second recommendation will be regarding the clarity of the industrial and business objectives. Higher level of objective transparency essentially means better focus on the set goals. The third recommendation will be regarding the effective linking up of sustainability factor with the profitability. Subsequently, the industrial players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney should be looking forward towards effectively utilising their available tangible and intangible resources which in turn will add up to their profitability. The fourth recommendation will be regarding looking forward to international perspectives. The industries and business processes which mostly look out for growth within the international market has higher chances of ensuring sustainability as compared to that of domestic market. One necessary point which Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney should practise is about taking the opinions of the stakeholders such as customers, investors into consideration before framing any type of decision or improvisation process. The fifth recommendation can be regarding continuous monitoring. Organisations such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney having high level of market expertise often keep a close check on their periodic development figures. Through this way, it can frame out their path in a much effective manner and also identify the various risk factors which might lead to a loss of sustainability. Adding to all these, the hospitality and tourism industries players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney which to a major portion are included in this sustainability concept should start planning for their future goals and invest accordingly. In addition to all these recommendations, the interrelationship between the environment, social and economic sustainability aspects should be clearly understood as these aspects contribute heavily in terms of ensuring the sustainability of Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney in the current marketing scenario. The environmental aspect mainly emphasises factors which include political concepts, technological concepts and legal concepts among others which help in determining the existence of any organisation from advantageous and disadvantageous points of view. Correspondingly, the social and economic aspects help in determining the market scenario and the customers’ preference towards a specific industry or business process which further helps in improvising the sustainability practise. Conclusion From the above discussion, a clear picture can be drawn about the necessities of undertaking sustainability practises in order to ensure the industrial existence within the current market scenario. The entire concept drawn is all about the multiple steps practised by various industry players with a special focus on Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney with the intention of cutting down their cost in terms of efficient utilisation of the available resources. This also includes bringing about reduction in the levels of waste emission from their activities. The concept finds high level of applicability in terms of hospitality and tourism industry players since these organisations have projected higher levels of development since past decades. Moreover, these companies have significantly contributed in terms of social and economic development of multiple nations. It is also determined that effective sustainability practises undertaken by an industry or business practise such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney might benefit it in the short-term basis or in the long run. It mainly depends on the operations within the organisation. As a solution, multiple industry players such as Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney are now currently focussing towards utilisation of renewable and non-polluting sources of energy for carrying out their day-to-day operations. Furthermore, the industrial sustainability standardisation programs have also proved their effectiveness in terms of projecting the industrial concern towards the society and environment thus proving the benefits of this sustainability concept. References Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney. (2014). About us. Retrieved from http://www.sydney.amorahotels.com/aboutus-en.html Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney. (2014). Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney Has Achieved the Green Globe Benchmarked Bronze. Retrieved from http://www.sydney.amorahotels.com/news-en.html Bartlett, A.A. (2012). The definition of sustainability. The Meaning of Sustainability, 2-5. Bergin-Seers, S. & Mair, J. (2008). Abstract. Sustainability Practices and Awards and Accreditation Programs in the Tourism Industry, 5-7. Day, J. (2012). Challenges of sustainable tourism. Journal of Tourism Research & Hospitality, 1-2. Drexhage, J. & Murphy, D. (2010). Sustainable development: from Brundtland to Rio 2012. International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 1-26. European Commission. (n.d.). Sustainable Tourism. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/sustainable-tourism/index_en.htm Green Globe Certification. (2014). Green globe certification standard. Retrieved from http://greenglobe.com/green-globe-certification-standard/ Green Globe International. (2010). Green Globe brand guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.greenglobeint.com/about/guidelines/ Griggs, D. (2013). Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, 495, 305-307. Northeastern University. (2014). Qualitative research methods: a data collector’s field guide. Qualitative Research Methods Overview, 1-8. United Nations. (1987). Our common future. 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