Fifth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

One of the most unsustainable problems of tourism is waste generation. The accommodation sector is one of the main tourist contributors, reaching up to 40% of the total MSW in tourist destinations such as Puerto de la Cruz. Tourism waste generation requires significant financial efforts from local authorities, which are not always adequately reflected in their financial budget. Indeed, tourism firms do not fully contribute to the municipal waste service costs, resulting in cross subsidies within residents and tourism industry. Firstly, we analyze the determinant variables of mixed waste (MW) generation within accommodation sector of Puerto de la Cruz and, secondly, we propose a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) fee for hotels’ MW generation, thus introducing an incentive scheme for reducing the MW and increasing the recycling rate. For this purpose, we exploit a cross-section with variables that characterize 61 establishments, including variables describing the perception on firm’s waste management policy and door-to-door daily waste collected within a two-month period. Results reveal that the number of beds together with the occupancy rates become the most relevant variable of MW generation. Counterintuitively, the presence of an environmental policy in the establishment causes an increase in the MW generated. Information provided to employees on how to perform a proper internal waste management seems to reduce the amount of MW. In addition, the better managers’ perception of waste policy in the establishment, the lower the amount of waste generated. There is no statistical evidence that hotels generate more waste than apartments.