Sustainable management practices in tourism accommodation

The case of the municipality of Penacova, Portugal

Abstract

The environmental impacts of tourism are one of the main challenges companies are facing in the sector today. The incorporation of the principles underlying sustainable development has been evident in the behaviour of stakeholders, particularly in the tourist accommodation sector. The aim of this article is to analyse the relevance of adopting sustainable management practices in tourist accommodation and to identify the main barriers to their implementation in the context of a rural municipality. A qualitative methodology was used and semi-structured interviews were carried out with the managers of eight accommodations in the municipality of Penacova, Portugal. Content analysis was applied and data was structured into dimensions and categories of analysis, in accordance with the literature review. It was concluded that the most widely adopted sustainable management practices are those that require the least financial investment, with the main obstacle to implementing more effective measures being the high costs associated with the required investments in equipment. This study can contribute to a better understanding of the type of sustainable management practices most commonly implemented in the accommodation sector, in the context of low-density territories, as well as the barriers perceived by entrepreneurs in the sector.