Sustainable Tourism Practices and Financial Performance in the Hospitality Industry : An Investigation into Classified Hotels in Sri Lanka

Sammanfattning

This study investigates the relationship between sustainable tourism practices and financial performance within the hospitality industry, focusing on classified hotels in Sri Lanka. As sustainability becomes an essential consideration for the global tourism sector, understanding its economic implications is particularly important for developing countries. The research seeks to assess if implementing sustainability initiatives such as waste management, energy conservation, and green certifications benefits hotel financial performance. It investigates the potential positive impact these practices may have on profitability. A quantitative research design was employed, collecting primary data through structured questionnaires distributed to managers of 1-star to 5-star hotels registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. The RBV, DCT and Triple Bottom Line are among the applied theories in the analysis. Those results show that practices of green certifications and energy conservation significantly and positively influence the financial performances, but the practices of waste management do not have any statistically significant effects. These findings provide empirical evidence of the necessity to include sustainability in the operation of the hotel environment and form part of the wider discussion on the development of sustainable tourism in the emerging economies.