Addressing climate change: conventional resorts tackle the need to 'go green'

Americans take approximately 27 million vacations to resorts a year (McCorkle, & Moranville , 2002). Impacts of resort tourists cause great impacts through water and energy consumption, increased solid waste, and green house gas emissions. The purpose of this study was to investigate resort providers’ attitudes toward sustainable business practices and to investigate which practices are being implemented in the field. The study utilized Swarbrooke’s (1999) Organizational Responses to Ethical Dilemmas and Challenges Model which provides nine possible stages an organization can go through in making ethical decisions, such as using green practices. The research surveyed resort managers’ attitudes toward sustainable practices in the resort industry and factors that influence these attitudes. Dr. Patrick Tierney collected a sample of Resort and Commercial Recreation Association members in July 2008 using an on-line survey resulting in 37 completed surveys (40% response rate). Data collected included: respondents’ characteristics, attitudes toward green practices at resorts, resort attributes, motivations to implement green practices and the current green practices used by respondents’ resorts. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlation, crosstabulation, chisquared analysis and descriptive statistics. Recommendations with regard to green practices and factors influencing the implementation of green practices are provided from the industry perspective. Implications for business and resort organizations are provided.