Environmental Performance of Hotels in Accra

Abstract

The steady growth in number of hotels 10 Accra is a source of environmental concern. This study sought to assess the environmental performance of hotels in Accra from the perspective of hotel managers, international tourists and other stakeholders. A stratified random sampling method was employed in surveying 200 hotel managers from the different categories of hotels in Accra. Additionally, 343 international tourists at various attraction sites in Accra and an in-depth interview of six key informants from stakeholder organizations and host communities were covered. Collectively, the hotels performed creditably in terms of environmental health and pollution prevention, support for local communities and in green purchasing. However, they performed poorly in the area of voluntary environmental programmes. There were also significant differences in the environmental performance of different categories of hotels with 3-4 star hotels being the best performers in all 10 areas of environmental management practices. International tourists had a positive attitude towards environmental management by hotels and were even willing to pay more to stay in hotels that are environmentally conscious. To improve the environmental performance of hotels in Accra, there should be greater education and training of managers, government policy to encourage voluntary environmental programmes and a shift towards green hotel development.