Lectoraat Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism

Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism

Professorship of Applied Sciences

Businesses and organisations of all kinds are increasingly embracing sustainability, either because of an intrinsic desire to create value beyond profit or pushed by legislation, clients' demand, and investors' pressure. The hospitality and tourism sectors are no exception. The professorship Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism supports the hospitality sector to become a positive force for change toward a sustainable future for all.

The world faces pressing challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Moreover, a significant number of people lives in poverty without access to decent jobs, food, and clean water. The hospitality sector is energy- and resource intensive. It also offers global job opportunities and, thanks to its position in the supply chain, holds the potential to influence both suppliers and guests. Therefore, the hospitality sector is crucial in addressing today's world challenges and promoting a more environmentally sustainable and socially just future.

The professorship Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism carries out applied research with the objective of supporting the hospitality sector, including tourism, to be a force of positive change toward a sustainable future. The professorship sees hospitality as a set of practices grounded in individuals' values, and sustainbility as a process that begins at the individual level and extends to organisations and society as a whole. 

The professorship's mission is to advance sustainability in the hospitality and tourism industry. This involves designing, implementing, and assessing behavioural interventions to encourage hosts and guests to make sustainable choices.

Be a game changer toward sustainability

The three main research lines of the professorship are:

  • Behavioural interventions for sustainability
    Approximately 65% of actions necessary to promote sustainability depend on behavioural change. Since 2014, the professorship has been dedicated to enhancing the pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour of hosts and guest.
  • Principles and practices of Circular Economy
    To support the transition of our sector toward a more environmentally sustainable and socially equitable stance, since 2019 the professorship has been embracing and developing a line of research and interventions on Circular Economy in Hospitality and Tourism.
  • Change through tourism
    Central question in this line is how hospitality and tourism can design experiences that enhance staffs' and guests' sustainability values. For example, in the shift away from gain values and infinite growth, we engage with the role of altruism and friendship in hospitality and tourism.

Projects

The professorship Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism is involved in several projects, some of which are listed below. 

Behavioural interventions

Healthy food in hotels
This project was one of the work packages of the project 'Implementation of food interventions in intramural health care and hospitality settings' (in Dutch: PPS 'Implementatie van voedingsinterventies in intramurale zorginstellingen en horeca').

  • Timeline: April 2019 - December 2023.
  • Aim: Based on scientific insights and partners’ experience in everyday practice, develop, test and evaluate behavioural interventions to lower animal-based and promote plant-based food in 11 cases, including hotels.
  • Partners: in our work package: Breda University of Applied Science, Wageningen University & Research (overall project management), three Accor hotels in the Amsterdam region, CELTH, FoodStep, GreenDish.
  • Outcomes and limitations:  
    Two major conclusions could be drawn from the research project, being: 

    • informing and involving staff (via for example inspiration sessions) is crucial for/before implementing changes in the food offer.  

    • in all investigated hotel cases most staff members were able to establish - for themselves and their guests - what healthy food entails, but not what sustainable food means. 

    • View the overall project report here. 

    • One academic and one professional publication. 

Principles and practices of Circular Economy

KIEM hbo Circular Economy in Hospitality

  • Timeline: April 2020 - July 2021

  • Aim: the project aimed at building a networked learning community committed to develop further knowledge on the application of Circular Economy in the Hospitality Industry

  • Partners: Hotel Management School Leeuwarden at NHL Stenden, 4 hospitality SMEs, 1 non-profit association (Circulair Friesland) 

  • Outcomes: 

    • establishing the "Friese Doorlopers" community of SMEs, key actors, and stakeholders interested in the transition to a Circular Economy with regards to plastics, water, organic waste, and a novel storytelling for Friesland embracing circularity and sustainability. 

    • setting the basis for spin-off project proposals.

ATLAS Special Interest Group (SIG) “Circular Economy and circularity in the space of tourism and hospitality” 

  • Timeline: from Oct 2022 onwards 

  • Aim: establishing and coordinating an European network of scholars, practitioners, and students interested and/or active in the field of circular economy in tourism and hospitality (https://atlas-euro.org/groups/special-interest-groups-2/sig-circular-economy/) 

  • Partners: Bocconi University (Italy); Dalaman University and Mid-Sweden University (Sweden); and Roskilde University (Denmark). 

  • Outcomes:  

    • Special Track connected to this SIG during the ATLAS Annual Conference. 

    • Thematic webinars open to the SIG’s members and externals.

    • Academic publications and possible project proposals.

Change through tourism 

Unveiling myths about young holidaymakers

When young people go on holiday, are they interested mainly in having a good time? Do they really spend all their time online? Do they go for the cheapest option, with little or no interest in nature and the environment, or are they, in fact, interested in nature trails and other outdoor activities when dreaming about a trip or planning a holiday? 

  • Aim: Through this research project, the professorship intends to find answers to these questions by exploring some of the values that influence young tourists.
  • Outcomes: The initial findings of the study are encouraging it turns out that there is a consistent group of young travellers in the Netherlands, China, and Italy who enjoy nature holidays, often combined with cultural activities. These teenagers and young adults are influenced by values such as altruism and protecting nature when thinking about where they would like to go on holiday and booking their trip.
  • Partners: TNS NIPO, the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), Dr Nan Chan of Hong Kong Polytechnic (Hing Kong), Prof. Dr Alessandra Fermani of the University of Macerata (Italy), and Dr Simona Staffieri of the University of Rome (Italy). Students of both the bachelor and master programmes of Hotel Management School Leeuwarden have also contributed to this study.
    The most recent published academic article on this line can be found here.

The principles of the professorship are:

  • The professorship operates as part of a wider network that includes businesses, non-profit organisations, government institutions, and students. Students enrolling in one of our courses this year and taking an interest in sustainability are welcome to help with our research. 

  • By being at the forefront of the conversation about Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism, the professorship enhances the reputation of the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden, NHL Stenden and its project partners at a local, national, and global level. 

  • The professorship supports, develops and builds human capabilities, of both students and academic colleagues around the concepts of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism.  

  • The professorship supports the embedding of concepts related to Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism, particularly around behavioural interventions and circular economy, within the curriculum at Hotel Management School. 

  • The professorship supports the design, test, and implementation of sustainability interventions at NHL Stenden Hospitality Group and shares successful interventions widely. 

  • All members of the professorship perform relevant and rigorous research and pedagogical activities associated with Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism. They behave ethically and with respect for all involved partners. 

Team

The professorship consists of a Research Group headed by our Professor of Applied Sciences Dr Elena Cavagnaro. Members of the Research Group are lecturers at NHL Stenden and professionals working in the field, whose responsibility is to ensure that the research has practical relevance. They provide input by suggesting research topics and sharing relevant findings of their research with businesses and other organisations, while the lecturers incorporate the findings in their classes.

Team members

See also

Disruption, Innovation and New Phenomena

Hospitality Education

Sustainable Development Goals

This professorship contributes to...