Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Assessing the environmental impacts of three different types of accommodations in Portugal and Spain by using an LCA approach

2024; Elsevier BV; Volume: 927; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172230

1879-1026

Cristina Campos, Ana Cláudia Dias, Paula Quinteiro, David Gutiérrez, Pedro Villanueva-Rey, M. Teresa Gallego, Sara Marchesan Oliveira, Jara Laso, Jaume Albertí, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana–i–Palmer, Lela Mélon, Margalida Fullana, Ilija Sazdovski, Mercè Roca, Ramón Xifré, María Margallo, Rubén Aldaco,

Urban Transport and Accessibility

The tourism industry, affected by COVID-19, must reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study evaluated the environmental impact of three hotels in coastal and mountainous regions of Spain and Portugal using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Data was gathered via surveys in the Greentour tool. Results indicate that the 2-star hotel (focused on cultural-urban tourism) has the highest impacts in most categories, except for CC, FRD, and POF indicators. The 3-star hotel (beach tourism) contributes the most to CC and FRD indicators, while the hostel (nature-religious tourism) has the highest value in the POF indicator. LCA findings reveal that diesel consumption in the hostel and electricity usage in both the 2-star and 3-star hotels are major contributors to environmental impacts across various categories. Overall, evidence suggests that fossil fuel and electricity usage significantly affect tourism activities environmentally. Interestingly, this study highlights that a 2-star hotel can have a higher carbon footprint (CC indicator) compared to a 3-star hotel, challenging the notion that higher star ratings imply lower environmental impact.