Circular Economy in Tourism and Hospitality - a Nordic Perspective

Abstract

Circular economy (CE) has been identified as a way to overcome current challenges like climate change and overconsumption of resources. This study focuses on the communication of actions towards CE in three Nordic hotel chains. The data analysed comprises webpages, annual reports and sustainability reports published by the hotel chains on the Internet. The findings indicate that the hotel chains have not yet fully embraced CE, instead the focus is on taking individual actions such as minimising waste and reducing the use of plastics. To fully live up to the requirements of CE, hotels should collaborate with industry partners to create innovative solutions, e. g. for recycling, retaining ecosystems, sharing assets and dematerialising. The public sector has an important role in supporting these efforts.