A field survey of environmental initiatives at selected resorts in Malaysia.

Abstract

Abstract: Malaysia, one of the major tourism destinations in the world, has been successfully marketed as an ecologically and culturally rich destination. However, unchecked tourism activities have detrimental impact especially on the natural environment. Since nature and an unpolluted environment are major assets of hotels and the tourism industry in general, an increasing number of hotels are becoming more committed towards the protection of the environment and are incorporating environmentally friendly activities into their daily operations. Yet, it is not known to what extent Malaysian hotels and resorts have implemented these environmentally friendly practices. Hence, this paper examines the environmental initiatives of selected resorts in Malaysia to get insights of the different environmental practices implemented. Even though most of the resorts surveyed in this study are concerned about the environment, the implementation of environmental initiatives was still minimal due to unattractive benefits compared to costs and also the lack of knowledge in this area. The most popular practices are those that lead to a reduction in operational costs or are not too costly to be put in place. Key words: Green Initiatives Malaysian Hotels Sustainable Tourism Environmental Practices