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

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172230
• Publication Date: 2024-04-04T15:29:36Z
• Authors: Cristina Campos; Ana Cláudia Dias; Paula Quinteiro; David Gutiérrez; Pedro Villanueva-Rey; Maria Gallego; Sara Oliveira; Jara Laso; Jaume Albertí; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-i-Pa...; Lela Melón; Margalida Fullana; Ilija Sazdovski; Mercè Roca; Ramon Xifré; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco
• Keywords: Carbon Footprint

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 Spain Portugal using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Data was gathered via surveys Greentour tool. Results indicate that 2-star hotel (focused on cultural-urban tourism) has highest impacts most categories, except for CC, FRD, POF indicators. 3-star (beach contributes to CC FRD indicators, while hostel (nature-religious value indicator. LCA findings reveal diesel consumption electricity usage both are major contributors across various categories. Overall, evidence suggests fossil fuel significantly affect activities environmentally. Interestingly, this highlights a can have higher carbon footprint (CC indicator) compared hotel, challenging notion star ratings imply lower impact.