Environmental Conservation Attitude among Tourists and Hotel Environmental Management in the City of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to explore environmental conservation attitude of tourists and environmental management of hotel industry including supportive factors and limitation in Chiang Mai city, Thailand. Data were derived from tourists with 535 questionnaires and 20 hotels’ entrepreneurs and employees with interview forms. Descriptive statistic was used for analyzing data from questionnaires and content analysis was used for analyzing data from interviews. The results indicated that the behavioral attitude of environmental conservation was at the level of high and highest. This included positive opinion about environmental conservation, perception of environmental cooperation, perception of social needs, and incentives for environmental conservation. In addition, environmental management in hotel included delegation within administrative structure, stimulation of environmental awareness, waste management, resource and energy saving, provision of environmental friendly procurement, occupational health and safety, community participation, and standard certification. There were its supportive internal factors - vision and policy, administrative structure, leaders and employees with environmental awareness, and continuity of education about environment; and its external supportive factors – law, trend of conservation and green tourism, and hotel association. However, internal and external limitations concerned environmental management; internal limitation – cost, job descriptions, employee turnover, cultivation of environmental awareness; and external limitation – public relations of environment and green tourism, and environmental awareness of customers.