Tourism Analysis, Vol. 24, pp.

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IS TOURISM GOING GREEN? A LITERATURE REVIEW ON

GREEN INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

GIOVANNI SATTA, RICCARDO SPINELLI, AND FRANCESCO PAROLA

Department of Economics and Business Studies, University of Genova, Genova, Italy

Adopting a sustainability perspective is of growing importance in developing tourism, as this can

help drive value creation. Implementing “greener” and more sustainable strategies by tourism-based
companies and destinations helps reflect the increasing environmental concerns influencing tourist
behavior and consumption patterns. In this vein, ecofriendly initiatives represent a major focus of
innovation for tourist companies and destinations in reshaping their strategies to reduce the environ-
mental impact and manage relationships with key stakeholders. This article explores how academic
research has addressed the role of green innovation in fostering the value creation activities of tourist
companies and destinations. To do so, a systematic literature review was performed on 61 journal
articles addressing green and sustainable innovation in the tourism industry. Findings support the
academic debate on the role of green innovation for sustainable tourism by identifying the main
streams and gaps in this research domain. The results return a picture of a fragmented research
field—in terms of both theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches—that requires fur-
ther investigation.

Key words: Green innovation; Sustainability; Sustainable tourism; Literature review

Introduction areas: protecting the environment and its resources,

Sustainability is a major topic in the debate on
tourism development, due to the systemic impact
that tourism has on destinations (Leiper, 1990).
Tourist activities need to be managed in a way that
creates value for a territory, rather than impoverish-
ing it (Martini, Buffa, & Notaro, 2017).
Existing academic research shows that sustain-
ability is a multifaceted concept that embraces three
the cultural heritage of communities, and local eco-
nomic growth (Lu & Nepal, 2009). In this article,
we focus on the environmental dimension and the
innovation opportunities associated with the devel-
opment of “green” tourism.
According to Y. S. Chen, Lai, and Wen (2006),
green innovation is “hardware or software innova-
tion that is related to green products or processes,
including the innovation in technologies that are

Address correspondence to Riccardo Spinelli, Associate Professor in Management, Department of Economics and Business Studies,
University of Genova, Via Vivaldi 5, 16126, Genova, Italy. E-mail: riccardo.spinelli@economia.unige.it

265
266 SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA
involved in energy saving, pollution-prevention,
waste recycling, green product designs, or corporate
environmental management” (p. 332). It includes
the choice of materials, product design and pro-
cessing, packaging, shipping, use, and disposal for
reducing the environmental impact of firm’s opera-
tions and achieving sustainable strategies (Chang,
2011).
Sustainability, particularly environmental con-
cerns, such as global warming, water shortage,
waste, sewage, and renewable energy management,
exerts a growing influence over consumers’ behav-
ior and represents a leading driver for innovation
in many industries. Green practices support com-
pliance with customers’ and governments’ demand
for sustainable development; they also enable new
ways of value creation through both cost savings
and differentiation (Y. S. Chen et al., 2006; Hsiao
& Chuang, 2016).
Tourism, a resource-intensive industry, needs to
be accountable in terms of environmental sustain-
ability on a local and global scale (Lu & Nepal,
2009). Growing competitiveness has made innova-
tion a differentiating factor among both destinations
and companies in the industry, with quality man-
agement and contribution to sustainable develop-
ment being increasingly valued (Alonso-Almeida,
Rocafort, & Borrajo, 2016). Investments in the
adoption of “greener” and more sustainable strate-
gies and practices that fit with tourist preferences
can turn into drivers of value creation (Andereck,
2009). Franch, Martini, Buffa, and Parisi (2008)
highlighted the rise of a new kind of tourism, the
so-called 4L tourist, who subordinates the Land-
scape, Leisure, and Learning aims of the tourist
experience to that of Limit in the exploitation of
resources.
In academic research, green innovation in tour-
ism is a novel but promising research area, featur-
ing an eclectic mix of studies with differing scopes
and theoretical perspectives (see, e.g., Baird, Hall,
& Castka, 2018; He, He, & Xu, 2018). Our research
explores the literature on green innovation for sus-
tainable tourism to identify the extant research gaps
that should be addressed by future investigations.
This article scrutinizes the following profiles: i) spa-
tial and temporal dimensions; ii) theoretical perspec-
tives; iii) methodological issues; and iv) investigated
forms of tourism/sectors.
The rest of the article is structured as follows.
First, an exploration of the concepts of sustainable
tourism and green innovation is provided, together
with some considerations about the innovation
drivers for change that such an approach implies.
Then our research design and method are intro-
duced, followed by the presentation and discussion
of our findings. Some final considerations close the
article by recapping main outcomes, implications,
and limitations.
Background
Sustainable Tourism
The emergence of the “sustainable tourism”
notion dates back to the early 1990s and has since
become the dominant paradigm informing the plan-
ning and management of the sector (Weaver, 2014).
However, as Albrecht (2013) noted, what consti-
tutes “sustainable tourism” lacks general agree-
ment, as the concept of sustainability is “defined,
interpreted and implemented differently by individ-
uals, stakeholders and social groups” (Lu & Nepal,
2009, p. 5). One broadly used definition of sustain-
able tourism is provided by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) (2005), which
describes it as “tourism that takes full account of
its current and future economic, social and environ-
mental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors,
the industry, the environment and host communi-
ties” (p. 11). This definition is rooted in the seminal
approach introduced by the World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED) (1987),
which refers to sustainable development as the
“development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future genera-
tions to meet their own needs” (p. 43).
Three “pillars” of sustainable development are
underlined in UNEP (2005): economic sustain-
ability, social sustainability, and environmental
sustainability. As Vernon, Essex, Pinder, and Curry
(2005) reported, adopting a sustainable perspective
on tourism means:
addressing the problems of environmental deg-
radation caused by the volume of tourists, the
resource implications resulting from the operation
of tourism-related businesses, such as transpor-
tation pressures and pollution, energy and water
 IS TOURISM GOING GREEN? 267
consumption, waste generation, purchasing strat-
egies, and the possible negative impacts on host
communities. (p. 326)
It is the last issue that we focus on, something
that Edwards, Martinac, and Miller (2008) argued
to be an “underlying assumption” for all sustain-
able tourism issues. In this article, we explore the
potential of innovation to reduce the environmen-
tal impact of tourist activities through a literature
review.
Green Innovation and Drivers for Change
Green innovation, broadly defined, includes
innovative technologies and processes character-
ized by original elements in service operations
(Polese, Botti, Grimaldi, Monda, & Vesci, 2018).
An ecoinnovation is not necessarily new to the
market as it can be new to the tourist firm adopt-
ing it. Green innovation features reduced environ-
mental impact but such environmental motivations
are not necessarily always dominant. For instance,
energy efficiency innovations are essentially driven
by cost cutting, with the environmental benefits
derived from reduced energy consumption acting
as a secondary driver. Tourism-based firms adopt
i) radical innovations (e.g., pioneering environ-
mental measures/technologies needing suitable
new knowledge) and generate ii) incremental com-
petence producing transformations that optimize
current processes (e.g., environmental quality man-
agement systems) (Pace, 2016).
Within sustainable tourism, the concept of green
innovation is attracting growing interest from both
academia and industry. Here, green innovation is
a strategic option for securing sustainable com-
petitive advantage by incorporating environmen-
tal protection and resource savings into product
design and packaging to meet societal expectations
(Y. S. Chen et al., 2006) and creating shared value
(Porter & Van der Linde, 1995). Recent empirical
investigation suggests that the traditional trade-off
between green tourist products and corporate prof-
its is becoming questionable (Deloitte, 2011) as
environmental policies become important drivers of
destinations’ competitiveness (Armenski, Dwyer,
& Pavluković, 2018; He et al., 2018). Scholars
argue that as tourists’ needs change there will be
significant opportunities in the future for develop-
ing green tourism products targeting potentially
huge segments of tourists sensitive to environmen-
tal concerns (Franch et al., 2008; Sirakaya-Turk,
Baloglu, & Mercado, 2014). In this vein, it will be
fundamental for tourist companies and destinations
not only to disclose their ecofriendly attitude, but
also to proactively engage tourists in actual green
programs and practices.
Green innovation in tourism may create value
through both differentiation and cost reduction
(Hsiao & Chung, 2016). As environmental pro-
tection and sustainability issues will play a funda-
mental role in determining consumer preferences
in the coming years (Jayawardena, Pollard, Chort,
Choi, & Kibicho, 2013), green tourists are expected
to pay a premium price for ecofriendly products.
Green innovation improves service quality and dif-
ferentiates the product. New technologies, operat-
ing methods, and supply chain reconfigurations can
be developed to increase a firm’s environmental
performance and reduce costs (Porter & Kramer,
2006). Green innovation may enable tourist compa-
nies to yield net cost savings by making processes
more efficient or optimizing resource usage (Hsiao
& Chung, 2016).
Relatedly, in recent years, the introduction of green
practices in tourism has been taking place across var-
ious business areas because of transformations not
only in the environmental sphere but also in tourism
operations and organization (Hsiao & Chuang, 2016;
Jokar & Ranjbar, 2017; Moscardo, 2008). Under
certain conditions, tourist firms and destinations are
pushed or forced to adopt green practices in critical
areas (e.g., investments, operating processes, public–
private partnerships, etc.) to make their business
more sustainable. This impact is not felt by all tourist-
based businesses equally, as some have unique
operational challenges and/or offer services to peo-
ple in vulnerable natural settings (Farsani, Coelho,
& Costa, 2012; Nǎstase, Chasovschi, Popescu, &
Scutariu, 2010). A major driver here is the relevance
of nature-based environments in some tourist ser-
vices, such as exotic resorts, mountain excursions,
safari, etc. (Cawley, 2017). In these cases, the fre-
quent transit of people risks spoiling the equilibrium
of local ecosystems, causing the degradation of the
environmental beauty in the long term (Romero-
Padilla, Navarro-Jurado, & Malvárez-García, 2016;
268 SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA
Yánez & Sevilla, 2010). This risk is higher when the
tourist service is provided through polluting assets,
like cruise ships, jeeps, coaches, etc. Of course, the
size of such assets in terms of carrying capacity and
the type of engine propulsion (fossil fuels vs. LNG/
hybrid systems) exposes nature to the diverse burden
of the green challenge (Klein, 2011). In operational
terms, it is not just the asset but the risks derived
from critical service processes that can force tourist
companies towards a greener consciousness. In large
hotels, for instance, laundry washing absorbs a great
amount of electric energy and risks heavily con-
tributing to water pollution (Chou, 2014; Warren &
Becken, 2017).
Analogous threats come from the demand side.
The standardization of tourist needs across the
globe, the fast-track internationalization of some
major destinations (e.g., Venice, Rome, Paris,
Sharm-El-Sheik, Maldives, etc.), and the diffu-
sion of economic and social well-being in (former)
developing countries (e.g., China, India, etc.) pro-
voked demand “massification” in some tourism
businesses (e.g., cruises). The intensity of tour-
ist flows in certain destinations poses tremendous
challenges to both private firms and public insti-
tutions. This issue is exacerbated when the tourist
services are delivered in the presence of a vast local
community. In the case of tourist facilities (e.g.,
historical landmarks, cruise terminals, etc.) located
inside/nearby a densely populated area, problems
of social balance emerge in terms of infrastructural
resource sharing, traffic overlapping, and cumulated
negative externalities (Scuttari, Lucia, & Martini,
Figure 1. Drivers of green innovation for sustainable tourism.
2013). Unsurprisingly, this conflictual background
can act as a powerful driver for green innovation,
especially in large metropolitan areas.
Finally, legislation at international, national, and
local level could constitute a compulsory trigger
for firms and public institutions in the redesign of
green solutions in tourism (Dinica, 2013). In recent
years, stricter regulatory regimes have been set in
response to environmental challenges, dealing with
waste, air, water, and noise pollution, as well as
aiming at the reduction of traffic congestion and
other forms of nonmonetary negative externalities.
Figure 1 briefly summarizes the major drivers for
green innovation in the tourism domain.
Research Design and Method
To investigate how green innovations can drive
value creation for tourist companies and destina-
tions, we scrutinized the academic literature across
a number of tourism-based industries. A three-stage
procedure of (i) planning, (ii) execution, and (iii)
reporting, in line with Tranfield, Denyer, and Smart
(2003), was carried out. In the planning stage (i)
we defined the research object and set the param-
eters of the review. Consistent with our aims, a sys-
tematic literature review was performed on papers
selected from peer-review international journals.
The papers were extracted from the Scopus data-
base (by Elsevier) by performing queries with ad
hoc keywords. To ensure data homogeneity and
consistency, both conference papers and books
were excluded from the sample.
 IS TOURISM GOING GREEN? 269
Consistent with Crossan and Apaydin (2010),
the second phase of the process, execution, was
made up of three steps: (a) definition of initial
selection criteria, (b) grouping publications by per-
tinence, (c) analysis and synthesis.
The Scopus database was scrutinized in July
2018 through specific queries using strings of words
consistent with the focus of this study. Three main
queries were carried out on papers published in the
2008–2018 time frame, including the words “inno-
vation” and “tourism,” combined with each of the
following ones: “green,” “sustainable,” and “sus-
tainability.” After removing duplicates, 156 papers
were identified and coded in the initial database,
which was then screened to exclude non pertinent
studies. To do this, the abstracts of the 156 sample
papers were read by the three authors to assess
relevancy. Abstracts not considered relevant by at
least two readers were eliminated from the data-
base. This left 91 shortlisted papers whose entire
text was read and evaluated by the same procedure,
resulting in a final dataset made up of 61 relevant
contributions. These 61 sample articles are pub-
lished in 30 different international academic jour-
nals, with 31 of them concentrated in five journals:
Journal of Sustainable Tourism (12 papers), Sus-
tainability (8), Tourism Management (5), Journal
of Cleaner Production (3), and Tourism and Hos-
pitality Research (3). The overwhelming majority
of the 154 authors (92.2%) are academics, with just
three papers coauthored exclusively by profession-
als or practitioners.
Each sample manuscript was analyzed and cat-
egorized according to various dimensions: authors’
name, journal, year of publication, core topics,
theoretical perspective, paper type, method, sample
size (if applicable), industry/sector coverage, geo-
graphic and temporal coverage, main findings. All
data were then synthetized in ad hoc files, facilitat-
ing quantitative analyses and comparisons.
The outcomes are reported in the following sec-
tion, which describes the third phase of the litera-
ture review process.
Main Findings
Table 1 reports the outcome of the systematic lit-
erature review of green innovation for sustainable
tourism in the sample period. In this section, we
discuss the major issues emerging from the review:
temporal and spatial dimensions, theoretical per-
spectives, paper typology and methods, and focus
of the investigation.
Temporal and Spatial Dimensions
Temporal distribution, as the data show, has a
clear uptrend over the last 6 years, where 79% of
the sample manuscripts are concentrated. These
findings not only indicate the novelty of the topic
but also suggest that practitioners and academics
are becoming increasingly attentive to this topic
(see Fig. 2).
When it comes to the geographic coverage of
the studies, further interesting findings emerge
(Table  2). Papers that are (predominantly) con-
ceptual or literature reviews—12 out of the 61
papers—do not offer information related to spatial
references. None of the papers apply a multiregional
perspective, whereas five papers compare green
innovation in tourism activities performed across
different countries within the same geographic area
(e.g., Kuščer, Mihalič, & Pechlaner, 2017; Pereira
& Mykletun, 2017).
Europe emerges as the most investigated region,
as almost half of the papers report empirical or
anecdotal evidence related to this area (23 cases,
46.94% of the eligible cases). Consumers from
European countries seems increasingly willing to
change their consumption lifestyles by adopting an
ecofriendlier behavioral pattern. Studies on devel-
oped countries outnumber developing country stud-
ies (31 vs. 18). Italy (7 cases), Spain (4), US (4),
Taiwan (4), and Malaysia (3) confirm their tourist
tradition coupled with a growing consciousness
of the green concerns related to tourism. Surpris-
ingly, France, the first destination worldwide for
international arrivals (World Tourism Organization
[WTO], 2017), is not present in the sample.
Theoretical Perspectives
Innovation, networks and industrial clusters,
stakeholder management, and sustainable develop-
ment are the most applied theoretical perspectives
when investigating this phenomenon (see Table 3),
whereas consumer behavior, corporate social re­
sponsibility (CSR), and technology adoption appear
Table 1
Literature Review: The Sample Papers 270
Sectors &
Theoretical Forms of Geographic
Authors Year Core Topics Perspective Paper Type Methodological Issues Sample Size Tourism Coverage

Carlsen and 2008 Sustainable tourism, innovation, collabora- n.a. Empirical Multiple case study 3 organizations Attractions US
Edwards tive networks research & events
Edwards 2008 Innovation, private sector, social sustainabil- n.a. Literature Practictioners’ perspec- n.a. Tourism n.a.
et al. ity, knowledge creation and diffusion review tive and academic
discussion
Moscardo 2008 Sustainable tourism, innovation, regional Sustainable Conceptual Theory building n.a. Tourism n.a.
development development paper
Verbeek and 2008 Literature review concerning sustainable CSR Conceptual Explorative study n.a. Transports n.a.
Mommaas tourism transport paper
Andereck 2009 Responsible tourism, green innovation, n.a. Empirical ANOVA and 852 tourists Forms of US
nature-based tourism, visitor attitudes research MANOVA tourism
Lawton and 2010 Birding festivals, resource management, CSR Empirical Cluster analysis 108 festival Attractions US
Weaver ecotourism, event management research organizers & events
Nǎstase et 2010 Cooperation models between nature-based Stakeholder Empirical Multiple case study 4 destinations Forms of Greece, Austria,
al. tourism companies and critical stakeholder management research tourism Finland,
groups their social sustainability Romania
Yánez and 2010 Decentralized administration for rainforest Sustainable Empirical Single case study 1 Paese Tourism Perù
Sevilla preservation development research
Smerecnik 2011 Green innovation in hotels Technology Empirical Regression analysis 49 hotels Hospitality US
and adoption research
Andersen
Kokkran- 2011 Entrepreneurial innovation in tourism devel- Networks and Empirical Single case study 1 community network Hospitality India
ikal and opment, community networks industrial research (7 respondents)
Morrison clusters
Coghlan 2012 Marine tourism, importance-performance Consumer Empirical Regression analysis 369 surveys (crew Forms of Australia
SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA

analysis, satisfaction, protected areas behavior research of 10 tourism tourism

operators)
Habibah 2012 Universities as knowledge ecotourism n.a. Empirical Multiple case study 6 research centers of Attractions Malaysia
et al. destinations research a single University & events
Farsani et al. 2012 Innovative strategies of geoparks for cultural Sustainable Empirical Survey 25 geoparks & 1 Attractions Iran, various
sustainability development research business case & events countries
Albrecht 2013 Sustainable tourism, tourism networks, stake- Networks and Literature Meta-analysis (nominal Group of 58 Think Tourism n.a.
holders networking in tourism industrial review group technique Tank participants
clusters - NGT) (workshop)
Chiabai et 2013 Action–research cycle, bottom-up approach, Stakeholder Empirical Multiple case study 58 touristic sites in Forms of Italy
al. cultural heritage, e-participation, ICT management research one city tourism
Hsu et al. 2013 Local cultural and creative industry, SMEs Networks and Empirical Single case study 1 community network Forms of Taiwan
operation models and cocreation for service industrial research (23 respondents) tourism
innovation clusters
(continued)
Table 1 (Continued)

Sectors &
Theoretical Forms of Geographic
Authors Year Core Topics Perspective Paper Type Methodological Issues Sample Size Tourism Coverage

Jayawardena 2013 Trends related to sustainability in Consumer Conceptual View point n.a. Hospitality Canada
et al. hospitalities behavior paper
Peeters 2013 Modeling the behavior of tourism transport; Consumer Conceptual Theory building n.a. Transports n.a.
support to policy makers behavior paper
Scuttari et 2013 Development of an analytical model for n.a. Empirical Multiple case study 2 locations Transports Italy
al. sustainable tourism transport research
Silvestrelli 2013 Cultural heritage tourism and hospitality Networks and Empirical Single case study 1 project Hospitality Italy
innovation industrial research
clusters
Chou 2014 Hotels’ environmental policies and personal Sustainable Empirical Hierarchical linear 254 surveys from 33 Hospitality Taiwan
environmental beliefs development research model hotels
Kasim et al. 2014 Water management in hotels CSR Conceptual Theory building 1 resort Hospitality Malaysia
paper
Koščak et al. 2014 Excellence and CSR in sustainable tourism, Stakeholder Empirical Single case study 1 community network Forms of Slovenia
innovation through a social relationship management research (32 respondents) tourism
network
Esmaeilifar 2015 Green building innovations, green designed n.a. Empirical Regression analysis and 406 respondents Hospitality Malaysia
et al. hotel, tourist satisfaction, hotel competition research Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM)
Razumova 2015 Drivers for green innovation in hotels Innovation Empirical Regression analysis 188 hotels Hospitality Spain
et al. research
Souto 2015 Business model and business concept innova- Innovation Empirical Structural Equation 115 senior managers Hospitality Spain
tion in tourism research Modelling (SEM) in hospitality
Wei 2015 Sustainable tourism in food tourism Innovation Conceptual Theory building n.a. Forms of China
paper tourism
IS TOURISM GOING GREEN?

Zapalska, 2015 Small entrepreneurial businesses in the tour- Innovation Empirical Multiple case study 10 firms Tourism Poland
Brozik, and ism industry, female leaders, innovation for research
Zieser sustainability-oriented tourism
Alegre et al. 2016 Social enterprises and business innovation Innovation Empirical Multiple case study 2 enterprises Tourism Spain
research
Alonso- 2016 Ecoinnovations as a differentiating element Innovation Empirical Delphi method 57 companies and Tourism Global
Almeida among destinations and companies in research 15 experts
et al. tourism
Coles et al. 2016 Climate change, tourism SMEs, energy n.a. Empirical Multiple case study 417 respondents Hospitality England
practices research
d’Hauteserre 2016 Attractiveness of island destination and Innovation Empirical Multiple case study n.a. Forms of Japan and Tahiti
and Funck innovation in ecotourism research tourism
Gabriel et al. 2016 Ecotourism, multicriteria decision analysis, Innovation Empirical Multi-Criteria Decision 60 respondents Forms of Colombia
creative workshop, idea evaluation research Analysis (MCDA) tourism
methodology and PROMETHEE
(continued)
271
Table 1 (Continued)
Sectors & 272
Theoretical Forms of Geographic
Authors Year Core Topics Perspective Paper Type Methodological Issues Sample Size Tourism Coverage

Hsiao and 2016 Green practice innovation; Shared value in SCM (& Empirical Delphi method 20 experts in green Hospitality Taiwan
Chuang the supply chain shared value research star hotels
perspective)
Jamhawi and 2016 ICT and green innovation for in heritage Technology Empirical Multiple case study 10 stakeholders in Forms of Jordan
Hajahjah tourism adoption research heritage tourism tourism
Lee et al. 2016 Business innovation, entrepreneurship and Innovation Empirical Higher ordered struc- 198 café & Restaurant Australia
restaurant performance research tural model restaurants & Catering
Pace 2016 Energy efficiency measures RBV and Empirical Multiple case study 17 Hotels (26 manag- Hospitality Malta
dynamic research ers) and 14 directors /
capabilities owners of engineer-
ing consultancy firms
Perić, 2016 Business model for sustainable sport tourism Innovation Conceptual Theory building n.a. Forms of n.a.
Vitezić, and paper tourism
Mekinc
Romero-Pa- 2016 Creativity and innovation in costal mass Networks and Empirical Multiple case study 2 urban areas Forms of Spain
dilla et al. tourism industrial research tourism
clusters
Tan and Law 2016 Adoption of learning technologies for reducing n.a. Literature Systematic literature 130 papers Tourism n.a.
the impact of visitors’ flows on protected areas review reviews
Tao and 2016 Relationships existing between green innova- n.a. Empirical Structural Equation 269 respondents Tourism China
Chen tion, perception of environmental protection research Modeling (SEM)
and consumer behavior
Berzina et al. 2017 International cooperation for tourism Networks and Empirical Multiple case study 10 travel agencies Other Russia
sustainability industrial research analysis (semistruc-
clusters tured interviews)
Broccardo, 2017 Business model innovation in sustainable Innovation Empirical Regression analysis 110 agritourist firms Forms of Italy
SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA

Culasso, agritourism research tourism

and Truant
Cawley 2017 Balancing heritage and innovation to Sustainable Empirical Single case study 1 location Attractions Ireland
preserve a natural resource development research & Events
Jokar and 2017 Green innovation and sustainable tourism n.a. Empirical Single case study 1 location Attractions Iran
Ranjbar research & Events
Kim and 2017 The role of mobile technology in sustainable Technology Empirical Content analysis 1175 patents, 621 aca- Tourism Global
Kim and smart tourism adoption research demic articles and
1870 news articles
Kuščer et al. 2017 Mountain destinations, innovation, tourism Innovation Empirical ANOVA 88 mountain destina- Forms of Austria, Slove-
development, sustainability. research tion managers tourism nia, Switzerland
Liu, Yen, 2017 Combination of agricultural products and Innovation Empirical Single case study 1 farm Attractions Taiwan
Tsai, and tourism into an ecoinnovation strategy research & Events
Lo
(continued)

Table 1 (Continued)
Sectors &
Theoretical Forms of Geographic
Authors Year Core Topics Perspective Paper Type Methodological Issues Sample Size Tourism Coverage

Martini et al. 2017 The paper analyzes value cocreation and Stakeholder Empirical Multiple case study 5 networks of parks Tourism Italy
social innovation focusing on a new management research
approach to the management of Natura 2000
areas: the Networks of Reserves (NoRs)
Matsiliza 2017 Merits and demerits in practicing sustainable n.a. Literature Systematic literature n.a. Tourism n.a.
development review review
Panfiluk and 2017 Innovativeness of providers of health tourism Innovation Empirical Questionnaire and 438 providers of Forms of Poland
Szymańska services research Delphi method health tourism ser- tourism
vices and 12 experts
Paniccia, 2017 Coevolutionary approach to sustainability Supply chain Empirical Multiple case study 6 religious Forms of Italy
Leoni, and and the resulting value cocreation processes management research accommodations tourism
Baiocco
Pereira and 2017 Tourist guides training programs and sustain- n.a. Empirical Descriptive statistics 8 tourist
Mykletun ability principles research
guide- Other Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, etc.
training
programs
Pérez-Pineda 2017 Sustainable initiatives by Dominican hotels Innovation Empirical Mixed methods 18 hotels and 32 Hospitality Dominican
et al. research stakeholders Republic
Velázquez 2017 Sustainability for hotel companies n.a. Conceptual Theory building n.a. Hospitality n.a.
Castro paper
and Flores
Barrera
IS TOURISM GOING GREEN?

Warren and 2017 Energy and water savings in hospitality n.a. Literature Systematic literature 110 papers Hospitality n.a.
Becken review reviews
Armenski 2018 Driver of competitiveness of a destination Sustainable Empirical EFA and CFA 270 stakeholders Tourism Serbia
et al. development research
Baird et al. 2018 Wine tourism and driver of sustainability Stakeholder Empirical Descriptive statistics 45 wineries Forms of New Zealand
management research tourism
Batle, 2018 Environmental initiatives in tourism Stakeholder Empirical Multiple case study 10 tourism companies Other Spain
Orfila- companies management research
Sintes, and
Moon
He et al. 2018 Incentives from local government to adopt Dynamic game Conceptual Modelling n.a. Tourism China
green tourism products Theory paper
Polese et al. 2018 Social Innovation in Smart Tourism Innovation Empirical Multiple case study 10 B&B owners Hospitality Italy
Ecosystems research
273
274 SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA

Figure 2. Temporal distribution of the papers.

as promising alternative conceptual frameworks Stakeholder management theories add to the lit-
for deepening knowledge concerning ties between erature on green innovation in tourism services in
green innovation and sustainable tourism. Supply different ways (Haddock-Fraser & Hampton, 2012).
chain, technology adoption perspectives, resource- As Vernon et al. (2005) noted, sustainable tour-
based view (RBV), and dynamic capabilities, as ism challenges tourist destinations’ cooperation by
well as dynamic game theory, are also applied in a wide range of different stakeholders: the public
limited cases. In 14 cases, the paper is not clearly sector, accommodation businesses, transport opera-
positioned into any stream of theory. tors, attractions, restaurants, food suppliers, utility
Studies grounding on innovation theories suggest companies, host communities, and tourists. A multi­
that business concept and business model configu- stakeholder approach is consequently needed to
ration are determinants of innovation in tourism set- understand the mutual relations between the actors
tings (e.g., Souto, 2015) and provide useful insight involved (J. S. Chen, Johnson, Wang, & Chen,
on the drivers for innovation (see, e.g., Razumova, 2014; Martini et al., 2017; Pérez-Pineda, Alcaraz,
Ibáñez, & Palmer, 2015). Other papers question & Colón, 2017). In various contexts, such as heri-
the role of the entrepreneur in examining addi- tage or nature-based tourism (Nǎstase et al., 2010),
tional opportunities for innovating tourist services it has also been argued that competition needs to be
in a green fashion (e.g., Alegre, Alegre, Berbegal- replaced by collaboration. Horizontal policy mea-
Mirabent, & Berbegal-Mirabent, 2016; Lee, Hallak, sures, particularly, are suggested as valuable sources
& Sardeshmukh, 2016). for creating an inducive environment for green inno-
vation (Nǎstase et  al., 2010). Both organized and
informal interfirm and interagent relationships must
Table 2 be cultivated, as they favor shared value creation
Literature Review: Geographic Distribution and facilitate the identification and unlocking of fur-
ther successful opportunities for green innovation
Geographic Area No. of Papers % of Eligible
(Koščak, Colarič-Jakše, & Veljković, 2014). Here
Americas 8 16.33% the widespread diffusion of information and commu-
Asia 11 22.45% nication technologies (ICT) and the advent of Web
Europe 23 46.94%
Middle East 3 6.12%
2.0 technologies provide tourist companies with
Oceania 4 8.16% opportunities for developing innovative techniques
Not applicable 12 24.49% of stakeholder engagement (Chiabai, Paskavela, &
Total 61 – Lombardi, 2013). Web-based applications, such as
Eligible 49 –
social media tools, for example, enable companies
 IS TOURISM GOING GREEN? 275
Table 3
Literature Review: Theoretical Perspectives.
Theoretical Perspective
Innovation
Networks and industrial clusters
Stakeholder management
Sustainable development
Consumer behavior
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Technology adoption
Supply chain management
Dynamic game theory
RBV and dynamic capabilities
Not available
to innovate by facilitating stakeholder participa-
tion and stimulating both stakeholder management
practices and partner interaction in complex sup-
ply chains. Relatedly, technology adoption theories
(Smerecnik & Andersen, 2011) provide additional
theoretical support on the sources of green inno-
vation in tourism. The supply chain perspective
offers further insights when interpreting manage-
rial concerns originating among private and public
entities collaborating in the same supply chain/
business network (Hsiao & Chuang, 2016).
Green innovation for sustainable tourism also
emerges as a fruitful research area for applying
theoretical constructs developed in network theo-
ries (e.g., Albrecht, 2013; Berzina, Medne, & Tsoy,
2017). Contributions in this group predominantly
adopt a systemic view in planning and implement-
ing activities related to tourism, as well as inves-
tigating how the interdependence between public
and private actors may lead to innovation by cre-
ating synergies and value in a sustainable way
(Silvestrelli, 2013).
Papers focused on sustainable development
theories offers insights in the trade-off between cur-
rent and future economic, social, and environmen­
tal impacts, while balancing the interest of dif­
ferent generations and various actors (Armenski
et al., 2018; Chou, 2014; Farsani et al., 2012;
Moscardo, 2008; Yánez & Sevilla, 2010). Simi-
larly, the CSR theoretical framework constitutes a
persuasive conceptual foundation for understand-
ing how tourist companies may efficiently imple-
ment green practices while simultaneously satisfy-
ing both the maximization of corporate profit and
No. of Papers % of the Total
16 26.23%
6 9.84%
6 9.84%
6 9.84%
3 4.92%
3 4.92%
3 4.92%
2 3.28%
1 1.64%
1 1.64%
14 22.95%
environmental protection (Kasim, Gursoy, Okumus,
& Wong, 2014; Lawton & Weaver, 2010; Verbeek
& Mommaas, 2008). Contributions paved on con-
sumer behavior theories introduce and develop
the notion of socially and environmentally con-
scious travelers (Jayawardena et al., 2013) and
stress the role of green innovation in increasing
service quality and customer satisfaction, thus
fostering firm performance both in the short and
long run (Coghlan, 2012).
The findings suggest that managerial disciplines
are increasingly providing a constructive back-
ground for studies investigating the drivers of green
innovation in tourism and for shaping tourism-
based firms’ strategies. A number of strategic
management theoretical constructs offer different
directions for investigation including, for exam-
ple, the RBV adopted by Pace (2016) in evaluat-
ing how tourism-based firms may combine their
capabilities to solve problems related to energy
efficiency.
Paper Typology and Methods Applied
When it comes to typology and the methods
adopted, over 75% of the papers (47) are empiri-
cal, 15% are conceptual papers, and just 8% are
literature reviews. As conceptual papers and litera-
ture reviews are rare, our findings suggest an urgent
need for additional efforts in systematizing the
extant literature in this field. Nonetheless, scholars
are encouraged to blend the different theoretical
constructs to provide an overarching conceptual
framework.
276 SATTA, SPINELLI, AND PAROLA
In quantitative empirical research papers, regres-
sion analysis and Structural Equation Modelling
(SEM) are the most diffused, although our find-
ings suggest a rather heterogeneous range of viable
options for assessing green innovation in tourism.
Among qualitative papers, multiple case studies
outnumber single case studies, whereas Delphi
method is applied in only three papers. More case
study analysis may shed light on the main drivers
of ecofriendly innovation in the industry.
Focus of the Investigation:
Forms of Tourism or Sectors
In assessing the thematic focus of the papers,
we considered both the forms of tourism and their
segments: the analysis of these profiles offers fur-
ther insights into the academic discussion on green
innovation.
The most discussed topic refers to “forms of tour-
ism,” with 17 papers adopting this approach. This
heterogeneous group contributes to the literature
addressing city, coastal, mountain, and nature-based
tourism (e.g., Andereck, 2009; Coghlan, 2012;
Gabriel, Camargo, Monticolo, Boly, & Bourgault,
2016; Romero-Padilla et al., 2016). Also cultural,
rural, heritage, and food tourism provide several
case histories, which identify potential sources of
innovation in tourism (e.g., Chiabai et al., 2013;
Koščak et al., 2014). The findings point to the piv-
otal role of public and private actor interactions, as
well as the degree of collaboration among partners
in the supply chain. Technology may hold a valu-
able role for exploring new business opportunities
originating from the changing needs of travelers.
For example, social media marketing and interac-
tive technology platforms can provide firms with
additional ideas for satisfying customers and receiv-
ing real time feedback for a rapid service recovery
during the destination experience.
Hospitality is found to be the most investigated
sector (16 contributions). This outcome is not sur-
prising, if we consider the intense energy-consuming
nature of both hotels and resorts (Coles, Dinan, &
Warren, 2016). Hence, several contributions ad­
dress how innovative practices enable energy and
water savings, reduce air and water pollution as
well as other negative externalities, such as noise
(Warren & Becken, 2017). Some contributions
argue that the introduction of green innovation in
hotels, resorts, and other accommodation facilities
not only reduces costs and environmental impacts
but also provides companies with opportunities for
differentiating their services and exploiting market
niches (Hsiao & Chuang, 2016). Moreover, cus-
tomers of green designed hotels are more likely to
return to a certain destination and spread positive
word-of-mouth (Esmaeilifar, Mirzaei, Shafiei, &
Albattat, 2015). Cocreation processes with cus-
tomers and a deeper integration with supply chain
partners help facilitate this outcome. Indeed, green
innovation may originate from ideas and technolo-
gies, which are environmental friendly, such as
sustainable designs and ecoarchitectures (Jokar &
Ranjbar, 2017).
While a number of papers do not focus on any
sector or form of tourism (8 cases), a growing num-
ber of scholars are investigating attractions and
events. Birding festivals, ecocamps, and parks are
among the most scrutinized attractions (Joker &
Ranjbar, 2017; Lawton & Weaver, 2010).
Discussion and Research Implications
A fragmented picture emerges from the system-
atic review. Although several promising issues and
potential theoretical angles are found, a compre-
hensive framework of analysis on green innova-
tion opportunities for sustainable tourism has yet
to emerge. The area lacks a unified theoretical and
methodological perspective. This is not surprising,
because green innovation in sustainable tourism
as a research field embraces many potential top-
ics and areas of interest to scholars from different
backgrounds.
Two almost equally populated groups of papers
can be identified, given their “industry-level” or
“firm-level” approach. In the former group, we
include articles focused on the tourism system as
a whole or on specific tourist activities, considered
at aggregate level and without reference to firms’
behavior. This kind of analysis dominates among
papers related to the tourism phenomenon (e.g.,
Armenski et al., 2018) or specific forms of tourism
(e.g., Baird et al., 2018). The group also includes
three papers on transport (Peeters, 2013; Scuttari et
al., 2013; Verbeek & Mommaas, 2008) that ignore
the management aspects of transport companies
 IS TOURISM GOING GREEN? 277
and provide policy indications for an innovative
and more sustainable organization of transport
systems in tourist areas. “Firm-level” papers inves-
tigate managerial or marketing-related issues and
analyze the strategic behavior of tourism-based
companies. Several of them deal with hospital-
ity companies, especially hotels and resorts (e.g.,
Pérez-Pineda et al., 2017; Smerecnik & Andersen,
2011). This is justified by the maturity of the hotel
management and marketing literature that over
time has embraced studies on environmental sus-
tainability too.
The dichotomous distinctions between “industry-
level” and “firm-level” papers do not carry through
into an equally clear separation in methodological
choices and theoretical perspectives, which are
shared by both groups. Our findings suggest that
scholars need to create one or more frameworks of
analysis that move from a clear definition of the
scope of the study concerning green innovation
opportunities for sustainable tourism. The relative
novelty of the subject partially justifies the lack of
a consolidated structure in the body of literature
but does not reduce the need for additional efforts
by scholars in this research avenue. However, it
is worth noticing that the theoretical constructs of
strategic management (e.g., stakeholder theory,
RBV, etc.) are being progressively adopted in
investigations of green innovation in tourism.
Our analysis focuses on the “firm-level”
(managerial) literature and identifies three major
gaps. First, fragmentation exists in the theoretical
perspectives, and attempts to reconcile different
(but related) approaches (Edwards et al., 2008)—
including, for example, stakeholder management
and engagement, corporate social responsibility,
and sustainable development (Pérez-Pineda et al.,
2017)—remain outstanding.
Second, important gaps are present with respect
to the types of firms considered. Only the hospi-
tality industry is well represented in the sample
papers. As suggested by Alonso-Almeida et al.
(2016) and Pace (2016), further studies focused on
transport companies and other major players in the
tourism industry are required. Tour operators and
travel agencies constitute a particularly promis-
ing research area, as their strategic behavior has
a strong impact on the sustainability of tourist
activities (Sirakaya-Turk & McLellan, 1998).
Third, worldwide tourism has received only partial
attention. This topic is particularly suitable for com-
parative and cross-cultural analysis (d’Hauteserre &
Funck, 2016; Kuščer et al., 2017) and necessitates an
expansion in the geographic scope of the academic
research.
Limitations and Conclusion
Our review represents a pioneering attempt to
explore the body of literature on green innovation
for sustainable tourism and returns several valuable
insights. However, it also shows some limitations.
First, as in any literature review, the choice of the
source database and the sample timeframe has an
impact on the selection of the papers analyzed.
Hence, an extension of the present work may include
other databases, to examine journals not indexed
in Scopus. Furthermore, conference proceedings,
books, and book chapters may be included in the
analysis to return a more complete picture of extant
literature. The analysis also may be temporally
biased, although the novelty of the topic makes the
last decade the most prolific period for this investi-
gation. Finally, the selection strategy of papers may
be revised in terms of the queries used to search
in the database. As specified above, we paid the
utmost attention to the keywords selection/combi-
nation and specific queries performed to address
subsectors of interest. However, papers dealing
with relevant topics may not have been captured
if they used very specific and infrequent keywords.
In conclusion, our review confirms the grow-
ing interest for this research field, as already sug-
gested by Alonso-Almeida et al. (2016); this should
stimulate further research to advance the extant
knowledge and to investigate more circumscribed
aspects of green innovation options for sustainable
tourism.
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