Sustainable hotelery, an approach to the social economy as a factor of competitiveness of tourist destinations

Abstract

Given the responsibility of the hotel industry in the consumption of natural resources, from its construction to its operation and the awareness that has been given worldwide for environmental conservation, certifying bodies have been set up, through a series of indicators, guarantee the sustainability of both the facilities and the operations and management of the hotel activity, which is inserted in the vision of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the path of the social economy. The objective of this work is to locate the practices of the sustainable hotel industry in the field of competitiveness of the tourism sector, as a specific example of the agents of the social economy, starting from the first link between the latter and the CSR. as the necessary incorporation of the same in tourism as a competitive weapon, a context where sustainable hotels are framed, as an important member of the tourist system of all destinations and as a contribution to the dissemination of the argumentation for responsible practices. It is concluded that the sustainable hotel industry is part of the social economy, because the advantages that it implies are for the benefit of the owners, workers, tourists and the host communities; it is a gateway for the tourism business fabric to be incorporated into the social economy model, not only for its respectful initiatives towards the natural, social and cultural environment, but also for encouraging the incorporation of other companies.