African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Volume 9 (1) - (2020) ISSN: 2223-814X

Copyright: © 2020 AJHTL /Author/s- Open Access- Online @ http//: www.ajhtl.com

Environmental management practices among coastal

beach hotels in Kenya
Peter Onyonje Osiako
Faculty of Economic Sciences
Kaposvár University
7400, Guba Sandor Utca 40, Hungary
Email: [email protected]

Harshavardhan Reddy Kummitha

Faculty of commerce, Hospitality and tourism
Budapest Business School
Budapest – 1054, Hungary
Email: [email protected]
Corresponding author*

Abstract

Environmental management is today becoming an essential aspect of the operations of tourism businesses
globally to the point that a number of environmental initiatives have been put in place by tourism developers.
“Green” accommodation images have become a powerful operational tool in attracting and retaining more
guests and in achieving cost reduction measures. However, there seems to be a gap in monitoring
outcomes of such initiatives. The objective of this study was to identify environmental management
practices adopted by beach hotels on the Kenyan coast and establish factors that limited adoption of
environmental management practices. Data was gathered through questionnaire surveys distributed to a
stratified sample of 32 star-rated beach hotels. Frequencies, percentages and chi-square analyses
revealed that the general level of adoption and implementation of environmental management practices
was below average and that there was no significant relationship between hotel star category and extent
of adoption of environmental management practices. Environmental management practices related to
energy conservation and water conservation were adopted by the majority of the hotels in the study. This
was possibly driven by profit motives. The principle of “reduce, reuse and recycle” was yet to be fully
adopted by the hotels. In future, enhanced capacity building, all stakeholders’ collective involvement and
closer monitoring by relevant environmental agencies are recommended as the most appropriate
approaches towards achieving environmental sustainability through hotel development in this tourist
destination.

Keywords: Adoption, best practices, environmental initiatives, green accommodation, sustainability.

Introduction

The hotel industry being one of the fastest growing and the largest resource-consuming industries
in the world uses substantial amounts of energy, water and non-durable products (Erdogan &
Baris, 2007). It has been observed that the legislation regulating environmental practice is
becoming harsher by imposing severe penalties on non-compliant organizations (Ervin et al.,
2012; Patton & Worthington, 2003). A steady growth in tourism in Kenya since her independence
in 1963 has led to an increase in the number of accommodation facilities with varied
environmental effects. Currently, tourism is Kenya’s second largest Gross Domestic Product

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(GDP) earner. The Kenyan Government’s commitment towards developing the country’s tourism
on a sustainability basis is indicated in several recent policy and strategy documents. The
documents prescribe the principles, objectives, standards, indicators, procedures and incentives
for the development, management and marketing of tourism on sustainable basis (Kenya Tourism
Board, KTB, 2016). Tourism in Kenya is developed under specific legislative and regulatory
frameworks through Government ministries, departments and agencies provides. The National
Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) is the environmental regulatory body, established
by the Act of Parliament, under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA)
number 8 of 1999. It is the principal instrument of government in the implementation of all policies
relating to the environment. Kamau, (2005) observes that Kenyan environmental law standards
are considerably lower than those in Western European countries. He attributes this to
substandard substantive law, a lack of legal enforcement, and a preference given to industrial
growth as opposed to a clean environment. To achieve the Kenya Vision 2030, the government
of Kenya is developing two Coastal townships, Diani and Kilifi, into vibrant tourist resort cities
(GoK, 2007). It has earlier been observed that in order to realize sustainable tourism development
in Kenya, the role played by the accommodation sector should be significant and that
accommodation managers should seriously consider mitigating their negative impacts on
environment (Irandu, 2006). This, will go a long way in enhancing the long-term viability of the
environment on which tourism thrive.

Accommodation Sector on the Kenyan Coast

The spatial pattern of Kenya’s tourism appears to be highly concentrated (Kenya National Bureau
of Statistics, KNBS,). Going by accommodation space available, virtually all tourism is situated
along the coast, in Nairobi and within a few protected areas as wildlife tourism. The Kenya’s
Economic Survey report of 2016 on tourism performance shows that the coast region exceeded
the rest of the other nine zones in terms of hotel bed-nights available (Table 1). This region is rich
in tourism resources and fragile ecosystems, necessitating the need to develop tourism with
emphasis on environmental sustainability. Hotels along the Kenyan Coast have been associated
with varied environmental problems suggesting that hotel managers could be focusing mainly on
maximizing profits, without putting measures in place to safeguard environmental integrity (Beja,
2010). A few studies have examined hotel operations on the Kenyan coast in relation to
sustainability.

Table 1. Hotel Bed-Nights Available in Kenya by Zone, 2012-2016

ZONE 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Coastal-Beach 3,132.6 2750.3 2527.7 2113.8 2286.3
Coastal-Other 260.0 124.0 95.9 116.6 197.2
Coastal-Hinterland 88.7 125.5 133.2 108.4 177.5
Nairobi-High class 1145.0 1175.3 1119.1 1014.9 1076.3
Nairobi-Other 490.5 455.7 388.0 378.0 445.1
Central 526.0 622.2 686.3 583.6 691.6
Masailand 443.7 473.0 479.5 491.6 655.5
Nyanza Basin 252.1 345.3 357.7 487.8 325.4
Western 464.3 454.1 433.3 448.8 493.6
Northern 57.8 71.2 60.9 135.1 100.0
Total Available 18849.6 18292.2 19877.7 20187.2 21258.5
Source: KNBS, 2016

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A study by Muthini et al., (2003) established solid waste types and quantities from six popular
beach hotels in Mombasa and Diani. They examined factors and processes that affect solid waste
management in the Kenya Coast region and provided baseline data on quantities of waste
generated in coast hotels. They determined the mean per-capita waste generation rates. Irandu,
(2006) used the hospitality sector’s view to assess the sustainability of tourism on the Kenya’s
coast by collecting the views of hotel managers or owners and employees and finding out the
positive and negative impacts of tourism along the coastline. This study revealed “serious
environmental degradation and social ills associated with tourism related developments”. He
recommends better integration of the local population into the tourism process.

Masau and Prideaux, (2003) on the other hand, examined the perceptions of overseas visitors to
Kenya towards the impact of the hotel sector on the environment. Half of the respondents were
of the view that Kenya’s wildlife parks were managed on a sustainable basis, while two thirds felt
that the hotels had some impacts on the environment. The findings also confirmed that there was
willingness among the tourists to pay a premium for environmental friendly products and services
including accommodation. Another study by Kimeu (2015) sought to investigate how waste
management practices affected hotel operational performance and determine their
implementation by hotels in Mombasa County. The study established a moderate effect of waste
management on hotel operational performance. However, the four studies relating to hotel sector
and the environment on the Kenyan coast fail to reveal attempts made by stakeholders in the
sector to promote environmental sustainability. This leaves a gap in literature concerning
environmental practices adopted by the hotel sector on the busy Kenyan coastal area. Also, there
is need to ascertain the challenges that constrain the attainment of best environmental practices
in these hotels.

Literature Review

Hotels’ environmental impacts and management efforts

It is argued that, the way a hotel is managed largely influences its impacts (Buckley, 2010).
Mensah, (2006) has indicated that the majority of hotels have adopted environmental
management practices in the field of energy and water conservation because these are cost-
cutting measures which have implications on profitability. In responding to the growing global
concerns associated with environmental issues, measures put in place include recycling, reducing
and re-using linen and towels (Page, 2009). Gardner (2010) recommends a wide range of
practical options for eco-friendly hotels with respect to power, water and waste management.
Most environmental audits carried out in hotels relate to waste reduction, waste reuse and waste
recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, education on environmental
conservation, partnership with/sponsorship of other environment stakeholders (Chan & Lam,
2001; Faulk, 2000).

Waste Management

On Waste Management, Azila (2004) observes that a typical hotel solid waste comprises 46%
food and non-recyclables, 25% paper, 12% cardboard, 7% plastic, 5% glass and 5% metal. He
adds that approximately 47% of hotel’s waste water can be recycled, while reducing and reusing
these materials could also serve as a side revenue-earning practice from payments made by
scavengers and recycling firms. As pointed out by Karl, et al. (2009), it is important that hotels
collect and separate wastes, including hazardous waste. Reducing is an important step towards
improving an establishment’s sustainability and financial performance as has been demonstrated

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Copyright: © 2020 AJHTL /Author/s- Open Access- Online @ http//: www.ajhtl.com

some studies (Kimeu, 2015; Muthini, et al., 2003). Internationally, Marriott’s University of Maryland
College Inn and Conference Centre saved US$600 by reducing 108 tonnes of annual waste
between 2007 and 2008. At Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village (KBRV), in Queensland Australia,
waste is separated, compacted and sent to the mainland (Faulk, 2000). Studies have also
demonstrated that grey water re-use is an effective way to reduce water usage as well as to
significantly save costs (March & Orozco, 2004). One of the Novotel and Hotel Ibis Homebush
Bay in Sydney Australia reduced its portable water consumption by 50% through a dual-piping
system (Hotel Online, 2002).

Energy Efficiency

There is evidence that hotels are engaging in energy-saving measures which range from the use
of compact fluorescent bulbs to shutting down unused appliances Chan and Lam (2002). Patton
and Worthington, (2003b) give an example of the Saunders Hotel which uses thermopane
windows to reduce energy costs. The Intercontinental Hotels Group managed to reduce energy
consumption in 2009 by purchasing a capacitor bank thereby realizing a return of investment of
18 months (Faulk, 2000). For hotels in hot and humid tropical climate, it is necessary to provide
year round air-conditioning Xuchao et al., (2010). Some hotels operate and maintain their own
chiller plants while others share cooling systems. In most Singapore hotels, public areas like lobby
and restaurant are usually conditioned with constant air volume (CAV) or variable air volume
(VAV) systems, whereas fan coil units (FCU) are often used to serve guest rooms (Xuchao et al.,
2010). Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village (KBRV), in Queensland Australia has invested in friendly
architectural design and use of fluorescent bulbs, thus allowing for minimal energy consumption
(Mensah, 2009). Kasim (2009) attests to the fact that energy saving air conditioners devices like
inverters are not popular due to the fact that it is a new technology and takes time for widespread
implementation. He further adds that hotels can save energy by using motion sensors.

Employee and Customer Involvement

UNWTO (2013) encourages training and capacity building regarding sustainability issues as an
important aspect that influences the hotel’s approach to environmental management. According
to Fenwick (2007), employee involvement in environmental management is important for
development and maintenance of sustainability performance, through staff environmental
training, environmental communication and advocacy. Karl et al., (2009) point out the need for
environmental education for guests and encouraging guests to accept recycling while staying at
a hotel. Deloitte’s survey of 2008 showed that hotel clients are becoming increasingly concerned
about the environment, a move that is raising the bar on what is expected from lodging companies
in terms of environmental responsibility (Deloitte, 2008).

Water Conservation

Regarding water conservation, dual flush toilets and toilet tanks with less than 9 liters of water
and low flow sink aerators or water restricting devices can serve well in the hospitality sector
(Kasim, 2009). Other simple initiatives taken to conserve water include restricting water pumping
to certain times of the day, installing low-pressure showers and promoting the use of recycled
water and rain water. Such measures help hotels and game lodges to co-exist with water-starved
communities, livestock and wildlife especially in dry areas (Ecotourism Kenya, 2016). Growing of
trees also helps to protect water catchment areas and this succeeds well especially when local
communities are involved. Another critical water management measure is encouraging guests to
re-use towels (Page, 2009).

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Limitations to Adoption of Environmental Practices

Hotels often site lack of support systems to encourage environmentally friendly practices as a
reason for not practicing a larger number of environmental initiatives despite being aware of their
environmental responsibility (Kasim, 2009). In an earlier study involving small and medium hotels
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia lack of clear and adequate knowledge about environmental
management by managers was cited, and most hotels did not go beyond practices that reduce
their water and energy (Kasim, 2005). There is lack of efficient monitoring mechanism by
appointed government agencies to ensure compliance with existing policies, laws and regulations
on environmental management (Mensah, 2009). Another hindrance is the perception that
environmental action might affect the assurance of exceptional service quality consequently
lowering guests satisfaction (Kasim & Scalat, 2007). Some hotels do not see the benefits of
incurring extra costs and resources just to get labels or certificate like ISO 14001 and green labels
(Siti-Nabiha et al., 2011).

Environmental Certification and awards

Environmental certifications and awards (Hassan & Ibrahim, 2012) are direct indicators of certain
achievements regarding environmental performance of hotels. There are several international
award schemes and certifications in place to recognize environmental management efforts in
hotels (Mensah, 2009). In Kenya, the Kenya Tourism Federation in partnership with Kenya Tourist
Board have organized the “Kenya Tourism Award” with the goal of recognizing and encouraging
best practice in responsible tourism in the country. This is in addition to annual the Eco-Warrior
Award, offered by Ecotourism Kenya in collaboration with other tourism stakeholders in Kenya.

Methodology

This study employed cross-sectional survey design. It was carried out among star-rated hotels
found on the Kenyan coastal area. Kenya is the area of land bordering the Indian Ocean,
stretching from the Kenya’s border with Somalia in the north to the Kenya-Tanzania border in the
south, about 402 kilometers (250 miles) in length. Major beach resort on this coast are Malindi,
Watamu, Kilifi, Shanzu, Jomo Kenyatta, and Nyali, all to the north of Mombasa City and Shelly,
Tiwi and Diani beaches to the south of Mombasa Island. Over one hundred (100) accommodation
facilities are found on this Coast, most of them lining up the beach front along the sandy beaches.
They can loosely be grouped into the categories of beach resorts, cottages, guest houses, villas,
hotels, sea lodges, clubs, retreat centres and apartments. Of these facilities, forty-seven (47) are
star-rated by the Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) and they are the ones that formed the
sampling frame for this study.

Two coastal townships, Kilifi and Diani have been earmarked for development into tourist resort
cities by the Kenya Government as part of the country’s Vision 2030 flagship projects. The coast
has the highest concentration of tourist hotels and other alternative tourist accommodation
facilities in the country and has diverse species of terrestrial and marine fauna and flora in
conservation parks. The current study targeted star-rated hotels operating on the Coast of Kenya.
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in Kenya (MTW), through the Tourism Regulatory Authority
(TRA), maintains a gazetted list of classified hotels with a total of forty-seven (47) star-rated hotels
in the Kenya Coast (GoK, 2016).

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Table 2: Sample size of Hotels

Rating No. Of Hotels Total Rooms Total Beds Sample Obtained

Five-Star 6 913 1682 6
Four –Star 13 1987 3875 8
Three-Star 14 786 1786 10
Two-star 14 864 1639 8
Total 47 4389 8502 32
Source: GoK, 2016

Sampling and Data Collection

This study relied on primary data. The data was obtained by means of questionnaires from hotel
managers of sampled star-rated hotels after ethical aspects were considered. All the hotel
managers of star-rated hotels in the coast region totaling forty-seven (47) as at January 2017
were targeted. The TRA (2016) list of classified hotels in the coastal region served as the sampling
frame. The study considered to survey all these classified hotels (the whole population). Stratified
random sampling method was used to select the hotel managers (Table 2). The criterion for the
strata was the hotel classification system generated by the TRA. As indicated in Table 2, the
strata were five-star, four-star, three-star, and two-star. The TRA list excludes One-star, guest-
houses and budget hotels and therefore, they were left out of this survey. To obtain the data, the
researcher employed a questionnaire which had three parts: Part one elicited information on the
deliberate efforts made by hotels to promote environmental sustainability in their operations. The
second part of the questionnaire sort the information on characteristics of the hotel establishments
and their managers, while the third part inquired the manager’s demographic information. The
questionnaire yielded both qualitative data. Questions in the survey measuring the respondents’
level of agreement or disagreement with the proposed statements were answered using a five-
point Likert Scale. The scale ranged from 1, representing “not at all” to 5, representing “to a very
great extent.”

Data was collected between the month of January and March 2017 from the general managers.
However, where this was not possible, those working in the capacities of operations manager,
environmental manager, chief engineer, housekeeping supervisor or landscape manager filled
the questionnaire. They were deemed to be generally concerned and had knowledge about the
environmental issues in the hotels. Since the questionnaire was quite detailed, the respondents
were required to fill it at their convenient time. Some hotel managers were not co-operative and
therefore did not fill the questionnaire. Others accepted the questionnaires but it took quite an
effort to collect the completed questionnaires. Therefore, at the end of the exercise a sample of
thirty-two managers was achieved, those who completed and returned the questionnaire.
Percentages and frequencies were used to compare the level of environmental practices among
the hotels while Chi-square test technique was used to establish the difference in environmental
management practices among the various categories of hotels. The relationship was tested at
P<0.05. The data collected from the field was edited, coded and processed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) PC version 25. For easy comparison, the hotels were
categorized into four on the basis of star classification.

Discussion and Findings

A four-page questionnaire was used to gather information on environmental management

practices as perceived by hotel managers of the classified hotels. Fifteen hotel managers did not

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take part in the survey. Thus the survey involved a total of thirty-two (32) hotel managers. This
constituted a fair 68% response rate.

Table 3 Category and Rooms of Hotels Sampled

Variable Frequency Percentage

Star Category
2 8 25
3 10 31
4 8 25
5 6 19
Number of rooms
< 30 8 25
30 – 59 11 34
60 – 89 9 28
90 – 119 5 16
120 – 149 3 9
150 + 11 34
n=32
Source: Fieldwork, 2017

The majority of the hotels (31%) were of three-star category, 25% were of 2-star and 4-star
categories each while 19% were of 5-star category (Table 3). 34% of the hotels had over 150
rooms. The same percentage applied to those with between 30 and 59 rooms. This was closely
followed by 28 % and 25% which had 60 -89 and less than 30 rooms respectively. Some 16%
had 90-119 rooms while 9% had between 120 and 149 rooms. The high number of rooms
indicated that there was fairly large scales of operations and high visitor numbers expected or
handled in most of the hotels in the Coast. Such a situation was likely to significantly impact on
the environment given the quantities of resources needed by these hotels and the amount of
wastes likely to be produced. Forty-four percent (44%) of the hotels had been in operation for
over twenty years while 31% had been in existence for 11-15 years (Table 4). 6% of the
establishments had less than five years in operation. In this study, no relationship was established
between the age of the hotels and their level of adoption of EMPs (χ2 = 3.945, Df = 3, significant
at α = 0.05).

Table 4: Years of Operation of Hotels Source: Fieldwork, 2017

Years of Operation Frequency Percentage

Less than 1 0 0
1-5 2 6
6-10 6 19
11-15 4 12
16-20 6 19
20+ 14 44
Education level of respondents
Level Frequency Percentage
Secondary/high school or less 0 0
Technical/vocational 8 25
4-year college/university 20 63
Post Graduate school 4 12
Compliance with Institutional Environmental Requirements
Area of Compliance Frequency Percentage
Having an environmental policy 22 69
Disclosing Environmental Policy to authorities 16 50

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Conducting EIA and regular EA 22 69

Participating in eco-rating programmes 18 56
n=32

The largest proportion of respondents (63%) had attained four-year college/university education
followed by 25% who had technical/vocational training while 12.5% of the managers had post-
graduate training (Table 4). These levels of education show that respondents were literate enough
and able to understand environmental issues. They should be able to learn, read, understand and
comply with any issue relating to environmental concerns.

Environmental Management Practices and Compliance

An amount of 69% of the hotels claimed to have an environmental policy statement. Some 63%
of these were 3-5 star hotels compared with 6% of the 2-star category who had an environmental
policy in place. This suggests a higher commitment by 3-star to 5-star hotel categories than those
in the lower grade. According to Claver-Cortés et al., (2007) and Mensah (2009), formal adoption
of a written policy statement is the first and most important step towards environmental action in
any hotel. Concerning compliance with environmental regulations and legislations, hotels in this
area had not fully obliged. 69% conducted Environmental Impact Assessment and environmental
audit (EA) as required by NEMA. There also seemed to be a lack of an effective monitoring
mechanism by NEMA and the local government authority, which enabled the managers to flout
these and other regulations. Possibly, this non-compliance could also be due to the new NEMA
regulations introduced recently, requiring hotel establishments to pay KES 5,000 application fee
for an effluent disposal license to the national environmental authority and another KES100, 000
for the long-term license. As observed by Beja (2010) this license fee could be prohibitive for
small establishments, which could be a possible reason for non-compliance.

Food Waste, Water and Sewage management

Responses showed that food waste and sewage, which are the main types of waste generated
by hotels, were to a large extent disposed of inappropriately. Food waste was mostly dumped in
garbage bins or at disposal sites (56%) while 38% of hotels recycled or fed it to animals. None of
the leftover food was composted (Table 5). Food waste at disposal sites is an environmental
hazard. It is likely to attract flies, primates, dogs and other scavengers rendering the sites
unhealthy. Heaps of such waste are also be stinky apart from being an eye-sore in a tourist
destination. It was clear that recycling was not popular among accommodation facilities in this
area possibly because of lack of technical know-how and recycling plants as pointed out by Beja
(2010).

Table 5: Waste Disposal Practices in Hotels

Form of waste Disposal methods Frequency Percentage
Food waste Recycling/animal feed 12 38
Garbage site 18 56
Open space 2 6
Waste water Soak away system 32 100
Sewage plant 0 0
River/stream 0 0
Sewerage Cesspit 28 88
Sewerage plant 0 0
Soak away system 4 12
n=32
Source: Fieldwork, 2017

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Large proportions of waste water were drained into soak pits by all the hotels (100%). This is a
fairly environmental friendly way of disposing of waste water. As waste water (pre-treated grey
water or black water) percolates through the soil from the soak pit, small particles are filtered out
by the soil matrix and organics are digested by micro-organisms. However, a soak pit does not
provide adequate treatment for raw wastewater and the pit usually clog quickly. The soak pits
should be used for discharging pre-settled black water or grey water.

It would be better if hotels could re-use this waste water (after treating it) to irrigate their flower
gardens or to flush toilets as recommended by March and Orozco (2004). Since lack of a sewage
treatment was a major problem in the study area, the great majority of them (88%) discharged
their sewage into cesspits (Table 5). The cesspits were then periodically emptied by privately
owned exhauster tankers and dumped at unspecified sites. Meanwhile, NEMA’s requirement for
the hotels was to obtain effluent discharge licenses before discharging their treated wastes in
soak pits that can be emptied regularly by exhauster trucks, construction of a modern sewerage
system in the region. The modern sewerage treatment plant for a hotel could cost between KES
2.5 million and KES 100 million (Beja, 2010).

Energy and Water Efficiency

Electricity obtained from the Kenya Power Company’s mains supply was used by all the facilities
(Table 6). The same applied to the use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, petrol and wood
fuel/charcoal. However, the extent of use of these sources of energy differed among the hotels.
44% of them used the energy from the mains supply to “a very great extent” while 50% used it to
“a great extent.”

This indicated that hotels heavily depended on Kenya Power as the main supplier of the electric
energy used. This source is recommended especially because much of it is from an
environmentally clean and renewable source.

Table 6: Energy and Water Efficiency Practices

Energy Efficiency Practices Frequency Percentage

Unsustainable sources
Using Hydro-electricity (HEP) 32 100
Using diesel 32 100
Using LPG 30 94
Using wood fuel/charcoal 32 100
Sustainable sources
Using solar energy 8 25
Using biogas 0 0
Using wind energy 0 0
Installed solar hot water system 8 25
Using fluorescent light 30 94
Installed energy efficient burners 14 44
Avoiding power generators 6 19
Water Efficiency Practices
Water Efficiency Practices Frequency Percentage
Harvested rain water for use 8 25
Re-used linen / towels 20 63
Installed low-flow shower heads 16 50
Installed dual-flush toilet 10 31

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Alternative Means of Obtaining Water Frequency Percentage

Bore hole 30 94
Stream/River 4 13
Main pipeline supply 20 63
Water vendors (Bowsers) 12 38
n=32
Source: Fieldwork, 2017

On unclean energy sources, most responses from the respondents, (69%) indicated the use of
diesel and petrol “to some extent” while 30% used them “to a great extent.” Possibly, they use
them to run hotel vehicles and power generators used when there is interruption in the mains
power supply. Generally, these are unclean sources of energy because they emit harmful
pollutant fumes into the environment when the fuels burn. In addition, the engines that burn these
fuels, especially power generators, produce noise which can be disturbing in a serene tourist
destination. Wood fuel/charcoal was used only “to some extent” by all the hotels (Table 6) of all
the categories. This indicated that the hotels, to an extent, contributed to deforestation and
possibly even to climate change in the area of study.

It was further evident that the most recommended environmentally-friendly forms of energy were
of minimal use by hotels in Kenya’s coast. Only 25% had attempted to tap solar energy for use
and the use was only “to some extent,” as indicated by all the hotels that harnessed it. Biogas,
wind energy, tidal energy and wave energy, which had a great potential in this area had not been
tapped at all. As asserted by Gardner (2010), these are the most recommended sustainable
sources of energy for hotels. Less than half (44%) of the hotels had installed modern energy-
saving cookers. Higher adoption of sustainable sources of energy could lead to a cleaner
environment, reduced disturbance to landscape, wildlife and vegetation in this destination, and
the energy is renewable (Gardner, 2010).

On water efficiency, only 25% of the respondents harvested rain water for use (Table 6). This
could be mainly because most of the hotel buildings at the coast are roofed with organic palm-
frond roof material which could not tap clean water for use. Therefore, water for use was mainly
obtained from the government’s main pipeline supply (87%), and from boreholes sunk by some
individual hotels (94%). 38% of hotels also obtained extra water from bowsers and from nearby
rivers/streams (13%). On a positive note however, commendable initiatives had been taken to
reduce water use as demonstrated by 63% of the hotels that encouraged guests to re-use bed
linen and towels (Table 6). 50% of the hotels had installed low-flow shower heads, as
recommended by Page (2009). However, only 31% had dual flush toilets designed to check on
water use in toilets.

Involvement in Environmental Programmes

All the options available for enhancing environmental education and awareness creation had not
been fully exploited by coastal hotels (Table 7). Most of them (75%) attested to have programmes
in place to sensitize their employees on environmental issues, with 50% having such programmes
for their guests as well.

Table 7: Involvement of environmental programme practices

Maintaining Indoor Air Quality
Indoor Air quality practices Frequency Percentage
Using ceiling fans 11 69
Using air conditioners 16 100

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Spraying air fresheners 11 69

Involvement in Environmental Programmes
Environmental Programmes Frequency Percentage
Educating guests on environmental issues 16 50
Educating employees on environmental issues 24 75
Educating local community on environment 4 13
Supporting environmental groups in cash or kind 16 50
Involved in environmental research 12 38
Participated in eco-award Programmes 18 56
Pollution Control: Air, Land and Water
Pollution Control Practices Frequency Percentage
Avoiding dry cleaning 10 63
Use bio-degradable soaps 8 50
Avoiding chemical on pests and weeds 1 6
n=32
Source: Fieldwork, 2017

Only 13% made any effort to educate and create environmental awareness for the local people.
It appeared that there was indeed a need for enhancing these programmes, and for a wider full
adoption of these practices especially targeting guests and the local community. This
programmes could greatly boost the efforts towards attainment of sustainable tourism
development in the whole destination as recommended by Karl, et al., (2009). Although Fenwick
(2007) recommends local population sensitization on environmental issues, it is likely that coastal
hotels found it more expensive and cumbersome to reach out to them than it was to reach their
employees and guests. There also seemed to be limited collaboration between hotel operators
and conservation agencies in the area of study. Half of them supported environmental groups in
cash or kind (50%), and 38% were involved in environmental research initiatives.

This calls for enhanced concerted effort of all hoteliers in partnership with conservationists and
community groups towards boosting environmental conservation. Hotels that participated in eco-
award, certification or accreditation programmes for performances related to environmental goals
represented 56%. The majority of these (55%) were of the 4 and 5 star categories showing that
hotels at higher grades attempted to subscribe to such programmes than lower grades. The
awards contested included the following: Top Hotel Award by Holidaycheck.com, Travelife Award
by the Travelife Sustainability System, TUI Environmental Champion Award, Kenya Tourism
Award by KTF and KTB, and Eco-Warrior Award by Ecotourism Kenya. As Font (2002) and
Weaver and Lawton (2010) have observed, there is a great environmental advantage when
tourism facilities participate in such programmes related to environmental goals. Participation by
all hotels in Kenya’s Coast could significantly promote environmental performance.

Air Quality, Land and Water Pollution Control

A great amount of energy used by the hotels to maintain the quality of air indoors was indicated
by the extent to which they used ceiling fans (69%) and air conditioners (100%) to achieve this
(Table 7). Probably due to the perennial hot and humid conditions of the Kenyan coastal climate,
the hotels could not keep their guests comfortable without artificially cooling the rooms. In spite
of this, it would be more appropriate if they could install automatic temperature regulators to
ensure only occupied rooms had their coolants switched on, and that the coolants switch off
automatically when the rooms were vacated. To achieve this, guest rooms could be fitted with
key-card control systems that shut off power when a guest leaves his/her room as recommended
by Karl, et al., (2009). Another viable way could be to maximize the application of cross-ventilation
options in designing the hotel inner spaced. Cross ventilation works by taking advantage of high

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and low pressure zones created by wind to draw fresh air through a building. The key issue is to
have open windows (or vents) on opposite sides of the structures (Atkinson et al., 2009) Most of
the hotels in the area of study (69%) used air fresheners, meaning that great quantities of hydro-
carbons fumes, harmful to humans and depletive to the ozone layer, were released to the
environment. These could also be minimized or totally avoided if the more environmental-friendly
cross-ventilation options were adopted by hotels (Gardner, 2010).

Majority of the hotels (94%) used chemicals to control pests while fewer (12%) used chemicals to
control weeds (Table 7). Half of those (50%), claimed they used non-degradable soaps, while
37% did dry cleaning at their premises. Soaps and chemicals used as pesticides and in dry
cleaning processes are harmful to the environment especially when they drain into water bodies
or when they percolate into the soil. They may cause deaths of organisms or get into their tissues
and food chains with far-reaching adverse ecological implications. Responses indicated to a
higher level of smoke and other fumes from hotels were left to escape to the atmosphere through
chimneys without going through any smoke filters. On a positive note, however, towels, old cloth
and beddings, if not used as mopping rags, were donated to charitable organizations and needy
people, or they were given to employees for their use. Metal, glass and plastic cans were sold to
scrap dealers, water companies and wine agencies while electronic wastes were sold to scrap
dealers. Generally, these are recommendable ways of disposing of such waste (Gardner, 2010).

Extent of Adoption of Environmental Management Practices

Responses indicated that hotels undertook some of these environmental management practices
and not others. Popular among the environmental management practices identified were: use of
fluorescent lighting (94%); disposal of sewage in cesspits (88%) and waste water by means of a
drainage soak away system (100%). Employees were educated on environmental conservation
by 75% of the hotels; 63% avoided dry cleaning while 62% re-used bed-linen and towels to
conserve water. On the other hand, a greater majority of the facilities were not practicing the
following: conducting environmental education for the local community (13%); supporting
environmental research (38%); installed dual flush toilets (31%); using energy saving burners
(44%) harvesting rain water (25%) and recycling left-over foods (38%).
In general, more of these establishments engaged in activities geared towards conservation of
energy and water. Probably, this is due to the fact that such practices have implication on the
level of profitability of the hotels. This is as Faulk (2000) observed that, the priority action areas
for environmental management programmes are water, waste and energy management. Hand
and machine washing were preferred to dry-cleaning, possibly because the latter is usually more
expensive. This practice may save the environment from adverse impacts arising from the dry
cleaning process.

Hotel Characteristics and Levels of Environmental Management Practices

The differences in the percentage of hotels in the various categories implementing environmental
management practices is presented in Table 8.

Table 8: Percentage of Hotels Having Adopted the Twenty-One EMPs

Percentage Adoption in Hotel Category
Environmental Management practice 2- Star 3- Star 4 – Star 5 - Star
Recycling wastes 25 60 75 67
Purchasing supplies in bulk 50 80 75 100
Feeding food left over to animals 25 40 0 67
Using fluorescent light 75 100 100 100

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Installing solar hot water system 0 20 25 67

Avoiding power generators 25 20 25 0
Harvesting rain water for use 25 20 25 33
Using biodegradable soaps 25 40 75 67
Installing low-flow shower heads 0 40 75 100
Educating guests on environment 25 20 75 100
Supporting environmental org. 25 60 50 67
Having an EM policy 25 80 75 100
Avoidance of Chemicals 0 0 0 0
Not using air fresheners 0 20 50 67
Participating in eco-certification 25 40 75 100
Re-using linen and towels 25 40 100 100
Disclosing EP to authorities 25 40 75 67
Avoiding dry cleaning 50 60 75 67
Avoiding sinking boreholes 25 0 0 0
Installing dual flush toilets 0 20 50 67
Sponsoring research on environment 25 20 50 67
n=32
Source: Fieldwork, 2017

To establish these differences, a list of twenty-one (21) environment-friendly practices was used
as a benchmark to determine the relationship between hotel category and extent of involvement
in sound environmental practices (Table 8). Larger establishments (4-star and 5-star) were found
to have adopted and implemented more of the sound environmental management practices than
smaller ones did, (2-star and 3-star). The levels of adoption of EMPs by the various categories of
hotels were also compared (Table 9). By using the environmental practices listed in Table 8,
hotels that practiced one to seven (1-7) were considered to have a low level of adoption, eight to
fourteen (8-14) a medium levels and hotels that practiced fifteen to twenty-one (15-21) were
considered to have a high adoption level of the EMPs. From the comparison, a 75% of 2-star
hotels fell in the low level bracket. The same low levels of adoption applied to 40% of 3-star and
25% of 4-star hotels. No hotel in the 5-star category had low levels of adoption of EMPs. While
no hotel in the 2-star category had high levels of adoption, the adoption levels of only 20% of 3-
star facilities and 50% of 4-star facilities could be described as high. Yet an overwhelming 67%
of 5-star hotels could be described as having high levels of adoption.

Table 9: Hotel Category and Level of Adoption of EMPs

Hotel category
Level of adoption 2 Star 3 Star 4 Star 5 Star Total
Low adoption 6(75%) 4(40%) 2(25%) 0(0%) 12(37.5%)
Medium adoption 2(25%) 4(40%) 2(25%) 2(33%) 10(31.25%)
High adoption 0(0%) 2(20%) 4(50%) 4(67%) 10(31.25%)
TOTAL 8(100%) 10(100%) 8(100%) 6(100%) 32(100%)
χ2 = 7.517, Df = 6, α = 0.05

This suggests that the higher the class of a hotel, the greater the level of adoption of
environmental management practices. Alvarez et al. (2001) has observed that larger hotels have
been at the forefront of environmental management. Possibly this is because larger hotels
normally have more resources, the latest technology and more qualified human resources, than
the smaller ones, and are able to more easily adopt sound environmental management practices.
In addition, larger hotels are more likely to have better management structures in place, than the
smaller ones have, to effectively handle environmental issues.

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Comparing hotels by categories, a greater percentage in the 4-star and 5-star categories was
found to have adopted most of the EMPs at a rate of 64%. However, the statistical evidence of a
relationship between listed hotel category and levels of adoption of environmental management
practices was not significant (χ2 = 7.517, Df = 6, α = 0.05) as show in Table 9. However, in terms
of the general level of adoption by all the categories of accommodation facilities, a greater
percentage of them all (37.5%) fell in the low levels of adoption, while medium level and high level
of adoption were each represented by 31.25%. The 31.25% levels of adoption of EMPs by
majority of hotels revealed that operations in hotels at the Coast were yet to fully conform to
sustainable environmental tourism practices. Therefore, more environmental-related initiatives
still have to be undertaken by hotel operators to raise this general level of adoption from 37.5%
to above average and towards attainment of full adoption.

Factors Limiting Adoption of Best Practices

Major limitations to the adoption of best practices were evident from the survey responses as
follows: financial constraints (87%), ignorance of the legal and policy requirements on
environmental management (38%), poor adoption of latest technology on sustainable practices
(25%) and lack of sufficient sensitization on environmental issues (31%). Poor infrastructure, and
land tenure were also cited as limitations, represented by 13% and 25% of the respondents
respectively.

The 87% response rate shown above could suggest that majority of the hotel managers were of
the view that the revenue realized from their operations were not adequate to be sufficiently
invested on the improvement of their environmental performance. Evidently, there is lack of a high
expenditure priority to the improvement of environment and hotel managers think it is only wise
to undertake such responsibilities after spending on issues directly related to their core business
or mandate. As indicated above, a significant percentage of the managers also seemed to indicate
that they were ignorant of the legal and policy requirements on environmental management.
Conceivably, they think they may not be having enough knowledge on environmental aspects to
fully take responsibility of safeguarding their immediate environment.

To address these limitations therefore, forums should be organized by environmental

stakeholders on environmental education and sensitization especially for hotel managers.
Nicolaides (2015) stresses that there should be broader stakeholder inclusivity in the dealings of
an organization so as to benefit society in general. By citing land tenure as a challenge to
environmental best practices, it appeared that some of the hotels were operating on pieces of
land they had been leased. It was possible therefore that that managers of these facilities avoided
heavily investing in elaborate environment-related projects such as sewerage systems on their
premises because their lease periods were unsustainable. The problems of poor infrastructure
in the area and poor adoption of latest technology on environmental management could be
attributed to the developing nation status of the country in general.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is a great potential for attainment of environmental sustainability on Kenya’s

coast through hotel operations as indicated by the attempts made by hotel managers to adopt
sound environmental practices. This is in spite of the apparent ignorance and disregard of some
of the managers of environmental management principles and practices. Enhanced capacity
building and all stakeholders’ participation with closer monitoring by relevant environmental
agencies could be the most appropriate approaches towards achieving environmental

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sustainability through hospitality development in this tourist destination. Environmental

management practices in the field of energy and water conservation were adopted by the majority
of the hotels in this area. The greatest percentage of the establishments sampled (37.5%) had
low levels of adoption and implementation of environmental management practices. The principle
of reduce, reuse and recycle was yet to be fully adopted by the hotels and was not as popular as
it is in developed countries.

Overall, appropriate waste management and recycling programmes were lacking in most of the
hotels. Therefore, most of the waste they generated was not treated but dumped into the
environment posing the environmental problem earlier observed by Irandu (2009). The number
of hotels that participated in eco-award programmes was just slightly above the average. While
there were two major tourism awarding schemes for best practice in Kenya, there are over one
hundred eco-labels for tourism and hospitality worldwide, associated with environmental
performance (Font, 2002). Hotels in Kenya’s Coast could do well to subscribe to these. A
significant number of hotels appeared to flout certain existing legal requirements like conducting
regular EIA, submitting EP to relevant authorities, avoiding free range dumping of refuse and
conducting of environmental audits. This suggests a lack of an effective monitoring mechanism
by the relevant governing agencies, on hotels and other business operations in the study area.
Major limitations to the adoption of best practices among hotels on the coast were related to
finances, awareness, technology and sufficient sensitization on very critical environmental issues.

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