Check-In, Check-Out, but What About the Environment? Barriers to Green Practices in Egyptian Hotels

Fouad, Amr; Fathy, Eslam Ahmed; Abdelrassoulm, Suzan Elsayed

doi:10.21608/pijth.2025.411468.1025

Check-In, Check-Out, but What About the Environment? Barriers to Green Practices in Egyptian Hotels

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Pharos University in Alexandria

² Hotel Management, Faculty of Tourism and hotel management, Pharos University, Alexandria, Egypt

³ Assistant professor at Hospitality ’Management Department Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotels - King Mariout, Alexandria

10.21608/pijth.2025.411468.1025

Abstract

This quantitative study investigates the internal and external barriers influencing the application of environmental practices in Egyptian hotels. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to hotel managers in four- and five-star hotels across Egypt, yielding 260 valid responses for analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results revealed that internal barriers—specifically staff capabilities (SC), attitude of top management (ATM), and cost considerations (CC)—alongside the external barrier of guest attitude (GA), significantly hinder the intention to apply environmental practices (EPAint). Notably, regulatory pressures from government and environmental laws were not found to be significant predictors of intention. Furthermore, EPAint was found to mediate the relationship between these key barriers and the actual adoption of environmental practices (EPA). The study provides theoretical insights into the mechanisms of environmental decision-making and offers practical strategies for overcoming these challenges, such as enhancing staff training programs, fostering leadership commitment, and advocating for a shift toward more effective government incentives.

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