Assessing the potential for reducing carbon footprint of tourist establishments in Kampala city

Abstract

The study was intended to assess the potential for reducing the carbon footprint of tourism establishments in Kampala City. The objectives of the study were to know the sources of carbon dioxide emissions in tourism establishments and to suggest ways in which tourism establishments can reduce their carbon footprint. To achieve the study objectives, a sample of 40 respondents comprising of hotel managers, receptionists, administrative assistants, housekeepers, waiters and waitresses, and 30 tourists was done. The findings reveal that source of carbon emissions include hotel operations such as transportation of guests, staff and raw materials, kitchen activities such as cooking and refrigeration, improper disposal of the wastes, and energy consumption through lighting, laundry activities, air conditioning, water heating, and television. Hotels are implementing measures to reduce the carbon emissions such as use of the energy saving compliances, use of local materials especially those that can be easily recycled to protect the environment, making use of alternative fuels, better use of the control systems to regulate water and electricity use and to a small extent sensitising guests about the measures to reduce carbon emissions. However, there is communication gap of the measures that the hotels employ to reduce green gas emissions and it can be concluded that there is no mechanism for education of tourists about these measures which at times affect the tourists negatively. The study suggest that the government reduces on the cost of alternative fuels and sets up trainings on carbon emissions for stakeholders. Hotels should build a proper in-house carbon emission calculation process for easy monitoring and control of carbon emissions and increase information flow about carbon emissions to guests.