Green Business for Green Meetings (Case Study: Opatija Kongress Hotels)

In the late 20th century, the World Tourism Organization established a committee focused on the environment. Somewhat later, sustainable tourism is being embraced as best practice by many countries around the world. This study identifies sustainable tourism from a business tourism perspective. According to the Croatian Tourism Development Strategy until 2020, business tourism is at the high quality and high yield end of the tourism spectrum. Business travellers pay more for services and thus, indirectly, pay higher taxes which can then be used to fund environmental or social programs, thereby benefitting the host. In addition, they are more environmentally sensitive and engage in green projects. The favourable geographical position in Central Europe and top quality conference facilities have made the hotels in Croatian town called Opatija particularly popular among organizers of meetings and congresses. This paper examines Opatija congress hotels and the level of implementation of environmentally responsible (green) innovations into business. The research was conducted in four-star Grand Hotel Adriatic in Opatija, interviewing top management about the environmental protection efforts in their everyday business. The analysis has revealed that, by following global trends and needs, the Grand Hotel Adriatic in Opatija respects the principles of green business and, most importantly, has the necessary knowledge and resource for organizing green meetings. Sustainability is no longer considered a passing fad in the hotel industry, but has become a task with many faces and names.