UN Tourism promotes the circular economy as the engine of a competitive and resilient hospitality industry

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Circle Economy, and UN Tourism have presented the report “Towards Circular Hospitality: Transforming the Tourism System.” This document examines the challenges facing the hotel industry in the face of increasing resource scarcity. Aimed at fostering collective dialogue with key stakeholders in each destination, this report identifies circular economy opportunities and strategies that enable businesses to maintain competitiveness, improve efficiency, and operate more responsibly in the medium and long term.

It is estimated that tourist accommodations are responsible for 260 million tons of CO2 emissions per year,¹ a figure almost as high as the annual emissions of all of France. Since around 70% of these emissions come from the production,² transport, and disposal of the goods and services on which hotels depend and which guests consume, purchasing and operational decisions have the potential to transform entire supply chains. Various circular economy strategies—such as reverse logistics or prioritizing repair and reuse over disposal—are essential to reducing the sector's impact.

Challenges of the hotel industry

Hotels face multiple individual and systemic barriers. The report identifies ten key challenges, including: a lack of adequate recycling infrastructure in many tourist destinations, which means that waste separation in hotels does not reach its full potential; behavioral barriers, such as the cultural shift regarding climate change; and the absence of a shared vision of circularity in the hotel industry, which makes it difficult for sustainable solutions to scale beyond individual hotels or chains.

Success story: Iberostar Hotels & Resorts

In a context of systemic challenges, individual initiatives can help demonstrate what is possible and offer practical benchmarks for other actors in the value chain. The report draws on the experience of Iberostar, a hotel chain with more than 100 hotels in 14 countries, to illustrate how some of these challenges are being addressed in day-to-day operations.

Iberostar's approach to circularity combines people, data, and innovation. Driven by a clear purpose and the commitment of its management team, the company has created dedicated 3Rs teams, with more than 250 professionals focused on waste separation, measurement, and analysis. At the same time, it uses artificial intelligence tools in the kitchens of more than 60 hotels to monitor and reduce food waste, helping to better understand where losses occur and how they can be prevented.

Furthermore, efforts are underway to integrate circularity into purchasing decisions, hotel design, and the experience of both guests and employees, as well as into daily operations. Collectively, these measures have contributed to a reduction of more than 80% in waste sent to landfills since 2021.

However, experience has shown that progress requires the support of local actors as well as infrastructure, policies and collaborations, and that systemic circularity cannot be achieved solely through individual actions by agents along the value chain.

Five strategic opportunities for change

Based on the conclusions and workshops held with stakeholders in the sector, this report has identified five strategic areas for advancing towards a circular economy:

Circular purchasing: involving suppliers to prioritize durable, reusable or biodegradable options, avoiding unnecessary materials.

Circular operations: involving staff in the responsible use of resources such as water, and the optimization of menus.

Circular built environment: designing energy-efficient, durable and easy-to-dismantle buildings, using materials of biological origin and renewable energy.

Corporate culture and circular experiences: training managers and employees in circularity principles, as well as raising awareness among guests to encourage responsible behavior.

Circular destinations: collaborate with municipalities, invest in nature restoration and support local circular initiatives.

Gloria Fluxà, Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer at Grupo Iberostar, explains: “Four years ago, we launched an ambitious project to reduce the waste we send to landfills and introduce circularity into our operations. This wasn't an isolated project, but a fundamental shift in how we manage our business. This involved aligning internal strategic priorities, business objectives, and incentives. We believe this is how systemic change begins: not with a single big decision, but with thousands of small choices aligned in the same direction. The transition to a circular hotel industry will require going beyond individual efforts and committing to collaborative actions in different areas to implement systemic change. Only then will we be able to scale the positive impact and strengthen the competitiveness and future of our sector.”

Her Excellency Ms. Shaikha N. Alnuwais, UN Secretary-General for Tourism, emphasizes: “The hospitality industry plays a vital role in the tourism value chain and influences how destinations manage resources, reduce waste, measure impact, strengthen local economies, and respond to increasing climate, environmental, and supply chain pressures. Promoting circular and regenerative practices is not only an environmental priority but also a strategic pathway to resilience, climate action, competitiveness, and long-term value creation. We hope this report will inspire change and provide useful guidance to policymakers, businesses, and destinations to move toward a more circular and resilient future for tourism.”

For her part, Claudia Alessio, a circularity expert and author for Circular Economy, adds: “The circular economy is not just an environmental necessity; it is a means to an end. It strengthens business resilience by recognizing that the hotel industry depends on healthy natural and social capital. It is a powerful tool for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and it supports destinations by helping them operate within their carrying capacity. The framework we are presenting is designed for use across the entire value chain, providing the sector with a common direction to move forward together.”

Source: Iberostar Hotels & Resorts