Author(s)

E. Szymańska

Abstract

There are several types of innovation in tourist enterprise, including products, processes, technology and organization. Product and technology innovations have been widely covered in the literature; whilst information about innovations of both processes and organization is far more limited. One other type of innovation receives scant attention: that is in the area of environmental concern. The objectives of this article are: to determine the level of innovativeness within the hotel sector in terms of the implementation of environmental innovations, and to define the main types of innovations. In respect of these objectives, the following hypothesis is presented: innovativeness of the hotel sector in environmental terms depends somewhat on the extent of international co-operation. When calculating the level of innovatibility of hotel facilities one of the indicators recommended by the Oslo Manual (Bohdanowicz P., Turystyka a świadomość ekologiczna, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń, 2006) was used, namely: the intensity of innovation. The author selected a random sample without replacement of registered hotel properties operating in Poland using an at random without replacement method. The diagnostic poll method was based on the survey questionnaire which included key questions about innovations introduced in the field of environmental protection. Research questions were constructed in the form of a half-open cafeteria. Research utilizing the diagnostic poll method was carried out on 100 hotels in Poland in order to verify this hypothesis. The results obtained can be regarded as a basis for further detailed studies of innovativeness in tourism-based enterprises and so could well prove to be invaluable in running such businesses. Keywords: environmental innovations, hotel sector, research.

Keywords

environmental innovations, hotel sector, research