ABSTRACT
The issue of sustainable tourism continues to dominate industry and public forums such as conferences, textbooks, and corporate policy statements, yet there are still relatively few examples of established sustainable tourism initiatives the world over. Our aim here is thus to develop an understanding of why the tourism industry continues to display little evidence of sustainable tourism practices, especially among micro and small tourism enterprises (MSTEs). The actions taken by owner-managers to minimise negative impacts on the natural environment are important for the long-term survival of MSTEs. Consequently, the owner-managers of these enterprises have an implicit responsibility to sustain the earth’s life systems. As such, an assessment of the levels of awareness, interest, and implementation of environmental management among MSTEs is a useful research endeavour. Thus, we explore the extent to which environmental management is implemented by MSTEs and the levels of awareness of sustainable practice amongst the owner-managers of these enterprises in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
