ABSTRACT
As tourism expands, its environmental impacts have become a major concern. Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) are an important tool for improving the relationship of tourist enterprises with their environment, and can bring decisive benefits. In light of the seasonal nature of the hotel industry, there are some key issues to consider when implementing an EMS. The process for selecting the objectives and targets for the EMS should involve all the heads of the hotel departments, but it is often very difficult for all the departmental heads to meet at the same time for a reasonable length of time. Management models for EMSs in the tourist sector are based on the fact that the hotel manager and/or the environmental co-ordinator are rarely technical specialists. In the case of hotel chains, a pool of internal auditors can be created, capitalising on the know-how gained by the environmental co-ordinators in designing, implementing and maintaining the EMS in their own hotels.
