Assessing the environmental impacts of three different types of accommodations in Portugal and Spain by using an LCA approach

The tourism industry, affected by COVID-19, must reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study evaluated the environmental impact of three hotels in coastal and mountainous regions of Spain and Portugal using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Data was gathered via surveys in the Greentour tool. Results indicate that the 2-star hotel (focused on cultural-urban tourism) has the highest impacts in most categories, except for CC, FRD, and POF indicators. The 3-star hotel (beach tourism) contributes the most to CC and FRD indicators, while the hostel (nature-religious tourism) has the highest value in the POF indicator. LCA findings reveal that diesel consumption in the hostel and electricity usage in both the 2-star and 3-star hotels are major contributors to environmental impacts across various categories. Overall, evidence suggests that fossil fuel and electricity usage significantly affect tourism activities environmentally. Interestingly, this study highlights that a 2-star hotel can have a higher carbon footprint (CC indicator) compared to a 3-star hotel, challenging the notion that higher star ratings imply lower environmental impact. [Display omitted] •Tourism is an important global economic sector that has experience a huge growth in recent years.•Environmental impacts of cultural-urban, nature-religious, an beach-tourism accommodations in the Iberian Peninsula.•Life Cycle Assessment quantify the environmental impacts of tourism activities, identify the greenest solutions.•The 3-star hotel had the highest contributions to carbon emissions and resource depletion.•Fossil fuels and electricity are the main contributors in almost all environmental impact categories.