Compassion-driven environmental awareness: Enhancing sustainable practices and hotel performance in the Spanish hospitality industry

Abstract

Aggressive tourism consumption strains ecosystems, communities, and infrastructure, leading to environmental degradation and socio-economic challenges. Hotel managers witness firsthand the damage from wasteful behaviors, such as excessive water consumption in drought-prone areas and inefficient energy use. Although many studies have focused on reducing negative tourist behavior, little research has explored how promoting compassion-driven approaches among hotel managers affects environmental awareness and key performance outcomes, such as operational efficiency, guest satisfaction, and overall hotel profitability. Following the MOA (Motivation-Opportunity-Ability) framework, this study analyzes hotel managers’ emotional connections to mitigating negative tourist impacts in Spain through three components: the willingness to act (motivation), access to external resources (opportunity), and development of required knowledge and skills (ability). An analysis of Ecostars-certified sustainable hotels found that 346 out of 1,200 have implemented these practices, underscoring the influence of compassion in curbing consumptive behaviors. While hotel managers value compassion for emotional care, they believe practical opportunities, not empathy, are key to securing external resources. To drive sustainability, structured strategies are needed to turn compassion and environmental awareness into effective action. The study finds that overtourism in Spain evokes compassion, which motivates pro-environmental behavior and enhances hotel performance both financially and reputationally. While compassion boosts environmental awareness, it must be paired with technical expertise for effective sustainable practices. The study advocates integrating emotional engagement into broader sustainability strategies for lasting impact in tourism and hospitality.