The Role of Circular Economy in Tourism Industry Sustainability: Critical Review of the Kenyan Tourism Industry

Abstract

Despite many countries considering tourism industry as their major foreign exchange earner, the industry contributes 9% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are the leading contributor to climate change crisis. A large percentage of these GHGs, which pose serious environmental challenges that cannot be overlooked, emanate from anthropogenic factors (human activities) (Ruddiman, Vavrus & Kutzbach, 2020). Most developed countries have embraced circular economy (CE) in their operations to minimise the effects of climate change and to promote sustainable tourism to a great extent as compared to developing countries, Kenya included, yet a proper implementation of CE has been established to aid in scaling down operation costs, reduces the environment impact, helps in climate change mitigation, makes destinations more attractive, enhances customer experience consequently promoting sustainable tourism. The paper employed a content analysis research methodology to review and analyse existing academic literature and government policy documents on circular economy in Kenya and its impacts on tourism sustainability guided by four objectives; to explore the role of hotels in CE uptake; to establish the CE implementation gaps in hotels and to assess existing policy frameworks on CE in the tourism sector in Kenya. Content analysis was adopted because the study’s intent was to draw insights and conclusions from existing articles and journals on circular economy and tourism sustainability. Existing literatures were obtained from journals, government publications and articles on CE and tourism. From the literature reviewed, it was established that the concept of tourism waste management, a cornerstone of the CE is vital in minimising tourism environmental impact through waste reduction, recycling, and re-purposing activities. Secondly, the regenerative tourism, concept borrowed from CE encourages innovative waste management practices that contribute to the protection of the environment and local communities.  In addition, the regenerative tourism underscores other responsible tourism concepts including sustainable tourism and ecotourism that advocates for environmental conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources that support local ecosystems and contribute to their recovery. Lastly from the reviewed literature, CE is a tool for climate change mitigation through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by lessening demand for raw materials and new products, encouraging use of solar panels, wind and electric vehicles. This paper enriches the scholarly comprehension of the relationship between CE, tourism and climate change and proposes an integration of CE as an important tool for climate change mitigation, cost management and customer experience in hotels. Furthermore, the paper provides insights into CE practices, offer a guide to researchers on possible key areas of interest for further research.