Green Hospitality and the Competitiveness of Indian Tourism: Measuring the Effects of Eco-Certified Hotels on Destination Image, Satisfaction, and Revisit Intention

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Inorder to maintain a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability for the rapidly growing tourism industry in India and protect India's unique and fragile cultural and natural resources throughout the country, there is a need for the "greening" of the hospitality industry. The "greening" of the hospitality industry will take place through environmentally friendly practices such as reducing waste, conserving water and energy, and implementing sustainable practices that fit each local area. This paper aims to explore the impact that green hospitality practices within Indian hotels will have upon tourists' perception of the destination's image, their perception of service quality, tourist satisfaction, and behavioral intention (revisit and word-of-mouth). This study will use the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) paradigm and Value–Belief–Norm Theory to create a structural model linking perceived green practices (the stimulus), tourists' cognitive and affective evaluations (the organism), and subsequent behavioral responses (response). A survey instrument, using a structured questionnaire, was used to collect data from both domestic and international tourists who had stayed at eco-certified and non-eco-certified hotels in many of India's major tourist destinations, including hill stations, coastal states, and heritage circuits. To evaluate the measurement model, the structural model, compare eco-certified properties to non-eco-certified properties, and examine the mediating effects of perceived value and satisfaction, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to the data. This study will contribute to the literature by: (1) providing destination specific evidence related to green hospitality in an emerging market economy where little prior research exists; (2) clarifying the mechanisms through which green hospitality enhances destination competitiveness; and (3) offering a segmentation view of environmentally conscious versus conventional tourists. Managerially, the results of this study provide hotel managers and policy makers with justification for investing in green initiatives, guidelines for developing refined eco-certification standards, and strategic recommendations for communicating that green hospitality can be a competitive advantage for Indian tourism.