Sustainability as a Service: Making Environmental Action Tangible for Guests

Sustainability in tourism is everywhere: on websites, in mission statements, on signs reminding guests to reuse towels. But for many travelers, it still feels like background noise. It's not part of the experience. It's not part of the story.

So, here's the challenge:

What if sustainability wasn't a back-office initiative, but a guest-facing service?

From Silent to Visible: Why Sustainability Needs a Front Row Seat

In both my bachelor's thesis on service quality in hotels (Lacle, 2013) and our group field work in Fiji and Sanur (Alberts et al., 2014), one thing was clear:

Guests respond most to what they experience, not just what they're told.

In Fiji, many businesses had sincere environmental goals, however they lacked the capacity to turn them into something guests could see, feel, or participate in. There were compost bins no one used, solar panels never mentioned, and refill stations hidden behind counters.

In Aruba, the story is similar. Important steps are being taken across various properties, such as plastic-free initiatives, solar water heating, locally sourced food (which in itself is difficult) but unless guests ask, these actions can remain invisible or taken for granted.

Theoretical Foundations: Experience, Value, and Behavior

1. The Triple Bottom Line (Elkington, 1997)

Sustainability isn't just about the planet; it's also about people and profit. Businesses must balance all three to create long-term value. But in tourism, this balance must be felt by the guest.

2. Service-Dominant Logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004)

Value is co-created, not delivered. When guests participate in sustainable behaviors, they become part of the value chain.

3. Green Nudging (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008; Gössling & Buckley, 2016)

Small prompts, visible waste stats, refill water incentives, "opt-in" green experiences, can shift behavior without guilt or greenwashing.

4. Regenerative Tourism (Hollender et al., 2020)

Goes beyond minimizing harm to actively restoring ecosystems, communities, and guest connections with place.

5. Experiential Sustainability (Wells et al., 2021)

Guests are more likely to support and advocate for sustainability if it's built into their journey, not just the resort's brand promise.

What This Looks Like in Aruba

Sustainability in Aruba has made progress, from renewable energy goals to reef-safe sunscreen laws. But at the guest level, it still risks being too abstract or hidden from view.

In our past group research in Sanur, Bali (Alberts et al., 2014), we noted that even when small businesses had strong sustainable values, there was no common framework or visibility. The same is true in Aruba:

• ●Most sustainability efforts are back-end (e.g., solar, recycling) but not part of the guest experience.
• ●Staff often aren't trained to explain or invite participation.
• ●Front desks, menus, and activities rarely showcase actionable eco-touchpoints.

Yet there's so much potential:

Palm Beach & Noord

• ●Partner with local wellness studios to offer low-impact, plant-based lunches and yoga classes. Eduardo's Hideaway shack is an example of plant-based meals.
• ●Create a "Bike the Backstreets" self-guided tour that includes refill stops and local artisans.

San Nicolas

• ●Curate a "Sustainability in the Arts" walk featuring murals that tell environmental stories.
• ●Partner with community leaders to offer guest workshops on upcycling or traditional food practices.

Paradera & Santa Cruz

In Aruba's mid-island areas like Paradera and Santa Cruz, tourism isn't dominant, and that's a strength.

These communities are rich with:

• ●Traditional agriculture and medicinal plant knowledge
• ●Quiet nature routes leading to Arikok Park
• ●Family-run bakeries, artists, and cultural spaces
• ●A lifestyle that reflects balance, not performance

Rather than increasing footfall, the goal here should be:

• ●To design low-volume, high-value experiences that align with local rhythm
• ●To support local storytelling and intergenerational knowledge
• ●To ensure any visitor presence strengthens, not stretches, the fabric of daily life

Think: invitation, not intrusion.

With the right framing, these areas can serve as models of regenerative micro-tourism, where guests are learners, not consumers.

Recommendations: Making Sustainability a Service

These recommendations aim not only to reduce impact, but to restore value: environmentally, socially, and emotionally. In the spirit of regenerative tourism, the aim is not just to minimize harm, but to actively generate positive impact for communities, ecosystems, and guest experiences alike.

Here are five guest-facing strategies rooted in theory and practice:

1. Sustainability Touchpoints in the Guest Journey

Map every guest touchpoint: arrival, dining, recreation, and embed a small, visible sustainability cue.

• ●Theory: Experiential Sustainability (Wells et al., 2021)

2. Empower Staff as Green Stewards

Train frontline staff to explain not just the "what", but the why behind eco-practices.

• ●Theory: Service-Dominant Logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004)

3. Create "Opt-In" Green Experiences

Offer optional low-impact excursions, beach clean-ups, or plant-based tasting menus.

• ●Theory: Green Nudging (Gössling & Buckley, 2016)

4. Visualize Impact

Share real-time data, e.g., "You helped save 20 liters of water by reusing your towel."

• ●Theory: Behavioral Economics (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008)

5. Collaborate Across Micro-Destinations

Unite businesses within San Nicolas, Noord, Oranjestad, Paradera, or Santa Cruz to build community-level sustainability routes, rooted in local stories, walkability, and regenerative experiences.

• ●Theory: Regenerative Tourism (Hollender et al., 2020)

Final Thought

If guests don't feel sustainability, it's not a service, it's just signage.

We need to move beyond "eco-talk" to eco-experience.

Let's make sustainability visible, participatory, and proudly Aruban.

References

Alberts, G., Iglesias Carmona, D., Yuan, W. and Lacle, R., 2014. Exploring the Entrepreneurial Capacity to Innovate. Breda: NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences.

Elkington, J., 1997. Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. Capstone Publishing.

Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F., 2004. Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68(1), pp.1–17.

Thaler, R.H. and Sunstein, C.R., 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin.

Gössling, S. and Buckley, R., 2016. Carbon Management in Tourism: Mitigating the Impacts on Climate Change. Routledge.

Hollender, J., Robbins, J. and Whittaker, M., 2020. Regenerative Tourism: From Do No Harm to Leaving It Better. Travel Foundation Report.

Wells, V.K., Taheri, B., Gregory-Smith, D. and Manika, D., 2021. The Role of Marketing in Operationalizing Sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 122, pp.723–734.

Lacle, R., 2013. Service Quality in Hotels. Bachelor's Thesis. Breda: NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences.