State of Sustainable Tourism in Minnesota: Changes from 2007-2016

Abstract

In response to legislative requests in 2007, the University of Minnesota Tourism Center partnered with Explore Minnesota Tourism (EMT), the state tourism promotion office, to conduct an online survey about sustainable practices. As an ongoing effort, the partnership conducted the same survey in 2010, 2013, and 2016. The first three surveys asked about the state of implementing sustainable practices in six areas: energy efficiency, waste minimization, environmental purchasing, air quality, water conservation, and landscaping/wildlife. Given the concern with survey length, the 2016 survey was focused on energy efficiency, waste minimization (with four environmental purchasing items integrated into this area), and water conservation. Respondents also indicated the following: their gender, their industry sector, their Minnesota tourism region, number of years working in the industry and for their current employer, the likelihood of participating in green travel certification programs, and preferred ways of receiving information about sustainable tourism.