Page 170 - Sustaining Accommodation SMES

9 Conclusions and Future Research

distinction is central for moving from sustainability rhetoric to effective
transition strategies.
Empirically, the study shows that sustainability importance is not as-
sociated with the mere presence of sustainability practices, but is strongly
linked to their level of implementation and to organisational readiness
for structured sustainability management. Values become behaviourally
relevant primarilywhensustainability engagementrequires coordina-
tion, formalisation, and sustained effort. The analysis of iso 21401 adop-
tion barriers further reinforces this interpretation. Financial costs, time
scarcity, staffing limitations, and administrative burden dominate the
barrier landscape across countries. In parallel, adoption needs mirror
these barriers closely, with respondents prioritising enabling conditions
that reduce complexity, provide guidance, and strengthen internal capac-
ity. The close alignment between barriers and needs confirms that adop-
tion is most likely when contextual constraints are directly addressed.
These insights have important implications for policy and practice.
Sustainability transitions in the accommodation sector cannot rely pre-
dominantly on awareness raising, voluntary commitments, or symbolic
adoption of practices. Instead, they require coherent policy mixes that
combine regulation, incentives, capacity building, self-regulation, and
credible certification ecosystem. Within this mix, iso 21401 emerges
not as an endpoint, but as a foundational governance tool that enables
sustainability to be managed, monitored, and improved systematically.
When supported by appropriate policy alignment, intermediary support,
self-evaluation instruments such as the mast Protocol, and harmonised
certification landscapes, the standard has the potential to function as an
effective transition instrument rather than a niche certification. At the
same time, several methodological considerations frame the interpreta-
tion of these findings. The cross-sectional design captures sustainability
engagement at a specific point in time and does not allow causal infer-
ence or observation of transition dynamics. Differences in sample size
across countries limit the scope of some comparative analyses, and the
reliance on self-reported data introduces potential biases related to so-
cial desirability and interpretation. While these limitations are mitigated
through aggregation and comparative logic, future research would ben-
efit from triangulation with longitudinal, observational, and audit-based
data sources.
Looking ahead, further research is needed to deepen understanding
of sustainability transitions in tourism. Longitudinal studies could ex-

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