Improving the environmental sustainability of hotel buildings through the analysis of its life cycle. Case study: Balearic Islands

Abstract

Spain currently receives more than 80 million visitors, of which over 50% are concentrated in the summer months. This increase in population, located mainly in the tourist accommodation, causes a change that alters the normal use of the infrastructure: transport, energy, water and waste management. In a place like the Balearic Islands, with more than 10 million visitors annually, there is an increase of 31% of electricity consumption, 60% of final consumption and 30% of waste production. The determination of the amount of resources and emissions that occur in tourist facilities, through analysis of their life cycle, opens the door to establishing structural and operational improvements as well as the implementation of renewable energy.