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ECO HOTELS – PHILOSOPHY OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Dr. sc. Milena Peršić, Full Professor milena.persic@fthm.hr Dr. sc. Sandra Janković, Assistant Professor, sandrai@fthm.hr Mr. sc. Dubravka Vlašić,, Assistant, dubravka.vlasic@fthm.hr Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija University of Rijeka, Croatia

Abstract
This paper offers recommendations for the initial development ofenvironmental accounting practices at the hotel enterprise and department level and argues for the importance of developing relevant cost management systems that support environmental strategies and management. Focus is on environmental cost categories and potential classifications and approaches for hospitality management decision-making and control purposes. The research that will be conducted on thesample of Croatian hotels presents water usage in hotels and discusses the possibility of usage of waste water for different purposes. This is the task of environmental management accounting, where the development of the accountant’s role will be set within an environmental management context. Environmental management accounting information have to be helpful for hospitality management, in decisionmaking in the range of responses about environmental issues in reviewing their environmental position, developing and implementing policies and strategies to improve that position and in changing management system to ensure ongoing improvement and effective management. Key Words: Eco-hotels, environmental accounting, business performance, environmental costs.

1 Introduction Our environment isthe most precious asset that will be passed on to the next generation. Protecting the environment is the task of all the individuals, governments and enterprises. The future of the World is in the protection of the environment, therefore the future of the hotels is in eco-hotels. Hotels use large amounts of water, energy, chemicals, supplies and disposable items. They also generate lots of waste inform of wastewater and solid waste. The prevention of polluting the environment with this waste is of great importance not only to stakeholders and the employees of the hotel, but also tourists who are becoming more concerned for the preservation of the environment. Eco-hotel or environmental suitable hotel has to follow the basic principles of good housekeeping - based on maximizing benefits andminimizing costs. Those principles are at the same time the main principles of the ecology as a scientific approach and as a global movement aimed at preserving environment and implementing sustainable development concept. Sustainable development is very important concept in hospitality industry because it meets the needs of present tourists and host regions and at the same time protects andenhance the opportunity for the future. Hotels have positive or negative impact on their local area and host communities. Accordingly, eco-hotels act in the way that they keep the environment clean and improve their quality, rise up the level of satisfaction of more sophisticated and ecologically more conscious guests and reduce costs, which, all together

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helps promoting the concept of tourism sustainable development. Some hotels are developed in the area of eco-tourism, which means conserving natural environment and the well-being of local people through responsible travel.Environmental costs are impacts that occur in society, enterprise, or individual. They result from activities that affect quality of the environment, and can be expressed in monetary and non-monetary items. They have to be fully integrated into company's business decisions on long term basis, and only the enterprises that properly account for the true environmental costs of their businesses will be...