Green marketing practices and customer satisfaction in hotel industry

Abstract

In the last two decades, consumers have become more open – minded on ecological issues. Green marketing refers to selling product or rendering services based on environmental gain. It comes into continuation in the last 1980s and early 1990s. Green marketing is rising quickly and consumers are willing to pay a lot for green product. Green marketing affects all areas of our economy, it does not just lead to environmental safety but it also generates new market and job opportunities. Hotel industry in Sri Lanka played and plays major role in economic development of the country. With the end of three decades war in Sri Lanka, hotel industry is developing more increasingly, and also, they are practicing different strategies to sustain on the market with the concentration of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, customers are now looking for more eco- friendly hotels which secure their health and enhance their satisfaction. This research addresses the relationship between green marketing practices and customers satisfaction at hotel industry in Jaffna district. Mixed method has been employed for this study which has been taken to account three hotels (Valampuri, Fox Resort and Jetwing) nearby Jaffna city. Data has been collected from 187 tourists, within a week, using systematic random sampling. The results reveal that the correlation value between green marketing practices and customers satisfaction at hotel industry in Jaffna district is 0.645 which is significance at 1% levels. There is positive linear relationship between the green marketing practices and customers satisfaction. According to the regression analysis, 69% green marketing practices impact on customers satisfaction at hotel industry in Jaffna district. Finally, this study concluded that green marketing practices influences on customers’ satisfaction, and also it pointed that green marketing practices has impact on customers’ satisfaction at hotel industry in Jaffna district. Hoteliers have to consider that green marketing is as a tool for protecting the environment for the future generation. It has a positive impact on environmental safety. Because of the growing concern of environmental protection, there is an emergence of a new market which is the green market.