SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Sustain. Tour.
Sec. Tourism, Climate and Global Environmental Consequences
Advancing Circular Economy in Hospitality: A Global Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis of Strategies, Challenges, and Managerial Implications
Provisionally accepted
Henry Peñaherrera-Veloz1
Christian Freddy Vásquez-Torres1Maria Auxiliadora Campuzano-Rodriguez1Sandra Maricela Campuzano-Rodríguez1
Dennis Peralta1
Nicolás Márquez2*
Cristian Vidal-Silva3*- 1Universidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Ecuador
- 2Universidad Santo Tomas, Santiago, Chile
- 3University of the Americas (UDLA), Granados, Chile
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This study examines the application of the circular economy (CE) in the global hotel industry. The purpose is to identify main trends, thematic clusters, collaboration networks, and knowledge gaps in CE research related to hospitality. 1 Using the PRISMA 2020 protocol, 71 peer-reviewed articles (2018–2024) were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science and analyzed through bibliometrix (R) and VOSviewer. Results show a strong post-2020 growth and a research landscape led by European institutions. Four major clusters were identified: (i) waste and food-waste management, (ii) sustainability and performance frame-works, (iii) technological innovation (IoT, blockchain, smart tourism), and (iv) policy and governance. However, most studies remain focused on operational issues, with limited attention to upstream eco-design and circular procurement. Latin America, Africa, and Asia are still underrepresented. To address these gaps, this study proposes a managerial "5D" roadmap—Diagnose, Design, Deploy, Digitize, and Demonstrate—to guide hotels in embedding CE principles into strategy, operations, and reporting. The findings contribute an updated evidence map and actionable guidance for advancing sustainability and competitiveness in the hospitality sector.
Keywords: Circular economy, Hospitality industry, sustainability, Waste Management, Hotel operations, technological innovation, policy frameworks
Received: 22 Aug 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Peñaherrera-Veloz, Vásquez-Torres, Campuzano-Rodriguez, Campuzano-Rodríguez, Peralta, Márquez and Vidal-Silva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Nicolás Márquez, nmarquez4@santotomas.cl
Cristian Vidal-Silva, cristian.vidal.silva@edu.udla.cl
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.