Digital Communication of Sustainable Practices in Hotels: The Green Key Certificate. Comparative Analysis Between the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos

The tourism sector is one of the world’s fastest growing economic activities. Consequently, it has a strong environmental impact and it is therefore important to understand the dynamics of the hotel industry in the digital communication of environmental certifications. This study investigates how hotel units awarded the Green Key seal communicate it digitally. By analysing and comparing websites and social networks, the relevance given to communicating the award is studied, considering aspects such as the size and classification of the tourist resorts. Firstly, an analysis of the Azores sample is presented, followed by a comparison with data from a study previously carried out with a sample of accommodation units in the Madeira-Portugal region, awarded the Green Key label in 2022.The comparative study shows that both regions need to make a greater effort to promote sustainability, good practices and the resulting certificates. At the moment, only commercial information is favoured in their media.