Pathology

Business

Archaeology

Observational study

Key (lock)

Intervention (counseling)

Psychiatry

Engineering

Marketing

Tourism

Psychology

Geography

Operations management

Food waste

Computer science

Computer security

Waste management

Medicine

Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights

The harmful tourist behaviour of taking a lot of food from a buffet, but not eating it all, remains under-researched. This study gains key insights into drivers of plate waste. Observational data show that: dinner buffets are worse than breakfast buffets; the latest breakfast serving time is worse than the earliest; high-end breakfast buffets are worse than budget buffets. The first meal a guest eats at a hotel and the presence of children also lead to more plate waste. Staff offer consistent and plausible explanations for these observations, resulting in a comprehensive model of drivers of plate waste. This model offers a basis for intervention development to reduce plate waste and by so doing minimise environmental damage caused by the tourism industry.

Drivers of plate waste at buffets: A comprehensive conceptual model based on observational data and staff insights