Airports performances and sustainable practices: an empirical study on Italian data

The transition to more environmentally sustainable production processes and managerial practices is an increasingly important topic. Many industries need to undergo radical change to meet environmental sustainability requirements; the tourism industry is no exception. In this respect, a particular aspect that needs further attention is the relationship between airport performances and investments in environmental sustainability policies. This work represents a first attempt to provide empirical evidences about this relationship. Through the application of a non-parametrical method, we first assess the efficiency of the Italian airports’ industry. Secondly, we investigated the relationship between airports’ performance and management commitment toward the ecological transition using a Tobit regression model. The results show that airports’ adherence to formal multi-year ecological transition programs has a positive and consistent impact on their performance.