Development of a green tourism implementation framework for the hotel sector in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Mechanisms for implementing green tourism practices in the hotel sector in Zimbabwe have not been fully explored. Whilst green tourism practices are nowadays acknowledged as essential in every tourist destination, hotels in developing countries are scantly implementing green measures in their operations. Green tourism practices are implemented at varied levels in hotels in Zimbabwe, indicating that there are some barriers and obstacles with regard to the effective implementation of environmentally friendly initiatives in hotels. Scientific evidence has shown that the hotel sector is not a smokeless industry as previously thought, as damage of the environment has been witnessed in various destinations across the globe. This study sought to develop a green tourism implementation framework for the hotel sector in Zimbabwe. The study was carried out in Harare, Victoria Falls and Nyanga. The study adopted a mixed methods approach. Data was collected from hotel employees and managers. An interview guide was used to collect qualitative data from fifteen purposively selected key informants. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from 333 participants using stratified random sampling. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data whilst quantitative data was analysed using simple descriptive statistics and factor analysis. The results of the study revealed that the hotel sector is implementing simple and inexpensive green practices which focus on energy management, water conservation and waste management. The main challenges that the Zimbabwe hotel sector is facing in implementing green initiatives are high costs of purchasing green tourism equipment, lack of stakeholder support and limited funds. Reduction of costs, environmental Corporate Social Responsibility and knowledge of green tourism practices were noted as the reasons why the hotel sector prefers waste management practices, energy management practices and water conservation practices. The green tourism implementation framework developed from this study emphasises the centrality and critical importance of policies and legal instruments, renovating buildings, guest education and technology as key critical success factors in the implementation of green tourism practices for the hotel sector in Zimbabwe. The study recommends the need for a stronger green tourism policy, guest education and serious stakeholder engagement in order to enhance the implementation of green tourism practices in the hotel sector in Zimbabwe.