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.
