An investigation into responsible tourism practices in the South African hotel industry

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the reasons for the limited uptake of responsible tourism initiative memberships by hotels in South Africa, despite South Africa being regarded as a leader in the field of responsible tourism policy, with the drafting of responsible tourism guidelines by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). The International Centre for Responsible Tourism’s conference (hosted in South Africa) preceding the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 resulted in the Cape Town Declaration, which was based on the guidelines developed by DEAT. There are currently two responsible tourism membership initiatives in South Africa. Non-experimental survey research was conducted among hotels about their understanding and implementation of responsible tourism practices. Sixty hotels responded to the survey, and it would appear that these hotels implement Corporate Social Responsibility/responsible tourism, though to varying extents. Many responding hotels do not participate in responsible tourism initiatives because of - amongst others - confusion about what the concept means, and a lack of awareness of such initiatives. This paper raises questions about the effectiveness of membership initiatives in promoting the implementation of responsible tourism practices and questions the importance of a common understanding and awareness of what responsible tourism entails in ensuring that policy is implemented.

Environmental Management Practices of Hotels in Malaysia: Stakeholder Perspective

“…The respondents, who are also members of the industry associations, indicated that EMPs are not an important factor to help create competitive advantage. This outcome is similar to a study carried out for South African hotels (Van der Merwe and Wocke, ), and Chan and Wong () revealed that none of their studies found that competitors play a role in influencing hotels to adopt EMPs.…”

Institutional Antecedents of the Corporate Social Responsibility Narrative in the Developing World Context: Implications for Sustainable Development

“…First, corporate donations tend to align with societal expectations, and hence are viewed as a tool by which societal legitimacy could be achieved (Dal Maso et al ., ). Second, corporate donations are often used by tourism firms in building a good image with national governments, non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and investors (Van der Merwe and Wocke, ). Third, philanthropic initiatives may be undertaken by some firms for purely altruistic reasons in the form of ‘giving back to society’ (McLachlan and Binns, ).…”

“…The increased uptake of environmental initiatives in the South African tourism industry in relation to their counterparts in the region is for two fundamental reasons. First, some firms are becoming environmentally orientated to align with the needs of stakeholders such as government policy and the needs of environmentally aware western consumers, and also to achieve green certifications (Van der Merwe and Wocke, ; Frey and George, ). Secondly, the increased adoption of environmental initiatives reflects the commitment of owners and managers to environmental issues.…”

Responsible tourism management: The missing link between business owners' attitudes and behaviour in the Cape Town tourism industry

“…As Porter & Kramer point out CSR, corporate social investment and ethical management practices have emerged as strong trends in many industries but evidence of actual change remains relatively limited in tourism (2006). Only 2% of tourism businesses globally are participating in responsible tourism or CSR initiatives such as the Global Compact, and South African studies into the hotel and tour operator sub-sectors show low levels of transformation (Spenceley, 2007;Van der Merwe & Wö cke, 2007;Wijk & Persoon, 2006). Since the Brundtland Report of 1987 (UN, 1987) proposed that intergenerational equality would not be achieved unless the impacts of economic activity on the environment were managed, both debate and research into sustainable tourism practices and philosophies have increased.…”