Sustainability Consciousness in the Hospitality Sector in Zimbabwe

Sustainability Practices in the Hospitality Sector of Zimbabwe: a Spatial View

“…Melissen, Mzembe & Novakovic (2018) reported that many tourist destinations in Malawi had embraced sustainability because they cater to environmentally-conscious tourists from the Global North. Since establishments operating in Victoria Falls regard environmental practices as critical to their customer base, they have adopted them widely, following the example of establishments in the Global North (Mensah, 2020;Shereni, Saarinen & Rogerson, 2022a). In contrast, hospitality establishments in other tourist destinations, which mainly attract business and domestic tourists, operate on the premise that sustainability is not a criterion such guests use when selecting a place to stay and are therefore unwilling to pay a premium for more sustainable hospitality services (Shereni, 2022).…”

“…The hospitality industry is one of the leading segments of the tourism industry and is central to sustainability debates because of its huge ecological footprint and impact on the social and economic conditions of various stakeholders (Ismail & Rogerson, 2016;Shereni, 2022). The accommodation services sector contributes significantly to tourism carbon emissions, energy and water consumption, waste generation, social exclusion, cultural erosion as well as unfair labour practices (Abdou, Hassan & El-Dief, 2020;Bello, Banda & Kamanga, 2017;Dube, 2021;Jasmim, Sampaio & Costa, 2020;Mensah & Blankson, 2014;Shereni, Saarinen & Rogerson, 2022a). Accordingly, this has made sustainability issues a critical area of interest for policymakers, tourism scholars and hospitality practitioners (Peng & Chen, 2019;Shereni, Saarinen & Rogerson, 2022b).…”

The End of Covid-19 and Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by the Hospitality Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Table 1 provides a summary of the 17 SDGs proposed by the United Nations. The global appeal of the SDGs derives from an agenda that is championed and agreed upon by a wide spectrum of stakeholders led by multi -lateral institutions (Raub and Martin-Rios, 2019;Shereni, 2022). The SDGs and their specific targets afford a basis for strategizing how tourism might contribute to sustainable change in destination communities and environments especially those in the Global South (Saarinen, 2021).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic represents a trigger event for African tourism businesses to readjust their operations moving into the post-pandemic period Rogerson, 2021a, 2021b). The hospitality sector of Africa as a significant sub-sector of the tourism industry is expected to play a leading role in contributing to the attainment of the SDGs in the post-COVID-19 era (Shereni, 2022). Most existing African tourism studies conducted around the uncertain times of COVID-19 are focused on ramification and destination impacts with only a limited literature dedicated to establishing the connection between COVID-19 and the SDGs (Rogerson and Rogerson, 2021a).…”

Sustainability Drivers and Challenges in the Hospitality Sector in Zimbabwe

“…In contrast, small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises, especially in the Global South, are viewed as slow in implementing sustainable practices (Musavengane, 2019). Research has revealed that the drivers of sustainability for the hospitality sector in the Global North can vary from those in the Global South (Mzembe et al, 2019;Shereni et al, 2022a). This observation points to the relevance of pursuing studies to understand what drives enterprises in the hospitality industry to adopt sustainable practices in particular contexts.…”