Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.

The tourism industry is growing rapidly and the loss of natural landscapes, local identities and traditional cultures; degradation of the environment are often listed as negative impacts associated with the tourism industry’s development. The accommodation sector has been described as part of the in...

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Main Authors: Dr T. Ramukumba, Prof I.W. Ferreira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AfricaJournals 2017-01-01
Series:African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_9_vol_6__1__2017.pdf
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author Dr T. Ramukumba
Prof I.W. Ferreira
author_facet Dr T. Ramukumba
Prof I.W. Ferreira
author_sort Dr T. Ramukumba
collection DOAJ
description The tourism industry is growing rapidly and the loss of natural landscapes, local identities and traditional cultures; degradation of the environment are often listed as negative impacts associated with the tourism industry’s development. The accommodation sector has been described as part of the industry, which activities cause negative impact on the environment, calling urgently for greater participation in sustainable tourism practices. Previous studies indicate that small medium tourism enterprises, often focus on business returns by employing unsustainable business practices. To minimise any negative impacts that may arise as the result of tourism activities, efforts are now geared towards alternative forms of tourism which most academic literatures describes as ‘sustainable tourism (Tomasella, 2015). This article presents the results of an investigation into the sustainable business practices by guest houses in the Eden District Municipality (EDM). The research adopted a quantitative research approach where self-administered questionnaires where used to gather information from guest house owners, managers and locums. The questionnaire mainly assessed their views on the importance of the environment as a key resource base for the tourism industry together with the most commonly used or adopted sustainable business practices by their guest houses. The main findings show that the there is a general agreement that the environment is an important resource for the tourism industry and there is a widespread sustainable business practices adopted by these guest houses. The results have implications for future strategies attempting to promote sustainable practices within the accommodation sector of the tourism industry.
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spelling doaj.art-877351634a5f470a843110f90a9ad5152022-12-22T00:27:31ZengAfricaJournalsAfrican Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure2223-814X2017-01-0161Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.Dr T. Ramukumba0 Prof I.W. Ferreira1School of Economics, Development and Tourism Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Republic of South AfricaSchool of Economics, Development and Tourism Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Republic of South AfricaThe tourism industry is growing rapidly and the loss of natural landscapes, local identities and traditional cultures; degradation of the environment are often listed as negative impacts associated with the tourism industry’s development. The accommodation sector has been described as part of the industry, which activities cause negative impact on the environment, calling urgently for greater participation in sustainable tourism practices. Previous studies indicate that small medium tourism enterprises, often focus on business returns by employing unsustainable business practices. To minimise any negative impacts that may arise as the result of tourism activities, efforts are now geared towards alternative forms of tourism which most academic literatures describes as ‘sustainable tourism (Tomasella, 2015). This article presents the results of an investigation into the sustainable business practices by guest houses in the Eden District Municipality (EDM). The research adopted a quantitative research approach where self-administered questionnaires where used to gather information from guest house owners, managers and locums. The questionnaire mainly assessed their views on the importance of the environment as a key resource base for the tourism industry together with the most commonly used or adopted sustainable business practices by their guest houses. The main findings show that the there is a general agreement that the environment is an important resource for the tourism industry and there is a widespread sustainable business practices adopted by these guest houses. The results have implications for future strategies attempting to promote sustainable practices within the accommodation sector of the tourism industry.http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_9_vol_6__1__2017.pdfGuesthousesSustainable business practicesSustainable tourism developmentsustainable tourismsustainable principlesSMMEs
spellingShingle Dr T. Ramukumba
Prof I.W. Ferreira
Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure
Guesthouses
Sustainable business practices
Sustainable tourism development
sustainable tourism
sustainable principles
SMMEs
title Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
title_full Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
title_fullStr Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
title_short Sustainable tourism: A view from guest houses in the Eden District Municipality.
title_sort sustainable tourism a view from guest houses in the eden district municipality
topic Guesthouses
Sustainable business practices
Sustainable tourism development
sustainable tourism
sustainable principles
SMMEs
url http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_9_vol_6__1__2017.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT drtramukumba sustainabletourismaviewfromguesthousesintheedendistrictmunicipality
AT profiwferreira sustainabletourismaviewfromguesthousesintheedendistrictmunicipality