Tourism Certification for Promoting Tourism Sustainability in the Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper examines and ranks sustainable tourism certification concerns raised by managers of the pilot certified facilities in Zimbabwe. In the broader context, these concerns could be the reasons for the low uptake of these schemes in the country and on the continent. An email questionnaire with a three-item Likert scale and follow-up telephone interviews with 13 pilot test eco-certified facilities in the country were undertaken to collect the data. The results were thematically analysed. A ranked analysis of the concerns revealed a low uptake level of the scheme and the exclusion of guests in the certification process was the most important concern. Thirteen concerns were raised to corroborate previously raised concerns. It is recommended that there should be concerted efforts towards addressing the issue of low adoption levels of this tool both at the country and continental levels.