Implementing responsible tourism management practices without support: A south African case study

Abstract

The experiences of tourism enterprises in implementing responsible tourism management practices is important to understanding the barriers to implementation and the interventions that would accelerate implementation. The industry’s increasing impact has led to a range of real and potential problems in destinations - environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political - creating a need for alternative and more environmentally and host-friendly practices in tourism businesses and operations [13]. The rationale for this study is based on the realisation that the tourism industry has a tremendous capacity for generating both costs and benefits in destination areas. Experiences of a tourism business with an approach to implementing responsible tourism management practices independently without support since 2006 are described. The selection of SMME for this exercise was deliberate as unlike large operators, small businesses often lack the resources to effectively implement responsible tourism practices. A qualitative approach was followed with owners being interviewed in order to develop the case study with main emphasis on the responsible tourism management practices journey, importance of support, barriers, benefits of operating responsibly and areas where support is required. The findings can be beneficial to SMME’s who want to employ responsible tourism management practices without support and also highlight challenges faced in order to encourage support from the government. As such, this case study will help identify key ideas to assist other businesses with the uptake of responsible operating practices in the tourism sector in South Africa.