M.B.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study looks at the ailing Zimbabwean tourism industry and efforts to reverse the negative trend in tourist arrivals. Despite this sector of the economy enjoying positive growth both globally and at a regional level, the local industry had been adversely affected by negative perceptions about the country. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), whose mission is to professionally market Zimbabwe as a leading tourist destination, has embarked on various initiatives. Unfortunately however, the organisation has enjoyed limited success in recapturing the demand experienced in the years prior to 1999. In order to investigate other avenues to pursue, this study sought the perspectives of two major stakeholders of the local tourism industry. These were namely "buyers" comprising the international tourist, who were probed for their motivations in selecting a holiday destination. In addition, local "suppliers" to the sector who interface directly with the international traveller, were asked to give their perspective on the performance of the ZTA in fulfilling its mission. Personal interviews were conducted in the resort town of Victoria Falls. This area was chosen over other attractions in Zimbabwe because our neighbouring competitors, South Africa and Zambia have promoted the resort for their own benefit, at the expense of the local industry. Another reason is the worldwide recognition and appeal of the attraction, owing to its historical significance. The study established that the resort still enjoys immense popularity, with international visitors opting to return several times in order to gaze at the scenic wonder. However, since the falls lack a truly Zimbabwean identity or image, travel agents and tour operators have either channeled tourist to the Zambian side or flown them in via South Africa as day visitors. The resultant effect has been minimal financial benefit to Zimbabwe by way of receipts from tourist expenditure. Adopting a co-operative strategic orientation with these neighbouring countries is recommended. At a local level the study found that the local tourism industry lacked a unified approach in tackling the challenges facing sector. / Thesis (MBA)- University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2004.

The term 'empowerment' is used with greater frequency in tourism for development, particularly in the context of community-based tourism (CBT), which is often referred to as a tool to 'empower' communities in the initiation, implementation and management of tourism. Still, critical and empirically grounded research on empowerment remains limited, particularly as emerging from social relationships in CBT. These are in many cases regarded as disempowering for community members, such as the tourism encounter and community relationships in cases where they lead to conflicts and jealousy, rather than collaboration. This research analyses these social relationships prevalent in CBT to take them as a potential starting point for social empowerment. Its aim is to locate social spaces of empowerment in CBT by unravelling power relations between the actors involved at local level. In these social spaces of empowerment, the basis of empowerment is generative power, defined as collective power with and power within, based on self-respect, to achieve power to generate positive change and to overcome power over (i.e. dominating power). The fieldwork was conducted in three rural villages in Bali, which engage in CBT and are supported by a local NGO that aims at empowering communities. The methodology draws upon ethnographic traditions alongside semi-structured interviews and participant observations. Symbolic interactionism provides the methodological position, regarding meaning as constructed through interaction. A reflexive chapter discusses the intersubjectivities between the researcher and participants and links the methodology with the intellectual argument and the findings of the study. Empirical evidence reveals that empowerment opportunities are unequal in the studied villages, with obstacles such as language, a lack in skills and caste hindering villagers' empowerment. The village tourism committees (VTCs), a local and trained elite, take control over the space of CBT and the tourism encounter, by employing notions of 'authenticity' to sell the CBT product. Although CBT creates hope for change and empowerment for community members, it currently remains empowering for a few, while others generally experience tokenistic pseudo-participation and a silent involvement. At the same time, this study reveals first signs of empowerment based on power with and power within, generated in the tourism encounter and through villagers' social ties, which are visualised in a 'CBT power diagram'.

In recent years, contemporary western society has played witness to a growth in the production, promotion, and consumption of ostensibly ‘ethical’ products such as Fair Trade goods. Such commodities are characterised by an emphasis on rebalancing inequalities that ‘mass’ production/consumption are said to create. This thesis takes sustainable tourism as a novel example of such concerns. With recent inroads in psychology and the social sciences suggesting that the practice of consumption represents a prominent ‘mode’ for ‘identity work’ (including class identities), the consumption of ‘ethical’ products may arguably signify the manifestation of ‘ethical identity/identities’. However, ‘ethics’ and ‘identity’ are ambiguous words with significant concerns surrounding the ‘ethics’ of ‘ethical’ products, and the extent to which individuals exhibit ‘ethical identity/identities’ through the consumption of such goods. Building on Michael Foucault’s ‘technologies of self’ and ‘ethics’, this thesis seeks to contribute to our understanding of ‘ethics’, ‘identity’, and ‘practice’ in relation to sustainable tourism.

Que critérios ambientais são utilizados para planejar, implantar e vender um produto de ecoturismo? Que práticas ambientais apresentam os destinos ecoturísticos? A dimensão ambiental é contemplada pelos agentes de viagem no planejamento, na implantação e comercialização de um pacote ecoturístico? A presente investigação propõe-se a examinar as práticas ambientais contidas na seleção de destinos de ecoturismo, no planejamento da atividade nos municípios detentores de tais destinos e na comercialização oferecida pelos agentes de viagem que proporcionam o contato do turista com o ambiente natural. Assim, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é examinar as relações que se estabelecem entre as informações que os gestores de agências de viagem têm sobre o ecoturismo e as práticas ambientais previstas na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização de pacotes ecoturísticos. Para isso, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória, sendo o questionário e a observação direta as técnicas de coleta de dados. Para atender ao objetivo foram pesquisados 20 gestores de agências de ecoturismo do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As observações diretas foram realizadas nos três principais destinos de ecoturismo do Rio Grande do Sul apontados pelos gestores das agências. As perguntas que compõem o questionário estavam relacionadas, além dos dados gerais dos gestores, à visibilidade das políticas ambientais da agência e do destino; à educação ambiental; ao compromisso ambiental da agência e dos destinos; à existência de programas de coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos, de controle do uso da água, de diminuição do uso de energia elétrica e de coleta e tratamento de esgoto nos destinos turísticos; ao conhecimento de políticas de ecoturismo inseridas no plano diretor e na Agenda 21 dos municípios; às políticas de proteção ao ambiente natural; às medidas para minimizar impactos; aos impactos das construções e ao apoio da visitação pública como fator de proteção ambiental. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa permitem concluir que, em geral, as práticas ambientais não são consideradas critérios para a seleção dos destinos de ecoturismo e que as mesmas não estão presentes, em sua totalidade na formatação e comercialização dos pacotes de ecoturismo. Assim, é importante construírem-se novos conceitos na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização do ecoturismo, nos quais as práticas ambientais sejam contempladas de forma efetiva. Nesse sentido, os cursos de graduação e de stricto sensu em turismo têm um papel fundamental na formação de profissionais para atuar na gestão das organizações turísticas baseadas em uma visão mais sistêmica, em que a dimensão ambiental faça parte do planejamento estratégico dessas organizações. Como foi constatado com a realização da pesquisa, é necessária uma gestão baseada em critérios ambientais, que determinem produtos que considerem a relação sustentável do visitante com o ambiente natural; que englobem as relações entre as pessoas (gestores de agências, gestores públicos, turistas e população local), com os recursos naturais disponíveis e o espaço que as mesmas necessitam para a realização de práticas ecologicamente adequadas. Nesse sentido, é possível que o entendimento do caráter sustentável do ecoturismo se torne mais visível para o agente de viagem e para o turista. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2015-03-06T16:50:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Álvaro Luis de Melo Machado.pdf: 2529941 bytes, checksum: 8a193097b17a33f7bc65a4d247fcbaf0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-06T16:50:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Álvaro Luis de Melo Machado.pdf: 2529941 bytes, checksum: 8a193097b17a33f7bc65a4d247fcbaf0 (MD5) / Which environmental criteria are used in planning, implementing and selling an ecotourism product? Which environmental practices are presented in ecotourism destinations? Is the environmental dimension covered by travel agents in planning, implementing and commercializing an ecotourism package? This research proposes to examine the environmental practices contained in the selection of ecotourism destinations when planning such activities in towns that present those destinations and in the commercialization offered by travel agents who provide tourists contact with the natural environment. Thus, this research aims at examining the relationships established between the information that travel agency managers have about ecotourism and environmental practices provided in the selection, planning, and in the ecotourism commercialization package. We developed and applied an exploratory survey, composed by a questionnaire and direct observation techniques in the data collection. To attain the goal we surveyed 20 ecotourism agency managers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Direct observations were conducted in three major ecotourism destinations in Rio Grande do Sul presented by those agencies responsible for ecotourism. The questions in the questionnaire were related, in addition to the general managers' data, to the visibility of the agency’s environmental policies and destination; to the environmental education, environmental commitment to the agency and destinations, to the existence of selective collection programs of solid waste, control of water use, reducing the use of electricity and sewage collection and treatment in tourist destinations, to the knowledge of ecotourism policies included in the cities’ Master Plan and Agenda 21; to policies to protect the natural environment; to measures to minimize impacts in the construction and support of public venue visits as a factor considered in the environmental protection. Results obtained indicate that, in general, the environmental practices are not considered criteria for the selection of ecotourism destinations and that they are not present in its entirety in the formatting and commercialization of ecotourism packages. Therefore, it is important to construct new concepts in the selection, planning and commercializing of ecotourism, where the environmental practices are addressed effectively. Accordingly, undergraduate and graduate courses in tourism have a major role in training professionals in the management of tourism organizations based on a more systemic view, where the environment makes part in the strategic planning of those organizations. As it was found in the research, management is required as based on environmental criteria which determine which products are to be considered for sustainable visits, according to the natural environment, covering relationships between people (managers, agencies, public officials, tourists and local people) with the available natural resources and places that need to have environmentally appropriate practices performed. Thus, the understanding of the sustainable ecotourism nature may become more visible to agents and tourists.

Que critérios ambientais são utilizados para planejar, implantar e vender um produto de ecoturismo? Que práticas ambientais apresentam os destinos ecoturísticos? A dimensão ambiental é contemplada pelos agentes de viagem no planejamento, na implantação e comercialização de um pacote ecoturístico? A presente investigação propõe-se a examinar as práticas ambientais contidas na seleção de destinos de ecoturismo, no planejamento da atividade nos municípios detentores de tais destinos e na comercialização oferecida pelos agentes de viagem que proporcionam o contato do turista com o ambiente natural. Assim, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é examinar as relações que se estabelecem entre as informações que os gestores de agências de viagem têm sobre o ecoturismo e as práticas ambientais previstas na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização de pacotes ecoturísticos. Para isso, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória, sendo o questionário e a observação direta as técnicas de coleta de dados. Para atender ao objetivo foram pesquisados 20 gestores de agências de ecoturismo do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As observações diretas foram realizadas nos três principais destinos de ecoturismo do Rio Grande do Sul apontados pelos gestores das agências. As perguntas que compõem o questionário estavam relacionadas, além dos dados gerais dos gestores, à visibilidade das políticas ambientais da agência e do destino; à educação ambiental; ao compromisso ambiental da agência e dos destinos; à existência de programas de coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos, de controle do uso da água, de diminuição do uso de energia elétrica e de coleta e tratamento de esgoto nos destinos turísticos; ao conhecimento de políticas de ecoturismo inseridas no plano diretor e na Agenda 21 dos municípios; às políticas de proteção ao ambiente natural; às medidas para minimizar impactos; aos impactos das construções e ao apoio da visitação pública como fator de proteção ambiental. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa permitem concluir que, em geral, as práticas ambientais não são consideradas critérios para a seleção dos destinos de ecoturismo e que as mesmas não estão presentes, em sua totalidade na formatação e comercialização dos pacotes de ecoturismo. Assim, é importante construírem-se novos conceitos na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização do ecoturismo, nos quais as práticas ambientais sejam contempladas de forma efetiva. Nesse sentido, os cursos de graduação e de stricto sensu em turismo têm um papel fundamental na formação de profissionais para atuar na gestão das organizações turísticas baseadas em uma visão mais sistêmica, em que a dimensão ambiental faça parte do planejamento estratégico dessas organizações. Como foi constatado com a realização da pesquisa, é necessária uma gestão baseada em critérios ambientais, que determinem produtos que considerem a relação sustentável do visitante com o ambiente natural; que englobem as relações entre as pessoas (gestores de agências, gestores públicos, turistas e população local), com os recursos naturais disponíveis e o espaço que as mesmas necessitam para a realização de práticas ecologicamente adequadas. Nesse sentido, é possível que o entendimento do caráter sustentável do ecoturismo se torne mais visível para o agente de viagem e para o turista. / Which environmental criteria are used in planning, implementing and selling an ecotourism product? Which environmental practices are presented in ecotourism destinations? Is the environmental dimension covered by travel agents in planning, implementing and commercializing an ecotourism package? This research proposes to examine the environmental practices contained in the selection of ecotourism destinations when planning such activities in towns that present those destinations and in the commercialization offered by travel agents who provide tourists contact with the natural environment. Thus, this research aims at examining the relationships established between the information that travel agency managers have about ecotourism and environmental practices provided in the selection, planning, and in the ecotourism commercialization package. We developed and applied an exploratory survey, composed by a questionnaire and direct observation techniques in the data collection. To attain the goal we surveyed 20 ecotourism agency managers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Direct observations were conducted in three major ecotourism destinations in Rio Grande do Sul presented by those agencies responsible for ecotourism. The questions in the questionnaire were related, in addition to the general managers' data, to the visibility of the agency’s environmental policies and destination; to the environmental education, environmental commitment to the agency and destinations, to the existence of selective collection programs of solid waste, control of water use, reducing the use of electricity and sewage collection and treatment in tourist destinations, to the knowledge of ecotourism policies included in the cities’ Master Plan and Agenda 21; to policies to protect the natural environment; to measures to minimize impacts in the construction and support of public venue visits as a factor considered in the environmental protection. Results obtained indicate that, in general, the environmental practices are not considered criteria for the selection of ecotourism destinations and that they are not present in its entirety in the formatting and commercialization of ecotourism packages. Therefore, it is important to construct new concepts in the selection, planning and commercializing of ecotourism, where the environmental practices are addressed effectively. Accordingly, undergraduate and graduate courses in tourism have a major role in training professionals in the management of tourism organizations based on a more systemic view, where the environment makes part in the strategic planning of those organizations. As it was found in the research, management is required as based on environmental criteria which determine which products are to be considered for sustainable visits, according to the natural environment, covering relationships between people (managers, agencies, public officials, tourists and local people) with the available natural resources and places that need to have environmentally appropriate practices performed. Thus, the understanding of the sustainable ecotourism nature may become more visible to agents and tourists.

M.A. / Integrated marketing communications has developed . in response to the fragmentation of old rules and realities within global marketing. Client sovereignty rules the marketplace of the nineties and coupled with this, we are entering into an information era where technology is the buzz word. The need for dialogue between organisations and their customers, in order to realise customer needs, resulted in the development of relationship marketing. Through this, organisations created added-value for their products and services to establish product differentiation within a product parity environment. One of the best means whereby an organisation can create product differentiation and positioning, is by establishing perceived service quality. South Africa wants to ensure a more stable economy. For this reason the successful functioning of the tourism industry in South Africa is of the utmost importance in order to stimulate the influx of foreign exchange and to create more job opportunities. The best way to create this is to institute a more sensitive service orientation and therefore this study examines the client services of the South-African tourism industry, with specific reference to the Kruger National Park. Due to the technology explosion and the information era that currently being experienced, terms such as niche marketing and mass-customisation are of paramount importance. Customers personal needs are being recorded and their products and services designed accordingly. This progression produced a strong competitive edge for organisations because of the higher perceived service quality. An organisation's quality image is the function of its ability to consistently meet or conform with their customer's expectations. Consistent quality could lead to customer loyalty that is essential for a service suppliers long-term profitability and survival. For the purposes of this study the SERVQUAL-instrument was used, to measure service quality. Although there are various other instruments to measure service quality, the author noticed that the complexity of the term service quality is causing a lot of problems and many a researcher is still struggling to conceptualise and operationalise it. In the search for the best suited measuringinstrument, the researcher realised the importance of defining service quality in the most understanding and measurable ways possible. Considering this knowledge the author is of the opinion that the SERVQUAL-instrument would describe service quality the best within this context. Within the context of this study the SERVQUAL was used to determine the service quality of the Kruger National Park as perceived by their foreign visitors. The results of the research suggested that die service quality of the Kruger National Park did not meet their customer's expectations.

The research problem was based on the private sector implementation of Responsible Tourism, since 1996, perceived to be slow and challenging (Frey & George, 2010: 107). The South Africa Government proposed Responsible Tourism as the guiding principle for sustainable tourism development (Goodwin, 2011: 138). The problem is compounded by shortcomings identified in the nature of the research conducted about tourism and communities and the methodologies used. Tourism-Community relationships Theory was applied as the conceptual framework of the study. This theory advocates a holistic approach when conducting research about the impacts of tourism, encompassing community perspectives, attitudes, reactions and considerations for the future development and control of tourism (Pearce, Moscardo & Ross, 1996: 2). The insights gained contributed an emic understanding of the keyinformants’ perspectives imparted in their own language. This study is located in the Interpretevist paradigm, underpinned by Constructivist philosophy. Meaning is created through the reality of key-informants, their perspectives and the interaction of individuals in a community (Cresswell, 2014: 8). The Instrumental Case Study Approach (Stake, 1995) contributed an etic perspective in terms of the researcher’s interpretations. The single, qualitative case was applied to gain deeper insights about the phenomenon of Responsible tourism. The case investigated was Stormsriver Adventures (SRA), an eco-adventure tourism business in the Tsitsikamma tourism destination in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. SRA is reputed to be business best practice in its implementation of Responsible Tourism. Data triangulation was established through multiple methods of data collection, namely in-depth interviews with key-informants, documentation sourced from them and researcher observation. Data analysis methods, namely direct interpretation, categorical aggregation, pattern seeking and naturalistic generalisations (Stake, 1995), were used. The member checking process assisted with establishing data triangulation as keyinformants corroborated or dispelled the researcher’s interpretation of data. Findings were structured according to within-case themes, namely SRA’s perspective of its Responsible Tourism practices, the community’s perspective of SRA’s Responsible Tourism practices and perspectives about the future development and control of tourism. The study contributes new theoretical insights through applying the inductive approach to selected findings. Findings indicate that the perspectives of the community are divided. SRA keyinformants conveyed positive economic, social and environmental impacts of SRA’s Responsible Tourism practices. Key-informants not directly linked to SRA raised negative economic impacts and questioned the accuracy of SRA’s marketing messages. Within-case conclusions are that it is not the responsibility of one tourism business that practices Responsible Tourism to achieve sustainability within the tourism destination. To this end it is recommended that SRA and the community find common ground and that the misunderstandings that exist, be addressed. The study concludes that in order to achieve successful Responsible Tourism- Community Relationships, a holistically and integrated approach is required. To this end the recommendations made provide an implementation framework within the context of a tourism destination. The study adds value to the field knowledge about the implementation of Responsible Tourism by the private sector in South Africa and also contributes new knowledge to the field of tourism in terms of the particular methodology used.

Inbound tour operators play a key role in sustainable tourism development, as they are centrally positioned in the distribution chain and provide the link between the supply and demand of tourism products and services. Embedded in this position, inbound tour operators can put pressure on their suppliers to operate more sustainably, while educating their customers on sustainable tourism practices, and influencing consumers’ decision-making before the purchasing of tourism products and services. Inbound tour operators can further implement sustainable tourism practices as part of their business operations. To date, little research has focussed on inbound tour operators’ contribution to sustainable tourism development, especially in a developing country context. Sustainable inbound tour operators can also become certified by a sustainable tourism certification programme to showcase their commitment to sustainability. Various studies have highlighted the history, benefits and issues related to certification programmes, but few studies have investigated the perspective that inbound tour operators have towards sustainable tourism certification programmes. Making use of a qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 South African inbound tour operators to investigate and identify the sustainable tourism practices currently being adopted within their organisations. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings produced a list of sustainable tourism practices currently being adopted by inbound tour operators in South Africa. This study proposes that sustainable tourism organisations should become certified by a national or global sustainable tourism certification programme, to prove that they are truly operating sustainably, thus decreasing the effects of greenwashing. In addition, the certification of tourism organisations can assist inbound tour operators in identifying truly sustainable suppliers, fostering the development of a sustainable supply chain management strategy. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Tourism Management / MCom / Unrestricted

The study of ‘dark tourism’ has gained increasing traction over the past two decades or so. Visits to sites of, or associated with death, disaster, atrocity, or suffering are a pervasive feature within the contemporary tourism landscape. This thesis, therefore, critically examines dark tourism within the modern tourism industry in which ‘dark’ experiences are packaged-up and sold to consumers – a process known as ‘commodification’. As a result, the study appraises the effects commodification has on the visitor experience at sites of dark tourism. Drawing upon a multidisciplinary approach, this thesis examines key relationships between dark tourism supplier and consumer in order to evaluate the visitor experience. This includes the notion of mortality and, in so doing, the research considers how the process of commodification affects encounters with the fragile state and inevitable demise of the human being. Moreover, this relates to the so-called ‘sequestration of death’ whereby death, in modern life, is removed from daily life in order to protect the Self from undue upsetting thoughts. This thesis utilises a phenomenological research philosophy in order to understand the nature of visitor experiences. The study also adopts a supply-demand approach, and so through the instruments of semi-structured interviews and participant questionnaires, appraises the relationship between the provision and consumption of dark tourism experiences. The empirical research investigates two case studies within UK dark tourism: Lancaster Castle and the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool. Ultimately, this thesis argues that the commodification process denotes specific semiotics of a touristic and behavioural nature. In turn, this thesis offers an original blueprint model in which to locate commodification processes, which this study terms the ‘Semiotic Framework of Dark Tourism Experience’. It is concluded that, using supply-side entities such as tour guides, shops, interpretative materials and other such items, suppliers of dark tourism sculpt the experience and direct visitor behaviour, but crucially do not fundamentally change the nature of experience by providing those phenomena. Rather, commodification within dark tourism provides a specific context in which to encounter death, mortality and atrocity within authentic and ontologically secure boundaries.