Sustainable Development Goals Localisation in the Hospitality Sector in Botswana and Zimbabwe

Abstract

Many countries have fronted tourism as a tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their voluntary national reviews. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined how the tourism industry has been localising SDGs. Therefore, this study is borne out of that knowledge gap. A qualitative approach comprising the use of primary and secondary data from integrated annual reports was adopted. The study found some progress made by hotel companies in localising SDGs. It emerged that Cresta Hotels and the African Sun group of hotels are only at the inception stage of SDG localisation, focusing on several SDGs that respond to the socio-economic and environmental demands of the environments they work in. Given that most of the work under the SDGs only began inception between 2018 and 2019, there is still a long way to go before meaningful progress can be reported regarding SDG localization, with preliminary evidence showing that the hotel industry is likely to have made significant inroads when the SDGs lapse in 2030 if their efforts are not disturbed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study recommends continuous monitoring and support for the sector as the SDG framework offers a better and more focused sector to achieve sustainable and responsible tourism in Zimbabwe and Botswana.

1. Introduction

As the year 2030 draws closer, which will mark the lapse of Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a need to take stock of sectoral gains made to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Nowhere else is it more imperative than in the developing world, where poverty, hunger and inequality are expected to worsen because of the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. When global leaders adopted Agenda 2030, they called on businesses to partner with communities to ensure that no one is left behind [2]. One industry with a significant footprint globally is tourism, which has a footprint in some of the world’s most remote parts. There is, therefore, no doubt that the sector expected to assist host communities with achieving the SDGs is the tourism and hospitality industry. This notion is supported by Sharpley [3] and Mabibibi et al. [4], who argued that tourism has the potential to contribute directly and indirectly to all the 17 SDGs and related 169 targets. Also, Saarinen [5] noted that tourism is often considered a partner for SDGs as it has good local and regional connections. It is, thus, not surprising that, globally, governments are instituting policies to ensure that the tourism industry is generally sustainable [6].

Regardless of being one of the critical drivers of economic growth as well as being one of the fastest-growing economic sectors, pre-COVID-19 tourism has often been criticised for its unsustainable ways [7,8]. According to Baum et al. [9], the hospitality sector, in particular, is bedeviled by various sustainability challenges that need to be addressed in the quest to align its operations with the SDGs agenda, such as poor salaries and working conditions, high employee turnover and poor records regarding gender equity issues. Scheyvens [10] argued that the tourism sector lacks sensitivity in addressing SDG 5, for example, how women are treated in the industry.

The growth of tourism in many parts of the world has led host communities to complain about the impacts and implications of mass tourism on the host community and the environment [11,12]. Due to unsustainable ways of the tourism and hospitality sectors, conflicts have erupted in some destinations between host communities and tourists [13]. The hospitality sector has been blamed for its unsustainable ways where it causes the price of goods and services in host communities to go up in certain destinations [14]. Dube and Nhamo [15] indicated that the value chain of the hospitality sector is contributing significantly to carbon emissions. On the other hand, the demand for accommodation in certain destinations has been blamed for pushing rentals and property prices [16].

Some scholars argue that there is little understanding of how hotels in developing countries implement and operationalise Sustainable Development Goals [17]. Rasoolimanesh et al. [18] noted that, since there has been some knowledge creation regarding tourism and sustainability in the global north, there has been very little attention on the global south, which is the focus of the SDGs [4]. Evidence suggests that there has been very little upcoming literature on SDGs in both Zimbabwe and Botswana. For example, Dube [19] examined disaster risk reduction in the context of SDGs, Chirongoma [20] focused on the concept of ubuntu on disaster response in the era of SDGs and Chigudu and Chirisa [21] dwelt on the land issue in the context of SDGs, amongst a few other topics profiled. According to Mogomotsi et al. [22], in Botswana, areas covered under the SDGs include university positioning for SDGs, while Musekiwa and Mandiyanike [23] focused on the national vision and Atlhopheng et al. [24] on biodiversity and SDGs. There has been very little attention from Botswana and Zimbabwean academics on tourism and SDGs.

Such a discrepancy in tourism and SDG studies could contribute to the perceived poor uptake of sustainability initiatives in the hospitality sector [25]. With less than 10 years to the lapse of the SDGs, there have been calls to take stock of the ground that has been covered in the adoption of the SDGs [26]. The drive would then allow for informed decisions to be made regarding ramping up SDGs integration in the decade of SDG action as called for by global leadership in 2019 [27]. This study, therefore, is a response to that call. The study seeks to evaluate the progress made in SDG localisation by Zimbabwe and Botwswana’s hotel industries using Cresta Hotels and African Sun Hotels as case studies. Critical questions for this research are (1) how has the hospitality industry in Zimbabwe and Botswana has localised SDGs over the past five years? (2) Which SDGs are popular in SDG localisation by the hospitality sector in Zimbabwe and Botswana?

The paper is structured as follows: the first part is the introduction, followed by a literature review section aimed at placing the study into a theoretical context. This is followed by a materials and methods section highlighting the methodological approach adopted to answer the research questions. The section that follows is a presentation of research findings. The discussion section precedes the conclusions section and recommendations emerging from the study.

2. Literature Review

The hotel industry is identified as one of the tourism sectors that can be used to leverage and promote Sustainable Development Goals [28]. This is regardless of the opposing voice that strongly argues that the structuring of the tourism sector is not in such a manner that it promotes sustainability [29]. According to Sharpley [3], sustainable development is unachievable as there is very little evidence of sustainable tourism. There are increasing concerns over the contribution of tourism to climate change. Butler [30] argued that to ensure sustainability, tourism ought to deal with other vital issues that it faces, namely the issue of thresholds, carrying capacity and the adverse consequences of tourism on the environment.

There is a general feeling that the debate on tourism sustainability is a murky space often dominated by opposing views depending on one’s school of thought and geographical disposition. Liu [31] agrees with this view, pointing out that there is often a simplistic view and, at times, a litany of literature on tourism sustainability based on mistaken views of what sustainable development is all about. In other debates, Bramwell et al. [32] argued that sustainability within the tourism industry is often contentious, however, what is clear is that it focuses on key focus areas such as environmental, cultural, economic and governance issues. The aforementioned broad categories are issues that are dealt with in the multifaceted SDGs.

Nevertheless, in light of the harsh criticism, there have been growing case studies of some of the tourism sector’s efforts to contribute to sustainable and responsible tourism values and ethos. Many tourism enterprises across the globe, conscious of the various criticisms, have been making efforts to address some of the concerns raised against the tourism sector. It would be naïve for one to assume that, based on the notion that tourism has some adverse impact on the environment, it cannot be seen as part of the sustainability effort. Efforts by some tourism sectors to ensure environmental efficiency and technological innovation [33] have been part of the tourism sector’s efforts to contribute to sustainability ethos. Consequently, achieving and responding to the SGDs is predicated on responding to numerous SDGs without compromising the other goals. van Zanten and van Tulder [34] (p. 210) make the point that the success of the SDGs implementation within the tourism sector “depends on solving the ‘nexus’ challenge: how can positive interactions between SDGs be optimised and negative interactions minimised to create co-benefits and reduce trade-offs?”.

One can argue that the sustainability of tourism in the context of the SDGs must factor in natural resource preservation and conservation to create a base in which society’s socio-economic gains can be derived for the present and future generations [35,36]. In that regard, tourism development is an extractive industry and creates benefits for the environment and the host community. As we have seen in recent times, the role of tourism in natural and heritage resource conservation is documented [37,38]. In developing countries, particularly in Africa, which has a rich and diverse natural resource base, the tourism industry has to respond to the host communities’ socio-economic demands apart from making a contribution to conservation to be considered sustainable. This assertion seems to be supported by Job et al. [39], who argue that natural ecosystems must be governed and protected in a manner that allows for usage that closes the developmental gaps. A contribution towards host communities’ socio-economic needs improves the image of the tourism establishment and allows for community harmony and buy-in [40].

The advent of the SDGs in 2015 opens a way in which the tourism and hospitality sector can derive profits in a responsible manner that is responsive to community needs, environmental pressures and talks to economic imperatives of the area they are located in. Needless to say, one of the critical areas that needs attention is how the hospitality industry addresses its adverse impact on air, land, the culture of local people and its role in climate change [15,41,42]. This study examines how the hospitality industry in Botswana and Zimbabwe’s hotelier industry is implementing the SDGs in their daily operations.

3. Materials and Methods

A qualitative approach was adopted for this study, which primarily used secondary data from two hotel groups of purposively selected companies, namely Cresta Hotels and African Sun. These two companies have operations in Botswana and Zimbabwe, respectively, and are also registered on the Botswana and Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and other stock exchanges elsewhere. The audited annual reports for the period 2016–2019 for the two companies were investigated. Most companies encompass their Sustainability Reports within their annual integrated report. Critical document analysis of yearly reports was considered appropriate for this research. It tapped into officially and publicly available information that is audited and considered a valid and accurate representation. Annual reports were extensively scrutinised to identify measures that the companies were undertaking to explore SDG-aligned activities adopted between 2015 and 2020. In addition, the key terms used to search the documents that were scrutinised include terms such as “Sustainable Development Goals” and “Agenda 2030.” In total, ten consolidated annual reports from Cresta Hotels and African Sun were scrutinised as part of the study effort. The usage of annual reports in a research study is not new, as the approach has been used elsewhere in other studies, such as studies by Hajek and Henriques [43] and Dyduch and Krasodomska [44]. These data were triangulated with evidence from primary data collected during interviews and field observations of some of the companies that form part of this study, particularly those with Harare and Victoria Falls operations.

Data analysis followed content analysis, whilst thematic analysis was used in the analysis of other data sets. The analysis was guided by setting out research questions that guided the study. Stemler [45] argues that content analysis is a vital resource kit in the big data era that offers the researcher a versatility that can be applied to audio and visual data. Besides, Neuendorf and Kumar [46] vouch for the use of content analysis, indicating that it offers a wide array of benefits as it can be used in quantitative data analysis and ensure internal and external validity.

4. Results

This study shows that the localisation of the SDGs has been slow in the region, with some strides having been witnessed between 2019 and 2020. Since the SDG agenda was conceptualised and adopted in 2015 by global leaders with the tourism body, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) subsequently declaring 2017 a Year of Sustainable Tourism [47], the hospitality industry in Zimbabwe and Botswana seems to have joined the SDG agenda between 2018 and 2019. Most actions and plans to streamline the SDGs appear to gain momentum four years after the SDGs’ proclamation, with one of the two companies only making direct reference to the SDGs in their 2019 annual report. Between 2015 and 2018, most of the companies were contributing very little to SDG thematic areas. The SDGs framework’s advent seems to have come as an awakening call to these tourism and hospitality companies to do a bit more than do a public stunt through their sustainability projects. The following section looks at how hospitality companies have been fostering sustainability within their organisations.

4.1. Sustainability within Cresta Marakanelo

It seems that there has always been a focus on sustainability issues by Cresta business operations, which focused on its human capital, local or host community needs through a responsive approach aimed at addressing these needs. One of the major criticisms that has been posed against the tourism industry has been, for a long time, its adverse impact on indigenous cultures through pollution and or dilution [48]. In response to this criticism, Cresta Marakanelo [49] in Botswana reported that part of its sustainability programme aimed at preserving local traditions and heritage. Consequently, the company fosters cultural preservation through encompassing the local culture in the construction designs of its hotels. Similarly, the local culture is promoted through cultural displays in the form of handicrafts, fabrics, sculptures, dance and music at its properties for the enjoyment of the tourists. The organisation, through this focus, directly speaks to the dictates of SDG8 targets 8, 9, which calls for the tourism industry to create jobs and promote local culture and products. The promotion of local cultures has always been held in high regard by the tourism industry as it seeks to promote a culture of pride and belonging for local people.

Besides embracing and displaying local artefacts, Cresta indicates that it stocks the local gift shops with traditional material which is sold to tourists. This is a remarkable approach as it exposes tourists to a local appreciation of products and services and creates tourism value for the local communities. Perhaps even more important is the space this provides for the local sculptors to expose their artefacts, which can provide a crucial avenue for manufacturers into the local economy and the locals’ empowerment. This has a positive developmental ripple effect on the host community. SDG12 target 12b calls for sustainable tourism that promotes local culture and jobs. In the same light, the need for local cultural preservation also manifests itself in local and often traditional materials in the construction of hotel properties. This limits the capital flight and assists in cutting back greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from hotel construction, which is critical in fighting climate change that is a threat to the tourism industry [50]. Because resources are sourced locally, jobs are not exported to other development nodes, which aids community development.

The hotel group indicated that it is also working with local communities to provide fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat. This has been a controversial move in some parts of the world where tourism has been blamed for increasing food inflation for host communities in specific destinations, whereas, in other circumstances, local food has been considered to be part of the sustainable tourism experience [51]. Cresta Hotels, particularly in Botswana, is also active in its outgrower programme to capacitate local farmers to produce the quality of food required by the hotel. This capacity-building process for local farmers is crucial, for it contributes to local economic development and building food security infrastructure. Other tourism enterprises in the region have also adopted this approach, such as Grootbos Private Game Reserve in Western Cape, South Africa [52]. The move contributes towards the eradication of hunger in line with aspirations set out in SDG 2. It also addresses the aspirations of SDG target 2.3 of improving financial well-being and increasing smallholder farmers’ productivity in rural areas, which can also trigger rural development.

Regarding environmental protection, it emerged that, between 2015 and 2019, Cresta embarked on a few environmental initiatives that responded to some of the critical areas identified by the scope of the SDG framework. Given that some of the company properties are located in fragile ecosystems such as the Okavango Delta and Chobe area, the company aimed to reduce and recycle waste as part of efforts to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. Dube et al. [52] argued for the centrality of waste management in achieving sustainability, which is catered for under SDG 12 target 12.5, which calls for waste management through recycling, minimisation and promoting reuse to reduce the waste amount that ends up at the refuse area. Environmental pollution is an area of concern as it undermines the environmental standards needed for the sustainable management of tourism enterprises. Often, pollution has been highlighted as one of the threats to tourism sustainability worldwide [53,54,55,56].

Likewise, the company reported making frantic efforts to control sewage disposal and air emissions from its operations. SDG12.4 emphasises the need for such action by all to protect humanity and the environment. Mbaiwa [57] argues that failure to protect the environment, which often sees the release of sewage waste, is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving sustainable tourism development in Botswana. Also, sewage waste has harmful implications on water bodies and aquatic life. Addressing sewage, therefore, also assists in addressing SDG 6 target 6.3, which calls for improving water quality by eliminating and reducing water pollution. Cresta Hotels has very close operations to the banks of major watercourses such as the Okavango Delta and the Chobe River, which are prime tourism destinations for Botswana and critical tourism regional nodes of Southern Africa. Proper protocols on water pollution are a must to ensure that the destination is kept as pristine as possible for the enjoyment of tourists and the protection of aquatic life, which has a central role in the host community’s livelihood and other tourism activities. SDG 14.1 calls for the prevention of marine pollution of all kinds from land-based activities, while SDG15.1 calls for the conservation of inland freshwater ecosystems and their services. Therefore, the move is critical in addressing several critical aspects raised in Agenda 2030.

One of the central aspects that Cresta is dealing with in their quest to align operations with the dictates of the SDGs agenda, which gained considerable preeminence, is energy and the adoption of eco-friendly hotels in 2017. The Maun Hotel, which was opened in May 2017, adopted eco-friendly hotel designs [58]. The hotel was built to ensure that it is water and energy-efficient to respond to the pressures imposed by climate change on tourism ventures in the region. The hotel was configured with measures to save energy and a green air conditioning system was installed. The hotel has since been certified as a Green certified tourism establishment by Botswana tourism. This is a commendable development, as adopting green hotel design is a seriously considered part of the sector’s response to climate change threats as both an adaptation and mitigation strategy. An increasing number of tourists are also now demanding green lodging as they seek to ensure that their travel is both responsible and sustainable [59,60].

The hotel group has since embarked on an energy efficiency programme through initiatives such as installing light-emitting diode (LED) lights at its hotels. LED lights are standard in green hotels that seek to reduce their energy bill and related carbon footprint, aiding in fighting climate change [61,62,63]. Solar feasibility has also been initiated at its Botswana properties, although such initiatives had already started in Zimbabwe at its Cresta Spray View Hotel in Victoria Falls, where some of the hotel geysers are running on solar energy. The use of renewable and sustainable energy is dealt with in SDG 7, which also speaks to SDG13. Investment in solar is one area that is being considered as central to the decarbonisation of the global economy.

To offset some of its carbon footprints, the hotel group intended to plant 2000 indigenous trees from its nursery at Cresta Mowana in 2019 [64]. Indigenous trees are central in addressing at least two SDGs, namely SDG 13, action to combat climate change and its impacts and promotion of biodiversity under SDG 15. The planting of indigenous trees in the region provides multiple benefits beyond addressing climate change challenges such as loss in biodiversity, as noted by Mabibibi et al. [4]. The efforts in reducing water use in laundries, kitchens and toilets are commendable since they speak to issues of concern under SDG6 on water and sanitation. A reduction in washing loads meant a reduction in energy from washing, which has an overall impact on energy usage by hotels. However, there are concerns with the hotel’s refurbishment plan to add more windows as part of the company’s efforts to ensure more room lighting. Care needs to be taken in that regard as this could backfire, as most energy loss and gains are made through windows [65]. An upsurge in energy for cooling could be an unintended consequence of such a move as the region is expected to continue to warm because of climate change.

In its declaration, Cresta indicates that it was also contributing to SDGs by putting in place none gender discrimination policies to assist in gender equality under SDG 5. While this is commendable, there is a need for the hotel to go beyond that and contribute to gender equality through practical means. A scrutiny of the company’s board of directors shows that only one out of the nine people on the board of directors is a woman. Therefore, there is a need to ensure greater women’s representation at the company’s highest level as part of the drive to ensure gender equity.

Given the company’s sheer size, it contributes significantly to Botswana’s GDP and assists in the local populace’s employment. Cresta has 12 hotels between Zambia and Botswana, where it employs 63 and 953 people, respectively [64]. This accounts for about 1.1% of national tourism employees in Botswana’s tourism industry which as of 2019 was employing about 85,600 people. Subsequently, the company contributes to SDG 8 decent and economic growth closely aligned with poverty reduction under SDG1. Cresta has several staff development and empowerment programmes and offers training to its staff to improve their skills and job performance. The company has robust staff retention of top skills and an in-house succession programme and offers an annual performance bonus.

In line with the SDG17, Cresta has been embarking on other projects, such as promoting sports to make financial donations. The company promoted external and internal sporting events to improve healthy living, which is also catered for under SDG3 to promote good health and wellbeing. At least two houses were donated to the underprivileged. The company’s hospitality group also contributed five computers worth P50.000 [64] to Sese Primary School through its education initiatives. SDG 4bc calls for the upgrading of Information and Communications Technology (ITC) infrastructure to promote quality education. Quality education is one of the vehicles that can be used in tackling poverty and inequality.

The advent and introduction of SDGs to the fold brought about a new dimension to the CSI projects that Cresta was running for the better, as evidenced by an increase in focus areas and coordination of such activities, which, before that, were primarily dominated by linen donation and other ad-hoc and lower impact interventions. The SDGs presentation in the annual reports shows that there are still challenges to how SDGs can be localised within the tourism sector, which requires intervention. The non-mention of climate change in the annual reports is a concern, as climate change is one of the biggest business threats globally and in Southern Africa, particularly where Cresta has its operations.

4.2. Sustainable Development Goals Localisation by African Sun Hotel Group

The African Sun, which boasts 11 hotels, 2 casinos, and 1147 employees [66] across Zimbabwe, like Cresta between 2015 and 2017’s sustainability efforts, was primarily dominated by low-impact activities such as linen and cutlery donations. The focus of the company was on the four Ps (People, Product, Processes and Promotion). The Planet component seems not to have been a critical focus area from the Ps, if one is to go by the information from annual reports. Surprisingly, the organisation correctly identified environmental threats such as fire, diseases, environmental change and climate change as key threats to its business [67]. The company ramped up efforts to address its sustainability efforts in 2019 as it adopted the GRI (Global Reporting Initiatives) and the SDGs and marked 2019 as a benchmark year for reporting on its sustainability initiatives. In 2019, business was expanded to include the environmental component, as shown in Figure 1.

In the same year, the company also drew up a sustainability roadmap to ensure sustainability by 2030. The plan was drawn up in three phases: sustainability plan (2019–2020), sustainability growth (2021–2025) and sustainability business set to start in 2026 and end in 2030 (Figure 2). The three-phased approach will improve the company’s sustainability trajectory and set it on par with other global hospitality companies invested in a sustainable business model as the company seeks to adopt international best practices and models to ensure sustainability. In this regard, all efforts will be quantified and measured as appropriate.

The African Sun has also been involved in other SDG-related programmes, although the term SDG is only mentioned in the 2019 annual report. These projects became the anchor board for the company’s SDG campaign. One such project is the company’s contribution to the health sector. In 2015, Africa Sun invested in the rehabilitation of St Giles Medical Centre in Harare and assisted in the tiling up of Chinotimba Clinic bathrooms located in Victoria Falls resort town [66]. St Giles Medical Centre is a rehabilitation facility aimed at nursing and ensuring that children and other patients recover fully. Agenda 2030 extensively articulates the importance of ensuring that global citizens’ physical and mental well-being is covered under SDG 3 as a dedicated goal of ensuring the health and well-being of all people of all ages.

African Sun also made some contributions to primary education through a donation of US$ 16,726 in Marondera [68], a place that is just outside of Harare. Delport & Makaye [69] describe the Better Schools Programme as the clustering of schools for collaboration to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The programme targeted teachers for professional development through the establishment of professional infrastructure. Consequently, the organisation contributed to SDG 4 on quality education, mainly target 4c, which calls for the capacitating of teachers in developing countries to ensure quality teaching and learning. The company’s interventions are crucial in responding to societal needs with real impact.

In 2018, African Sun, for the first time in its annual report, demonstrated a shift by pointing out that it now acknowledges that its operations impact the environment as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. As such, it was initiating various activities to address its environmental footprint. Part of the initiative is environmental awareness-raising amongst its stakeholders. Consequently, it embarked on a schools programme to educate students on the need and importance of conservation. Environmental education is one of the critical pillars of an ecotourism venture [70]. This is a crucial move, as a study by Dube and Nhamo [71] shows that the knowledge of environmental issues within Zimbabwe’s hospitality and tourism industry, particularly on climate change, is abysmal. The company also embarked on an energy management system to reduce their carbon footprint, such as light controls, automatic switch-off lights and motion sensors for lights in public areas. African Sun also started replacing incandescent and compact fluorescent lights with the acclaimed energy-efficient LED lights (African Sun, 2018). Such measures are critical in ensuring energy savings and efficiency. A reduction in energy means a decline in carbon emissions. One of the aspirations of SDG13 under climate change action is the need to address the demands set out by the Paris Agreement on industries cutting back on their carbon footprint to avoid the dangerous climate that the world is set to face under the 2 °C.

Given the water shortages caused by climate change and increased demands posed by a growing population, the company responded by instituting water-saving techniques in its guestrooms, laundries, swimming pools and kitchens. A water recycling programme was also instituted to make the most out of each drop of water, inadvertently addressing SDG 6, which calls for sustainable water usage. As part of addressing the environmental footprint, African Sun had also established an initiative to address waste from the group at its Victoria Falls hotel. This resulted in the recycling of 78,280 kg from biodegradable kitchen waste to compost and 1655 kg of paper, cans, plastic and glass waste sent to a recycling plant between 2018 and 2019. In 2019 the African Sun hotel also made significant strides in eliminating plastic by adopting reusable bottles for drinking water, eliminating 100,000 plastic water bottles. At the core of responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) is the need to reduce waste produced by corporations. By addressing waste at some of its enterprises, and participating in clean-up campaigns, the company is doing its part in contributing to a sustainable environment. Waste management is at the core of tourism development, and a substantial environmental issue is that waste such as plastic ends up in water bodies, wreaking havoc for coastal communities, ocean tourism and ecosystem services [72,73,74].

In some areas where African Sun operates, tourism enterprises are heavily dependent on natural resources such as wildlife. In recent years, such areas have been suffering from the pressures presented by climate change and poaching. Consequently, through its establishments in Victoria Falls and Hwange, African Sun has been assisting in protecting flora and fauna by funding and supporting anti-poaching activities. The company makes a monthly financial contribution to the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU). In Hwange, in partnership with the national park, the company funds efforts to preserve the habitat for various animals in this Big 5 national park. Therefore, the programmes directly respond to challenges faced by tourism resorts such as Victoria Falls, suffering from rural and urban poaching challenges [75].

On the other hand, Mpakairi et al. [76] noted that Hwange is suffering habitat alterations, threatening fauna in the park due to climate change. The projects, therefore, assist in ensuring biodiversity integrity as enshrined in SDG 15, which calls for efforts to halt biodiversity loss. It can also be argued that the efforts contribute to SDG13 as it assists the park in adapting better to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change.

One of the biggest challenges that the world is facing is deforestation [77]. Deforestation has contributed to the challenge of desertification, a significant threat to human development and tourism because of the anticipated backlash of biodiversity loss. The company has been making efforts to plant trees in the Hwange Safari lodge by partnering with Masuwe and Jabulani Primary Schools to plant trees, with 450 trees planted thus far. The role of indigenous trees in addressing various SDG aspects is well documented by Mabibibi et al. [4], who cited their contribution in fighting climate change and critical medical and other economic activities.

From a social perspective, African Sun has been trying to make inroads by supporting various projects addressing community challenges and focusing on its international stakeholders. African Sun indicated that it is making efforts to address gender disparities. Out of the 1200 employees, only 33.3% are female, indicating that the company was working to achieve a 40% women benchmark. A look at the board of directors for the company shows that three out of the eight board of directors are women, which is about 38% proportional representation. There are efforts to ensure greater participation of women in higher echelons of the company, including the call for greater participation of women in programmes such as the Supervision Development Programme, Graduate Development Programme and Management Development Programme. Figures show that, since women are represented at high levels, there is a need to ensure a 50% representation across the board to ensure gender equality. The fact that there is consciousness of such issues is encouraging, as it provides a benchmark that can track progress.

The Victoria Falls hotel has also been making efforts towards preserving the culture and heritage of both the former colonialist and the local population, which contributes to the preservation of local heritage as called for in SDG 8 target 8.9 and SDG 12 target 12b, which calls for tourism to ensure the promotion and protection of local heritage. Evidence from a field visit revealed that the Victoria Falls Hotel is home to several galleries that celebrate white supremacy by and large and provided space for an art gallery for local culture. The Stone Dynamics gallery promotes art and creates an avenue for revenue and employment for the local sculptors, some of whom are youths. Other popular galleries, such as the Lary Norton Gallery, are crucial in fostering the protection of flora and fauna as it aims to celebrate wildlife photography. By interfacing two heritages, the hotel can promote cohesion and be a sore point for the local indigenous people. The dress code for the employees, which resembles the one worn by Rhodesian servants, is a painful reminder of the colonial legacy. On the other hand, it is commendable to note the inclusion of traditional indigenous groups to showcase local traditions and culture to guests on selected days, allowing the local people to tap into some revenue from the tourism industry.

The company ensures that its employees and their immediate families are catered for by warranting that they have medical aid insurance coverage. The company has set aside wellness days aimed at ensuring the health and welfare of the employees. Also, the company has robust health and safety policies that include HIV and AIDS policy issues. Besides, employees have quarterly access to basic medical check-ups. The issues addressed by the company are well covered in SDG 3, which calls for the promotion of healthy lives and the wellbeing of everyone.

5. Discussion

The study shows that generally, there has been a steady response to the SDGs localisation in Southern Africa, with the two cases that were chosen revealing that meaningful action and mentioning of SDGs only started post-2018. This could have been triggered by the calls for the tourism industry to take a leading role in SDG localisation when the UNWTO declared 2017 a year of Sustainable Tourism. Before the declaration, the study shows that the two companies did not have the proper strategy of addressing their business’s social, cultural and environmental aspects. In the first instance, the Cooperate Social Investments (CSI) projects were largely uncoordinated and aimed at low-impact projects such as the donation of linen and other hotel materials.

The advent of the SDG framework gave the hospitality industry a chance to rethink its approach to sustainability within the sector, as there seems to be a more coordinated approach to addressing sustainability within the sector. Albeit challenges in reporting that involve a mix-up of SDGs and projects, the sector is on track to tackle some of the social and environmental challenges faced by the world. The two companies seem to address some issues that are critical to the tourism industry by providing much-needed employment opportunities to skilled and semi-skilled employees, which provide them with an avenue to participate in the mainstream economy. In the same breath, the companies are also participating in community development initiatives and addressing some of the environmental challenges faced by the industry and communities. Some other prominent issues covered by the industry include efforts to ensure energy efficiency (SDG 7). Achieving energy efficiency is critical if the world is to achieve net-zero, particularly in hotel buildings that consume substantial energy used for heating and cooling [78,79]. Because the efforts introduced to ensure energy efficiency are essential, there is a need to measure how the introduced measures are making a difference in pushing down energy demands and ensuring environmental efficiency. Although the cost of installing renewable energy has fallen dramatically over the last couple of years [80], the quest to a net-zero is likely to hamper efforts towards carbon neutrality and address the climate emergency, which is also threatening tourism destinations such as the Okavango Delta and the Victoria Falls, amongst others.

The other notable efforts that were taken as part of the SDG localisation agenda include efforts to ensure conservation within the sector. Efforts to protect flora and fauna, which is the hallmark of nature tourism in Southern Africa, are essential to SDG 15—life on land, given that there have been serious concerns over a decline in global biodiversity [81]. A decline in biodiversity has serious adverse consequences for the global tourism industry. Increased globalisation and affluence, and climate change, have also affected water supply and demand with increased observed incidences of water shortage. Such shortages have adversely affected the tourism industry, with the Day Zero water shortage in Cape Town being a classic example [82]. Therefore, efforts by the hospitality industry that respond to the water and sanitation (SDG 6) industry are critical in addressing challenges faced by the sector and the world at large. However, there is a need for the industry to quantify and track progress over time to ensure that there is progress in that regard, given the reported challenges in addressing water and sanitation issues in Egypt within the hotel industry [83]. It is in the sector’s best interest to adequately address water and sanitation issues within the sector, given the threats posed by climate change, which are likely to trigger water insecurity with dire impacts on the sector. Improving water efficiency will require investment in retrofitting in many hotel establishments. Nevertheless, investment can be hampered by liquidity challenges imposed on the sector by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many hotel establishments on the brink of a liquidity crunch and facing collapse [84,85].

Given that the hospitality industry is also responsible for some of the pollution challenges [86] that have wreaked havoc on marine and terrestrial ecosystems, efforts to reduce and reuse some of the hotelier industry’s material are commendable. It helps contribute to environmental protection. Such initiatives speak to efforts that are critical to SDG 14, among other related goals. Therefore, there is a need to expand the projects to entire hotel groups and continuously measure, monitor and provide innovative ideas that cement current efforts. Some cases provide important lessons for other hoteliers who are not currently on board. The challenge, however, remains in tackling the problem of plastic pollution, which is quite endemic. In some areas where these companies operate, the municipalities do not have a proper infrastructure that ensures that separated waste is collected and treated separately and meaningfully [15]. Sometimes, the shortage of materials used by suppliers other than plastic poses a threat to plans to get rid of plastic by the hotel industry [52], with demands for the supply chain to innovate and provide environmentally friendly packaging.

As much as there is clear evidence of willingness by the hotel industry to embrace the SDGs, the sector must address clear challenges that need to be addressed by the sector to achieve sustainability. Evidence from the analysed reports indicates that there is still much induction needed to train hoteliers on various SDGs and the thematic components of each SDG to better report on each goal and various targets. Given that the environment in many respects was not an important consideration by hotels with the SDG framework requiring its consideration, there is a need to address the environmental SDGs adequately. With some of the environmental SDGs being quite technical, there might be a need to obtain external auditors and verifiers to ensure that the industry is doing the right thing and not participating in greenwashing, as in most instances in the tourism and hospitality sector.

6. Conclusions and Recommendations

The study was aimed at examining the progress made in SDG localisation by the hotel industry using Cresta and African Sun hotel groups that operate in mainly Zimbabwe and Botswana, amongst other African Countries. The study found that the hospitality industry in the region still has a long way to go to ensure SDG localisation. With barely nine years to go before the lapse of the SDGs, it is highly unlikely that the sector will realise its full potential because of the lag taken to venture into the SDG space and the disruptions inflicted on the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also found that, since the SDG framework offers the hospitality industry an opportunity to focus their sustainability initiatives better, there are still challenges regarding reporting on these projects, which points to a lack of knowledge on which projects to focus on.

Considering the SDGs, the tourism industry has adopted an international best practice, which can allow the industry to better position itself in response to responsible and sustainable tourism demands as more guests demand a hospitality product that responds to social, economic and environmental demands of the day. It is, however, worrying that, because other hotels across the world have given focus to climate change as a must for the hospitality industry, the near absence of climate change mitigation and adaptation is concerning given the vulnerability of the sector to the impacts of climate change in the region. Lack of focus on the climate change issue can limit the capacity of the industry to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts that can disturb resilience-building when there are growing calls for industry resilience.

Given that the hospitality industry has just entered the space of SDG localisation, there is a need to ensure that no one is left behind in SDG localisation within the sector. The challenges in reporting are a concern and call for greater support to be given by relevant stakeholders to ensure training needs are met, paving the way for the industry to respond better. There is also an urgent need to measure the effort to make it easy to quantify and keep track of efforts being made by the sector to effectively measure progress. Continuous monitoring and evaluation are critical for the sector to ensure that timeous practical and policy interventions are made. Given the centrality of SDG13 on climate change, it is critical to ensure that it gains dominance in the sector’s SDG discussions in the sector. Considering the setbacks posed by COVID-19, research into how the pandemic affected the SDG localisation within the sector is imperative. Since there are very few studies on SDG localisation, wider research that covers practices at various destinations is a must to keep track of progress by the sector in the region.

The study is an important contribution to theory and practice on SGDs and their implications across various economic sectors, particularly the tourism and hospitality industry. The findings are crucial in providing tourism and hospitality practitioners critical lessons on how some establishments are operationalising and implementing the SDGs and the potential challenges and solutions to these challenges. The paper also can inform innovators in the industry on some challenges that need attention in the tourism sector.