Sustainable Development Goals Localisation in the Hospitality Sector in Botswana and Zimbabwe
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The topic is, in principle, interesting and within the scope of Sustainability Journal. It examines the progress made in SDG localisation by the hotel industry in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
There are several problems of the paper in its present state. The paper can become a potential interesting paper if authors clarify and enriched the paper. The authors need to introduce modifications and clarifications in the manuscript and answer to a few comments.
- Article's structure.
Please explain in Section 1 “Introduction” how the paper is structured / organized.
- Written Expression-English
There are many problems with written expressions throughout the manuscript. The paper should be looked at and revised from the language perspective; it should be improved and edited.
The aim or objective of the paper is not clearly defined in the manuscript. The contribution of the study should be more clearly identified.
- Definition/Description of paper objectives
In Conclusion section authors state that "The study was aimed at examining the progress made in SDG localisation by the hotel industry using a selected hotel group that operates in mainly Zimbabwe and Botswana…", in lines 132-133 “This study seeks to examine how the hospitality industry in Zimbabwe’s hotelier industry is localising the SDGs” and in lines 76-77 “The study seeks to take stock of the progress made in SDG localisation by Zimbabwe and Botwswana’s hotel industry”.
The study is about 1 hotel group or about 2? Is it only in Zimbabwe or in both countries? The objectives throughout the paper are confusing. Please explain it in a better way.
- Methodology
Why only 2 companies were selected for the study?
- Literature Review
Relevant literature on how to achieve a more sustainable tourism sector is missing. See for example:
- Abdou, A. H., Hassan, T. H., Dief, E., & Moustafa, M. (2020). A Description of Green Hotel Practices and Their Role in Achieving Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 12(22), 9624.
- Rodríguez, C., Florido, C., & Jacob, M. (2020). Circular economy contributions to the tourism sector: A critical literature review. Sustainability, 12(11), 4338.
- Manniche, J., Topsø Larsen, K., Brandt Broegaard, R., & Holland, E. (2017). Destination: A circular tourism economy: A handbook for transitioning toward a circular economy within the tourism and hospitality sectors in the South Baltic Region.
- Figures
I recommend removing figure 1, not necessary.
Additionally, figure 3 is not cited in the text.
- Discussion
There is a lack of literature to support the results obtained and the authors fail to further discuss the results.
Authors should include more relevant papers in this section to support the results and to answers to the research questions and hypotheses stated in the manuscript.
- Conclusions and managerial implications
How these results can be used to promote SDGs in the hotel sector of Africa, in other countries, other types of tourist accommodations, etc.
Conclusions should state the value added of your paper, the contribution compared to available literature. What are the managerial implications for hoteliers in these cities of your results? What are the main limitations of this manuscript?
I also strongly suggest inserting possible future lines of research in this section.
- Minor Errors
There are some minor errors that should be corrected, see lines 63 (reference style), 104 (naïve), 221 (reference), 319 (reference).
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thank you for taking the time to review my manuscript. Attached is the response to the comments made.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The topic of the paper is very interestingly described through a case study of two hotel complexes. A proposal for some future work to do research and present hypotheses through the SPSS program.
Suggestions for correcting the work:
1. Since you have chosen a case study and only two leading hotel tourist groups in Zimbabwe and Botswana, could you please add/elaborate and more precisely describe the contribution to the study. Objectives for the both companies should be defined more precisely.
2. In the sentence: In the same year, the company also drew up a sustainability roadmap aimed at ensuring sustainability by 2030; source for the picture 3 is missing, in the rows 333-334.
3. In the discussion, I suggest you add references that support results and conclusion of the case study.
4. In conclusion you have defined goals for the case study, determined what was necessary to fulfill conditions, progress the study validated in hotel company work within sustainable development. However, you have failed to determine main obstacles and limitations that surely exist in achieving sustainable development in tourism.
Author Response
Thank you for taking the time to review my manuscript. Attached is the response to the comments made.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Overall, I think the topic of SDG localisation is important and worhing studying. The structure of the paper is appropriate and the logic is clear. My comments: 1. The results need to be revised based on themes. Currently I don't see any themes based on content analysis. The current figures and tables are not highly relevant to the results. I suggest remove all off them and develop new figures and tables based on your analysis. 2, The introduction and conclusion can be improved to highlight your contrbution to the field.Author Response
Thank you for taking the time to review my manuscript. Attached is the response to the comments made.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Dear author(s),
The title, abstract and key words are suitable. The article is clear and legible and suitable in terms of its structure. The theme of the title is relevant and it seems that the authors have made an important analysis.
Congratulations. I think this paper presents an interesting study about sustainable development in the hotel and hospitality industry. The article is really well written, structured, easy to read and the references don't disturb the reading process. The length is another positive element; straight to the point, with enough evidences.
The review of the literature is suitable. References are present and most of them are in English. It provides interesting information. In literature review part, you collect previous relevant researches about this issue and it supports the relations among variables.
The methodology applied is consistent. It shows in which authors or models are based to measure these variables and how to contribute to analyze of the progress made in SDG localisation by Zimbabwe and Botswana’s hotel industry.
The discussion of results manages to present the contribution of results to the theoretical development of the field, the possible limitations of the study, and the directions of future research.
Please be more specific regarding contribution of the paper and add scientific contribution in abstract.
The authors should also seek for the assistance of a native English speaker, or at least double check their article for errors.
Author Response
Thank you for taking the time to review my manuscript. Attached is the response to the comments made.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Thanks for addressing the comments and suggestions made. Now the paper has been improved
