TOURISM ETHICS



Tourism Ethics- Should You Stay Or Should You Go?

A Case Study of Zimbabwe

By

BA (Hons.) Tourism Business Management

University College Birmingham

Validated by: The University of Birmingham

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my supervisor for supporting me throughout my project and giving his valuable suggestions. Finally thanks to all my friends and family for their utmost support and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), declare that this work and all its associated tasks stand for my individual work & this dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It also represents my own views & not essentially the ones associated with university.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION5

Rationale of Research7

Aim of the Study8

Objectives of Study8

CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW9

Introduction9

International Tourism as an Economic Sector11

Ethical Theories In Relation To Tourism12

The History of Human Rights15

Travel Agents, Government and Media influence on Tourist Destination choices18

Role Played By Travel Agents19

The Role of Media20

CHAPTER 3- EXAMINATION OF CULTURE, ECONOMY AND POLITICS23

Politics of Zimbabwe year 2000 onwards25

Economy of Zimbabwe29

Impact of Boycotting Such Destinations33

CHAPTER 4- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY35

Choice of Research Methods35

Literature Inclusion/ Exclusion Matrix38

CHAPTER 5- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION40

Conclusion 1: Ethics in Tourism pose a challenge to regulatory authorities.41

Conclusion 2: Human Rights' issues are perceived differently by different stakeholders.42

Conclusion 3: It is also important to question whether boycotting these destinations really works.42

Conclusion 4: Responsible Tourism: It is a shared responsibility!43

Conclusion 5: Sustainable Tourism means the efficient use of resources and the conservation of nature to the maximum extent.43

REFERENCES45

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION

Holidays and recreation trends have witnessed considerable transformations over time. Planning for holidays have never been this lengthy and full of intricacies. Taking a holiday “is no longer a matter of just packing your sunhat and heading for the beach”, as noted by Lynas (2003, p.100) tourists have been hammered with ethical concerns that must be considered before they can even make a booking. Butcher (2003) argues that tourism, especially in its “traveller” form has always been associated with “freedom” but recently this has changed profoundly as this freedom is constantly under scrutiny. Where we go on holiday, what we do when we get there have been subject to analysis. Whether it is the demand for tourists to boycott Burma or Zimbabwe, there has been a call for holidays to be “ethical” (Jenkins 2002).

Tourism has become so moralised lately that on one hand certain types of tourism and tourists are considered unethical as they fail to recognise a particular notion of environmental or cultural risks. Some destinations have been considered to be unethical and therefore, made to be “tourist no-go areas”. Consumer choices according to Butcher (2003), over what kind of holiday one prefers, have been transformed into moral choices that can be consequential for the tourist and the host destination.

Human rights and tourism are interrelated, a violation of human rights in one place results in defaming of the destination for tourism purposes. This concern forms the basis of our research-based study. The situation of human rights in some countries is so disastrous that it ...