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Orientation: There has been a growing concern for a ‘green’ hotel in the view of customers as they experience an increased awareness of environmental damage and excessive consumption of goods, energy and water.Research purpose: To determine the environmentally-friendly practices in hotels in Zimbabwe and South Africa and establish the contribution that hotels are making towards mitigation of the negative environmental effects.Motivation for the study: Currently, the world is facing environmental issues, which include global climate change, ozone depletion, pollution, high consumption of resources and increasing amounts of solid waste. Hotels, as part of the tourism industry, exert a significant impact on the environment. While the extent and range of the impact that hotels exert on the environment suggest an urgent need to address this problem, the question that arises is whether hoteliers appreciate the need for environmentally-friendly initiatives in their establishments.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research was carried out in eight hotels that employ the strategy of the case study in the aforementioned countries. Main findings: Currently, no policies for green management exist, although some hotels do engage in some environmentally-friendly practices. Some hotel managers do not implement green management initiatives to mitigate the environmental problems emanating from their hotel operations.Practical and/or managerial implications: This indicates that a gap exists between managers’ awareness of appropriate environmentally-friendly practices for hotels, implying a need for training and increased awareness of green management.Contribution and/or value-add: The results could guide managers in the implementation of environmentally-friendly practices in an effort to mitigate environmental problems facing the present generation.

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Orientation: Globally, destinations offer various products and services to visitors featuring different attributes and characteristics, making each destination unique. The critical success factors (CSFs) of each of these destinations may differ, making the management process more complex.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify the CSFs for business tourism destinations in South Africa from a supply viewpoint.Motivation for the study: Because of the importance of CSFs, many previous studies have attempted to identify such factors within the tourism industry, but few concentrated on business tourism, especially in South Africa, leaving a gap in terms of knowledge. By means of identifying and understanding what these factors are for South Africa, the country could further develop its tourism sector, which could result in its being more competitive as a destination.Research design, approach and method: To achieve this goal, a qualitative research approach was followed by interviewing seven key business tourism coordinators in South Africa, to determine the key success factors of the business. The data gathered were transcribed and analysed using Creswell’s six steps in data analysis and interpretation.Main findings: Finances, human resources, product and customer-related aspects were identified as the CSFs for business tourism in South Africa.Practical/managerial implications: Educating the market and marketing value add-ons were identified as important for enhancing and making business tourism in South Africa more competitive.Contribution/value-add: The results could guide managers in the implementation of effective key success factors in an effort to mitigate management problems in a very competitive sector.

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