African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Jan 2020)
Assessing community awareness on business social responsibility (BSR) in the hotel industry: A case study of Quigney, East London, South Africa
Abstract
Tourism is one of the key and fastest growing economic industries in both developed and developing countries.Business Social Responsibility (BSR) is a way a business can contribute to the society in which it operates and invest in the well-being of its stakeholders, as well as improving the quality of the workforce and local community. Tourism businesses specifically within the hospitality sector engage in BSR programs with initiatives such as to employ local residents and sponsor local schools, but many communities are unaware of these initiatives. The lack of knowledge about BSR programs have attributed to communities being unaware of the benefits of having hotels within their communities. The objective of the study is to determine the level of community’s awareness on hotels BSR initiatives in East London. The data collection method that was used is primary and secondary data which was gained through self-administered questionnaire. The study included both primary and secondary data collection methods. A total number of 100 questionnaires were distributed among the community residents in Quigney. The data was captured and analysed using Statistical Packaging for Social Science (SPSS) software. The main findings of the study revealed that a large majority of the local community members in Quigney, East London were unaware of hotels that practise BSR. Therefore, the mandate lies with the hotel managers of Quigney to increase knowledge within the community about their BSR programmes so that the community can be aware of such positive initiatives. The study aimed to contribute to the growing literatue on community awareness in the Eastern Cape. The study has also laid a foundation for future interrogation of the phenomenon of hotels BSR initiatives in East London and the Eastern Cape Province at large.
