African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (Aug 2018)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a strategy to manage the impact of HIV and AIDS within Tourism Workplaces: A case study of Buffalo City.
Abstract
Tourism is the world's largest industry, employing, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), eight per cent of the global workforce. It is an industry characterised by high job mobility that in itself creates increased vulnerability to the HIV and AIDS infection (ILO, 2012). Addressing HIV and AIDS is the responsibility of many stakeholders, including both private and public sector companies. There is no lack of information on what types of measures companies can take and suggestions of best practices, but according to Tassiopoulos, Mahlangeni and Goliath (2014:12), not much information is available on what companies are actually doing and their reasons for doing it. Therefore, the purpose of the paper was to determine whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be utilised as a strategy to manage the impact of HIV and AIDS within the tourism industry. The study was based solely on qualitative data and this data was collected through open-ended and less structured protocols such as in-depth interviews (IDIs). Fifteen (15) tourism stakeholders were interviewed and one (1) tourism business that provided evidence of an existing HIV and AIDS workplace programme. The findings elucidate that HIV and AIDS is not seen as a priority within the world of work of the tourism industry. It further reveals that managers are not aware of the impact the disease has on their workforce. The findings also revealed that corporate social responsibility has indeed assisted management in dealing with HIV and AIDS within the tourism workplaces. Specific reference to the usage of social platforms, such as World AIDS day or trade shows. Overall the study makes a contribution to a largely under-researched area concerning HIV and AIDS in the tourism industry. The HIV and AIDS epidemic is a global crisis, and constitutes one of the most formidable challenges to development and social progress.
