UTILISING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INDICATORS TO DETERMINE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF SUN CITY RESORT by DANIE BOSHOFF Submitted in accordance of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in the subject ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF K F MEARNS NOVEMBER 2015 i Declaration I, Daniel Venter Boshoff, hereby declare that Utilising sustainable tourism indicators to determine the environmental performance of Sun City Resort is my own work and that all sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. __________________ _______________________ Daniel Venter Boshoff Date ii Acknowledgements I want to sincerely thank my parents, Daan Boshoff and Alma and Francois Naudé, for giving me the opportunity to study for my initial degree, which set the baseline for my master’s degree. You have motivated me all the way and I cannot thank you enough. To my grandmother, Louise Verhulst, and my brothers, Riaan and Henno Boshoff, your encouragement and support through the years meant a lot to me. I could not have done this without Sun International, Sun City Resort and specifically Tony Maia, Isabel Swart, Elri Neervoort, Colin Jonkers and Mike Van Vuuren. Thank you for your support and for allowing me to utilise data from the Resort. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Kevin Mearns, for your ongoing support throughout this thesis. Thank you for the guidance and advice at each of our lengthy meetings, which allowed me to successfully deliver this thesis. Lastly, my wife, Nicoleen Boshoff, you were my pillar of strength. Thank you for always believing in me and motivating me throughout this journey. You truly inspired me to take on this challenge and finish it properly. I dedicate this to you! iii Abbreviations BMS Building Management System BOP Bantustan of Bophuthatswana BPDM Bojonala Platinum District Municipality CSI Corporate Social Investment EMS Environmental Management System DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism DSM Demand-Side Management DWA Department of Water Affairs DWQ Drinking Water Quality GEAR Growth, Employment and Redistribution GSTC Global Sustainable Tourism Council ISO International Organization for Standardization INDC Intended Nationally Determined Contributions JSE Johannesburg Stock Exchange LPG Liquid Petroleum Gas MKLM Moses Kotane Local Municipality MTCE Million Tons Coal Equivalent MWh Million Watt Hour NGC Nedbank Golf Challenge NWMS National Waste Management Strategy OSV Old Staff Village RCI Resort Condominium International SANS South African National Standard SCR Sun City Resort SPI Sustainable Performance Indicator SRI Socially Responsible Investment SV South Village UNFCC United Nations Framework for Climate Change WWTW Waste Water Treatment Works iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration II Acknowledgements III Abbreviations IV List of figures XI List of tables XV CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Sustainable development 3 1.3 The Sustainability of tourism destinations 3 1,4 Research questions and problem 6 1.5 Aim of the study 6 1.6 Objectives of the study 6 1.7 Methodology 7 1.8 Scope of the study 9 1.9 Chapter breakdown 11 1.10 Conclusion 11 CHAPTER 2 12 LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Conceptual framework 12 2.3 Global tourism 14 2.4 Mass tourism 17 2.5 Managing environmental impacts of tourism 19 2.5.1 Impacts of tourism 19 2.5.2 Environmental Management Systems 20 2.5.3 Set baselines or benchmarks 22 2.5.4 Certification 22 2.6 South African performance on responsible tourism standards 24 2.7 Corporate Governance : sustainability reporting 25 2.8 The United Nations World Tourism Organisation: List of Core Indicators for Sustainable Tourism 25 v 2.9 Resource management 27 2.91 Energy management 27 2.9.1.1 Electricity 27 2.9.1.2 Liquid Petroleum Gas 30 2.9.1.3 Diesel and petroleum fuels 31 2.9.1.4 Coal 34 2.9.2 Water management 34 2.9.2.1 Water availability 34 2.9.2.2 Water availability to SCR 36 2.9.2.3. Water Quality 38 2.9.2.4. Compliance 39 2.9.2.5. Water Policy at Sun City Resort 41 2.9.3 Waste Management 42 2.9.3.1 International waste management and tourism 42 2.9.3.2 Waste Management in South Africa 44 2.9.3.3 Waste management at Sun City Resort 46 2.10 People’s perception 48 2.11 Environmental performance and benchmarks 50 2.12 Conclusion 51 CHAPTER 3 53 STUDY AREA - SUN CITY RESORT INFORMATION 53 3.1 Introduction to Sun City Resort and History 53 3.2 Location and Geology 54 3.3 Local population dynamics 57 3.4 Climate 58 3.5 Accommodation and facilities 59 3.6 A brief description of each hotel 62 3.6.1 The Palace of the Lost City 62 3.6.2 The Cascades Hotel 63 3.6.3 The Sun City Hotel 65 3.6.4 The Cabanas 66 3.6.5 The Vacation Club 68 3.7 Other facilities 69 vi 3.8 Environmental department 69 3.9 Conclusion 73 CHAPTER 4 74 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY 74 4.1 Introduction 74 4.2 Research Design 74 4.2.1 Exploratory research 74 4.2.2 Descriptive research 75 4.2.3 Mixed method approach 75 4.3 Multiple case studies 76 4.4 Specific research design elements 76 4.4.1 Objective one and two 76 4.4.2 Objective three 79 4.4.3 Objective four and five 81 4.4.4 Objective six 82 4.5 Data collection 83 4.5.1 Quantitative data 83 4.5.2 Qualitative data 83 4.6 Sampling method 85 4.7 Measuring instruments 86 4.8 Data analysis 88 4.9 Reliability 88 4.9.1 Quantitative data 88 4.9.1.2 Energy data 88 4.9.1.2 Water 89 4.9.1.3 Waste 89 4.9.2 Qualitative data 90 4.10 Strengths of and limitations to content analysis 90 4.10.1 Strengths 90 4.10.2 Limitations 90 4.11 Ethical research design considerations 92 4.11.1 Voluntary approach and informed consent 92 vii 4.11.2 Confidentiality and anonymity 93 4.12 Sampling audience demographics 93 4.12.1 Staff questionnaire 93 4.12.2 Guest questionnaires 95 4.13 Recommend improvements 97 4.14 Conclusion 97 CHAPTER 5 98 RESULTS, DISCUSSIONS AND ANALYSIS 98 5.1 Introduction 98 5.2 Research Aim, question and objectives 98 5.3. Occupancy and how it affects resource use 99 5.3.1 Palace 102 5.3.2 Cascades 102 5.3.3 Sun City Hotel 103 5.3.4 The Cabanas 104 5.3.5 Vacation Club 104 5.4 Results, analysis and discussions for each objective. 105 5.4.1. To determine and analyse the energy consumption for the five accommodation areas and the entire Sun City Resort 105 5.4.1.1 Electricity consumption 105 5.4.1.1.1 Resort 108 5.4.1.1.2 The Palace 111 5.4.1.1.3 Cascades Hotel 116 5.4.1.1.4 Sun City Hotel 119 5.4.1.1.5 Cabanas 122 5.4.1.1.6 Vacation Club 125 5.4.1.2 LP Gas 128 5.4.1.3 Fuel 129 5.4.1.4 Coal 132 5.4.1.5 Energy management conclusion 133 5.4.2 To determine and analyse the water consumption for the five accommodation areas and the entire Sun City Resort 136 5.4.2.1 Resort 138 viii 5.4.2.2 The Palace 142 5.4.2.3 Cascades 145 5.4.2.4 Sun City Hotel 146 5.4.2.5 Cabanas 149 5.4.2.6 Vacation Club 151 5.2.7 Water management conclusion 155 5.4.3 To determine and analyse the waste generation and recycling rates for the entire Sun City Resort 157 5.4.3.1 Resort waste management 157 5.4.3.1.1 The waste collection areas 158 5.4.3.1.2 The recycling yard 160 5.4.3.1.3 The landfill site 160 5.4.3.2 Waste water management 168 5.4.3.3 Waste management conclusion 169 5.4.3.4 Waste water conclusion 170 5.4.4 To investigate the perception of staff on the environmental performance of SCR. 172 5.4.4.1 Awareness 172 5.4.4.2 Participation 173 5.4.4.3 Perception 174 5.4.4.4 Conclusion of staff questionnaires 175 5.4.4.4.1Awareness 175 5.4.4.4.2 Participation 175 5.4.4.4.3 Perception 175 5.4.5 To investigate the perception of guests on the environmental performance of SCR. 175 5.4.5.1 Awareness 175 5.4.5.2 Participation 177 5.4.5.3 Perceptions 178 5.4.5.4 Conclusion for guest questionnaires 182 5.4.5.4.1 Awareness 183 5.4.5.4.2 Participation 183 5.4.5.4.3 Perception 183 ix 5.4.6 To make recommendations for the improvement of environmental performance of Sun City Resort in terms of energy, water and waste management and guest and staff awareness. 183 5.4.6.1 Energy 183 5.4.6.2 Water 184 5.4.6.3 Waste 185 5.4.6.4 Staff perception, participation and awareness 186 5.4.6.5 Guest perception, participation and awareness 186 5.5 Conclusion 187 CHAPTER 6 187 SYNTHESIS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 187 6.2 Synthesis 187 6.2.1 Research problem 187 6.2.2 Research question 187 6.2.3 Research aim 188 6.2.4 Objectives 188 6.3 Limitations 192 6.4 Recommendations for further study 192 6.5 Researcher’s view of the study 193 6.6 Conclusion 194 Reference List 195 Appendices 204 x LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1 Three dimensions of sustainable tourism 3 Sustainable development process of a tourism destination from Figure 1.2 an environmental performance point of view 5 Research design for Utilizing indicators to measure Figure 1.3 environmental performance of Sun City Resort 8 Figure 2.1 Conceptual framework flowchart 14 Figure 2.2 PDCA Cycle 21 Electricity Consumption for City Lodge Group - kWh per room Figure 2.3 night 30 Figure 2.4 Diesel consumption per province in 2009 32 Figure 2.5 Petrol consumption per province in 2009 32 Figure 2.6 Global Water Scarcity 35 Figure 2.7 Water Consumption for City Lodge Group - Litre per room night 35 Figure 2.8 Waste generated per capita per region 42 Figure 2.9 Tourism facility operations and outputs 43 Figure 2.10 Waste Management Hierarchy 45 Figure 2.11 The Waste Cycle 46 Sustainability: Link between resource management and people’s Figure 2.12 perception 49 Figure 3.1 Provinces of South Africa 55 Figure 3.2 The location of Sun City in the North West Province 56 Figure 3.3 Pilanesberg Ring Complex 57 Figure 3.4 Google Earth image of SCR 61 Figure 3.5 The Palace of the Lost City.