The tourism sharing economy and sustainability in developing countries: Contribution to SDGs in the hospitality sector.

• Main Author: Ngoni Courage Shereni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AfricaJournals 2019-09-01
• Series: African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure
• Subjects: sharing economy; collaborative economy; SDGs; collaborative consumption; sustainability
• Online Access: https://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_14_vol_8_5__2019_uj.pdf

The tourism sharing economy applies the latest technological applications to monetize excess capacity and to provide ease of access to tourism resources. This concept is premised on the idea of collaborative consumption which emphasizes the importance of access rather than ownership. Homestays through Peer to Peer (P2P) and Business to Consumer (B2C) platforms are on the rise in the global tourism industry and the impacts of this phenomenon on sustainability are significant. In this era of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) it becomes important for accommodation providers to leverage off business models that contribute to sustainability. This study is based on a review of literature and addresses how the hospitality sector in developing countries can leverage on the sharing economy to contribute to the achievement of SDGs. The findings suggest that the sharing economy is still in its infancy in sub-Saharan African countries. The extant literature points to the fact that accommodation sharing can contribute to eight of the SDGs, namely 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 16.