The Uneven Playing Field in International Trade in Developing Countries: A Critical Interjection and Review

The thrust of this paper was to compose a discussion on the unevenness of the international trade platform from a developing country perspective. The working and mechanics of the World Trade Organization’s framework in relation to the agricultural products, trade related aspects in intellectual property rights and the use of environmental resources were also discussed in this paper from the context of developing countries. Literature reviewed in this paper showed a lot of discrepancies of what is happening in international trade under the tutelage of policies crafted and advanced by the World Trade Organisation. The policies by the World Trade Organisation have not been quite beneficial to a lot of developing countries including Zimbabwe as issues of market access and subsidies on exports remained unsolved 18 years after the formation of the World Trade Organisation. Despite the progress made in the Uruguay Round however, developing country exporters still remain at a disadvantage in accessing foreign markets. The playing field in international trade is more biased towards the advanced market economies

The Impacts of Tourism Development at Domboshava National Monument in Zimbabwe

Tourism development is regarded as an important means to benefit local communities. The success of tourism in developed countries has inspired Zimbabwe to give recognition to the industry as the main driver in national economic development. This study examines the impacts of tourism development in Zimbabwe using Domboshava National Monument as an exemplar. Fifty questionnaires were distributed to local stakeholders that include monument sites managers, tour guides, tourism developers and community leaders. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the impacts of tourism development. Two key issues were identified in this study and discussed, that is, the benefits of tourism development and the costs of tourism development. Results show that, despite the limitation and development issues at Domboshava National Monument, the positive impacts of tourism development at Domboshava National Monument outweigh the costs accrued by the local communit

Qualifications must address the needs of commerce in Zimbabwe: A case of the Hospitality Discipline

This paper documents a multi-perspective evaluation into the training needs of the hospitality and tourism industry in Zimbabwe. Research on training needs is important, especially in the hospitality industry, which is known for its traditional approach in terms of human resource management. This paper aims to develop an understanding of the current situation concerning hospitality graduates’ as well as hospitality managers’ skillsand competencies and career development. The key purpose is seen to be the preparation of graduates that meets the needs of industry and commerce

Challenges Facing Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions in Producing Competent Graduates in Zimbabwe

The thrust of this study was to make an exploration of the challenges that Technical and Vocational Education andTraining Institutions face as they try to produce competent and qualified graduates in Zimbabwe under the reforms of competence based education and training and modularization. This study also examined the challenges which are being faced by TVET graduates in acquiring competencies for the occupations they are being trained for. The period of study was from January 2011 to April 2013. Questionnaires were administered to TVET trainees and trainers. The data obtained was entered into Portable IBM Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 19.0 in descriptive statistics. The main challenges obtaining from the data collected showed that there was lack of training materials for the various workshops, obsolete training equipment, large classes, inadequate learning facilities, absence of industrial synergies, and poor exposure for the TVET trainees during On Job Training (OJT), weak performance of the economy, curricula and industrial expectation variances

Brand Reputation Management within the Higher Education Sector: A Review of the Literature on Higher Education Brand Reputation Management

The purpose of this systemic review was to explore the nature of brand reputation management literature and how the appraisal will help higher education practitioners and brand reputation researchers to engender and refine research thoughts. The paper reviewed a number of issues such as the concept of branding in the context of higher education, commercialisation and marketisation, brand reputation management and the importance of branding in the higher education sector. An attempt was made to identify and integrate the arguments into a very consistent synthesis which shows the uses and impact of brand reputation management on higher education institutions‘ brand value

The sustainability of using domestic tourism as a post-COVID-19 recovery strategy in a distressed destination

Tourism is a critical contributor to the gross domestic product, especially among developing countries like Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a tourist destination that relies more on international travellers, a market which has been affected by the novel coronavirus. The purpose of this study is to establish the perceptions of domestic travellers and tourism managers on the sustainability of using domestic tourism as strategic responses to the impacts of the coronavirus. This study employs a qualitative methodology to examine the perceptions of the demand and supply side regarding the recovery options for Zimbabwean tourism post-pandemic. Online interviews with demand and supply participants were conducted. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, and the results were discussed. Results show that domestic tourism as a recovery option is unsustainable due to the challenges that Zimbabwe is facing, beyond the coronavirus