Ethical Considerations in Digital and Social Media Marketing of Agritourism in Developing African Countries: A Context of Selected SADC Countries

The increased interest in shaping the national image on the international scene has made developing countries turn to destination branding as a vehicle for attracting tourists, foreign direct investment, export development, and forex generation. Among other strategies available for destination branding, agritourism has of late become a cheap alternative, particularly among developing countries. Thus, this chapter explores the ethical issues connected with digital and social media marketing of agritourism, focusing on selected Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. The chapter covers six sections, namely: Understanding the state of agritourism in the selected SADC countries; analysing the significance of agritourism to the socio-economic development of the SADC region; identifying the current digital and social media marketing practices in the agritourism sector of the selected SADC countries; examining the ethical issues to be considered when promoting agritourism using digital and social media marketing in the selected study contexts; examining the potential threats and opportunities arising from digital and social media usage when promoting agritourism services in the study contexts as well as evaluating the adequacy of the regional and national legal frameworks in promoting ethical digital and social media marketing behaviour in the agritourism. An extensive literature review methodology was employed to evaluate relevant literature and empirical research. Given the multiple study contexts, the chapter analysed the ethical considerations that digital and social media marketers should observe when marketing agritourism services across the cultural divide of the selected SADC countries. This book chapter is important for the national governments of developing countries to intensify ethical destination marketing through agritourism as a winning strategy for attracting foreign investors, increasing tourist arrivals, promoting rural development, employment for the marginalised communities, and increasing forex generation. By implementing ethical considerations, SADC countries can contribute to sustainable and responsible tourism. This chapter proposes that national governments invest in water harvesting strategies as a sustained measure to promote sustainable agritourism towards a circular economy.