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This paper focuses on the criminal activities which have been identified as hindering and crippling the tourism industry at uMhlathuze Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The main aim of the study was to establish if any mechanisms are in place to curb crime and enhance the safety of tourists within the study area. A structured questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews were used to collect data. The study used a convenience sampling method to select 124 participants, from different parts of the study area. The results indicate that even though there are some mechanisms in place criminal activities continue occurring in and around uMhlathuze Local Municipality. Some of these criminal activities are not reported to the local authorities and are not known by the community members and thus downplayed. This study recommends that organizations such as Tourism KwaZulu-Natal that are responsible for marketing and promoting tourism, together with uMhlathuze Local Municipality tourism support officers should bring some safety measures and crime tourism awareness by organizing workshops and seminars related to tourist’s safety and security at different towns and villages of the local municipality, targeting youths.

This study aimed to explore the model that can be used to improve local community participation in ecotourism development processes. The study was conducted at the communities adjoining the Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A mixed methods design was adopted by the study during collection and analysis of data. A total of 384 respondents were sampled through convenience sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to collect data through face-to-face surveys. The study found that local communities had not been actively participating in ecotourism development processes, especially those undertaken within the rural setting as a result of different socio-economic factors including lacking necessary skills. This study asserts that this gap could be mitigated through implementation of local community participation improvement model (LCPIM) based on its potential for influencing enactment and/or amendment of policies on ecotourism development

Climate change is a global phenomenon that is affecting all humanity. Bearing the harshest brunt of environmental, social and economic shocks are the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable conditions such as women in rural areas. Rural areas have experienced a decline in the dependence on agriculture and livestock farming because of climate change, thus forcing people especially women to look for alternative sources of sustainable livelihoods (SLs). The objective of this study was to establish the extent to which craft development can be used as an alternative livelihood by women in uPhongolo Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal to mitigate the effects of climate change. This study adopted a SL theoretical framework to explain how women in the study area used craft development to improve their livelihoods. A survey method was adopted for this study using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Non-probability sampling strategy using a purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 women crafters from uPhongolo Local Municipality. Face-to-face interviews using questionnaires, which had both closed and open-ended questions, were conducted. These allowed for the collection of numeric data and simultaneously allowed respondents to express themselves and elaborate on the structured questions. The Software Programme for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data that had been generated using structured interviews and categorised qualitative data. The findings indicated that innovative entrepreneurship using natural capital readily available in the area for craft development and linking the products to the market play a significant role in improving SLs of women in the study area. The study recommends that capacity-building programmes be provided to equip rural women with skills that would enhance their ability to respond to natural hazards such as climate change.

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