Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa

Abstract

The promotion of tourism has been identified as a key strategy that can lead to economic upliftment, community development and poverty relief in the developing world. In the last few years, tourism has also emerged as a significant development option in post–apartheid South Africa. In the context of some current debates on tourism in poor countries, the paper examines how economic, social and environmental resources are being utilized to promote tourism as a local economic development strategy in South Africa, and more specifically it focuses on current local government endeavours in this regard and two communities that have suffered the loss of their economic resource base. Tourism–based development initiatives, one in KwaZulu–Natal and one in the Western Cape, are evaluated in the context of generating economic growth, alleviating poverty and addressing the apartheid legacy of discrimination and inequality. The significance of the dynamics of development processes involved in these initiatives has much wider relevance for local economic development, both within South Africa and elsewhere.

Enterprise Proportionalities in the Tourism Sector of South African Towns

“…The promotion of tourism has been identified as a key strategy that can lead to economic upliftment, community development and poverty relief in the developing world (Binns & Nel, 2002). As evidenced by the topics discussed at a conference on tourism in the Karoo (Karoo Development Foundation, 2009) tourism is actively promoted as an additional/alternative economic activity for semi-arid and arid South Africa.…”

Indicators of post-productivism in South Africa’s “platteland”: A second home case study of Rosendal, Eastern Free State

“…According to Pienaar and Visser (2009), local economic development (LED), within a neoliberal economic context, has been a particularly well-researched area of investigation in the South, especially in South Africa (see Nel, 2001). On the whole a LED strategy aimed at inducing economic upliftment, community development and poverty relief especially for rural areas in South Africa (see Binns, Nel, 2002;Rogerson, 2012).…”

Lietuvos Teminių Kaimų Vystymosi Varomosios Jėgos Stiprinant Jų Gyvybingumą

“…Išanalizavus teritorinės strategijos apibrėžtis (Andrew, 1987; Binns, 2002;Bagautdinova, 2012;Dėl vietos..., 2016), nustatyta, kad teminio kaimo strategija yra į-rankis valdyti teritoriją ir plėtoti jos vertę, kuriant ir parduodant prekes, paslaugas, vykdant integruotas veiklas. Poreikių tyrime, strategijos rengime ir įgyvendinimo valdyme aktyviai dalyvauja gyventojai, verslininkai, vietos organizacijų ir savivaldos specialistai, kurie organizuoja veiklas ir darbus siekdami teritorinės bendruomenės vizijos.…”