Unlocking the potential of domestic tourism in uncertain times: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the capacity of domestic tourism to revive the tourism industry in South Africa during uncertain times using the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors argue that domestic tourism should be promoted as a way of offsetting losses experienced when international tourism is in decline. The purpose of the empirical study was to assess perceptions and attitudes regarding domestic tourism in South Africa. A self-selected sample of 350 respondents living in South Africa were asked about their travel behaviour and tourism practices in 2019 and 2020 as well as their post-pandemic travel plans. The authors believe that domestic tourism has the capacity to stimulate tourism growth in uncertain times after the recent pandemic, as most of the respondents indicated their willingness to travel more domestically after the pandemic and to engage in different types of local tourism. However, they emphasized the need to reduce prices in order to ensure that domestic customers could afford domestic tourism products offered the during times of external shocks.

Factors Influencing Locals’ Perspectives on Tourism Development in Cameroon

“…Moreover, technology has made travel more accessible through social media, websites, and applications (Chamboko- Mpotaringa & Tichaawa, 2021), with affordable services like Airbnb, budget airlines, Uber, and Google Translate enabling tourists to travel extensively. The popularity of domestic tourism has increased, with more recent literature showing a spike in studies related to domestic tourism (Adinolfi et al, 2021;Chamboko-Mpotaringa & Tichaawa, 2023;Mzobe et al, 2022). Many African countries have developed local economic development strategies to promote different forms of tourism and have earmarked the tourism sector as a critical industry to enable strategic growth (Nyikana & Tichaawa, 2020).…”

COVID-19, Domestic tourism and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Zimbabwe

“…Due to its complexity, several measures were introduced to curb the spread of the disease. These measures include lockdown restrictions requiring people to stay indoors, closure of nonessential activities, ban on travelling and cancellation of major events (Gössling, Scott & Hall, 2021;Musavengane, Leonard & Mureyani, 2022;Mzobe, Makoni & Nyikana, 2022;. The restrictions resulted in a major decline in international tourist arrivals (Arbulu et al, 2021;Mzobe, Makoni & Nyi-kana, 2022).…”

“…Faced with limited international tourism demand, most destinations were forced to look at the domestic market to revive the tourism sector (Arbulu et al, 2021;Woyo, 2021). Domestic tourism has been noted to be more resilient to external shocks such as disease outbreaks, political crises, global financial crises, and terrorism than international tourism (Kabote, Mashiri & Vengesayi, 2014;Manwa & Mmereki, 2008;Mzobe, Makoni & Nyikana, 2022).…”

“…Research on the role of domestic tourism in reviving the tourism industry for depressed destinations, in general, is still growing (Woyo, 2021). Several studies have been conducted to determine if domestic tourism is a sustainable post-recovery strategy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (Woyo, 2021;Mzobe, Makoni & Nyikana, 2022). Manwa & Mmereki (2008) note that little is known about the behaviour of domestic tourists, impacts and their motivation in the African context.…”