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Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast
In Post-Apartheid South Africa tourism was seen as an important tool for economic development and poverty alleviation, especially in rural communities. The term Responsible Tourism was adopted by government in the 1996 White Paper and encouraged tourism that creates competitive advantage, maintains...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
2020
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| _version_ | 1867613167149907968 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Van Doorn, Elena |
| author2 | Sowman, Merle |
| author_browse | Sowman, Merle Van Doorn, Elena |
| author_facet | Sowman, Merle Van Doorn, Elena |
| author_sort | Van Doorn, Elena |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | In Post-Apartheid South Africa tourism was seen as an important tool for economic development and poverty alleviation, especially in rural communities. The term Responsible Tourism was adopted by government in the 1996 White Paper and encouraged tourism that creates competitive advantage, maintains natural, social and cultural diversity and promotes sustainable use of local resources. This study looks at two case studies on the Wild Coast of South Africa, namely; Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay and Bulungula Lodge in Nqileni, which have both been awarded for their responsible tourism efforts. Through a review of the literature, document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this thesis identified a set of responsible tourism criteria applicable to tourism ventures in rural South Africa, while also identifying some of the challenges that come with tourism development in rural areas. The study discusses how responsible tourism approaches and practices can enable not only job opportunities, but also contribute to improving basic living conditions and enhance education and skills development of local communities. Gaining ownership of the tourism venture, meaningful participation of local communities in management and decision making, equal power relations as well as sharing in the benefits were all found to be important enablers in the case studies. A responsible tourism approach also focuses on promoting sound environmental management practices, including respect for local cultures, institutions and local knowledge, thereby contributing to biodiversity conservation efforts and promoting sustainable livelihoods. The study recognised how partnerships with government and NGOs can enable better implementation of responsible tourism policies and approaches, while monitoring results and accreditation can measure these benefits delivered to the economy, community and environment. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31325 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:50.330Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| publisherStr | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31325 Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast Van Doorn, Elena Sowman, Merle Environment, Society and Sustainability In Post-Apartheid South Africa tourism was seen as an important tool for economic development and poverty alleviation, especially in rural communities. The term Responsible Tourism was adopted by government in the 1996 White Paper and encouraged tourism that creates competitive advantage, maintains natural, social and cultural diversity and promotes sustainable use of local resources. This study looks at two case studies on the Wild Coast of South Africa, namely; Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay and Bulungula Lodge in Nqileni, which have both been awarded for their responsible tourism efforts. Through a review of the literature, document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this thesis identified a set of responsible tourism criteria applicable to tourism ventures in rural South Africa, while also identifying some of the challenges that come with tourism development in rural areas. The study discusses how responsible tourism approaches and practices can enable not only job opportunities, but also contribute to improving basic living conditions and enhance education and skills development of local communities. Gaining ownership of the tourism venture, meaningful participation of local communities in management and decision making, equal power relations as well as sharing in the benefits were all found to be important enablers in the case studies. A responsible tourism approach also focuses on promoting sound environmental management practices, including respect for local cultures, institutions and local knowledge, thereby contributing to biodiversity conservation efforts and promoting sustainable livelihoods. The study recognised how partnerships with government and NGOs can enable better implementation of responsible tourism policies and approaches, while monitoring results and accreditation can measure these benefits delivered to the economy, community and environment. 2020-02-25T11:53:22Z 2020-02-25T11:53:22Z 2019 2020-02-25T08:31:41Z Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31325 eng application/pdf Department of Environmental and Geographical Science Faculty of Science |
| spellingShingle | Environment, Society and Sustainability Van Doorn, Elena Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| title_full | Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| title_fullStr | Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| title_full_unstemmed | Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| title_short | Responsible tourism in rural South Africa: lessons from two case studies on the Wild Coast |
| title_sort | responsible tourism in rural south africa lessons from two case studies on the wild coast |
| topic | Environment, Society and Sustainability |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31325 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vandoornelena responsibletourisminruralsouthafricalessonsfromtwocasestudiesonthewildcoast |