Strategies, Impacts and Costs of Pro-Poor Tourism Approaches in South Africa
This paper describes strategies devised by five
private sector tourism enterprises in South Africa to address poverty
and development issues in neighbouring communities. The enterprises include
land-based safari operations, a diving operation, and a large casino-golf
resort. Each of the enterprises had been assessed against a number of
the country's national Responsible Tourism Guidelines - in relation to
economic, social, and environmental impacts. This report details a selection
of findings that directly correspond to pro-poor tourism (PPT) - those
that relate to providing net benefits to the poor. Both economic and non-economic
impacts are discussed. This paper also reports on the perceptions of the
private sector strategies from four of the neighbouring communities, based
on a large number of interviews. The range of strategies employed by the
private sector, their effectiveness, and the extent to which they address
the key problems and constraints faced by the poor are discussed in detail.
In this fashion, the paper empirically evaluates the impact that PPT strategies
have on the livelihoods of the rural poor.
Full
Working Paper 11 in pdf format
Communication
