Showing papers by "Christian M. Rogerson published in 2023"
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored a transition in economic development planning by the apartheid state from Bantustan industrialization to a focus on tourism and casino resort developments as a potential driver of Bantus economic progress.
Abstract: The Bantustans were created during the apartheid period of South Africa’s history and represented one of the key pillars of planning for ‘grand apartheid’. A major challenge was the promotion of economic development in these territories in order to give them a facade of economic legitimacy. Four of the ten Bantustan ethno-states eventually acceded to the grant of ‘independence’ which created a changed environment for territorial economic development. The article explores a transition in economic development planning by the apartheid state from Bantustan industrialization to a focus on tourism and casino resort developments as a potential driver of Bantustan economic progress. In terms of methods and sources the paper applies an historical approach that blends secondary sources with primary documentary material.
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TL;DR: In this paper , the authors investigated 125 hospitality establishments from different tourist locations in Zimbabwe using proportional stratified random sampling and found that the main drivers of sustainability practices include regulatory compliance, improving the organization's reputation, new market opportunities and professional ethics.
Abstract: The hospitality industry is one component of tourism that has adopted sustainable tourism principles. However, limited knowledge exists about what motivates hospitality establishments to adopt sustainable practices and the barriers they face, especially in the Global South. The purpose of this study is to analyze the drivers and challenges of the implementation of sustainability in the hospitality sector. The research investigated 125 hospitality establishments from different tourist locations in Zimbabwe using proportional stratified random sampling. In addition, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents from each hospitality establishment. The findings revealed that the main drivers of sustainability practices include regulatory compliance, improving the organization’s reputation, new market opportunities and professional ethics. On the other hand, the hospitality sector's significant challenges in adopting sustainability principles include employees, managers, and customers' lack of knowledge and negative attitude. This study adds to the growing body of literature on sustainability in the hospitality sector in the resource-constrained environments of the Global South.
TL;DR: In this article , the impacts of COVID-19 on the VFR sector and its spatial imprint in South Africa were examined. But the analysis revealed that the greatest absolute declines in VFR travel occurred in the major metropolitan areas of South Africa.
Abstract: COVID-19 had major negative consequences globally for travel for visits to friends and relatives (VFR), which is an under-researched segment of tourism. This paper responds to the need for extended research on VFR travel by examining the impacts of COVID-19 on the VFR sector and its spatial imprint in South Africa. VFR travel sector was second only to business travel in terms of the negative impacts of COVID-19 restrictions imposed in South Africa. An uneven geography is observed of the impact of COVID-19 on VFR travel mobilities. Using data on VFR trips and bednights the analysis discloses the greatest absolute declines in VFR travel occurred in South Africa’s major metropolitan areas. By contrast, in terms of the relative decline and local impacts for destinations of the COVID-19 hollowing out of VFR travel a different pattern emerges. The worst affected spaces were remote, mainly rural localities which are in South Africa’s poorest and most economically distressed areas.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the evolution of rural tourism under apartheid in one of the former Bantustans of South Africa, namely Transkei, and found that tourism became a sector of policy interest because of disappointments associated with national government programmes for industrial decentralization.
Abstract: Rural tourism scholarship has greatly expanded over the past two decades. One aspect of rural tourism that is undeveloped in literature is the historical evolution of rural tourism destinations. This paper uses an historical approach and archival documentary sources to examine the evolution of rural tourism under apartheid in one of the former Bantustans of South Africa, namely Transkei. It is shown tourism became a sector of policy interest because of disappointments associated with national government programmes for industrial decentralization. Early tourism promotion centred on leisure tourism around the natural beauty and attractions of Transkei’s coastal areas. With the grant of ‘independence’, however, a new institutional environment emerged which resulted in the Transkei becoming a focus for casino tourism at a time when casino gambling was prohibited in South Africa. The growth of casino tourism was, however, linked to corruption which occurred between South African tourism capital and the leadership of this Bantustan.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examine the resultant planning challenges which confront South Africa's extended metropolitan spaces and contextualize these challenges within an international literature on planning in extended metropolitan space and of peri-urban spaces.
Abstract: Territorial administrative restructuring and the redrawing of municipal boundaries was undertaken in South Africa to address the apartheid legacy of major social, economic and spatial inequalities. A significant consequence of territorial administrative restructuring was that the boundaries of certain South African metropolitan areas were expanded such that they incorporate vast rural geographies. These spaces pose particular challenges for metropolitan planning. The aim in this paper is to examine the resultant planning challenges which confront South Africa’s extended metropolitan spaces. Among several consequences was the imperative for metropolitan authorities to build new competences in order to plan and manage these added rural spaces as well as the peri-urban spaces. The analysis is contextualised within an international literature on planning in extended metropolitan spaces and of peri-urban spaces.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the challenges facing transformation through a study of the constraints operating on Black-owned tourism enterprises in South Africa's Eastern Cape province and found that several challenges around transformation relate to finance, human resources and knowledge which have been identified as limiting tourism small firm development both in the Global North and South.
Abstract: Since democratic change South Africa has pursued a series of programmes which are targeted at empowering groups and individuals who had been disadvantaged under apartheid. In the tourism sector government initiatives for ‘transformation’ include a commitment to promote new entrepreneurship opportunities for Black-owned small medium or micro-enterprises. This article examines the challenges facing transformation through a study of the constraints operating on Black-owned tourism enterprises in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The research is situated within the international literature on small firms in tourism and specifically the challenges of small tourism business development in the Global South. The analysis draws from a survey of 79 Black-owned accommodation establishments as well as semi-structured interviews with tourism entrepreneurs. The results reveal a range of constraints. In this resource-constrained environment several challenges around transformation relate to finance, human resources and knowledge which have been identified as limiting tourism small firm development both in the Global North and South. Other constraints speak to the specificities of the South African experience. Tourism entrepreneurs must confront certain historical legacies of the apartheid past as well as corruption practices which are widespread in the local tourism economy and must be acknowledged as obstacles for the advancement of transformation.
TL;DR: In this article , a survey of 79 Black-owned small accommodation businesses and 19 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders was conducted in Eastern Cape province of South Africa which is a resource-scarce or resource-constrained environment.
Abstract: The tourism industry is distinguished from many other economic activities by the dominance of small-scale enterprises and micro-firms. Small tourism firms are critical change agents for destinations, local economic development and poverty reduction most especially in peripheral regions. This paper is situated within a growing international literature on tourism entrepreneurship and specifically the characteristics and motivations of small tourism entrepreneurs and their business operations. The research is conducted in Eastern Cape province of South Africa which is a resource-scarce or resource-constrained environment. Results are presented from a survey of 79 Black-owned small accommodation businesses and 19 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. It is shown that women own and operate the majority of these small accommodation businesses. These are mainly bed and breakfast establishments or small guest houses for which the clientele is mostly business tourists and government employees in particular. Issues under scrutiny are business motivations, start-up and operational issues. Networking emerges as an important business strategy for these peripheral entrepreneurs to address the challenges of business development. Overall, this study provides original findings and fresh insight into a segment of peripheral entrepreneurs operating in a resource-scarce context.