The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook South Africa Vol. 6

The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook South Africa Volume 6 The Essential Guide

SOUTH AFRICA’S SHINING STARS Ever wondered what the star insignia behind the counter of your favourite hotel, B&B or self-catering chalet actually means?

ISBN 0-62055-9874

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780620 559874

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Well, those stars are probably the reason why it’s your favourite. As the TGCSA, the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, we have checked in and checked out over a thousand hotels, guest houses and B&Bs to ensure that when you book a room at a star-graded institution you get exactly what you expect. So, when you pay for all the bells and whistles you can rest assured that’s exactly what you’ll get.

We are the only officially recognised organisation that authorises accommodation establishments to display Quality Stars. Whether you want to get your establishment graded, you want to find a top-class graded establishment or you want to learn a bit more about the TGCSA visit tourismgrading.co.za today.

Powering

The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook South Africa Volume 6 The Essential Guide EDITOR Niki Glen CONTRIBUTORS Niki Glen, Caroline Ungersbock, Nelisa Mshengu, Claire Fordred, Joël Houdet, Michelle Browne, Fonda Lewis, Ian Gordon-Cumming, Robert Lanquar, Kathryn Fourie, Lisa Scriven, Thierry-Alban Revert, Siphiwe Ngwenya, Abre Crafford, Septi M. Bukula, Prof. Kevin Mearns

PRINCIPAL FOR UNITED STATES James Smith PUBLISHER alive2green

www.alive2green.com www.sustainable tourism.co.za

LAYOUT & DESIGN Shanice Daniels

The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook

The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook

PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Shannon Manuel PEER REVIEWER Prof. Kevin Mearns www.fedhasa.co.za

Volume 6

The Responsible Tourism Awards & Programme

South Africa

PROOF READER Niki Glen, Caroline Ungersbock

South Africa Volume 6 The Essential Guide

with a difference

CLIANT LIAISON OFFICER Natasha Keyster

Brought to you by

www.alive2green.co.za

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SOUTH AFRICA’S SHINING STARS Ever wondered what the star insignia behind the counter of your favourite hotel, B&B or self-catering chalet actually means?

ISBN 0-62055-9874

SALES DIRECTOR David Itzkin

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Well, those stars are probably the reason why it’s your favourite. As the TGCSA, the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, we have checked in and checked out over a thousand hotels, guest houses and B&Bs to ensure that when you book a room at a star-graded institution you get exactly what you expect. So, when you pay for all the bells and whistles you can rest assured that’s exactly what you’ll get.

06

We are the only officially recognised organisation that authorises accommodation establishments to display Quality Stars. Whether you want to get your establishment graded, you want to find a top-class graded establishment or you want to learn a bit more about the TGCSA visit tourismgrading.co.za today.

780620 559874

COVER PHOTO Tilly Smith Dix 10019492 TGSA A5 print Ad_02.indd 1

SALES TEAM Denise Burgess, Vania Reyneke, Victor Mutanga, Linda Donough MANAGING DIRECTOR Robert Arendse FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Andrew Brading PRINCIPAL FOR AFRICA & MAURITIUS Gordon Brown

2016/03/22 3:24 PM

Tau Game Lodge is a 5* luxury safari lodge, privately owned, situated in the wilderness of the 4th largest game reserve in South Africa, Madikwe where one can come into contact with the Big 5.

Tau can accommodate up to 60 people in luxury chalets.

The Tau Cubz Club, Spa Oasis and Conference Centre make it an ideal destination for family, leisure as well as corporate travel.

References refer to Tau Game Lodge as expectations were exceeded many times over.

Contact for all countries: 011 466 8715 http://www.taugamelodge.co.za/

The Sustainability Series Of Handbooks PHYSICAL ADDRESS: Cape Media House 28 Main Road Rondebosch Cape Town 7700

ISBN No: 978 0 620 45240 3. Volume 3 First Published February 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor. All editorial contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and permissions.

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Sustainability and Integrated REPORTING HANDBOOK South Africa 2014

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FOREWORD

“As we move towards a future guided by the universal 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I take upon me to lead UNWTO with a strong focus on building partnerships, fostering jobs and opportunities for all, mastering technology and innovation and advancing sustainability and the fight against climate change." :-UNWTO Secretary General: Zurab Pololikashvili

Caroline Ungersbock Chair and Co-founder Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme

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017 was the year of Sustainable Development in Tourism.

We have once again had the privilege of travelling far and wide. I travelled to 6 continents in 6 months. Europe, China, South America, North America, Africa and the Middle East.

The first trip was to the 22nd session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in China. It was held in the City of Chengdu in Sichuan province, the home of the Research Base of the Giant Panda Breeding and Conservation Centre.

The General Assembly was attended by 131 Countries and over 1,200 people. Zurab Pololikashvili was appointed as the new Secretary General of the UNWTO. His term started on 1 January 2018.

There were some excellent technical tours, including a tour of the Ancient City, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System where construction

began 3rd century BC. Chengdu was hit by very bad earthquakes in 2008. The city virtually had to be built from scratch.

So how was the city going to accommodate its 16 million residents? The city is very well designed. There are many high-rise buildings blended with many large green spaces that the residents can enjoy. They provide beauty and of course they are the green lungs of the city.

What surprised me most was that there was very little traffic on the roads. I was expecting huge congestion. The well organised public transport is very affordable to the residents of the city. There are buses, underground trains, trams, taxis and most importantly, vehicle and bicycle share schemes. This seems to be a growing trend and help address Sustainable Development Goals 12, dealing with responsible consumption and production.

Fortunately, some of the Ancient City still remains. Otherwise you would not believe that THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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FOREWORD

you were in China as all the new buildings are incredibly modern. Naturally the remains are big tourist attractions for millions of visitors annually. China understands the value of Western tourists and as an example of their efforts to serve tourists, they have embarked on programmes to change a large percentage of the Asian toilets to pedestal toilets in the precincts designed to attract tourists.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Chengdu is an engineering fete. The water splits from one channel into two channels. These two channels split into four channels, these split into eight and so it progresses to ensure abundant water to irrigate the lands that produce the food as well as a supply of water to the city. This is a World Heritage site and definitely worth a visit. Chengdu is an agricultural province producing a large percentage of the food for the region.

The visit to the Giant Panda Research and Conservation Centre was also interesting. The ingenious design of the facility allows it to receive thousands of visitors per day to observe the pandas at play. You only realize how busy the facility is when you want to have a picture with a Panda. The queue is incredibly long.

Next it was onto South America to observe the UNWTO Global Wine Conference on Wine Tourism Development in Mendoza, Argentina.

I was there to bid for the conference to be held in South Africa in 2019 but was beaten by a huge entourage from Chile. We look forward

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to hosting it in 2020 in the Western Cape. It was a conference with a difference: for three days we ate seven-course meals with seven different wines twice a day. Plenaries where held in the morning and then we were split up into groups in the afternoons where we would alight a bus and be driven to a wine estate where we would enjoy the food and of course the wine. I was introduced to a new red wine that is of Argentinian origin. Malbec is a smooth red wine that was enjoyed by most. Mendoza is an interesting city right at the centre of the wine production. They have old water channels running through the city to water the trees that were planted hundreds of years ago. The region is very dry and the trees would die if they were not watered in this manner.

In October I was invited by the South African Embassy of Portugal to speak on Sustainable Development in Tourism at the ART & TUR International Tourism Film Festival. The Embassy co-sponsors the event, thus promoting South Africa. It was held in Porto in Portugal.

It was a delightful film festival showcasing many destinations and tourism products in the world. What surprised me is that there was not one entry to the film festival from Southern Africa. We hope to rectify this in 2018, as we have already communicated to our data base to submit entries. Once again it was a delight to be spoilt with great food, great wine and excellent Port from Porto.

FOREWORD

Porto is actually two cities that are located on either side of the Douro River - and their economy is heavily reliant on tourism. The cities of Gaia and Porto are typical tourism towns. You can enjoy the restaurants and the Port tasting rooms on the banks of the River Douro or you can venture further out and enjoy the beaches but it is necessary to visit the winelands where the grapes are grown to produce Port.

In January I went to observe the UNWTO Board meeting where we were introduced to the new Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashuila. The board meeting was held in Madrid Spain at FITUR which is an International Travel show and is attended by 250 000 visitors. It was great to see South African Tourism represented at FITUR. Many meetings were held in Madrid, one of which was to secure the UNWTO 2020 Global Wine Tourism Festival for South Africa and the other was to secure an International Tourism Film Festival for South Africa which will be held in Victoria West in Northern Cape.

A few days later, I attended the 14th UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Awards as well as

the 11th meeting Sustainable Development in Tourism where reports on the progress of some of the projects were showcased.

Discussions included Smart Destinations including Intelligent Tourism Destinations.

Indonesia gave a great presentation on the development of green homestays.

Going forward, many of the principles and ideas I have picked up during my visits will be incorporated in the Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme (STPP) workshops on Sustainable Tourism Implementation.

We look forward to everyone joining the STPP in buckling down and implementing Sustainable Development Principles in their businesses and their destinations. We are also looking for young film makers that can make short documentaries and films that we can enter into the International Tourism Film Festivals around the world and our very own International Film Festival which will be hosted at the Apollo Theatre in Victoria West in the Northern Cape.

In the name of Sustainable Development in Tourism‌‌

Sincerely Caroline Ungersbock Chair and Co-founder Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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EDITOR’S NOTE

NIKI GLEN EDITOR

I

t is a privilege to have been able to put together the sixth edition of the Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook of Southern Africa. It is also an honour to, through putting together the handbook, continuously connect with so many people who are making a difference and implementing sustainable tourism practices in one form or another.

What stood out for me this year was the sheer number of different industry players

bringing new perspectives to the topic of sustainable tourism.

However, the key themes that emerged this year—as in all previous years—are undisputedly that 1) sustainable tourism is everybody’s businesses, and 2) we all need to work together towards creating a more sustainable industry that provides for more sustainable livelihoods while protecting natural, human and cultural assets.

Sincerely Niki Glen

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CONTRIBUTORS

NIKI GLEN (EDITOR)

Dr Niki Glen is the co-founder of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme, a non-profit company established with the specific aim of assisting small tourism businesses across South Africa to implement Sustainable Tourism (the STPP is a UNWTO Affiliate Member). She is currently also the General Manager of the N3 Gateway Tourism Association, editor of an annual handbook on Sustainable Tourism and author of the RETOSA How-To Guide for Sustainable Tourism, an International Labour Organisation trainer on their SCORE programme for tourism, and an SMME business development support for SEED. She previously served on the Curriculum Review Committee of the University of Johannesburg.

CAROLINE UNGERSBOCK Chair and co-founder of the STTP, Caroline is deeply entrenched in tourism and a hands-on change agent who makes it her business to engage tourism stakeholders, helping them move into the realms of sustainable tourism. Over the past 6 years, Caroline has travelled to more than 80 South African towns to assist tourism businesses and municipalities with sustainable tourism awareness, development of tourism plans, responsible tourism implementation and community tourism development. She is also a regular guest speaker at international sustainable tourism destinations. She further pro-actively engages the industry at more than 15 forums and committees (many of which she chairs) to ensure that her grass roots experience and knowledge is incorporated into policies, standards and planning initiatives.

NELISA MSHENGU Nelisa is the Economic Development Practitioner (Business Support Programme Manager) at the eThekwini Municipality Economic Development Cluster. Nelisa is responsible for, amongst others, conducting and coordinating strategic long and short-term planning for tourism development in the city and researching economic development strategies and policies of national, provincial, local government and private sector, to understand the strategic requirements for the City and align these to the City’s Integrated Development Planning. Nelisa is also a part time tutor and marker for UNISA’s Department of Development Studies.

CLAIRE FORDRED Claire has been an academic in Tourism and Geography for the past 8 years. Her MA in Geography was on the link between rock art site management and conservation tourism in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg-Park, South Africa. She has worked at the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria as a journalist and was part of the zoo’s education team, conducting tours and workshops. She was then a communications officer for an NPO. The last three years she was been working at UNISA as a Geography lecturer and is currently a postgraduate researcher while completing her PhD in Environmental Management.

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JOËL HOUDET

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Joël R.A. Houdet is an independent sustainability consultant, with more than 10 years of experience in biodiversity mainstreaming and natural capital accounting and valuation. He was involved in several high profile initiatives, including the drafting of the Natural Capital Protocol and several work streams of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Joël holds a Senior Research Fellowship at the Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership (University of Pretoria), a PhD in Management Sciences from AgroParisTech (France), a Masters in Practicing Accounting from Monash University (Australia) and Bachelor of Sciences from Rhodes University

MICHELLE BROWNE Michelle Browne has an MSc in Agricultural Economics and is studying towards a Doctorate in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics. Her research experience has involved multiple projects investigating the society-economic-environment interface, with a focus on the value of natural capital, particularly within the context of water resource management. She works as a senior scientist at the Institute of Natural Resources, an applied research organisation with a focus on innovative solutions to natural resource and environmental management challenges.

Michelle has previous experience as a consultant in assessing, monitoring and managing environmental issues surrounding water resources, particularly water quality.

FONDA LEWIS Fonda has a Masters Degree in Environment and Development (University of Natal, South Africa) and her key expertise is in the interface between social and ecological systems taking into consideration issues such as climate change, gender issues, poverty and resource use dependency, and environmental change. An emphasis is on promoting the participation of people in environmental management. She has developed and applied a range of innovative participatory approaches including simulation models, scenario development, and information dissemination mechanisms, as tools for empowering participation.

IAN GORDON-CUMMING Ian Gordon-Cumming recently completed his master’s dissertation cum laude through the University of South Africa. He spent much of his career as a divisional director and business manager leading global multi-cultural teams across Africa, southeast and northeast Asia, Australasia, India and the Middle East. He is an active Honorary Officer and team leader with North West Parks, a board member and facilitator in their training organisation and an independent field guide. He has also mentored students from rural villages to successfully complete and pass their level one field guide examinations. His current research focuses on community-based conservation. He is a member of the MAGIC Cooperative and a governor on the Strategic Development Unit of the Consortium of Climate Smart Solutions (CCSS).

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CONTRIBUTORS

ROBERT LANQUAR

Robert Lanquar has a doctorate from University Aix-Marseilles III, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Former UNWTO civil servant, he has consulted for UNWTO, UNEP, World Bank, the European Commission, and the Commonwealth. Blue Plan tourism coordinator, he is the tourism expert of MEDPRO, and leads networks in relation with Mediterranean cooperation. He founded the MED-DEV - Mediterranean Sustainable Development Market. He has written 17 books and more than 300 reports and articles on tourism and the environment. CEO of Cordoba Horizontes, he is a columnist at L’Économiste, the Moroccan business magazine. Now Professor- researcher at LA ROCHELLE BUSINESS SCHOOL heading its Scientific Committee.

KATHRYN FOURIE Kathryn has a Masters in Environmental Education (2017) from Rhodes University. Kathryn worked for a variety of marketing and media related organisations before spending several years as a freelance writer, photographer, and media and communications specialist. In 2012, Kathryn joined WESSA to head up research and materials development. In 2014, she joined Next Step Consulting and assisted with the implementation and management of the Sappi MTB Strategy. Kathryn has worked with HSSA since 2014 and performed research and strategy development roles in projects including the Mandeni Local Municipality Tourism Strategy Review and the KwaKhangela Mankengane Zulu Royal Palace Tourism Experience strategy. Kathryn has South African colours in mountain biking.

LISA SCRIVEN Lisa Scriven has over 15 years of experience in sustainable tourism implementation throughout southern and East Africa. She is best known for her expertise in sustainable tourism certification and related technical business operations support. Lisa is passionate about finding locally appropriate solutions to sustainable development challenges through the tourism sector. She is the founder of the specialised sustainable tourism consultancy, Levelle Perspectives, Associate Member of non-profit Better Tourism Africa, and a member of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance Africa since its inception, most recently as Chairperson of its working group on Standards and Best Practice. Towards the end of 2017, Lisa was also invited to join the Accreditation Panel of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

THIERRY-ALBAN REVERT I started as a Food Technology Engineer (BSc) in the 1970’s. I developed a taste and experience in quality assurance processes while working for the French National Airlines, in parallel with a decade long professional career in volleyball in France, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, Brazil and Canada. I am an entrepreneur through the start-ups of a restaurant in Paris, and a French Bakery in South Africa. I am currently a member of the MAGIC Cooperative, as well as a governor on the Strategic Development Unit of the Consortium of Climate Smart Solutions (CCSS).

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SIPHIWE NGWENYA

CONTRIBUTORS

Creator of South Africa’s first creative economy of home industries in the township, Ngwenya has 13 years experience in civic engagement and entrepreneurship and 15 years in the professional arts field. He is a painter, illustrator, conceptualist, explorer and self-taught social scientist. When he returned from a science expedition that took him from his home town, Alexandra Township to the Antarctica in January of 2008, not only did he come back with a mobile solar and wind powered workstation for his neighborhood to see, he proved to the South African community that his career is about more than offering social solutions for a youth in peril. Today, Ngwenya is an ambassador that has been shaped in the fire of people’s pain. Ngwenya has founded the Maboneng Township Art Experience, turning hundreds of township homes into galleries.

ABRE CRAFFORD Abre has been a practicing eco architect since the late 1960’s and further developed his sitebased form design whilst practicing in a small design intensive practice early on in his career. He developed a keen interest in environmentally responsive design on the first Architect designed Lodge in South Africa in the middle 80’s. He merged with his brother Niel to form Crafford & Crafford Architects in 1993 to pursue this vision of a nature-based design ethos until their partnership dissolved into PlanEco by 2017. Abre’s firm EkoTekTure is focused on nature based development and ecotourism. He is also a full-time lecturer at University of Pretoria’s Department of Architecture and acts as a specialist consultant in international multi-disciplinary.

SEPTI M. BUKULA Septi M. Bukula is the founder and director of Seeza Destination Network and owner of Osiba Management, a MICE specialist business. Bukula has been involved in small business development research and policy for over 20. Working with government on small business policy, Bukula has actively advocated measures that encourage and support SMEs to organise themselves differently in order to compete more effectively. In 2011 he led an expert panel appointed by the Minister of Trade & Industry to review government support for small business in South Africa; the resulting report, “Rethinking Small Business Support in South Africa”, is an in-depth examination of this topic.

PROF KEVIN MEARNS Kevin Mearns is a Full Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of South Africa and a Y2 NRF Rated Researcher. Kevin’s specialist area of research involves the application of sustainable tourism indicators to tourism ventures across Southern Africa. Kevin received his academic training both locally and abroad in the United Sates and the United Kingdom in Environmental Design and Management as well as Geography and Environmental Management. Kevin is an active scholar and has published more than 23 peer reviewed scholarly papers and chapters.

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CONTENTS 1

2 3 4 5 6 7

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Sustainable Development Goals for the sustainability of Future Generation Caroline Ungersbock The crucial role of information offices in sustainable tourism Central Drakensberg Information Centre TEAM The dual role of local government and Community Tourism Organisations in sustainable tourism industries Nelisa Mshengu Systemic challenges faced by Community Tourism Organisations (CTO) Niki Glen

Resilience thinking for protected areas: to enhance the capacity of social-ecological systems Claire Fordred and Prof. Kevin Mearns Mutual dependencies between tourism and natural capital: What risks of increasingly stressed water resources for our economy?

JoĂŤl Houdet, Michelle Browne and Fonda Lewis Bridging the gap: How small protected areas and associated tourism can impact local communities positively Ian Gordon-Cumming and Prof. Kevin Mearns

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24

30

40

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CONTENTS 8

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Local festivals and gastronomy, key elements of a smart rural sustainable and responsible tourism Robert Lanquar

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Visible trails, invisible trail builders Kathryn Fourie

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Transfrontier Parks Destinations Lisa Scriven

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Route2Roots and the Khoisan Thierry-Alban Revert

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The Township Tourism Pondered Siphiwe Ngwenya

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Sustainable Design for Responsible Tourism Abre Crafford

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What SMEs can do to increase their inclusion in the tourism value chain?

Septi M. Bukula

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CHAPTER 1

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CHAPTER 1: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS

By Caroline Ungersbock

T

he United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) theme for 2017 was Sustainable Tourism for Development. This has set the tone for sustainable development to save our people, our planet and prosperity for future generations. In 2015 at the 70th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the Heads of State from 154 countries adopted 17 bold and ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for 2030. In 2018, there will be a UN gathering of Heads of State that will be discussing six of 17 SDG’s.

So what are the SDGs? The aim of the SDG’s is to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Sustainable Development is a long-term approach to develop and achieve healthy communities by addressing economic, environmental and social issues. We also need to look after our natural resources. By addressing these needs, we allow for prosperity for future generations. We need to look after and meet the basic needs of our population including education, employment, food, energy, water and sanitation.

The six SDG’s that are under the spotlight this year are (UNDP, 2016): • SDG6:-Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation; • SDG7:-Affordable and Clean Energy–

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•

• •

•

Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern clean energy for all; SDG11:-Sustainable Cities and Communities–Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; SDG12:-Responsible Consumption and Production–Ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns; SDG15:-Life on Land–Protect, restore & promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable management of forests and combat desertation; and SDG17:-Partnerships for Goals– Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalisation with partnerships of sustainable development.

It is everyone’s responsibility in some way or other to get involved in achieving the SDGs for 2030. We have 12 years in which to work together to change the way the world works.

How do we implement the SDGs?

Whilst it was the Heads of States from 154 countries that signed the ambitious SDG’s goals, we need this information to filter down from National Government Level to Provincial Government and Local Government and then to the communities for whose benefit these Development Goals have been created.

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Ask anyone in the street what an SDG is?

Either there is a blank look or a giggle. If we want to achieve any change by 2030, SDGs should be part of daily conversation and daily life. However, SDG’s have not been sufficiently promoted at a national, provincial or local government level. What is more, they certainly have not been adopted at a large enough scale to have a meaningful impact: not by the average “man on the street”, and most certainly not by tourism stakeholders.

Water, water everywhere but very little to drink (SDG 6). We are a water scarce country and we need to address the issues from a national level to a provincial level as well as a local level. South Africa is presently going through a severe drought. Many of our provinces and our cities are affected.

Cape Town is a very popular tourism destination in South Africa. With water restrictions, comes tourism restrictions. The water shortage in Cape Town has been severe, with a campaign for the inhabitants of the city and surrounds to curb their usage of water. Unfortunately, that campaign has had a negative effect on the city’s Tourism.

Conferences and tours have also been cancelled. At any one time in the world there are about 100 cities that have a large contingency of tourists that are a week away from having no water. They just manage their situations better. The lesson to be learned is that we need to plan better.

Smaller municipalities suffer from lack of water and proper sanitation due to their ailing infrastructures and lack of finances.

In some towns across South Africa water is available during certain hours in the day. I was recently in Carnarvon and water is only available from 05h00 – 09h00 and then again from 17h00 to 21h00. This makes operating business very difficult: tourists need to be informed about when they can shower and planning around food prepara-

CHAPTER 1

tion is critical. However, the only way that these types of situations can be avoided, or the risks minimised, is if every citizen works together with every other citizen to reduce water usage and negative impacts on water quality, such as chemical effluent e.g. from household cleaning products.

South Africa suffered severe blackouts in 2008 (SDG7). We did not have sufficient energy to supply business and the population. We also have many coal fuelled energy plants. We have adopted wind energy as well as solar energy. It is refreshing that our government is serious about renewable energy and is signing agreements with private energy suppliers. This will increase the use of clean and sustainable energy and will also lower the cost of energy, which in turn should encourage investment into our country for further industrialisation.

Once again, tourism businesses can play a significant role here by switching to solar, gas and other “greener” forms of energy supply, while at the same time also educating guests and staff about reducing energy consumption.

We need to address the requirements of the communities. (SDG11). We have many incidents of service delivery protests.

Common challenges in cities and towns include the lack of funds to provide basic services of water, sanitation and electricity.

There is more often than not a shortage of adequate housing and ailing infrastructure.

Tourism has come a long way to become more inclusive, as is evidenced by initiatives by e.g. Africa Safaris, &Beyond and the plethora of well managed communitybased tourism initiatives that have been established across Southern Africa.

However, most small towns in South Africa have not yet implemented significant change towards establishing inclusive and sustainable tourism industries. Smaller municipalities are struggling to operate

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and maintain their services infrastructure in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

The end result is a rapid deterioration of assets, followed by catastrophic component failure, and regular and prolonged disruptions in service delivery (Van der Mescht & Van Jaarsveldt, 2013).

Here tourism stakeholders need to work together to ensure the protection of tourism assets, including local cultures and people.

We need to ensure responsible consumption and production of our natural resources(SDG12). Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource efficiency, reducing waste, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty. (UNDP, 2016). Besides looking after our water and our energy issues, one of the largest issues that is affecting communities is food security. In South Africa 13 million people go hungry every night, yet R60 billion of food waste ends up in landfill (Olivier, 2015)! Communities in rural areas suffer from severe poverty and malnutrition. Communities are dependent on social grants which aren’t spent on what they are meant for. As tourism businesses, we have a choice in how much food we serve, how we reduce food waste and where we buy food.

Food produced by local sources which was grown using more environmentally friendly practices will not only help support local livelihoods but will also help us manage food production and consumption better.

As a tourism industry, our potential contribution to conservation of ecosystems and reduction of deforestation (SDG15) through implementing sustainable tourism

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practices cannot be disputed. This brings us to the SDG 17, the one SDG that underpins all the other SDGs–we cannot do this one tourism business at a time. There are many facts and figures and targets that we as a nation and the world need to achieve by 2030 with the SDG’s. There are 17 SDG’s, 169 targets and 304 indicators. The question is how are we going to do this?

The key is partnership

National government departments (not just Tourism!) need to hold hands and adopt principles and targets. In rural areas, where there is little or no industrial development, the Department of Education can ensure that school curriculums are adapted to include Agriculture and Tourism. This will equip school leavers to become farmers that will address food security in the future. Tourism students can be absorbed in the tourism businesses in the rural areas addressing transformation in the tourism industry Provincial governments need to make the same commitment and disseminate information to the district and local municipalities.

Municipalities need to work together with the communities and private business to achieve the goals. Municipalities need to engage in public private partnerships to attract investments and start creating environments where all people want to work and live. They need to be serious about producing meaningful and impactful Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).

The tourism industry and other businesses need to work together through strong partnerships with communities, local tourism businesses, local government, provincial government and national government.

Organised business platforms need to be the watchdogs to make sure that the municipalities carry out their mandates in

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the manner that the SDG objectives and targets can be attained. They need to participate actively in integrated development planning processes.

Communities, as organised society need to be involved in what goes into the IDP’s.

We need investments. We need to use technology. We need to build capacity in the rural areas and we need to promote trade. There is a lot of advocacy work to be done. When we all hold hands together much can be achieved.

We need to tackle our sustainability challenges as a collective and develop meaningful and impactful plans, and implement these through setting of strong attainable goals. INCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIPS between public sector, private sector and civil socie-

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ty is key. Partnerships must be built on principles and values, shared vision and goals that place people and the planet at the centre. Public sector needs to set the clear direction. Private sector needs to unlock resources. They need to make long term investments. We need to equip the citizens of this country to start being responsible in conserving water and electricity, picking up their own waste, create sustainable gardens and direct food produced to where it is required (not to the bin!). The only way that these ambitious goals can be achieved is to leave politics out of sustainable development on all levels but especially at grass roots level.

References

•

Olivier, C. (2015, September 3). Food waste, South Africa’s shameful secret. Daily Maverick. Retrieved from https://www.dailymaverick.

co.za/opinionista/2015-09-03-food-waste-south-africas-shameful-secret/#.WrNFyExuJjo

•

UNDP. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved from file:///F:/Literature%20

Sources/2017%20SDGs_Booklet_Web_En.pdf

•

Van der Mescht, J., & Van Jaarsveldt, M. (2013). Addressing Operations & maintenance challenges in smaller municipalities.

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19

CHAPTER ABANG AFRICA 1 TRAVEL

1

ABANG AFRICA TRAVEL - TRAVEL WITH HEART, TRAVEL WITH SOUL Travelife certified and a Top Member of The Code. Because we want you to be able to check that we are committed to responsible and sustainable tourism.

Our mission is to: • Utilize all aspects of responsible travel as a sustainable development tool for the people of southern Africa • Benefit the local communities by educating and empowering them • Promote integration of our visitors within the communities to facilitate growth and sustainable partnerships.

So, what makes Abang Africa Travel different from other tour operators - since there is a lot of talk about Sustainable Tourism, Responsible Tourism and Fair Trade? As Abang Africa Travel we do not just talk the talk, we walk the walk. We are probably the world’s most accountable incoming tour operator as far as Responsible Tourism is concerned. We are Fair Trade approved,

20

THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

Abang means ‘to share’ and we believe There are two ways to visit South Africa – you can SEE our beautiful country, or you can DO South Africa. We believe in a world of responsible and sustainable tourism.

Where travelers go on a big-five safari, visit the Panorama Route, Garden Route and Victoria Falls. But most importantly where they also go off-the-beaten-track!

We want to take you into the heart of local communities to share your lives and experiences such as living like a local during a cultural experience in a remote village, enjoying a Cape Malay cook-up class, cycling tour in Khayelitsha or an art & wine tasting experience at different wine farms as part of a unique experience that will last a lifetime. The best way to Create livelong memories and stories, meet real people and feel the country – no passive sightseeing!

1

CHAPTER 1

6 Day Gourmet Cycle Tour: Unwind in Prince Albert in the Great Karoo with some great gourmet cooking and adventurous calorie burning. This 6-day tour involves some creative cooking and cycling up the mighty Swartberg Pass and down in to The Hell.

Limited to 10 cyclists (no less than 4) 10 Day Namibia Highlights: This amazing tour of the highlights of Namibia incorporates wildlife and beautiful scenic landscapes through the Kalahari Desert, the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland and Etosha National Park. This self-drive tour of this outstanding country is a road trip like no other.

17 Day Diverse Country – Diverse Culture: Just like the rainbow our beloved country has many beautiful colors. On this great South African tour, you will meet the different people of our many cultures that uniquely make our nation the ‘Rainbow Nation’ from the mystical Venda of the far North to the Cape colored communities of the South West, from the colorful people of Swaziland to the proud Zulu nation, you will have an opportunity to interact with all of them, and see how they live, work and play.

Goedverwacht Cultural Experience: Abang Africa Travel invites you to experience a true cultural experience with the community of Goedverwacht.

Explore this un spoilt village full of history. During this community experience you will be living like a local with a welcoming family and get to know their community and experience their way of living.

Office: 104 Piazza Building (1st Floor), 32 Parliament Street, Cape Town 8000, South Africa Tel: 0027 (0)21 276 2323 • info@abangafica.com Office hours: Monday - Friday, 09h00 - 17h00 Website: www.abangafrica.com THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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CHAPTER 2

2

CHAPTER 2: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF INFORMATION OFFICES IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

By Central Drakensberg Information Centre TEAM

B

y way of introduction to this topic, some thought needs to be given to what tourism is, the role it plays in the current and future well-being of the country’s people and the effect it has, both positive and negative, on the environment.

As a business aimed at sustaining the traditional tourism, the information centre model has apparently become obsolete.

Traditionally, information centres doubled as booking offices for various accommodation venues in a tourism area. Businesses paid commissions to information offices as a means of augmenting their own marketing efforts. The advent of on-line bookings have disrupted this pattern and the latest figures show that over 70% of all tourism bookings are now made via the internet, either directly with the chosen venue or via one of the growing number of search engine companies such as Booking.com and AirBnB. This has resulted in the impending demise of non-publicly funded information centres, as their primary source of income has been severely curtailed.Is this, in itself, a bad thing? The internet is a good source of information for a tourist. However, this is done prior to the arrival of the tourist, and the information will be only useful insofar as it is accurate and up to date. The requirement to keep information up to date makes a powerful case for why professionally administered, knowledge based information centres are crucial to the growth and future sustainability of any tourism area. In addition, the tourism information centre plays a

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critical role in acting as a conduit between the tourist and the industry.

Roles that an information office play

Maintaining a sustainable balance: Ultimately the tourism industry’s sustainability revolves around the numbers of tourists visiting any one region - the greater the number, the more businesses can be supported and more employment can be created. However, the more tourists visit a destination, the more waste is generated.

Here information centres need to play an important role in ensuring businesses understand this dynamic and that the proper management structures for this element of the business is in place and is effectively practiced. In addition, many activities in natural protected areas, such as the Central Drakensberg World Heritage Site, can only admit or accommodate a limited number of visitors on a daily basis to ensure healthy carrying capacity limits are maintained.

Information centres fulfil a critical role in ensuring that such vital information is conveyed timeously to visitors in an area. Further information centres are continuously up-to-date with resource requirements within the local area. It can thus play a role in matching skills requirements with training interventions. As an example, if there is a requirement for field guides to support increasing tourism numbers, then training resources can be directed towards training of field guides. Unless these guides can be actively employed in their own businesses by to support increased inbound tourist

2

numbers they can never become architects of sustainable tourism.Knowledge: Local, provincial and national expertise is an absolutely vital component of any information office. Information Officers need to be able to converse accurately and competently on subjects such as diverse as local attractions and varieties of available accommodation.

Naturally it is not possible to answer all questions so the information officer needs to know how to access the relevant answers. Local knowledge will allow a tourism information officer to obtain this information and make informed recommendations.

While tourists surf the internet and make bookings for their accommodation on-line, the vast majority head straight for the local information centre upon arrival in the destination. The concept that ‘print is dead’ is untrue. Invariably, once all their questions have been answered, they collect as many brochures as possible relating to what they want to do and see during their visit. The information centre’s advice regarding their next destination is often sought Typically, enquiries relate to road conditions to their next destination as well as possible scenic routes to get there. All of this relies on the personal knowledge and experience of the tourism information officer. Other important environmental information, which may not be available at the time when bookings are made, include information on adverse weather conditions, fire hazards or other dangers that may exist.

Mentorship: The information centre should come into direct contact with the tourism trade as a whole and can influence the direction and practices of the industry.

The information officer can create a link between the tourist and local B&Bs, hotels and local entrepreneurs. Numerous opportunities exist for cottage industry businesses to thrive within the tourism nodes.

The making of soap, candles and even staff uniforms are businesses that can easily

CHAPTER 2

be conducted from within the rural areas.

However, emerging businesses owners benefit immensely from mentors who can give advice to ensure products are up to standard while also encouraging the trade to support the small businesses rather than just using the traditional main stream companies. However, this responsibility should not only rest with the information centres, but should also be monitored by the local tourism departments who should target markets where sustainable tourism practices are being applied. In the South African context, the information office could also front as an outlet for cottage industries and rural crafters.

Education: Information centres can play a vital role in facilitating education across the entire tourism value chain, including schools. Throughout the country there are many, laudable, private enterprise support initiatives being carried out at numerous schools. While many of these are in the form of financial support, what is critically lacking is practical and personal endeavours. Tourism is currently one of very few industries in South Africa with sufficient growth capacity to make a difference to our unemployment crisis, however very little is being done at school level to educate the learners on the plethora of career opportunities in tourism and the positive impacts that tourism can have on their lives.

It is here that the information centres can play a role. There is always an abundance of out-dated tourism material, much of which can be used to enlighten the children not only about their local area, but also that of the world further away. While, for example, it may matter to the tourist that they are being shown a year-old brochure of the bushman paintings at Giants Castle, for a learner, the exposure gained is much more important than the brochure date. Suddenly the learner is aware of something that was created hundreds of years ago that exists in his THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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2

or her immediate environment. One such tourism awareness project that is being run in conjunction with the Central Drakensberg Information Centre and the local tourism association. The project, which is striving to instill better sustainable tourism knowledge to some 5,000 school children, called the Proud Schools Project. Its motto is Pride in Self, Pride in School and Pride in Community. Ten schools are being tutored from within the Central and Northern Drakensberg region of KwaZulu Natal.

In the South African context much is now being discussed about ‘over tourism’ specifically relating to the Kruger Game Reserve and Cape Town. A possible solution put forward is to encourage visitors to go elsewhere, a domain where a knowledgeable information centre can play an important role. As an example, there are numerous alternative Big 5’ destinations to Kruger National Park. Alternatively, rates in the area where ‘over tourism’ is experienced, could be increased to divert tourists to other destinations. This approach option has been used in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania and for Gorilla viewing trips in Uganda with some degree of success. However, this approach may lead to job losses and further unemployment, so it is critical that a clear vision needs to be found to create a sustainable tourism mix going forward. Competent and knowledgeable information officers play an important role in advising tourists on other, equally exciting alternatives.

Information centre – institutional requirements

In order for an information centre to fulfill its roles, as outlined above, certain institutional requirements need to be in place. Of paramount importance is adequate, ongoing funding and the will (especially on the part of authorities) to train staff and create permanent positions and stable incomes for the business

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owners. Currently, information offices are staffed by tourism interns. However, this is not a viable model, as positions are short term, with personnel often rotating monthly. Internships can create expectation of permanent employment at the onset of training only for these expectations to be crushed a few months later when the next intern is brought in and the whole process repeats itself. In addition, funds need to be made available for the officers themselves to experience not only the local tourism offerings, but also gain firsthand knowledge of areas further afield.

There is no short-cut to gaining experience to enhance knowledge.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is not possible to over-emphasize the crucially important role competent and knowledge driven information offices play in ensuring tourists are suitably informed and their vacation experience in any region or the country as a whole is made as unforgettably gratifying as possible. “Word of mouth” is still a very important and cost-effective marketing tool. One positive referral or review can result in any number of future inbound tourists. Conversely any negative comments regarding lack of professionalism or knowledge on the part of information office staff without the necessary abilities or passion can undo any amount of positive marketing efforts. Surely it is no coincidence that in European cities such as Amsterdam, where tourists outnumber the local inhabitants by fourteen to one, there is a very substantial information centre in the city filled with books, brochures and all manner of information pertaining to the Netherlands. These information offices are staffed by teams of highly competent, dedicated people. The information centre’s role is crucial to the tourism industry and cannot be replaced by a computer or smart phone. but, most importantly, these offices need to be adequately funded.

2

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25

CHAPTER 3

3

CHAPTER 3: THE DUAL ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY TOURISM ORGANISATIONS IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INDUSTRIES

By Nelisa Mshengu

T

ourism is increasingly seen as a key community development tool, with the recognition of its economic contribution in spurring local economic development. Key historical, cultural and heritage sites as well as adventure facilities that are of significance to tourists, are found within communities. Therefore, local communities have a key role in tourism development as they are the focal point for the supply of services and goods to tourists.

The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism (DEAT, 1996) states that tourism is driven by the private sector and firmly based in local communities. It therefore becomes important to view local people as a powerful social group as their attitude towards the tourism project determines its success or failure. Participation and support from local people is important because, the very nature of tourism, as visitors flow in, affects the physical and cultural environment of their lives.

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With the growth in the tourism sector, there is growing concern about the minimal or lack of participation and involvement of citizens, so as to become beneficiaries of economic proceeds that accrue from the sector. In this regard the White Paper on Local Government (Juta’s Statutes Editors, 2018)clearly identifies local tourism development as a key area of responsibility for local government.

It compels municipalities to play an active developmental role, particularly in maximising social development and economic growth. It is for this reason that local government recognises Community Tourism Organisations, (CTOs), as key instruments for promoting the development of tourism in communities as well as broadening the tourism base, both in urban and rural areas. Community participation in tourism involves thorough consideration and sensitivity to the needs of the community during the process of tourism development, including meaningful decision making, planning, management, and supervision of tourism.

Thus, local government recognises that

3

there are many benefits to be derived from genuine participation of communities as direct beneficiaries of tourism development.

Community Tourism Organisations

Community Tourism Organisations are defined as locally based organizations that incorporate public, private and community elements as integral parts and that are structured to both develop and promote tourism at an area level.

Furthermore, CTOs provide an opportunity for local communities in tourism ventures to participate in the industry, have a meaningful ownership of tourism initiatives and participate in decision-making.

CTOs are established as autonomous cooperatives representing all of the tourism industry aspects such as hotels, restaurants, tour operators, local authorities, hotels, bed and breakfast establishments, travel agencies, museums and other tourism products. They are independent organizations although some remain under the control of the municipality.

Independence allows for flexibility and strength and provides a more acceptable image in the tourism industry and sponsoring bodies.

Role of local government

The role of local governments is to ensure that appropriate institutional arrangements to support the development of Community Tourism Organisations (CTOs) are in place.

It is to establish mechanisms that synergise the legal and regulatory framework to enable CTOs to operate efficiently and effectively and to enable tourism businesses to comply. In this regard, municipalities provide institutional support to ensure that CTOs are properly constituted and registered as legal entities, representing

CHAPTER 3

all tourism related stakeholders in their respective areas.

Local government takes responsibility for ensuring that CTOs are budgeted for and upon receiving their implementation plans, municipalities are expected to provide funding to ensure smooth effectiveness of the CTO structures. The budget approval for the CTOs should however be a concurrent decision between the CTOs and the municipality to ensure agreeable allocation of funds by both parties. Municipalities have many other competing needs for service delivery that include the need to provide citizens with housing, water, sanitation and other infrastructure development programmes.

There is usually a considerable variation in the share of budget that CTOs derive from local government. In the case of CTOs where there is a strong private sector base in the locality, the proportion of funding derived from private sector contributions is substantial. In the case of CTOs established in disadvantaged areas where the private sector base is very thin, there is very heavy reliance on public funding and grant finance. Notwithstanding these differences, CTOs have access to financial support from local government for purposes of sustainability.

It is for this reason that CTOs should be accountable to local government. The criterion for receiving local government support should be the level and quality of service that CTOs offer as entities set up in the public interest, and the extent to which they fulfill a developmental mandate. CTOs should not be funded by the public sector beyond a specific period of time. They should aim to be self-sustaining over the longer-term period.

It is the role of the municipalities to develop funding models that include: 1. Entering into a Memorandum of

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3

Agreement (MOA) between the Municipality and each CTO for provision of allocated funding to ensure their effective operation; 2. Assisting them to recruit their own membership from which to derive their own membership fees; 3. Assisting them identifying other sources of funding, as well as with initiatives to raise their own funding, e.g. through events, merchandise, etc.

Further support by local government includes: • Marketing & promotion of the areas in which they exist and businesses within the areas – for example, ensuring their participation at international trade shows such as Tourism Indaba to market and promote their areas. Support them through events, activations and others.

• Ensuring that Tourism Information Offices exists in their areas for information dissemination.

• Registering and regulation of products in their areas to ensure they meet quality & standards.

• Education and training, tour guide training, tourism awareness programmes, etc.

• SMME support, (simplifying and improving systems for entrepreneurial support).

• Facilitate partnerships with established businesses and other relevant partners.

• Participate in identification of new tourism products and tourism infrastructure upgrade in their areas.

The Dual Role of local governments and Community Tourism Organisations (CTOs)

CTOs are established to enable them to provide a coordinated point of dialogue and negotiations, lobby effectively, build

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capacity, leverage opportunities; and derive the true benefits of tourism. They operate as legally registered entity in terms of the company laws of the Republic of South Africa, recruit and keep a database of their membership. They are expected to convene meetings at least four times a year, with one serving as an Annual General Meeting.

The CTOs must ensure they become an effective organization able to carry out a comprehensive marketing campaign for the community. The CTO is the destination’s (municipality) marketing organization which must project the destination’s image into the various markets. It is a non-profit organization and can be registered as a section 21 company, an incorporated association not for gain.

In partnership with local government, CTOs are to: • Perform tourism awareness programmes to ensure that communities are educated and involved in tourism.

• Develop virtual networks to disseminate information about the local destination and get comments from the local community and the industry at large.

• Play a role of local Publicity Association Entity in marketing, attract events and promote the local destination.

• Encourage visitors to experience local lifestyle, trying out local businesses such as restaurants, pubs and other cultural activities.

• Advertise attractions, products and services offered by local communities and participate in tours to local areas, bringing business to local communities.

• Collaborate in facilitating transformation in the tourism industry through the Tourism BBEEE programme.

• Collaborate in provision of advisory and capacity building support to SMMEs. • Facilitate registration and monitoring of

3

all tourism products in the local areas.

• Share information and involve local tourism enterprises in local and international Tourism Trade Shows.

• Share information on the development and maintenance of a database for local tourism businesses.

• Share information and cooperate in training and development interventions required to address local skills gaps within the tourism industry, as well as service delivery improvements.

• Collaborate on the facilitation of Tourism SMME incubators and mentorship programme.

• Assist in identifying business linkage opportunities between local tour operators and International and African tour operators and investors.

• As custodians of local tourism, ensure that the right kind of market-driven and sustainable tourism infrastructure is developed and effectively managed in its locality – this includes, attractions, accommodation, roads and shops for tourists.

• Encourages tourists to visit the

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destination and experience what it has to offer, thus benefiting the community economically.

• Be in touch with and have input into local planning, with for example the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), Local Economic Development (LED), and the Provincial Tourism Master plan.

Conclusion

Community participation and empowerment are essential elements in achieving any tourism development initiatives. All relevant stakeholders involved in the tourism industry should take a collaborative approach in developing, marketing and managing tourism initiatives that strive towards greater social responsibility to achieve sustainable development.

Strong emphasis is placed on tourism development driven by the private sector with the government’s role being limited to providing an enabling environment for its development through institutional arrangements, finance support and infrastructure development.

References

•

DEAT. (1996). White Paper The Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs

and Tourism.

•

Juta’s Statutes Editors. (2018). White Paper on Local Government (Vol. 3rd Rev. 1st Edition). Juta and Company.

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29

EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE

EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE The area in and around Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park (HiP) has been inhabited since the early Stone Age through to the late Iron Age including San and Nguni tribes from the Middle Ages. In more recent history the rise of the Zulu nation played out across the Zululand landscape. Evidence from this period still exists in the form of kraals, burial and smelting sites. During the Stone Age, the Khoisan exploited most environmental resources at their disposal. These early huntergatherers, living in the valleys and hills of HiP probably followed the seasonal movements of animals between the uplands and lowlands where they left behind stone tools, many of which have survived to be located and recorded by archaeologists.

Cultural heritage HiP has a lot to offer that has conservation, spiritual and cultural significance, such as Nqabaneni Cave. The park also has a variety of heritage resources such as Stone Age rock art, Iron-Age settlements and fossils. Although physical access to all of these resources is not possible, access in terms of informing visitors about their existence and locality could have an add-on appeal to other recreation activities.

For example, guided walks can include visits to particular sites, and auto-trails can take

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advantage of them. Adequate protection measures are required for sites, which are accessible to the public.

Giving back to the community HiP offers hundreds of direct job opportunities to local community members as well as numerous eco-tourism related opportunities. The direct job opportunities are mostly linked to the alient plant control project. These include small service centres (Machibini and Hlabisa), accommodation (B&B’s), curio markets, shops in the park that are leased out to local business operators and gardens providing vegetables to both the tourist and local market.

Activities Wilderness Trails allow you to experience the magic of the bush. You can sense the presence of a grazing rhino, hear and feel the night air throb to the roar of lions intruding over the crackle of your camp fire, and experience the bush at a very personal level. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife offers trails over weekends or longer, which are designed to meet your time constraints while still allowing you to bene fit fully from the experience.

Conducted by armed and experienced guides who will add to your experience and knowledge, the iMfolozi Wilderness Trails can be a life-changing experience.

3

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Come to the

bush and enjoy a

sensory feast –

the calls of birds and animals, and the feeling of peace and tranquillity in an unspoilt environment ...

Accommodation - Nselweni Bush Lodge, Hlatikhulu Bush Lodge, Muntulu Bush Lodge, Munyawaneni Bush Lodge, Masinda Lodge, Mthwazi Lodge, Mpila Resort, Hilltop Resort In addition to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park’s big 5 game bush experience experience, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife also offers a variety of comfortable accommodation ranging from campsites to chalets and lodges in 67 other unbeatable destinations. These offer sparkling warm sea with endless beaches, soaring mountains or other tranquil but natural settings.

If hiking, biking, fishing, game viewing, birding or just relaxing is your pleasure, its awaiting you at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

Go Wild and Make your Reservation Now! T: +27(0) 33 845 1000 E: bookings@kznwildlife.com Online booking: bookings.kznwildlife.com

w w w . k z n w i l d l i f e . c o m

Conservation, Partnerships & Ecotourism

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CHAPTER 4

4

CHAPTER 4: SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES FACED BY COMMUNITY TOURISM ORGANISATIONS (CTO)

By Niki Glen

T

he N3 corridor stretches from Johannesburg in the north to Durban in the south, thereby traversing four provinces, namely KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. The region incorporates cross-border tourism with Lesotho through Phuthaditjhaba, Caledonspoort and Sani Pass and includes the Battlefields Route up to Newcastle. N3 Gateway Tourism Association, now in its 10th year of existence, facilitates cross-marketing and sharing of best practice amongst the tourism organisations and stakeholders along the N3 corridor and into Lesotho.

The original mandate of N3 Gateway was to market and promote its member base of more than 30 tourism associations, which represent approximately 1,800 tourism businesses. However, N3 Gateway is currently implementing the Revised Strategy for 2015 – 2018, which is aligned to international best practice in route

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and destination development, while also incorporating the South African context through alignment to (Drew, 2016): • The National Tourism Sector Strategy, 2011; • The National Heritage and Cultural Tourism Strategy, 2012; • The National Rural Tourism Strategy, 2012; • The National Tourism Act of 2014; • Provincial Tourism Master Plans / Strategies; and • Provincial Growth and Development Strategies.

N3 Gateway’s new strategy is built on three main pillars, i.e. Tourism Marketing, Tourism Development & Transformation and Sustainable Tourism Capacity Building.

As part of this strategy, N3 Gateway aims to help transform tourism from an industry that benefits only a select few people, to one that also benefits those still struggling with ongoing inequality and poverty through capacity building initiatives, special / catalytic projects and

4

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Figure 1: Current tourism industry scenario – South Africa and N3 corridor strengthening its already strong marketing capability within the corridor. The current scenario is illustrated in figure 1.

The N3 corridor reaches more than 40 local municipalities. Many of these municipalities still experience economic development challenges, with tourism industries not having reached their full potential. Here, unequal benefits from tourism is still an ongoing theme as in many parts of South Africa (Rogerson, 2015), and unemployment rates are generally high.

While the corridor possesses a plethora of tourism assets (N3GTA, 2017), much of the corridor is characterised by what Rogerson (2015) refers to as “distressed areas”.

Importance of tourism assocations (ctos)

In South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) made it compulsory for tourism related businesses to register with a local CTO before a business license is granted (Mshengu, 2012). CTOs are viewed

as a critical conduit to local tourism businesses to help build capacity towards more sustainable tourism destinations. According to Mshengu (2012), tourism associations act as local tourism industry facilitators that support local project implementation. They are made up of public, private and community stakeholders, working in a structured way to develop and promote tourism within a destination. CTOs are also critical facilitators of local tourism development and dissemination information to both tourist and industry. Ultimately CTOs are meant to become self-sustaining.

A study by Williams, White, and Spenceley (2001) showed that the role of community based associations is to assist tourism businesses to become “self-sufficient and independent while contributing towards the development of the local community” (Williams, White, & Spenceley, 2001). The function of the organisations include acting as a conduit between business and government on issues such as policy and inclusion of tourism in development plans

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4

as well as working with community tourism businesses to market and promote tourism, while creating a single representative voice through which to deal with government (Williams, White & Spenceley, 2001) However, N3 Gateway has found that tourism associations are often disenfranchised to fulfil their mandates as local tourism actors.

N3 gateway associaiton members

N3 Gateway’s member base of current and potential members include 23 KwaZulu Natal based CTOs, and four local tourism associations, as these structures are referred to in the Free State and Gauteng province.

These tourism associations are member based non-profit organisation that represent tourism businesses in specific municipal areas. Of the 23 priority district municipalities referred to by Rogerson’s study (Rogerson, 2015), four are located within the N3 corridor, i.e. uThukela, Amajuba, Sisonke and uMzinyathi. Seventeen of the 27 associations mentioned above are based within these four districts.

N3 Gateway conducted a study on 22 of these associations in 2017 after realising that most of the associations are not performing optimally and are hampered in their growth by a number of common challenges. N3 Gateway’s success as a marketing and development organisation is critically dependent on the degree to which associations and their members are able to provide related information and share knowledge. While some associations proactively engage with N3 Gateway, many do not take advantage of key development opportunities that N3 Gateway offers their members free of charge, e.g. marketing initiatives, project development support, facilitation of fund raising and capacity building initiatives. Formal and informal discussions with associations and their members high-

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lighted that associations battle with factors such as lower than expected membership, lack of support from local municipalities, lack of funding and lack of resource commitment to execute the duties of an association. It also became clear that many associations do not have access to ongoing training and capacity building to support their own members in areas which will contribute to more sustainable tourism businesses and sustainable tourism industries.

In many regions, the full tourism potential that is presented within the N3 corridor is not realised in terms product development and job creation.

In assessing the performance of associations against a number of criteria extracted from the definition of sustainable tourism (UNWTO, 2011), N3 Gateway came up with a mapping of key common challenges experienced by its member associations.

These challenges prevent associations from fulfilling their “mandates” as outlined by the KZN definition of CTOs, thus having less than favourable impacts on economic development, especially in areas where development priorities have been written into government policy. This enabled N3 Gateway to hone in on areas which need to be addressed through capacity building amongst its member base. The remainder of this article confirms the definition and guiding principles of sustainable tourism, and thereafter illustrates the approach and outcomes of the study undertaken. It them makes recommendations on the proposed interventions to help strengthen associations as a critical tourism role player.

Table 1 provides an extract from the mapping provided by N3 Gateway. The purpose of the extract is to illustrate the criteria used to analysed for 22 associations (top row) and colours represent differentials for each association. Each of the criteria was measured either qualitatively of

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35

Unknown

None Availab le

Association E

High

Unknown

None Availab le

Association D

Association C

Association B

Association A

Association Name Actual vs Potential Membership Participated N3 GTA Capacity Building W/shops

Yes

Participated in N3 GTA Social Media Training Invited N3 GTA to special events Regular meetings with N3 GTA team Development Projects with N3 GTA

No or none

Association Survey Participation Trade show Participation Social Media Activity

Print and Brochure

Medium

Active Website

N3 GTA Website Presence Municipality contributes financially

Low

Full time or part time paid staff Unknown

Tourism is represented in the IDP NGP 23 Priority Areas

Association participated in IDP processes

4

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4

quantitatively, however, since the table is only used illustratively, this detail is not provided in the key. This mapping allows N3 Gateway to identify where each association’s strengths and weaknesses lie, and is therefore able to develop targeted interventions with each CTO.

Key challenges Age and membership

The percentage of actual memberships vs potential membership is represented in figure 2, which shows that most associations did not enjoy optimum membership. Even the KZN associations, where membership of a tourism business to a CTO is compulsory, showed low overall membership. It is therefore clear that a concerted effort needs to be made 1) for associations to illustrate value to potential members and 2) that tourism businesses need to understand the criticality of collaboration within a destination, and that associations can fulfil this role.

Access to resources

The fact that association have less than adequate membership means that they enjoy less income. All associations charge membership fees, which is their main source of income. Membership fees of the respondents varied between R250 per annum and R1500 per annum. There does not appear to be a correlation between the number of members and the membership fees. What is significant about the findings, is that due to low memberships, associations lose out on income, which would be applied to collective marketing and representation of their member base while contributing to the long term sustainability of the associations. Some other sources of income listed by associations are illustrated in figure 3, with only a few

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associations having additional income streams. It is critical, however, that in order to complement membership income, associations need to develop alternative revenue streams.

In KZN, all CTOs are supposed to receive a portion of their income from the municipality, while the associations in other provinces may be able to negotiate a contribution from the municipality. It was found that many KZN based associations do not received a contribution from their municipality. Many associations are also entirely reliant on volunteers to run the activities of their associations. Those that do employ staff members employ a maximum of 2 staff members, but often also utilise interns when they are available.

Marketing and social media

Just over 50% of N3 Gateway association members have a website. However, not all websites are active and updated regularly with blogs, events, imagery and new member information. As an added value service to association members, N3 Gateway offers free listings for all members of associations.

However, the uptake of this offering was relatively low amongst the N3 Gateway association’s members. Further, while just over 50 % of associations have a Facebook page, only 23% show any meaningful activity on Facebook (measured only in number of likes), as shown in figure 4.

N3 Gateway also offers its association members an opportunity to participate in major tourism trade shows. N3 Gateway takes up a stand at these shows, and offers members a highly subsidised rate to participate through physical presence. All associations have the option of supplying brochures for the show, free of charge. N3 Gateway markets and promotes their associations and their members, i.e N3 corridor tourism destinations, during these shows.

membership of a tourism business to a CTO is compulsory, showed low overall membership. It is therefore clear that a concerted effort needs to be made 1) for associations to illustrate value to CHAPTER 4

4

potential members and 2) that tourism businesses need to understand the criticality of collaboration within a destination, and that associations can fulfil this role.

Estimated Actual vs Potential Membership (n=13) Association 1

Association 22

100%

Association 2

80% 60%

Association 21

Association 3

40% 20%

Association 18

Association 4

0%

Association 14

Association 5

Association 10 Association 9

Association 6 Association 7

Figure 2: Actual vs Potential Membership Figure 2: Actual vs Potential Membership

However, only six associations have utilised has been developed, it should be included this opportunity, with four of the larger as- in the IDP of a municipality.

Of the 22 tourism association members sociations regularly taking up the space ofAccess to resources fered by N3 Gateway (three are KZN based). of N3 Gateway, only four associations have taken upmembership this offer. means One ofthat the key challengOne of the The most means have in which fact basic that association less than adequate they enjoy less income. All es identified by N3 Gateway in raising proan associationassociations can market and promote charge membership fees, which is their main source of income. Membership fees of the its destination and its members is through ject funding, is the lack of feasibility studies respondents varied between R250 per annum and R1500 per annum. There does not appear to be a brochures. Only 11 of the 22 associations and comprehensive business plans. The correlation between numberpurof members and the membership fees. What is significantfor about the benefit offered is therefore invaluable have produced brochures forthethese thatoutgenerally thewould resourcposes. findings, is that due to low memberships,associations associations lose on income,lack which be applied to to undertake the work collective marketing and representationesof and their capacity member base while contributing to therelong term quired to get a project funding ready.

Development planning sustainability of the associations. Some other sources of income listed by associations are illustrated Further, of the 12 respondents that parN3 Gateway offers project development in figure only a few associations having additional streams. is critical, however, that in theincome survey, only Ittwo indicated support services to 3,itswithassociations and ticipated their members. Projects identified are pri- that they believed they provided adequate oritised using predefined criteria and N3 input into IDPs. The rest of the participants Gateway will support the development of did not partake in the IDP planning process.

In looking at 7 IDPs from across the N3 a detailed feasibility study and business plan should the criteria be sufficiently met. corridor, it is clear that tourism is not adeN3 Gateway also facilitates fund raising for quately considered and represented. The such projects. Once a project business plan findings of the IDP analysis highlighted the

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Figure 3: Sources of Funding following key issues: • The size of tourism in relation to the overall GDP or % contribution to the local economy is not well defined; • The number of jobs created (current and potential) by tourism is generally lacking; • Key stakeholders for tourism development (including CTOs) are not well defined; • The municipal role responsible for tourism development is not always clear; • Most municipalities do not have a tourism plan / strategy that is linked to tourism development and/or the IDP; • Many IDPs focus on the creation of new tourism infrastructure, but fails to provides plans to optimise existing products and infrastructure; • IDPs lack reference to how local community members can benefit from tourism; • Limited attention is given to skills development and capacity building.

• Where budgets have been assigned to

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tourism development, these budgets are so small, that no meaningful impacts could possibly be achieved.

4.5 Key challenges • It is clear from interactions with tourism associations as well as the surveys conducted, that the major challenges that face CTOs include: • Lack of collaboration between businesses and government resulting in fragmented planning and lack of prioritisation of tourism initiatives; • Access to markets due to underdevelopment of destinations; and • Lack of funding availability.

• Other items listed include concerns about safety and security (often based on perceptions) and challenges with brown tourism signs (directional signage).

Way forward

The importance of tourism as a vehicle to local economic development and poverty alleviation cannot be disputed. South Africa faces many challenges in eradicating

4

poverty and improving the overall quality of life for its citizens. However, the study undertaken by N3 Gateway to determine the capacity of tourism associations to support tourism development, has shown that the top-down policy formulation is not having the desired outcomes at grassroots levels within the N3 corridor. Through its research, N3 Gateway has unearthed a number of systemic issues which, when addressed, could support more effective

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tourism development initiatives within the corridor.

It is therefore clear that a concerted effort needs to be made to ensure that the policies intended to help tourism reach its full potential are implemented at a grassroots lever. As such, N3 Gateway proposes to implement a capacity building project within the N3 corridor, to help build the capacity of CTOs in order to help address systemic issued identified.

References

•

Drew, M. (2016). N3 Gateway - Views on Sustainable Tourism. The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook of Southern

Africa, 4.

•

Mshengu, N. (2012, October). The Case of Community Tourism Organisations, (CTOs), in Ethekwini Municipality. eThekwini: City

of eThekwini. Retrieved from http://www.mile.org.za/symposium2016/Theme%206/1.%20Stakeholder%20Participation-Nelisa%20 Mshengu.pdf

•

Rogerson, C. M. (2015). Tourism and regional development: The case of South Africa's distressed areas. Development Southern

Africa,, 32(3,), 277-297.

•

Williams, E., White, A., & Spenceley, A. (2001). UCOTA – the Uganda Community Tourism Association: a comparison with NACOBTA.

PPT Working Paper No. 5. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/41682429/UCOTA-the_Uganda_Community_Tourism_Assoc20160128-30786-mwd0vl.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1509429027&Signature=YJj0i9YXQRcU%2FJ5WDwXv2WqkmxU%3D&response-content-disposition=inlin

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CHAPTER 4 ECOTRAINING

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THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION BECAUSE CONSERVATION STARTS WITH PEOPLE

By EcoTraining Guides and Guardians We, as humanity, have a responsibility to adequately prepare the next generation for the planet they will inherit, along with all its biodiversity. EcoTraining is committed to providing environmental education that will support and encourage the wildlife ambassadors of tomorrow.

Environmental education lays the foundation for the understanding of our environment – why it matters and why preserving it is a challenge we must accept. If ecology is the study of the relationship between plants and animals, and their environment; then environmental education allows us to explore how these ecosystems within the environment all work harmoniously together. It makes us aware of and sensitive towards how human interferences has and can negatively impact on these ecosystems.

Through educating ourselves about our environment, we choose to become the guardians of our planet. Through this process we develop the necessary skills which help us to identify and thus safeguard the existence and sustainability of our environment. We as individuals, communities and even nations are taught to assess all options, think critically, act decisively and make a difference.

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Conservation and education share a symbiotic relationship similar to those found in many ecosystems. Both branches have a common purpose of preservation which is essential in order to provide a balance that can only be achieved from working together. Only by educating on the importance of nature conservation and how people can effect positive change, is society able to motivate a shift in attitude towards the environment.

We can then create a generation of environmentally conscious citizens who have the power to change society’s way of thinking and therefore present solutions that will save our planet.

Students observing elephants at Mashatu, Botswana. Photo credit: Jan-Hendrik.

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CHAPTER 5

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CHAPTER 5: RESILIENCE THINKING FOR PROTECTED AREAS: TO ENHANCE THE CAPACITY OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

By Claire Fordred and Prof. Kevin Mearns

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rotected areas are sought-after destinations in the tourism industry and are a crucial instrument for conserving nature.

There has been an increase in interest in ecotourism and sustainable tourism over the last two decades, illustrating a rise in social concern for the environment and the effect tourism has on the environment (Eagles et al., 2002).

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a protected area is a “clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (IUCN, 2008). Research has indicated that tourism and visitation in protected areas create positive and negative impacts; environmentally, socially and economically (Eagles et al., 2002; Snyman, 2014; Spenceley & Snyman, 2017). These three key aspects are core themes in literature of sustainable tourism to protected areas, whilst literature on the resilience thinking approach for developments of private parks is critically lacking. Resilience thinking is an approach through which protected areas will meet development and conservation agendas from all angles whilst meeting the sustainable development goals. In

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order to meet these sustainable goals, resilience thinking follows seven main principles, which will be discussed after explaining what resilience thinking is.

Definition of resilience thinking

The Stockholm Resilience Centre (2014:1) defines resilience as “the capacity of a system, be it an individual, a forest, a city or an economy, to deal with change and continue to develop”. “Resilience thinking embraces learning, diversity and above all, the belief that humans and nature are strongly coupled to the point that they should be conceived as one social ecological system.” Resilience thinking is a tool that should be implemented in all planning and management approaches as it deals with the capacity to persist, adapt and/or transform towards new pathways of development in times of dynamic changes.

This form of thinking embraces complex adaptive systems which contributes to a better understanding of changing systems and how to manage them. Resilience thinking is the way forward, reconnecting with the biosphere through linking people and ecosystems. Participating in resilience thinking and approaches is a means of bracing against future shocks, uncertainties and people’s limited understanding of the consequences of human-induced impacts and changes which are making

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the planet more vulnerable. We are living in unpredictable times with an increasing population, widespread development and facing environmental challenges daily.

Thus, there is a need for intervention which will effectively accelerate biodiversity conservation. One of the main suppliers of innovative thinking is the private sector which are seeking sustainable initiatives for conservation including the needs and concerns of the environment and humans.

How to apply resilience thinking?

There are seven main principles that guide the application of resilience thinking, thus building resilience in a social-ecological system (Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2018). Each principle depends on one another and interacts with each other.

The seven main principles of applying resilience thinking provide guidance on interacting with social-ecological system to help maintain resilience to survive and to continue to provide ecosystem services to sustain the ever-growing population.

Principle 1: To maintain diversity and redundancy. The more diverse you make a system the more resilient the system is. A system with more components allows space for compensation of failed or loss components, this providing more insurance within a system. People interact with the biosphere using the different services of the ecosystems, for example – the use of water to nurture crops to feed ourselves. Endless human activities change the biosphere, agricultural activities and developments being examples. The resilience of a social-ecological systems depends on the variation of organisations providing different functions and responses to a situation of disturbance or change.

Such organisations include NGOs, private sector and government departments. Each organisation has a variety of responses to change with different strengths and

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weaknesses that will overlap. This principle can be integrated into management plans, by including actions that will address underlying drivers of loss of biodiversity for example - policies for extraction of natural resources, pollution and illegal wildlife trade.

Principle 2: Managing connectivity. The strength of the connectivity will relate to the relative resilience of a social-ecological system. Connectivity is not always a good thing per se; a well-connected system can recover from change or a disturbance quickly, for example if a forest is well connected and a section is disturbed by removing the trees in the area, the area can be facilitated for recovery with the help of planting new trees. If a system is overly connected, it can facilitate the spread of the disturbance, for example; the rapid spread of a fire in a well-connected forest.

Limiting connectivity may improve the resilience of an ecosystem by creating a barrier of the spreading of a disturbance, for example a fire break, preventing a forest fire from spreading. A good balance within a system increases resilience, this includes intermediate connectivity with an internal well-connected subsystem. Application of this principle includes actions that promote connectivity of ecosystem conservation and to promote partnerships between different levels of government and organisations, enhancing institutional connectivity.

Principe 3: Managing slow variables and feedbacks. Feedbacks are the connectors between variables - they can either reinforce (positive feedback) or reduce change (negative feedback). The wellbeing of a social-ecological system is to ensure the function and the provision of vital services. Complex systems contain slow changing variables that have the potential to produce sudden changes that are difficult to reverse known as THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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regime shifts. Applying this principle is through managing slow variables which will ensure sustainable provision of key ecosystem services, for instance, the nitrogen cycle – by decreasing actions of pollution of agriculture activities, manages slow variables whilst contributing to the provision of clean water. However, negative feedback helps us to respond to change or disturbance so that the system recovers and continues to provide the same set of services from the ecosystems.

Principle 4: Foster complex adaptive systems thinking. This principle is challenging as it not only aims to change people’s point of reference by increasing knowledge but also aims to change their mindset and behaviour. Complex adaptive systems are dynamic and promote innovation and perspectives to solve problems and make decisions. This type of thinking goes hand-in-hand with resilience thinking as it includes the probability of uncertainty and unpredictability. Complex adaptive systems include spatial data, representing the interconnection of economic and social ecological elements at different scales. This type of thinking processes systems as a whole and not in individual sections. For example, it integrates management for an entire water catchment area and not just a section of a river, creating cohesive conservation and development strategies.

Principle 5: Encouraging learning.

This principle encourages generating knowledge and the sharing of this knowledge. This is an important principle especially when resilience comprises of reacting to change, adapting and transforming to the change and disturbance. Social-ecological systems are not static and are always developing and being revised with new knowledge which enables adaption to disturbances

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and change and creates new approaches to management. To cope with change, constant learning and re-evaluation of existing knowledge is vital. Applying this principle is through actions that create suitable conditions to share knowledge, have adequate resources to aid learning processes, especially those that address development and conservation challenges.

Learning to adapt to new information is critical, thus one needs to be open to apply using innovative technologies and data, formal learning structures, collective learning processes and even forms of social media.

Principle 6: Broadening participation.

This principle allows for collective action.

A well-functioning participation group has potential to build trust and a shared understanding. Participation from a diversity of people with different backgrounds opens opportunities to a variety of viewpoints.

The link between information collecting and decision-making is also strengthened through participation.

Nevertheless, participation has negative impacts such as influencing stakeholders at the cost of others, which may cause competition and conflict.

The underestimation of financial-, time- and human- resources are common pitfalls of not carrying out a successful participation session. Inadequate communication training and facilitation skills also impact the process of participation, for example including local communities in the planning and decisionmaking processes which has great potential in aiding in conservation. Applying this principle includes actions of building capacity and having essential resources to create effective participation in the implementation and design phase.

Principle 7: Promote polycentric governance. When multiple governing bodies interact together to create and enforce rules within policies, polycentricity occurs.

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Collaboration between institutions increase connectivity and learning. Well-connected governance structures deal effectively with disturbances and change as then these situations are being dealt at the right time by the right informed people. Thus, polycentric governance structures promote other resilience-enhancing principles, especially connectivity, experimentation, learning, participation, diversity and redundancy.

Examples of applying this principle is through creating sub-national governance structures, as well as acknowledging the governance of indigenous people and local communities.

And by incorporating and facilitating different types and levels of governance, there is greater potential in meeting both, development and conservation concerns.

Conclusion

Through the application of these seven principles private protected areas can apply resilience thinking thereby giving them the opportunity to improve their resilience

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according to specific forms of resilience for example – climate change – which is increasing wildfires, the loss of coastal areas, coral bleaching and changes in seasonal phenomena. Protected areas are part of an ever-constantly changing environment, thus for a protected area to be well designed and managed, management decisions are best suited to a resilience thinking approach. Planning for change builds a strong foundation and leads to practical and actionable goals to manage change.

These goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and have a time span to have an impact on the environment and the people (Conservation Training, 2018). Sound management practices contribute towards improved standards of tourism, contributing to the quality of tourism and conservation.

Thus, enhancing the responsibilities, roles and benefits to local communities as well as the management and planning of protected area tourism will progressively grow in the years to come.

References

•

Conservation Training, 2018: Introduction to resilience for development – Part 2: Applying resilience thinking to national biodiversity plans, online course notes, www.conservationtraining.org.

Eagles, P.J., McCool, S., and Haynes, C.D., 2002: Sustainable tourism in protected areas: Guidelines for planning and management, World Commission on Protected areas, Best Practice Protected Areas Guidelines Series No. 8, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge UK: IUCN. • IUCN, 2008: What is a protected area? IUCN, www.iucn.org, Accessed on 16 January 2018.

• Snyman, S., 2014: Assessment of the main factors impacting community members’ attitudes towards tourism and protected areas in six southern African countries, Koedoe. 56 (2), 21–32.

• Spenceley, A., & Snyman, S., 2017: Protected area tourism: Progress, innovation and sustainability, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 17(1), 3–7.

• The Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2014: What is resilience? An introduction to social-ecological research, Stockholm University, http:// www.stockholmresilience.org/download/18.10119fc11455d3c557d6d21/1459560242299/SU_SRC_whatisresilience_sidaApril2014.pdf, Accessed 25 October 2017.

• The Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2018: Applying resilience thinking – Seven principles for building resilience in social-ecological system, Stockholm University, http://www.stockholmresilience.org/download/18.10119fc11455d3c557d6928/1459560241272/ SRC+Applying+Resilience+final.pdf, Accessed 8 February 2018.

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CHAPTER CAPE NATURE 5

WHAT IF THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT?

Visitors to CapeNature reserves are growing more and more anxious about the possibility of not having access to hiking trails, accommodation and outdoor leisure in its splendour. The countdown to Day Zero has become a harsh reality and these feelings of uncertainty and concern are warranted given the recent Level 6b water restrictions for Cape Town and the rise in levels at neighbouring municipalities.

Alas! CapeNature has consistently been championing sustainable tourism in all its

Rocherpan NR

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offerings. Over the last 6 years, starting in 2012 the organisation implemented preventative measures on its reserves through innovative water saving technologies.

As many adventure seeking nature lovers are aware, CapeNature reserves are positioned in rural and remote areas. What you may not know is that none of the reserves use municipal water. As guardians of the Western Cape’s precious natural resources, CapeNature focuses on developing nature-based recreational tourism products by leveraging natural assets in such a way that protected areas become sought after tourist destinations and balanced conservation spaces.

In 2015, CapeNature’s Kogelberg, Robberg and Goukamma Nature Reserves became the first tourism products in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to have been awarded the prestigious ECO Certification by Ecotourism Australia. The ECO Certification Program was developed to address the need to identify genuine nature and ecotourism operators, and is guided by the

5

Rocherpan NR Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

In addition, development projects are also carefully planned to mitigate any local environmental harm while also optimising the use of green building technology. For example, CapeNature’s reserve accommodation boast lowflow showerheads.

In November 2017 CapeNature partnered with WESGRO (The Western Cape’s official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and Airbnb to distribute 2 300 low-flow showerheads that save water by 70 percent and electricity by 30 percent to guesthouses, B&B’s and Airbnb hosts across the province.

Other water saving facilities at various CapeNature reserve accommodation include, waterless/composting toilets, and rainwater harvesting.

Two pilot projects are currently underway, in 2018 to contribute towards conserving water on our reserves. It is the Atmospheric Water Generators at Rocherpan Nature Reserve and the Grey Water Recycling at Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve. All these initiatives are in place to assist us and our visitors to reduce the amount of water used on CapeNature reserves.

CAPE CHAPTER NATURE 5

Vrolijkheid NR CapeNature is committed to using as little water as possible in all its existing tourism offerings.

While Day Zero hangs in the balance you can rest assure to know that tourism facilities on CapeNature reserves in the Province are still accessible and available for bookings.

In an effort to rehabilitate and conserve the ecosystems that provide fresh, potable water, managing wild fires and invasive plants is a priority for CapeNature. The mountain catchment areas fall within this mandate to conserve the natural balance of biodiversity.

Ultimately, there could be nothing left.

It is up to each and every one of us to do our bit to ensure we can make it through the drought. Not just for us but for future generations.

To find out how you can save water contact the City of Cape Town on 0860 103 089/or your local municipality and report all water leaks and wild fires immediately.

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CHAPTER 6

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CHAPTER 6: MUTUAL DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN TOURISM AND NATURAL CAPITAL: WHAT RISKS OF INCREASINGLY STRESSED WATER RESOURCES FOR OUR ECONOMY?

Joël Houdet, Michelle Browne, Fonda Lewis

T

ourism is recognized as one of the key sectors with the potential to support an economic transition to a Green Economy in South Africa, including increasing human wellbeing and social equity, and reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities (UNEP 2011). ‘Greening’ of the tourism sector is expected to reinforce its employment potential given the human-resource intensive nature of the sector. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that for every $1 million in Travel & Tourism spending, 51 jobs are supported (22 direct, 19 indirect, and 10 induced) (WTTC, 2013).

All tourism activity categories, from travel, accommodation to recreational activities, rely on natural capital , not only tourism assets and destinations. For instance, cultural ecosystem services are drivers of tourism activities, by attracting tourism businesses at tourism assets and destinations (e.g. accommodation, leisure, excursions and tours, travel organisations).

Provisioning services are enablers of many of these tourism businesses (e.g. food, textile, materials, fuels), and are often imported from elsewhere. Regulation and maintenance ecosystem services

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(e.g. regulation of extreme weather events, regulation / assimilation of wastes, regulation of erosion processes) are critical for site-specific activities (e.g. river and coastal-based tourism) and the associated tourism assets which rely on them. At the same time, tourism activities do affect ecosystems, often negatively through the generation of waste, disruptive behaviours of tourists and consumption of resources (e.g. recreational fishing). If tourism operations are managed sustainability, their footprints can be minimised, and they can even contribute to the stewardship of natural capital assets (e.g. tourism contributions to effective protected area management). In other words, these mutual dependencies between tourism activities and natural capital are multi-dimensional and occur at multiple scales, notably through globalised supply chains.

Yet, there is growing concern that ongoing degradation of natural capital, due to various global and local drivers of change including the impacts of tourism activities themselves (e.g. waste generation, path overuse, land use change, water use and pollution), will compromise the delivery of the ecosystem services on which the industry relies. For instance, there are three primary links between tourism and hydrologic services: water

6

supply (quantity and quality), water damage avoidance / mitigation (in the case of damage from extreme rainfall events) and waterbased tourism (recreational activities, water assets). In these times of extreme droughts in the Western Cape: • Water use restrictions may negatively impact on the attractiveness of key tourism assets and destinations and may deter tourists from visiting.

• Increasingly stressed water resources will negatively impact on water quality, thus affecting water access and management costs (e.g. new investments required, additional water treatment costs), directly for water utilities and indirectly for tourism businesses (e.g. accommodations, restaurants).

From a climate change perspective, four main scenarios have been developed for South Africa (DEA 2013), namely: 1. Warmer (<3°C above 1961–2000) and wetter with greater frequency of extreme rainfall events; 2. Warmer (<3°C above 1961–2000) and dryer, with an increase in the frequency of drought events and somewhat greater frequency of extreme rainfall events; 3. Hotter (>3°C above 1961–2000) and wetter with substantially greater frequency of extreme rainfall events; 4. Hotter (>3°C above 1961–2000) and dryer, with a substantial increase in the frequency of drought events and greater frequency of extreme rainfall events.

Each scenario has different implications for rainfall projections across the hydrological zones of South Africa, with scenario 4 (hotter and drier) presenting the highest risks overall to tourism due to a substantial increase in the frequency of drought events and greater frequency of extreme rainfall

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events.

The expected impacts of the climate change scenarios on different tourism stakeholder groups (foreign visitors, domestic tourists, tourism business, water utilities) will vary as shown in Table 1. On the one hand, one could expect limited direct negative impacts from deteriorating water bottled quality on tourists and tourism businesses (except for water -based tourism assets and activities). water would be a readily available alternative (though at additional costs) while water utilities would act as buffers for tap water and industrial / business water consumption. On the other hand, one could expect extreme drought and rainfall events to directly affect tourist numbers, especially foreign visitors whose behaviours can change quickly based on negative perceptions about the climate and weather of potential destinations e.g. Becken (2010). Assuming that some climate change scenarios may have significant impacts on tourist numbers and therefor aggregate tourism spending, different scenarios of tourism contributions to the economy can be modelled (Table 2), with scenario 4 (hotter and drier) leading to the lowest spending by domestic and foreign tourists.

Tourism has long been seen as a vehicle of development. Its success and potential growth, however, is dependent on natural capital and the flow of services it provides (e.g. clean water, clean air, mitigation of extreme events). In South Africa, the dependency of tourism on natural capital is even more significant, as much of our tourism centres around natural capital attractions and assets (e.g. wildlife, beaches, river and dam recreation and mountains). Degradation and loss of natural capital is thus a threat to tourism in our country and its potential for growth and contribution to our society. So, what can be done?

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Firstly, the tourism sector can become an advocate and supporter of the preservation and restoration of natural capital, for example: • By investing in natural capital area stewardship and sustainable water infrastructure, • By reducing and mitigating its own impact on natural capital (e.g. businessbased resource, water and energy savings, waste reduction).

These actions are at the heart of sustainable tourism: i.e. tourism practiced with attention to the environment and society while securing the financial bottom line. Sustainable tourism is “characterized by a level of intensity and technology that generates sustainable net social, economic, and environmental benefits. Sustainable tourism is a kind of tourism that develops in a fair and equitable manner for host communities, both human and natural.

Sustainable tourism is economically viable in the long-term and avoids damage to the physical and cultural environment” (Mullis & Figart, 2011).

Practising sustainable tourism necessitates understanding the tourism sector as a complex system consisting of multiple interacting social, environmental and economic components. Taking a holistic value chain approach is a first step in practising sustainable tourism. For example, taking a value chain approach in the context of sustainable use and management of hydrological services, could include water source area stewardship, sustainable water infrastructure design and management, sustainable water use / management practices and water ecological infrastructure stewardship at tourism assets / destinations. Transforming the concept of sustainable tourism into action requires strategic planning and in-depth recurring stakeholder consultation and collaboration.

References

•

Becken, S. (2013). Developing a framework for assessing resilience of tourism sub-systems to climatic factors. Annals of Tourism Research 43:506-528.

• Houdet, J., Browne, M., Lewis, F. (in press). Deliverable 4: Report on draft scenarios for the tourism sector at the national level and pilot sites. Project: The Inland Water Related Tourism in South Africa by 2030 in the light of global change. Report to the Water Research Commission.

• Mullis, B.T, Figart, F (2011:5). Global tourism achieving sustainable goals. Sustainable tourism: International Cooperation for Development Online Tool Kit and Resource Series, https://rmportal.net/library/collections/gsta/global-tourism-achieving-sustainable-goals/view .

• UNEP, 2013 Green Economy Scoping Study: South African Green Economy Modelling Report (SAGEM) – Focus on Natural Resource Management, Agriculture, Transport and Energy Sectors.

• World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2013 Benchmarking travel and tourism in South Africa. Summary of findings, November, 2013. Available online at: http://www.tbcsa.travel/old/storage/files/WTTC_Sectors-_South_Africa.pdf. Accessed February, 2017.

• World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2017. Travel and tourism economic impact 2017 South Africa. 24p.

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CHAPTER 7

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CHAPTER 7: BRIDGING THE GAP: HOW SMALL PROTECTED AREAS AND ASSOCIATED TOURISM CAN IMPACT LOCAL COMMUNITIES POSITIVELY

By Ian Gordon-Cumming and Prof. Kevin Mearns

G

lobally the tourism industry fulfils a major role in economic growth, and in South Africa directly employs 4.5% of the entire workforce (Stassa, 2018a). Consequently, it is not surprising that community-based tourism (CBT) is often presented as a means to poverty reduction and rural development (Spenceley & Meyer, 2012).

Research, however, demonstrates that at the individual household level benefits are mostly overstated and minimal (Kiss, 2004; Amin & Koné, 2015). Concomitantly the majority of visitors to South Africa are holiday makers, and the country’s biodiversity and wildlife remain a top attraction (McCool & Spenceley, 2014; Statssa, 2018b). Therein lies the conundrum - biodiversity conservation, which the tourist industry is dependent on, is heavily dependent on protected areas, which in turn are often negatively impacted by surrounding rural communities. It follows, if CBT as a whole generates insufficient benefit to sustainably incentivise local communities to support conserva-

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tion, how much more problematic is it for small protected areas. The concepts outlined here represent the convergence of an extensive review of academic literature along with research findings based on 150 interviews. Regarding the latter, respondents were all from five communities located within 5 km of the Borakalalo National Park boundary fence. Fundamentally the approach focuses on the factors affecting local attitudes and then considers how park authorities working with ecotourism might influence these more positively (Figure 1).

Attitudes

Prevailing attitudes were assessed across the five communities using a structured questionnaire which considered: • ‘attitudes’ towards conservation, protected areas in general and Borakalalo specifically • ‘perceptions’ regarding access to benefits and involvement with the park.

The vast majority of respondents recognise the importance of biodiversity conservation and acknowledge in its absence over-ex-

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exacerbated by two factors.

Firstly, the nature and style of park authority interactions with the local communities. Essentially this is restricted to two formal communication channels – the C o m m u n i t y Development Officer (CDO) and a Park Forum.

In summary both are seen to be infrequent and largely ineffective.

By way of illustration, two thirds of the respondents stated no Figure 1: Addressing attitudes through benefits and one from the protected communications area had visited their ploitation of natural resources is inevitable village (68.0%). Of the remaining third, 70.3% (97.3%). The majority also concur that simply estimated the most recent visit was over living adjacent to a protected area does not twelve months ago and 69.8% indicated it afford them unrestricted hunting (84.7%) or was always only to “complain about villagers plant gathering (80.0%) rights. Similarly 93.3% poaching”. Moreover, all respondents of the respondents also agreed that protect- indicated that they were not aware of the Park ed areas are the best method to conserve Manager visiting or of any environmental/ wildlife. Many did, however, qualify their re- ecotourism aligned initiatives in their village. sponses by indicating improved access and According to the park authorities the key controlled use of natural resources should barriers are “not wanting to become involved be facilitated and would make a notable dif- in village politics” and a lack of budget. ference to their livelihoods. Notably this pos- Conversely, community members interpret it itivity barely varied irrespective of whether as a lack of interest in their affairs. The second respondents were the victims of wildlife con- factor is the impact of historical land claims. flict or not, and despite over three-quarters of According to the park authority considerable them supplementing their income by access- resources have been applied to successfully concluding co-management agreements ing natural resources.

By comparison attitudes towards which resulted in improved community Borakalalo are generally negative, or at best relations. By comparison, village residents apathetic. As one respondent mentioned asserted that the authorities mislead the “[W]’ve given up on Borakalalo”. The main communities, made empty promises and reasons provided, were that there are no deliberately delayed decisions. Clearly the benefits (28.2%), mistrust (20.5%), tensions research at Borakalalo indicates a disconnect due to poaching (7.7%) and the lack of in prevailing viewpoints, a less than favourable communication (5.1%). A situation largely scenario and raises questions concerning the

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Figure 2: Conservation with communities approach effectiveness interactions with community residents. Accordingly, a modest commitment to engage with local communities and assist in developing alternative livelihood strategies helps create positive attitudes (Cobbinah, Black & Thwaites, 2015).

Benefit

The correlation between benefit availability and positive attitudes towards biodiversity conservation and protected areas is widely recognised (Mbaiwa & Stronza, 2011, Brooks, Waylen & Mulder, 2012, Burgoyne & Mearns, 2017). There is also little doubt the distribution of benefits is not without challenges, foremost of which is tangible benefits are invariably too small to influence attitudes (Snyman 2014). Other concerns include unequal distribution of benefits and elite capture (King, 2007; Richardson, et al., 2012). Realistically the scale of operation and benefits available at Borakalalo, and conceivably other small protected areas, is limited and hence inherently problematic.

Against this background what can be learnt from the situation at Borakalalo? Firstly the data gathered indicates awareness regarding access to actual and historical

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benefits is low, (on average across the five communities surveyed it was only 35.7%); secondly awareness varied significantly across the communities and in terms of specific benefits evaluated - be they access to natural resources or work opportunities.

Potentially of even more concern, a substantial proportion of respondents who were aware of access to benefits also qualified their responses by stating these are only available if you ‘worked at Borakalalo, knew someone who worked there, or were in some way considered important’. An aspect expressed by 25.8% and 31.4% of respondents regarding natural resources and work opportunities respectively. As one Klipvoor participant stated, “they only choose their friends”. In summary, it is suggested two factors are again impacting local attitudes negatively. Firstly, the perceived inequitable access to highly valued but limited benefits, which is a scenario that typically leads to conflict (Suich, 2013). Secondly, the wide variance in awareness is indicative of relative inefficiencies in information distribution and inadequate local communications channels.

So, while recognising there are practical limitations, the issue is more than just a

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lack of benefits, as existing processes and structures, along with a lack of monitoring are considered equally critical.

Communications

Everyday park-community interactions and structures have already been briefly touched upon and seen to be potentially counter-productive.

Furthermore, although active community involvement is both a legal requirement (Watts & Faasen, 2009) and good practice (Mbaiwa, 2005; Blore, 2015) it too is somewhat deficient. At Borakalalo the majority of villagers perceive that their communities are either not involved or only passively so (on average varied from 66.6% to 93.3%).

It is hardly surprising that overall the level of negativity is high. As illustrated by some 34.7% of the respondents stating that there is no relationship, while a further 36.7% rated it as poor or very poor. Again, the significant difference in viewpoints between the park authorities and local communities is of concern, with the latter perceiving relationships have improved.

According to literature, irrespective of the degree of enforcement or size of protected areas, participation is the primary factor that improves compliance (Andrade & Rhodes, 2012), while inequitable power relationships inevitably impact attitudes negatively (Spenceley & Meyer, 2012). Notably Segage and Tsheola (2015) determined a similar absence of effective collaboration in most South African nature reserves.

Conservation-with-communities

Based on these findings it is proposed there is a need for park authorities and tour operators to identify pragmatic opportunities to enhance local livelihood strategies, and influence community attitudes positively.

Critically, participatory conservation sanctions sustainable use of natural resources

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and historically much emphasis has been on various forms of ‘community-basedconservation’. Many, however, are capital intensive, require considerable investment in time and resources and by definition infer a significant element of community management. Based on research at Borakalalo, and the outcomes of various CBC projects described in the literature, a more flexible and pragmatic approach that can be adapted to circumstances is proposed.

A model perhaps more properly described as ‘conservation-with-communities’. The key feature of which is to optimise available shortterm benefits to generate more rewarding, longer-lasting human and social capital (Figure 2).

To which purpose a simple 3-step process is proposed: improve access to available low-value natural resources; capitalise on a few basic initiatives; and invest in small sustainable enterprises. By way of illustration:

Access to low-value natural resources

Strategically, park authorities should consider this as an opportunity to show an interest in local community welfare, build good relationships and generate a sense of ownership amongst residents. Tactically, access needs to be based on transparent, fair and equitable sharing by all communities and hence good practice suggests community representatives need to be involved in creating the rules for engagement and access.

For tour operators, access to protected areas is vital, and opportunities to build capacity in parallel could be considered beneficial.

Few basic initiatives

Strategically, it is important to prioritise opportunities to address factors contributing to negative attitudes and/or improve local livelihoods. Tactically, in the case of Borakalalo in its current format the Park

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Forum is a source of conflict while ineffective communications are seen to engender mistrust. Similarly, there is a distinct lack of any environmental awareness initiatives.

Both could be addressed in the short-term with little financial investment by realigning priorities and resources to encourage a more involved mode of engagement with the communities. As one of the key stakeholders, tour operators should also look at being actively involved.

Sustainable project investment

Strategically the focus needs to be on contributing to sustainable livelihoods, tactically the focus should be to assume minimal financial resources, rather optimising available human and natural resources. For example, linking low-skilled externally funded temporary work projects to skills development and

environmental training. Alternatively linking available natural resources in the protected area with locally available skills to develop small-scale enterprises with the potential to grow. In the case of Borakalalo this could involve bartering bush-clearing for licenced fishing-rights, collecting seeds for indigenous nurseries and local birding tour guides.

Conclusion

Clearly the scale of investment opportunity in many small protected areas and size of rural populations, as typified by Borakalalo, is daunting. Nevertheless, it is suggested opportunity exists to better leverage what is available in developing local human and social capital. In the model outlined - park authorities, community residents and tour operators all become interested parties who stand to benefit from working together.

References

•

Amin, A., & Koné, I. (2015). People and protected areas: an assessment of costs and benefits of conservation of local people in southeastern Ivory Coast. Society & Natural Resources, 28(9), 925-940.

Andrade, G.S.M., & Rhodes, J.R. (2012). Protected areas and local communities: an inevitable partnership towards successful conservation strategies? Ecology and Society, 17(4),14-21.

• Blore, M.L. (2015). The role of social capital in community-based natural resource management: a case study from South Africa.

Unpublished M.Sc. (Environmental Economics) thesis. University of Pretoria: Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences.

• Brooks, J.S., Waylen, K.A., & Mulder, M.B. (2012). How national context, project design, and local community characteristics influence success in community-based conservation projects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109(52), 21265-21270 • Burgoyne, C., & Mearns, K. (2017). Managing stakeholder relations, natural resources and tourism: a case study from Ololosokwan, Tanzania. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 17(1), 68-78.

• Cobbinah, P.B., Black, R., & Thwaites, R. (2015). Biodiversity conservation and livelihoods in rural Ghana; impacts and coping strategies.

Environmental Development, 15, 79-93.

• King, B.H. (2007). Conservation and community in the new South Africa: a case study of the Mahushe Shongwe game reserve.

Geoforum, 38, 207-219.

• Kiss, A. (2004). Is community-based ecotourism a good use of biodiversity conservation funds. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19(5), 232-237.

• Mbaiwa, J.E. & Stronza, A.L. (2011). Changes in resident attitudes towards tourism development and conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Journal of Environmental Management, 92, 1950-1959.

• Mbaiwa, J.E. (2005). Wildlife resource utilisation at Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai community area on the Okavango delta, Botswana. Journal of Environmental Management, 77, 144-156.

• McCool, S.F., & Spenceley, A. (2014). Tourism and protected areas: a growing nexus of challenge and opportunity. Koedoe, 56(2), 1-2.

• Richardson, R.B., Fernandez, A., Tschirley, D., & Tembo, G. (2012). Wildlife conservation in Zambia: impacts on rural household welfare.

World Development, 40(5), 1068-1081.

• Segage, M., & Tsheola, J. (2015). Collaborative resource management approach: a response to conflicts and illegal resource use in South Africa’s natural reserves. In: Conference on Business Innovation and Growth (400-415). Gaborone: University of Botswana.

• Snyman, S.L. (2014). Assessment of the main factors impacting community members’ attitudes towards tourism and protected areas in six southern African countries. Koedoe, 56(2), 1-12.

• Spenceley, A., & Meyer, D. (2012). Tourism and poverty reduction: theory and practice in less economically developed countries.

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(3), 297-317.

• Statistics South Africa. (2018a). Tourism: employment, economy and foreign income. http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=6166 [Accessed 23 January 2018].

• Statistics South Africa. (2018b). 3.5 million travellers to South Africa. http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10637 [Accessed 23 January 2018].

• Suich, H. (2013). The effectiveness of economic incentives for sustaining community based natural resource management. Land Use Policy, 31, 441-449.

• Watts, S., & Faasen, H. (2009). Community-based conflict resolution strategies for sustainable management of the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa. South African Geographical Journal, 91(1), 25-37.

•

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G

allery-Art Versatile is an entrepreneurial endeavour established upon the premise that art and the people who make it have, since the dawn of time, played a very critical role in the building of healthy and thriving societies the world over. Art and artists therefore, deserve the most attention and economic support possible to help boost and mainstream their sector. The impact that art has in people’s lives is invaluable and therefore should not at any time be trivialised. Art evokes strong convictions in us human beings – convictions which spur us up towards reaching our truest potential.

Art Versatile, through the establishment of Gallery-Art Versatile, seeks to break the cycle of redundancy in terms of how the visual art and craft sector is positioned within the economic landscape of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The general perception that art is a luxury and therefore needs not to be taken as one among other key potential economic drivers is a fallacy. As a con-

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e for the best The point of converganc visual-art evocative Eastern Cape

and handmade-craft

cerned arts organization, we are taking determinate steps and an activist stand towards playing our part in the redress of what has been a glaring outcome of intermittent, uncoordinated and sometimes a sheer lack of support for the visual-arts and craft sector of the Eastern Cape Province.

We are positioning Gallery-Art Versatile as a grand solution in relation to the matter of marketing, promotion, packaging, distribution and the selling of the best authentic visual-art and handmade-craft of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province to the local and international market.

We have set-up a very rare market access platform in an upmarket and conveniently situated spot at the Premier Hotel East London ICC. We believe this shall become the most viable visual art and handmade craft art gallery project our province has ever seen.

Premier Hotel East London ICC | 22 Esplanade, Beachfront Quigney, East London | Buffalo City Metro | Eastern Cape | South Africa THE TOURISM HANDBOOK +27 (0) 738365552 | litha@artversatile.co.za | www.artversatile.co.za

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e for the best The point of converganc visual-art evocative Eastern Cape and handmade-craft

GALLERY-ART VERSATILE

F

ounded in 2008 by Litha Ncokazi, a practicing visual artist and entrepreneur with vast lecturing experience, Art Versatile cc has opened an art gallery named Gallery-Art Versatile in a conveniently positioned spot at the Premier Hotel East London ICC in January 2018.

The broad aim of this establishment is to provide the much needed market access and sales opportunity to visual artists and handmade craft practitioners of the Eastern Cape who are producers of one-of-a-kind art products of the highest quality.

At the gallery we shall invest all of our efforts and resources towards making sure that we market, promote, package, sell and distribute a product which captures the essence of the cutting-edge innovation and creative ingenuity of local Eastern Cape visual artists and craft practitioners.

Further to this, the Gallery-Art-Versatile is to be positioned as a point of convergence for creatives and art enthusiasts for the purpose of cultivating cultural exchange ideas harnessed through the showcasing of the artefacts that celebrate the diverse cultures and heritage of the people of our beautiful province.

All planned activities which are to take place within the art gallery and every other event driven by it shall serve as Gallery-Art Versatileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own contribution towards stimulating economic transformation within the visual art and craft sector of the Eastern Cape.

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Premier Hotel East London ICC | 22 Esplanade, Beachfront Quigney, East London | Buffalo City Metro | Eastern Cape | South Africa THE TOURISM HANDBOOK +27 (0) 738365552 | litha@artversatile.co.za | www.artversatile.co.za

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CHAPTER 8: LOCAL FESTIVALS AND GASTRONOMY, KEY ELEMENTS OF A SMART RURAL SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

By Robert Lanquar

T

he rural world, in developed countries at least with ageing population, is losing its inhabitants. This depopulation has a paralyzing effect on rural services and local development. Rural territories are losing their fullness and their soul, undermining the foundations of their own culture. A local soul is a mix of tangible and intangible topics including folklore, customs and traditions. Local religious and non-religious festivals and local cuisine/gastronomy are part of them. We have studied this topic in the case of the Province of Cordoba (Spain) to understand their role in sustainable and responsible tourism.

As a major vector of local intangible heritage, festivals can foster innovative processes which create and consolidate local businesses, increase jobs for women and young people, enhance enjoyment of natural and cultural heritage, and provide prime opportunities for intercultural dialogue with visitors. They are also the time to produce a unique, authentic cuisine/gastronomy using dishes and beverages. Culinary specialties offered at these events differentiate territories and highlight their local particularities, i.e. their authenticity. Unfortunately, this cuisine now evolves towards ‘fusion food’ and, unlike two to three decades ago, no longer uses exclusively local products. They no

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longer seem to reinforce regional identities.

Globalization has passed through here too.

This is the issue emerging in the Province of Cordoba (Andalusia, Spain).

The purpose of festivals and local pilgrimages is to promote the feeling of belonging to a community and develop a sense of cohesion and homogeneity within a territory. In rural areas, festivals and fairs often become merged with funfairs. Some festival events also include trade fairs for local terroir specialities, gastronomic food markets and flea markets. By incorporating all viable options, such festivals provide opportunities for a vast array of creativity and innovation and set aside humdrum reality - at least symbolically. They may also facilitate the reconstruction of collective culture when, as in the case of Andalusia, this had been shattered by the National Catholic Church following the 1936 Civil War. Jean Duvignaud (1973) describes the festival as a time which is free of the conventions and requirements of production and work. Could it be that a tourism, which involves the departure of holidaymakers from their homes and the reception of national or foreign visitors, represents such a time and is a factor for ‘happiness’? Even if this is the case, the tourism in question must be responsible, sustainable, inclusive, and in today’s world, connected (‘smart tourism’). It must also not have any negative impact on the traditions and values of the host country

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(Lanquar, 2012). Such moments of happiness are experienced during visits, in the wonder evoked by a landscape or monument, through participation in an event or cultural and entertaining activity, and very often by gathering around a table to savour the cuisine and gastronomy specific to a festival or event and made with ingredients produced by the local ‘terroir’.

Many civil festivals, which formerly reflected local particularities and the main crafts and trades in the villages, towns and cities of a given territory, were taken over by the local clergy, adapted to patron saints and set on dates which often no longer corresponded to the realities of rural life and labour in the fields. Even local cuisine was controlled – there was the principle of what one could and could not eat.

How can festivals contribute to the development of a responsible tourism and the food production industry? How can they contribute to sustainable rural development, especially in little known regions which, in Europe, and in the most advanced countries, are being gradually divested of their populations? Festivals have mostly been studied by sociologists; it is only recently that geographers (Di Méo, 2001) have considered the role of festivals in structuring territories. It now seems time for economists to examine the potential role of festivals in local economic development. Management and entrepreneurial development specialists should also be involved so that festivals can provide a guiding theme around which new activities can be created in the tourism, artisanal and/or agricultural/food production sectors. How can meaningful strategies be developed to raise awareness amongst local populations so that entrepreneurs and associative groups initiate and act such processes?

Festivals contribute to the construction of territories and consolidate their cultural,

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and hence, their culinary, identity (Di Méo, 2001). Festivals and local fairs are focuses of political and media attention which also contribute to territorial cohesion. Since Antiquity, festivals, fairs and local markets have served as meeting places (for eating and drinking) where people meet to do business and trade, to establish matrimonial alliances and exchange information. This networking process is magnified today by information and communication technologies and social media. There is a wide range of literature on this subject.

By taking advantage of the province’s festivals, it should be possible to accelerate the development of culinary tourism based on local agricultural products and including tourist circuits, excursions, unique, unusual visits and other entertaining activities based on atypical traditional games etc.

The research made in the Province of Cordoba among the local tourism professionals included six points concerning the festivals held in each county of the province: • The nature of the festival’s interest for tourism, whether this be religious popular traditions, socio-cultural and civil popular traditions, or a combination of sociocultural, religious and civil aspects (in a pre-consolidated scheduled activity or event).

• The impact on responsible tourism: supply and demand.

• What could be done to increase this impact?

• Which actors (folk groups, brotherhoods or associations) promote festivals locally?

• Which events, new activities and innovative services could be created within the respondent’s comarca relating to these festivals?

• Which products and services could be developed within the county relating to these festivals particularly regarding cuisine and gastronomy?

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Results

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Gastronomy is the most rapidly expanding economic activity in the Province of Cordoba.

And the success of festivals is often directly linked to funfair events which are held in the main towns of each county where cuisine and gastronomy play a unique role. These are accompanied by a surge of cultural practices including song, dance, music and drama, as well as gastronomy and homemade style cuisine.

Most respondents primarily emphasized the need for infrastructure and equipment to facilitate tourism development in their counties, even outside of festival periods.

They also show that there is a lack good signposting for towns, villages and their attractions; more car parks are needed for private cars and tourist buses at the entrances to villages and towns. Above all, in the counties with woodlands and natural parks, respondents ask for more paths for hiking, horse riding, cycling and mountain biking.

For travel agents and event organisers, there are not enough country inn-style hotels of either comfortable or luxury standard and there is a lack of rural accommodation in the counties which are far away from Cordoba city. Paradoxically, hoteliers and restaurateurs point out that, except in the case of a few hostelries outside Cordoba city, there is not enough customer demand in the low season. However, none of these accommodation providers make any real attempt to develop quality gastronomic offerings in the low season.

Few respondents think that local festivals and their associated gastronomy could be

an additional factor for attracting corporate meetings, incentive trips or small conferences to rural areas. Some respondents are just beginning to realise that mobile e-tourism is on the increase with the use of tablets and smart phones; nevertheless, the distribution of these technologies is advancing rapidly, and by 2017 – 2018 the situation could be very different with the interest for smart tourism.

The Declaration of Añora by the University of Cordoba (October 2017) on Smart Rural- Land is an indication of these rapid changes.

Conclusions

Gastronomy and festivals could be considered as short, medium and long-term opportunities to extend a stay, especially if they are better coordinated. This coordination should be implemented between associations of municipalities to have a positive impact on employment and investment and would create clusters capable of accelerating alliances between local economic and social activities (tourism, trade, handmade goods, food production, and technological advances).

They would also enable a lot of civilians to participate, particularly young people and women who are only just starting to play a role in the fraternities and brotherhoods.

The different local powers will need to reach a consensus about the need for sustainable, connected and inclusive development as a means of preventing the slow, yet all too real, rural depopulation of the Province of Cordoba. Thus, this example may be considered as a best practice for a smart, i.e. connected, sustainable and inclusive tourism in the world.

References

• • •

Di Méo G., 2001, Le sens géographique des fêtes, Ann. Géo, nº 622, Paris, A. Colin Duvignaud J.,1973, Fêtes et civilisations, Paris, Weber Jiménez Beltrán J. et al., 2016, Gastronomy and Tour-ism: Profile and Motivation of International Tourism in the City of Córdoba, Spain, Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 14:4, 347-362, • Lanquar R., 2016, Le tourisme fait-il le bonheur des nations, Espaces nº307, Paris, Octobre

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CHAPTER 9: VISIBLE TRAILS, INVISIBLE TRAIL BUILDERS

By Kathryn Fourie

S

outh Africa is well known for its varied landscapes and geology, ranging from wild beach paradise locations to the beautiful moonscapes of the Karoo, but it is particularly blessed with areas of high elevation. South Africa has over 62 official mountain ranges, with uncountable hills and dales between. It’s an explorers dream, and what every explorer worth their salt can appreciate is a well-built trail.

The sheer volume of trails that criss-cross South Africa, both formal and informal, are mind-boggling. From the fairest Cape to the inner-city of Johannesburg, it is possible to walk, run and pedal to one’s heart’s content. But it’s not often, while pounding a trail to another amazing vista, that outdoor enthusiasts think about what went into building the trail, the tools, the hours, the planning and the experience that goes into carving the swoops of dirt that bring so much joy to hundreds of thousands of people. Funnily enough, the Organizing Framework for Occupations (OFO) in South Africa doesn’t think about it either.

The OFO is essentially a giant list of all the official occupations that are recognised in South Africa, which are linked to qualifications.

Essentially, they are occupations that have learning pathways attached to them. If you want to become an engineer, you study through well-established channels to get a degree or diploma that allows you to say you

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are an engineer, and to legally be employed to work as an engineer. The same goes for becoming a baker or a neurosurgeon, they are well known occupations, and there is an educational path to follow to reach them.

Not every occupation requires a degree or a diploma, but they are certainly useful vehicles to gaining employment and being able to ask for a certain amount of money in return for your services. They are tools to let people live the kinds of lives they value, and want to lead.

And this is where we zoom back to the trails we tread. In South Africa, trails are one of the lynch pins in the adventure tourism industry. In the tourism hierarchy, tourism potential has to start with a primary attraction, which is something wonderful that attracts tourist to an area. Primary attractions can be nature based like mountains and beaches, or culturally based like sites of historical importance. Secondary attractions allow tourists to interact with the area, and increase their length of stay. Tourist facilities that attach to the secondary attractions (like restaurants, accommodation, retail facilities), are what maximise expenditure in an area. So, while mountains and forests may be primary attractions, trails are the basis through which tourists can interact with them. Trails, and good, well-managed trails in particular, are a secondary attraction in South Africa that have yet to be accurately valued. And the people who build trails, and who have raised the bar in South Africa with countless trail venues popping up nationally, have yet to be

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properly valued too.

There is no formal way to study to become a trail builder in South Africa, there is no recognition given to people who have learned through trial, error and experience to build world-class trails – bar what their peers say and report, mainly on social media and through word-of-mouth. Moreover, the men and women who typically come from rural areas who spend years of their lives learning first to clear trails, then to maintain trails, and then to build them from scratch, cannot earn recognition for what they have learned and achieved. It’s a frustrating situation, particularly when the adventure tourism sector in South Africa relies so heavily on people with these particular skills.

It seems that this is in fact an international issue, and it is relatively difficult to find an agreed upon authority that could lead the charge for developing trail building as an occupation. The most authoritative institution is arguably the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), who have done impressive work with creating resources to guide sustainable trail building (in particular, books that have engineering principles built into trail building dos and don’ts), and have managed to get many countries on board with the IMBA trail grading system. This means that wherever one rides mountain bikes in the world, if the facility uses the IMBA grading system, as a rider you know how to read the trails and make line choices against your own abilities.

Essentially, trail building is a form of infrastructure development, that is based on engineering and construction principles.

The way to tackle the problem of a lack of qualification options in South Africa, would be for people to train towards a construction qualification, at the most basic level, with a specialisation in trail building.

While that sounds simple, heavy-duty legwork has to be undertaken to

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negotiate the National Qualification Framework(NQF) in order to understand how to make this achievable for people who have had no previous formal training, and in some cases will not have finished senior schooling. A frustrating element of the NQF is that it struggles to address the results of past inequities and the legacy of apartheid separate development, that is felt by many rural children and young adults today.

Training in the construction industry sits beneath the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA), and learning pathways to occupations in construction would be quality controlled by them. There are murky waters to negotiate for sure.

What this story begins to tell us, is that while tourists tread the trails of South Africa, the hands that shape them require some support if they are to gain hard-earned recognition for what they do. Essentially, the trails are there, they are real, they support the economy and they can be experienced, but the human forces behind the trails are not recognised. They are essentially invisible and not factored into the education and training systems that are supposed to bolster people’s meaning in life, and support their ability to create lives they want to lead.

There is work to be done, and there is an important area of tourism to invest in and formalise. The first step is to recognise the gap, to sprinkle the ‘magic powder’ of attention over the invisible to give it substance. The next step is to gain support from the industry, and to push for educational and occupational options and choices for the people whose efforts underpin the existence of the trails. If trails are what allow tourists to interact with the many facets of South Africa’s landscapes, then trail builders and maintenance workers should be acknowledged and supported by the formal institutional structures that manage tourism in South Africa.

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NATURAL ADVENTURE DESTINATION From the spectacular cliffs of Gansbaaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s De Kelders to the miles of white sandy beaches of Pearly Beach, you will find one of the most unique and astonishing coastlines teeming with marine life. The surrounding area of Baardskeerdersbos and the Uilkraal valley is full of unique endemic fynbos and forests providing shelter and food for our shy and diverse terrestrial wild animals. To further encourage you to spend some time here there are intriguing places to stay, to eat and of course to have fun.

Maintaining to a large extent the original fishing village life-style, Gansbaai has developed with low impact into an exciting natural outdoor destination for foreign and domestic travellers offering a laid back, warm and memorable experience.

The main reason that Gansbaai area has become a premier nature destination in South Africa is the fact that conservation of both the marine- and land-based nature

has been embraced by all layers of society.

Gansbaai is known for its rich marine heritage and boasts as not only the Great White Shark capital of the World but also the best whale wathing int the world. The three opportunities of whale watching include land, sea and air based. Adding to this is the endangered African Penguin, seals and dolphins around the famous Dyer Island Eco-system.

A destination to get active with numerous outdoor activities, mountain bike routes, golfing, horse riding and cave exploring.

Hikes in the southernmost forest.

The spectacular sunsets add new meaning to sipping cocktails on the balcony.

The area is fast becoming a popular wedding destination. Find the best suited accommodation in Gansbaai to match your mood and budget as there is a wide selection from luxurious to affordable holiday establishments available

www.gansbaaiinfo.com | Tel: +27(28) 384 2111

Marine Adventure | Heritage & Culture Fynbos & Forest | Sports Adventure Beach Adventures | Food & Wine

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CHAPTER 10: TRANSFRONTIER PARKS DESTINATIONS

By Lisa Scriven

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ransfrontier Parks Destinations (TFPD) was founded in 2004 by a small group of businessminded social entrepreneurs who shared a common vision for partnering with communities to commercialise their tourism assets – a vision that is encapsulated in TFPD’s current operating philosophy. Today, TFPD manages, markets, and operates 12 communityowned products in transfrontier parks and adjacent conservation areas in partnership with their community owners with the goal of creating decent work opportunities, accessing investment and development opportunities, and ensuring that procurement strategies benefit local businesses.

Community-owned properties in partnership with TFPD across South Africa (see Figure 1) include: • !Xaus Lodge, owned by the ‡Khomani San (Bushmen) and the Mier communities; • Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, owned by the Batlokoa community; • Camps and lodges along the African Ivory Route, owned by the VaTsonga, BaHananwa, BaSotho, BaLobedu, and VhaVenda communities as well as four additional communities under the Royal Council, which ultimately impact on 41 local villages; • Awelani Lodge and Eco-tourism Park, owned by the VhaVenda community • Nahakwe Lodge, owned by the Mamaila community. !Xaus Lodge was one of the first partnerships

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entered into between its community owners and TFPD. The 24-bed lodge is located in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park where the borders of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia converge, and was acquired as a result of a land claim by the Mier and ‡Khomani San communities. All but abandoned when the partnership with TFPD was struck, !Xaus’ operations have created sustained permanent employment, created and diversified markets for local businesses and entrepreneurs, and generated substantial revenues for community owners while also earning various accolades, including winning an Imvelo Award for Economic Impact in 2010, Silver for Poverty Reduction and Inclusion in the 2016 WTM Responsible Tourism Awards, and Gold for Poverty Reduction in the 2016 African Responsible Tourism Awards.

This pattern of transforming ‘white elephants’ into successful ventures was not unique to !Xaus Lodge but has, rather, become the norm for TFPD partnerships.

The impacts of these remarkable transformations speak to the strength of TFPD’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)

Figure : TFPD’s Geographic Footprint

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8 achievements. TFPD’s is not a journey of a successful responsible tourism venture in only one location, with only one set of contextual challenges, and contracting with only one community partner. It is, rather, a journey of repeated joint venture success requiring a broad range of challenges to be overcome with each new venture to enable community tourism assets to work effectively for their owners and local community. (See Figure 2 for partnership journey and recognition for progress made towards sustainable development.)

The scale of these achievements is such that no fewer than 50 villages now benefit, directly and indirectly, from the group’s operations, which comprise almost 300 beds and have created 147 permanent jobs in rural areas, which in turn support an estimated 955 dependents (see Figure 3 below). This scale reflects considerable growth since TFPD’s first years in operation (see Figure 4) and they continuously search for ways to unlock new opportunities that benefit communities and overcome the poverty challenge to sustainable development that plagues the southern African region.

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work could not be of greater importance than in South Africa, which has one of the highest economic inequality ratings in the world and official, national unemployment ratings hovering just under 30%. The latter poverty indicator jumps to over 43% in some of the areas where TFPD operations are located (see Figure 5).

Economic policy responses by the South African government have included significant capital investment in communityowned tourism assets intended to enable their owners to forge a path to prosperity and business success.

With limited, if any, sector expertise or

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technical background, however, lodges and cultural camps often sit vacant. Although community owners increasingly viewed these tourism assets as ‘white elephants’, TFPD maintained that tourism was indeed the key to eradicating poverty in these rural areas by creating decent local employment opportunities and economic activity.

Partnership with TFPD brought technical capacity and experience to community owners who, in addition to their assets, offered the opportunity for rich cultural experiences in areas of outstanding natural beauty. This combination produced the key to transforming community-owned assets into viable, commercial tourism products. The result was the creation of decent livelihoods and shared value in the local area as well as a renewed sense of pride for community owners and a strong trust relationship among the partners.

Quantifiable benefits have been

Figure 2: TFPD Journey

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monitored since operations began in 2008, providing robust data to demonstrate the value of TFPD’s approach of partnering with community owners to be an effective tool for achieving SDG8. See Figures 6 and 7 below for a global overview of TFPD’s local economic impact results and an example of how this extrapolates at a lodge level.

(NB All values have been reported in the local currency – Rands (R) – but the following conversion rates may be applied to provide an indicative equivalent: US$ 1= R13; GBP 1= R17; Euro 1 = R16.)

TFPD partnerships have succeeded where others have failed largely due to the extent to which community partners are engaged and the perpetual efforts to equalise the partnership.

For example, TFPD works with community owners to enhance their understanding of what ownership really means, such as taking care of and maintaining their asset, taking pride in it, and growing it for and into the future. Given the country’s Apartheid history whereby ownership rights were denied to the majority of South Africans, this is a significant challenge within the local context and one that TFPD believes must be overcome for success to be sustainable.

The significance of these achievements is well researched and documented in a statement by renowned academic, Professor Keyan Tomaselli, Professor Emeritus of the University of KwaZulu Natal and Distinguished Professor of the University of Johannesburg, an

extract of which is provided below: “TFPD has made unviable projects viable, refurbished physically degraded lodges and camps that span huge distances, re-motivated local, tribal, provincial and community stakeholders and staff and did so with a view to developing local nodes of tourism activity. It has documented the returns to the surrounding communities and developed a business model that has a social conscience. […] TFPD is able to operate under conditions that would be anathema to conventional business models.”

All TFPD portfolio properties are under the individual ownership of the respective community and are subject to an independent financial audit on an annual basis. All operational impacts reported in this application are subject to this audit process. In addition to this independent verification of financial impact reporting and as part of its role to build capacity within its community partner structures, TFPD meets with its partners three to four times per year to ensure that interim and annual financial reporting is transparent and understood.

As part of its partnership agreement, TFPD manages financial and other administrative processes from its head office where it has suitably qualified and experienced personnel on staff to ensure that monitoring and reporting of impacts is

Figure 3: Scale of TFPD Operations in South Africa

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Figure 4: Growth in TFPD Operations Scale accurate and complete.

Going forward, the TFPD Foundation will assume a more prominent role as the vehicle for raising funds and managing projects that add further benefit to the relevant owner communities and fulfil TFPDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s community development mandate.

TFPD goes even further to ensure that it is held accountable for applying best practice across its operations by undergoing a third party Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) audit every three years. In 2017, the entire TFPD group was awarded

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FTT certification, making it the first corporate entity in South Africa to receive certification for all properties countrywide.

Many of the standards and criteria that are verified by the internationally accredited auditing body during this off- and on-site audit process speak directly to economic growth, employment, and decent work as contained in the SDGs. TFPD communicates its FTT-certified status to the public in all of its marketing collateral, including its website, and at operational sites in order to enable all guests to transparently query its operational commitment to responsible and Fair Trade Tourism.

Figure 5 Unemployment in South Africa, 2017 THE TOURISM HANDBOOK

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CHAPTER 11: ROUTE2ROOTS AND THE KHOISAN

By: Thierry- Alban Revert

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he #Walk4ourfreedom campaign is included in the Route2Roots (R2R) tourism itinerary championed by the Khoisan cultural groups as the indigenous first nation of SA. Indigenous people over the world have been declared to be the custodians of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) at the UN World Symposium on Sustainable Development (WSSD) 2015, as they are traditionally respectful of Ubuntu mindset. According to Ubuntu, it is possible to find unity in diversity – something that is often disappearing from the livelihoods. This means focusing on interdependence and developing mutual trust. This makes it possible for people to find shared interests, through shared value and shared vision which can be crystallised in a Creed of Trust.

This custodianship role is what drives the Route2Roots (R2R) initiative South Africa, Africa and worldwide. In South Africa, the R2R event moves slowly between 192 sites along the route. Each site is situated within walking distance of the next. It starts at Freedom Park/Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria on the Day of Reconciliation (16 December), going south-westward,

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ending at the Castle of Good Hope on Human Rights Day (21 March) - a journey of 96 days. In its second year, it will go back north in an eastward itinerary. The event allows not only visitors, but also local people and schools to discover their roots, as they walk from one site to the other. For R2R, each site on the route is dedicated to display rock art and is supported by various indigenous cultural activities. The rock art is represented through authentic replicas painted by locally trained young artists, using the traditional Khoisan painting techniques and materials.

The #Walk4ourfreedom creates a mantra as a choice from the community. Such a mantra is an inspirational theme and identity to the site, and is expressed at each step on the way from the walkers, creating a morphic resonance that ripples a beneficial effect and impact on people’s consciousness, all around. A mantra such as “dignity”, “courage” or “humility” sets a good mood around the site.

The event is a multi-stakeholder cooperation exercise which sees multiple government departments working together on each site to establish a hub of tourism, education as well as cultural and economic activities. The event is for the people, by the people, with the

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people. National sponsors are expected to continue contributing to the R2R, as the flagship event is the International Indigenous People Festival IIFP), which will take place in December of each year. This event includes world music and displays of indigenous fashion and cuisine.

Partners in this initiative include the Origins Centre, Maropeng and the Rock Art Research Institute (RARI). However, the R2R initiative is foremost a shift towards real change and transformation at the seed of communities’ real empowerment, creating opportunities to local arts, crafts and open displays. While most of the sites are located in the middle of community, there are also prestigious sites along the R2R, such as Kara Heritage, Vlakplaas, Credo Mutwa Shrine, Gandhi Peace centre and more. It is also anticipated that the R2R will stimulate the building of National Khoisan Heritage sites, such as the Breede Valley in the Western Cape, the theatre of a serious water crisis.

The community contribution includes solutions through the R2R, whereby Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and

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folklore are applied to help remediate such situations. The whole campaign is seen as the evolution of consciousness, when we realise that going back to basics and reconnecting with Nature is a real remediation to phenomenon such as climate change, ecological and moral degradation.

The R2R is a different form of “Slow Tourism”, akin to the “Slow Food” movement. R2R is inspired by long walks such as the St Jacques de Compostelle in n France, or the Roof of the World walk in Tibet, Buthan, and Nepal.

The R2R also focuses on the youth, as it is a reminder that we, as industrious and civilised people have neglected to work towards the seventh generation it is time to for all to realise that we are all equal human beings. The R2R is also creating festivals with themes around the 4 primal elements such as water, air, fire and earth and the holding of ceremonies such as the celebrations of the new rains and the harvests.

The R2R is a pioneering venture, as each site is “imagined and designed’ by the local communities and civil society groups and exalt their peculiarities and artistry. The R2R will be encouraging the sites to create an indigenous styled hospitality infrastructure, and well as to produce organic food that will be served in local taverns.

A national program supported by the National Advanced Manufacturing Initiative (NAMI) is also working at reviving animal traction through “light” decorated donkey carts taking the guests on little tours of the livelihoods. The R2R is a people’s driven Green/Blue – Clean/ Lean tool and vehicle to promote the “next tourism” and become a model and template, for each site to create satellites around the original choice of venue.

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MOHOLOHOLO

MOHOLOHOLO – THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

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he Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Moholoholo contributes to the conservation of endangered species and the rehabilitation of injured and poisoned wildlife. Moholoholo also facilitates a number of successful breeding programmes.

Situated in the shadow of the majestic “Maripeskop”, our unique rehabilitation centre is home to many animals and birds.

The centre has a successful Serval Breeding Project. Having bred and releases

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over 160 back into the areas where they have previously become extinct.

Wherever possible rehabilitated birds and animals are returned to the wild and those who are not so fortunate due to the nature and extent of their problems are used for educational talks to the, many people who visit each year. Our tours are on an awareness basis and are to awaken us to the critical situation our wildlife is in We invite you to come and share a unique experience with the animals of Africa . . . . .

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Forest Camp

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Accomodation and full catering for 22 people at the foot of the Drakensberg ● Birding and guided game walks

Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre ● Daily tours Successful breeding programmes Management course for game farming ●

●

Mountain View

Accomodation for 28-plus peopl ● B&B, full catering Guided bird and wildlife bush walks, night drives ●

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Ya Mati

5x luxurious chalets on the bank of the Blyde River.

Self-catering or full catering ● Wedding facilities for up to 120 people ●

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For more info and bookings: Forest Camp & Rehabilitation Centre: Tel: +27 (0)15 795-5236 ı Fax: +27 (0)15 795-5333 Mountain view: Cell: 082 907 5983 Ya Mati: Cell: 072 191 2024 / 084 511 3000 Fax: +27 (0)12 348 4926 E-mail: moholo@worldonline.co.za

www.moholoholo.co.za

Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre ●

●

●

Forest Camp

Accomodation and full catering for 22 people at the foot of the Drakensberg ● Birding and guided game walks

Ya Mati

5x luxurious chalets on the bank of the Blyde River. ● Self-catering or full catering ● Wedding facilities for up to 120 people

Mountain View

Accomodation for 28-plus peopl B&B, full catering ● Guided bird and wildlife bush walks, night drives ●

●

Daily tours ● Successful breeding programmes ● Management course for game farming

For more info and bookings: Forest Camp & Rehabilitation Centre: Tel: +27 (0)15 795-5236 I Fax: +27 (0)15 795-5333 Mountain view: Cell: 082 907 5983 Ya Mati: Cell: 072 191 2024 / 084 511 3000 I Fax: +27 (0)12 348 4926 E-mail: moholo@worldonline.co.za THE TOURISM HANDBOOK www.moholoholo.co.za

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CHAPTER 12: THE TOWNSHIP TOURISM PONDERED

By Siphiwe Ngwenya

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ourism and the arts were, and still are, an academic mystery. They are both mammoth concepts and as a social entrepreneur in townships, I find myself in this hard but exciting space that has led me to view townships in a different manner. Another notable change has been my renewed curiosity concerning the underlying arts and tourism economics, which in townships, are linked to low prices.

The rise of township tourism in Africa - and indeed other third world environments toohas heralded the beginning of the need for a more responsible way of doing things.

A more responsible way of traveling and consuming experiences in these exciting places, which by the way could also be good if you have a shoestring budget.

Community Perspective

Countries like South Africa are enjoying an influx of tourists and are responding in innovative ways to the need of a more responsible visitor experience. In the South African economy, tourism is a substantial contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), even bigger than mining. Currently – and historically - the biggest beneficiaries of tourism are large corporates and conglomerates with networks all around the world. This is where the responsible tourism lingo is highly spoken about and advocated for. Sadly, however, much of this advocacy washes over urban, peri-

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urban and rural communities. Attempts to include these areas in the tourism value chain resulted in a “watch them from the bus” movement, countering the healing effect that inclusive tourism promotes.

This has warped the understanding of the community of the advantages tourism can bring.

When the community of poorer environments experiences the advent of the colonizer – in the form of a “township tourist” - coming to “learn of the poor”, it becomes a daunting task to instill responsibility. It puts the future of township tourism at a difficult vantage point. Tourism products can spring from different places in the township, but what provides a considerable challenge is the creation of large-scale community consent. Consent can only occur if it is driven from the inside out. If the community has a compelling reason to redefine itself, it can engage tourists in a positive spirit. Being treated with respect for providing an authentic experience that reflects the values of the community can have a healing effect – for both tourist and community. Township tourism is a community journey that, if embarked on with conviction, can create a legacy for other communities to follow.

I now ask myself, how long does it take for a poor community to fully see itself as a destination? What are the necessary instruments needed to create the consent needed for the support to come from inside out? These are elements that must be

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investigated deeply as this is how destination development of the township will find its place.

In the past, much research has been done in the South African township tourism context to determine appropriate locally developed products. How far today’s tourism entrepreneurs and organizations are using this research is still questionable.

A look at Gauteng Tourism’s website reveals only two tourism products for Alexandra Township. What brings about this situation for one of the first townships in South Africa?

Another matter to ponder is the quality of advertising of township tourism products to the world and how this aligns with what really exists. This again can only be solved by community tourism businesses recognizing that they are in more than just a township environment but are sitting on goldmines - the future of tourism destinations.

Socio-Economic Impact of Tourism

To ponder these matters one has to engage in a socio-political discourse that might take a bit of time to get through if not approached appropriately by the organizations and groups concerned. Part of the engagement is questioning the history of the tourism organisation in South Africa, the bottom of the Dark Continent, that needs an expedition leader who can save you from giant mosquitoes and the lions. We will also need to start questioning the contemporary tourism organisation struggling to find its place in the South African context as a community hero or as a profit giant competing with the Wolves of Tourism Street. These are some of the questions that should be asked to see how these matters would affect the future of tourism for poor communities.

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As I enter townships from different parts of the country, townships close to big cities or small towns, I see the same impacts from the history of tourism. This impact is townships that are still perceived as part of the Dark Continent. The township’s poverty is seen as the product of the Dark Continent’s community still keeping to the old ways and not necessarily the product of injustices that are politically produced. This view is also held, if not sub-consciously, by the members of the community itself. A sort of force-fed view that if you are poor you brought poverty to yourself without thinking of the broader context of the source of the injustice.

Maboneng Tourism Experience

The Maboneng Township Arts Experience’s framework was developed primarily through the National Responsible Tourism Guidelines for South Africa. The framework focusses on responsible arts and tourism initiatives, evaluating and supporting sustainability, social and environmental responsibility, traceability as well as impact. The Maboneng Township Arts Experience works with communities to identify and develop authentic township based tourism experiences based on local assets and talents. Maboneng Township Arts Experience is a non-profit, social entrepreneurship, tourism organisation that trains and works together with families and artists to convert their homes into art galleries/museums. A perfect treat for the local and international tourism market.

The funds raised from tickets to visit our Gallery Homes, as well as product sales, go directly to support our training programmes and home gallery infrastructure. The organisation’s programmes contribute substantially towards training, women and youth empowerment, income generation, as well as the advancement of

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transformation in impoverished townships across South Africa. The ongoing programmes impact the cultural, social, economic and environmental conditions of all participants. They transform the township economy and improve quality of life for the long run. Our activities culminate in annual public arts festivals.

This initiative by the Maboneng Township Arts Experience develops local creativity, fosters predominantly female employment and empowerment, promotes gender equality to reduce extreme poverty and increase the tourism revenue capacities of the regions in which it operates. A visit to the Maboneng Township Arts Experience’s Gallery Homes directly impacts 20 lives.

Our non-profit programs do not only encourage art and creativity in townships, they also provide economic opportunities for the families opening their homes, as well as a platform for artists to showcase and sell their work.

The framework allows for the monitoring and evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of projects and identify their real economic and social impact in the supply chain. As a result of data gathering, surveys and analysis, focus groups and interviews the Maboneng Township Arts Experience team captures data and success stories instigated by the production of the collections.

The Maboneng Township Arts Experience has directly inspired the creation of many other festivals and programs that impact more communities across South Africa: • Newcastle Arts Experience • Makhelwane Festival • Gom Art • Ghetto Art Gallery • Cape Town International Dance Festival • Backyard Theatre

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• • • • •

Kayamandi Creative District National Community Mediation Hubs Langa Township Art Gallery Home Innovation Labs This has resulted in 450 new job opportunities created, 40 new businesses and 15 new home galleries per year.

Conclusion

The negative perceptions and stereotypes attached to townships regarding poverty and crime persist, and the wave of tourism operations in South African townships has led to serious concerns about the voyeuristic, aloof manner in which the tours are conducted from busses. The lack of interaction on such occasions detracts from the hearty and welcoming communities who live in South African townships. The Maboneng Township Arts Experience encourages residents of Townships to take ownership of the township experience.

Bearing in mind our emphasis on responsible tourism, communities are inspired to display their artworks and performances, making and selling food, ushering guests around, being curators for the various art exhibitions and providing accommodation for guests wanting to stay over. As residents of townships, they are the heartbeat of the township as well as the vehicle for visitors to have the most authentic experience with the communities. The residents are uniquely able to convey their own stories and in so doing, they can directly represent themselves. The tour routes run where some of the local artists reside. This reduces their movement of art pieces and ensures that they are displayed in the places that they are made. Visitors also get a sense of the artist’s living environment, contributing to authenticity of the tour and sense of pride for the artist.

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CHAPTER 13: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

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ourism has always been a fiercely competitive business. For tourism destinations the world over, competitive advantage is no longer natural, but increasingly man-made - driven by science, technology, information and innovation. As such, it is not simply the natural beauty that will determine competitiveness in tourism, but rather, how these scarce resources are managed and whether they are enhanced and complimented with man-made innovation. Sustainable Design is a core requirement for competitive tourism developments.

Sustainable and Responsible Tourism has become the current catchphrase in in describing “responsible” or “green” proposals for tourism developments. Yet there seems to be limited factual or scientific research or debate on its meaning or implications for effective implementation. The sustainable movement seems to have developed from the original definition of ecotourism, defined variously as:

Sustainable Tourism:

The Brundtland Commission Report defined “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs.”

(WCED, 1987, p.43). The Commission also determined that “sustainable development

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By Abre Crafford

is not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a dynamic process of changes which are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations” (WCED, 1987, p.46).

“Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems” The World Tourism Organisation (WTO, 2001).

Ecotourism:

“Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features – both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations” (IUCN, 1996). Simply put–it should be travel to beautiful (and sometimes natural) destinations, which supports conservation and depends on the hospitality of local culture whilst benefiting the local population’s socio-economic participation. This article is based on my personal experiences and observations over the last 30 years of designing ecotourism

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developments in a wide variety of locations and climates, I believe it is equally relevant to sustainable tourism in general.I shall NOT try and define good design – a topic that can span several volumes of handbooks, but rather focus on design tools and approaches that can increase sustainability or in current terms, resilience.

I would like to suggest the following checklist starting at the “soft” but critical end of the terminology and ending with the practical and common-sense items:

HUMILITY AND EMPATHY

• Try to remember that nothing we humans create will last forever, nor are we able to solve all problems. Designers should create and plan with a sense of humility towards nature and learn from nature- see it as a mentor and model developed over extremely long timespans.

• Work with the understanding that design has limitations and it cannot solve all problems we are faced with on the planet. Treat nature as a source of inspiration and as a mentor.

• Exercise empathy towards others including so called inanimate objects, it increases our understanding in the holistic sense.

• Share knowledge, by encouraging open communication between the design team, client, users, manufacturers and communities surrounding tourism sites.

• Respect all the life surrounding our designs so that we can renew the integral relationship between nature and humanity, it should be a shared responsibility.

• We need to renew environmental and social links at the core of our design sensibilities so that we can develop sustainable design practices. Educating all the parties making and using buildings can

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make a vast difference in our standards for sustainable design.

ROBUST, DURABLE DESIGN

• Robust eco sensitive principles should be applied to design of all tourism infrastructure – all the way up from roads, services, materials and up to finishes and pollution management. The currently wasteful relationship between users and producers needs to be amended.

• “Emotionally durable” design can reduce consumption and waste by increasing relationships between people and products they use.

• Design objects that have long term value and improve longer lasting relationships with products to improve replacement cycles.

• Design with a keen awareness of the impact of carbon footprints and life cycle costs, it should include considered material choices as well as items like size, replacement cycles and application of technology vs quality of life.

• Accept responsibility for the eventual consequences of decisions on those that use our creations – consider the range of human comfort and well-being, promote healthy supportive and resilient creations that support natural eco-systems.

• Design for co-existence with others, improve our awareness of mutual dependence on the environment and its existing variety of inhabitants.

• Respect relationships, including spirit and matter, community, and industry, as well as evolving connections still not fully understood.

RESPECT THE LOCATION

• After all, the very first decisions to determine the viability for a tourism site, will be based on whether it is attractive,

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•

•

•

•

•

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well placed in terms of access, visibility or proximity to assets. It is always about the location!

Maximise the use of this most precious asset, which incidentally you depend on repeatedly to enhance the visitor’s experience.

In some natural surrounds visibility and access will be less important than sensitivity to surrounding views or privacy and seclusion.

Respect the influence of the development on others in the area including future users. Consider factors like sky lining, light and noise pollution as well as traffic impacts locally of say Tour busses.

You can unlock unforeseen potential by incorporating unique local experiential events and exposing your visitors to new experiences both in and surrounding your design Incorporating site specific elements into your design will strengthen its visual and cultural links to the location as well as the appeal to informed travelers.

INCORPORATE CONTEXT

• Before you design, observe/absorb the particular attractions the site provides, find out as much as possible, it will assist in making informed decisions as the concept mature.

• Respect local and indigenous aspects like materials, cultural practices, local skills and unique trades, they can become assets in the tourism attractions of the development.

• Incorporating local assets into projects will connect the structures to its surrounds and assist in creating a unique sense of place that differentiates the projects in the marketplace.

• Include social and heritage context, emphasise historical and cultural “clues”, it increases the unique aspects of the project.

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• Respect landforms and naturally occurring references, they often lead to unique inspiration for the design and can prevent unnecessary earthworks.

DESIGN FOR CLIMATE

• Study local climatic influences locally (eg wind and rain patterns), it may have large benefits i.t.o. running costs. Take note of any micro climatic factors at play – eg a mountain shading the project or local confluences of watersheds.

• Include for energy efficient ways to deal with climate like insulation and well proven passive measures like orientation, roof overhangs and slopes.

• Consider the health (and peace) benefits of natural ventilation by designing controllable cross ventilation and natural lighting that connects visitors to natural cycles.

• Make allowance for long term climate changes, consider basics like seasonal changes, higher or lower rainfall, water levels and availability etc.

• Design to meet your visitor’s expectations of experience and beauty whilst doing the least amount of damage to provide comfort.

• Using natural ventilation techniques to improve thermal comfort via shape and large overhangs

CONSUMPTION, MATERIALS AND DURABILITY Energy efficiency

• Reduce energy consumption of the development • There is a vast array of solutions from static or design solutions which is man-made, like overhangs and shading, to hi-tech Technical ones like Solar energy.

• Develop with natural energy flows in mind, imitate living systems that have developed over long time spans to be most

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efficient and least wasteful.

• Designs should imitate nature and source our energy from perpetual natural energy sources available on site – e.g. air movement, gravity or solar.

• These “alternative” sources of energy can be designed to be efficient and safe for responsible use rather than depending on imported, transported and fossil fuel-based resources.

• Reduce or eliminate waste • Avoid or totally eliminate waste throughout the development cycle.

• Gather plants and soil before excavations and store correctly onsite – it is far more cost effective than importing and preserving seed banks stored in the soil. Include a waste plan from concept phase all the way through to construction and especially in the long term running cycles of the development.

• Make use of every opportunity to recycle, reuse or upscale waste elements and consider entrepreneurial opportunities for local communities.

Consider Life Cycle Costs

• Evaluate and optimize the full life-cycle of products and processes, search for natural or local sources and systems in which there is less waste.

• Choose materials with care, plan for their long-term re-use or end of life costs.

• Materials should be low-impact, non-toxic and sustainably produced and recycled.

• Renewable resources should take precedence – thus clay over cement, thatch over steel, stone over brick, etc.

• Design using what is at hand and available in the local economy and skill sets.

• Biomimicry can enable the continued use of materials, thus imitating nature can lead to more efficient re-use cycles as well as innovation.

• Environmentally aware = eco sensitive =

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sound investment • One should successfully integrate manmade structures into the natural environment.

• Site sensitive design is designed from the outside in and draws on its surrounds • Promote sustainable, geographically & culturally appropriate designs that can generate triple bottom line developments for the investors.

MEET SOCIAL NEEDS

• Branding & theming should include the unique aspects of the site. By interlinking design with the experiences to be had in the specific location, you can greatly enhance brand value Indigenous theming adds to mystery for the visitors.

• Sustainable tourism should be selling beds and views, not scarce resources, and it can help in the survival of dwindling natural environments and communities.

• Choose materials as close as possible to traditional to ensure that the cultural tourist is provided with authenticity.

• Be innovative with the use of cultural backdrop, not just curios – add value and experiences for both tourist and communities.

• Increase the use of local arts and crafts by incorporating local crafts into your project and construction. You will increase the employment of local crafts for the duration of the project.

• Incorporate vernacular architecture and utilise locally available crafts and materials which will enhance both sustainability and transfer skills between both parties.

• The inherent sustainability and continuing growth of ecotourism provides higher employment and skills transfer compared to other industries because it involves local community –directly and with active participation.

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CHAPTER LION AND 13 SAFARI PARK

13

LION AND SAFARI PARK The Lion Park moved to the Cradle of Humankind in July 2016, and this world class facility offers guests a memorable experience.

The Lion and Safari Park offers you the opportunity to get right up close to a number of predators, as well as to take a variety of guided safaris. You will come across a variety of indigenous antelope, giraffe, and other plains game. In addition to the excellent facilities, restaurants and kids playground, you are guaranteed a fun filled and informative day.

What you will not necessarily see is what the park is engaged in behind the scenes…a oratory procedures to see seasonal diet great deal of effort is being put into conser- changes. vation research and education here.

The observations revealed that the park was also host to a number of indigenous species including Brown hyena (ParahyBlack-backed Jackal Research In 2013, before the park opened to the pub- aena brunnea), Caracals (Caracal caracal), lic, a full-time researcher was employed to Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), Afristudy the Black-backed Jackal in the area. can Clawless Otter (Aonyx capensis), Water The objective was to collect data on this mongoose (Atilax paludinosus), Spotted particular jackal (Canis mesomelas) in this Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus), and of course peri-urban area. The study consisted of var- our resident Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer). ious elements: Tracking of collared jackal to An exciting recent sighting was that of a misee the distribution; Camera traps and cap- grant leopard. turing observational data for population size estimates; Data on each individual jackal Vultures captured (size, weight, age); blood samples As there were seasonal sightings of vultures, a were taken to see if jackal had been exposed vulture “restaurant” was started to monitor the to rabies virus; the main prey species of the vulture population in the surrounding area. black backed jackal; Scat collection and lab- The species landing at the vulture restaurant

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13

are Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), with a recent visit by a Lappet-face Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos), both of which are endangered.

The park now works in close co-operation with VULPRO, reporting observations and tagged birds.

African Dragon (Likkewaan) In 2016 the KaiNav Conservation Foundation’s African Dragon Project was initiated on the Lion & Safari Park. The aim being to generate data on the peri-urban population of the Leguaan, also called the Nile monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus). To date they have captured and chipped 16 leguaan ranging in size from 2 kg to well over 10 kg! The information gathered will help in the conservation of this species and improve knowledge on the ecology and movement of them in

LION AND SAFARI CHAPTER PARK 13

and around urban habitats.

Educating Scholars Lion and Safari Park is passionate about giving back to the community, and one of the initiatives involves educating scholars in a fun and interactive manner. Scholars are treated to a guided game drive and given an introduction to the wildlife and ecosystem – Lion & Safari Park subsidises well over 20000 visits by school children per year, most of whom would probably never have had the opportunity to visit such a place.

So, when you visit the Lion & Safari Park, be sure to ask more about the various projects and initiatives being undertaken by them – it’s not just about providing visitors with an enchanting and informative day!

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CHAPTER 14: WHAT SMEs CAN DO TO INCREASE THEIR INCLUSION IN THE TOURISM VALUE CHAIN

By Septi M. Bukula

I

t is now accepted that the development and support of small and medium enterprises (SME) forms an integral and important element of driving responsible and sustainable tourism.

The 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism recognises responsible tourism as that which, among others, “generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry”.Accordingly, two of the Declaration’s six guiding principles for economic responsibility are to:

Maximise local economic benefits by increasing linkages and reducing leakages, by ensuring that communities are involved in, and benefit from, tourism. Wherever possible use tourism to assist in poverty reduction by adopting pro-poor strategies.

Provide appropriate and sufficient support to small, medium and micro enterprises to ensure tourism-related enterprises thrive and are sustainable.

While the latter principle directly refers to the support of SMEs, the former principle also has an important bearing on SME development, given that SMEs are recognised worldwide as an important vehicle for generating local economic activity and spreading economic benefits more widely,

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thereby reducing poverty, through the creation of local employment opportunities.

Similarly, on the role of SME development in driving sustainable tourism, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) states that sustainable tourism should, among others, provide fairly distributed socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders, and specifically mentions the creation of stable employment and income-earning opportunities and contribution to poverty alleviation which, as previously mentioned, are strongly associated with the local economic contribution of SMEs. It therefore stands to reason that SME development is an important priority of government tourism development strategies in many parts of the world. In South Africa, for example, the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) calls for broadening of the economic benefits of tourism through, among others, tourism enterprise and supplier development and the inclusion of women and young entrepreneurs. “It is further proposed that programmes be developed to attract more black entrepreneurs to enter the tourism sector and own and operate SMMEs throughout the sector”.

Public sector support for SMEs typically take the form of supply-driven interventions, where a range of services are delivered to SMEs. While these interventions undoubtedly can and do provide beneficial

14

support to SMEs, many are questionable when it comes to the scale and sustainability of benefits derived by participating SMEs. This is particularly the case when it comes to addressing perhaps the number one issue faced by SMEs, that is, market penetration. Supply-driven support programmes all share one important weakness, they do things for SMEs instead of supporting SMEs to do things for themselves. This is because they are designed based on a flawed philosophy, that the biggest constraint facing SMEs is their size. So, because SMEs are small, so the thinking goes, there is a range of things they cannot do for themselves, so they need supply-side measures to help them deal with these size-induced deficiencies. One example, in the tourism sector in South Africa, is the now-defunct Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP) which offered a variety of supply-driven services that had limited, if any, impact in tackling the market penetration challenges that are key to SME growth.

However, leading international practice in SME development in general shows that support measures based on this philosophy rarely produce success and sustainable benefits for SMEs. Programmes that have demonstrated higher levels of success, with sustainable benefits for SMEs, are those that solve the problem of isolation, rather than size. Citing a Chilean example, Humphrey and Schmitz (1996) state that Chileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Proyectos de Fomento (development projects), which promotes networking and collaboration among SMEs, are based on the assumption that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the biggest problem facing small firms is isolation not sizeâ&#x20AC;?. The authors cite several other examples, in various countries, of successful SME networking and collaboration.

Isolation makes SMEs less visible in the market compared to their larger counterparts, resulting in them suffering a

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measure of marginalisation from industry value-chain activities. This isolationfocused approach, in a nutshell, argues that although they are small individually, SMEs can still enjoy the benefits of visibility and scale that larger firms enjoy, if they organise themselves differently. Thus, if SMEs act collaboratively, rather than in isolation, they can overcome their market visibility and scale deficiencies, placing them on a better footing to compete with their larger counterparts (Braun 2002; Tala and Ciuciula 2011). Therefore, programmes that succeed in increasing the role and success of SMEs in any industry, are those that help SMEs overcome their isolation challenges by organising themselves for collaboration rather than individual action.

Of course, other important conditions need to be met as well. The Triple C approach sums up the three conditions that need to be met for SME support programmes to succeed in catapulting SME competitiveness. Programmes should (a) foster customer-orientation, (b) drive collaboration and (c) be cumulative (Humphrey and Schmitz 1996). First and foremost, to succeed, SMEs need to be customer-oriented and customer responsive.

No amount of support will make any lasting difference if this condition is not met.

Therefore, support programmes should have a clear understanding of the needs of the customers in the market wherein they operate and, in turn, inculcate the same understanding on the part of SMEs. Applying this condition to the tourism industry, specifically, means that a tourism support programme that lacks an intimate understanding of important global trends in traveller and tourist preferences, choices and behaviours, is less likely to successfully assist SMEs to compete both locally and globally. Secondly, as already mentioned, SMEs should organise themselves for collaboration

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rather than individual action, so they can overcome their isolation-induced competitive disadvantages. Thirdly, support in the previous two areas should be cumulative, building SME customer-orientation and collaboration capabilities over time.

Returning to the central focus of this contribution, namely, collaboration, the main point is that it is those support programmes that seek to foster collaboration among SMEs along the industry value chain that have better prospects of producing greater success. Most importantly, it is when SMEs themselves buy into the benefits of collaboration and take the initiative to organise themselves for joint-action that they are likely to reap tangible and enduring results. The key reason for this is that, to collaborate effectively, SMEs need to undergo an important mindset change, away from seeing other SMEs in the same industry purely as competitors but to start viewing them as potential partners in enhancing their own market visibility and competitiveness. This is important because the single most important ingredient in cementing collaborative relationships is mutual trust. Partners trust one another more than competitors do. Therefore, SMEs need to start viewing themselves more as potential partners than as fight-tothe-death competitors. This is important because, although it doesn’t do away with competition entirely, networking and collaboration holds several benefits for SMEs. These include saving time and sharing resources without losing control of the business, enhanced market visibility and improved global market positioning, strategic leverage, knowledge exchange and collective learning, collective innovation and gaining technological know-how, and ability to compete with larger firms (Braun 2002; Tala and Ciuciula 2011; Roach 2010).

Arguing that the benefits of collaboration exceed those of competition among

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SMEs, they argue that, “By facilitating networking and exchange of knowledge, small firms are able to compete for resources, expert consultancy and information systems, as well as internalizing the skills and assets which are usually held by large companies with economies of scale. Therefore, networks offer benefits for SMEs that in other cases might have been unavailable or available at a higher cost” (Tala and Cicuciula 2011).

Informed by these international experiences, a group of 20 tourism SMEs in South Africa, operating in eight of the nine provinces, came together to establish the country’s first ever collaborative network of SMEs in any industry, called Seeza Destination Network (Seeza stands for See South Africa). The purpose of coming together in this way was to leverage their individual resources and capabilities in order to improve their ability to compete for international business. For this reason, the network is focused on a single issue, which it has identified as the main challenge facing tourism SMEs in the country, namely assisting network partners to market jointly and attract business internationally. What is important about this network is that it was entirely initiated by SMEs themselves and is led by them. This does not mean that there is no role for external players in a network like this. In the case of Seeza, for instance, South African Tourism continues to play an important facilitation and support role. For instance, at the inception of the network, SA Tourism facilitated the invitation of the network initiator to its annual Tourism Indaba, an important platform where he was able to meet a number of SME exhibitors from around the country and propose the establishment of the network. This was important because SA Tourism vouched that these SME exhibitors had undergone a rigorous programme of capacity building

14

spanning several months, and were experienced in the industry, and therefore had the requisite capability to deliver quality service on the ground. What they lacked was the ability to compete and attract business internationally. SA Tourism has also worked with the network to promote its partners internationally through major tourism exhibitions abroad, with significantly positive results. For example, through representation by the network in an overseas exhibition, one network partner involved in the MICE industry was appointed to exclusively represent a major international brand within the country, and the network itself was approached by a large Chinese outbound tour operator seeking to enter the South African market for the first time to be its partner in the country. Flowing out of this relationship, four tour operators who are part of the network and based in three provinces submitted a joint proposal to the Chinese tour operator to jointly host a group of its clients visiting the country. This

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is expected to be the first of many such joint-actions in future. Lastly, SA Tourism introduced the network to a large international online travel agency that has entered a cooperation agreement with the network, which will see the tourism packages of network partners being marketed internationally via the online travel agency’s electronic platform. These are just some of the network’s several planned activities to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs within the South African tourism vale chain.

This example and many others around the world clearly demonstrate that through joint action, SMEs themselves can take the initiative to improve their market visibility and enhance their domestic and international competitiveness, thereby increasing their share of the tourism market. External support agencies should come alongside such SME-led initiatives, rather than starting and directing them. In this way, SMEs can become true partners, rather than mere beneficiaries, in their own development.

References

•

Gamma Roach, “Horizontal networks and collaborative marketing in the Tasmanian wine industry”, refereed paper presented at the

5th International Academy of Wine Business Research Conference, 8-10 February 2010, 1-9.

•

John Humphrey and Hubert Schmitz, “The Triple C Approach to Local Industrial Policy”, World Development Vol. 24 No. 12, 1996,

1859-1877.

•

Madalina L. Tala and Gabriela Ciuciula, “SMEs networks – modern method to develop Romanian tourism”, Cactus Tourism Journal

Vol. 2, Issue 2, 2011, 56-64.

•

Patrice Braun, “Networking tourism SMEs: e-commerce and e-marketing issues in regional Australia”, Information Technology & Tour-

ism Vol. 5, 2002, 13-23.

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AQUILA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE

AFRICA IN YOUR BACKYARD Aquila Private Game Reserve, home to the big 5 legends of wilderness Set in the pristine Southern Karoo against a backdrop of dramatic mountains, Aquila Private Game Reserve & Spa offers an exciting taste of real Africa, just two short hours’ from Cape Town.

Aquila is home to an enormous variety of game, including the Big 5 - offering safari’s in four-wheel-drive vehicles, quad bikes or on horseback.

Dining takes place buffet style, where the chef presents a rich variety of authentic South African cuisine, together with a superb South African wine list. After dinner, gather around the telescope and be taken on a journey of the southern skies.

4-star accommodation is offered in Afro-chic lodge rooms or rock, thatch and

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wood cottages with alfresco showers. All accommodation has air-conditioning.

Aquila welcomes children, providing activities to keep them entertained in the children’s play area. A visit to Aquila would also not be complete without a tour of the Eco Synergy systems: an award-winning project developed to reduce Aquila’s carbon footprint A large pool, featuring a pool bar, keeps guests cool in the hot summer months, while a spectacular spa offers an outdoor pool, indoor heated pool, sauna, steam room, nail bar, and luxurious treatment rooms.

A cosy lounge and bar area allows one to soak up the sights and sounds of Africa.

BIG 5 SAFARI & SPA Real Africa. Real Close To Cape Town.

Over 10 000-hectares of Big 5 conservancy.

4-STAR ACCOMMODATION | SPA | GAME DRIVE | HORSEBACK & QUAD BIKE SAFARI At the award-winning Aquila Private Game Reserve and Spa, guests will get the opportunity to experience a Big 5 safari, together with outstanding service; it just does not get any better than this. With game drives, quad bike and horseback safaris situated just 2 hours’ drive from Cape Town, it’s the closest you will get to real Africa, in the lap of luxury.

The new world-class spa at Aquila adds to the already exceptional facilities and services on offer. It is a masterpiece of luxury, defined by its serenity and creative use of natural elements.

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Aquilasafari www.aquilasafari.com AquilaSafaris RESERVATIONS: +27 (0)21 430 7260 | MOBILE: +27 (0)83 301 9222 THE | RES@AQUILASAFARI.COM TOURISM HANDBOOK

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Fit 4 Million Years into your next Trip!

The amazing story of human origin is told in The Cradle of Humankind – a story of adventure, survival and the relentless drive of the human spirit. Visit the Sterkfontein Caves for an underground cave system adventure and the Maropeng exhibition centre’s 2500sqm interactive exhibition for a excitement filled tour suitable for all ages! Enjoy a meal at the Tumulus restaurant overlooking breath taking mountain ranges after your adventure!

Combined tickets are R190.00 for adults and R125.00 for children aged 3 – 18.

Contact information: Tel: 014 577 9000 Mail: info@maropeng.co.za www.maropeng.co.za

MAROPENG

EXPERIENCE A WHOLE LOT OF LIVING WHERE LIFE BEGAN

It is now a universally accepted fact that it is the Continent of Africa that is the birthplace of our human species. This is the place where our collective umbilical cord lies buried – in the soil of this great continent. Nowhere else on Earth does there exist such definitive and conclusive proof of our common origin as a species and thus of our common destiny.

Because it is not colour, or race or class or creed that separates us. It is our lack of imagination – of information – of science and knowledge. Africa is our collective homefrom-home. It is our Mother, our Father and our family. In the words of Professor Phillip Tobias, “Africa gave the world Humanity. And that is no small thing.”

The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site was listed as a World Heritage Site

by UNESCO in 1999.This site holds global significance as it contains a superbly preserved record of the various stages in the evolution of humankind over 3.5 million years.

The site is an area of outstanding universal value and Gauteng’s only World Heritage Site.

Based on the conservation, exploration and interpretation of the story of humanity, its brand value encompasses ancient history,

human beginnings, adventure, discovery and a whole lot more.

There is far more than heritage to offer.

There are over 400 diverse tourism offerings, across eight visitor experience categories throughout the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

Maropeng –The Official Visitor Centre to The Cradle Of Humankind and the Sterkfontein Caves provides a dual interactive tour experience. Maropeng’s portfolio includes a four star boutique hotel; a gastronomy inspired menu offering; large conference facilities and a green educational facility which offers dormitory style accommodation and is perfect for school overnight visits.

‘Fit 4 Million Years into your next Trip!

The amazing story of human origin story is told in The Cradle of Humankind – a story of adventure, survival and the relentless drive of the human spirit. The Cradle of Humankind was declared a World Heritage Site in December 1999. The site is an area of outstanding universal value. As Gauteng’s only World Heritage Site, and is a premier tourism destination. Based on the conservation, exploration and interpretation of the story of humanity, its brand value encompasses ancient history, human beginnings, adventure, discovery and a whole lot more. ‘

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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Abang Africa Travel Art Versatile Aquilla Private Game Reserve Cape Nature Drifters Raceway Theme Park EcoTraining Event Greening Forum Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Gansbaai The Natural Adventure Destination Hoogland Health Hydro HOSTEX Indaba Hotel Spa and Conference Centre Lion and Safari Park Maropeng MEGA COACH Moholoholo Mount ETJO Safari Lodge Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme The Diamond Works Institute

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18-19 55-57 92-93 44-45;98-99 IBC 38-39 6 28-29 64-65 49 IFC 23 84-87 94-95 70-71 74-75 61 OBC 79

DRIFTING RACEWAY THEME PARK

THE FUTURE! Drifting Raceway Theme Park is an outdoor adventure and amusement park. The Theme Park seeks to mix Culture Experience and Adventure in urban environment which will cater for both Local and International community. It pose itself as one of the tourist attraction place in Buffalo City Municipality at the Eastern Cape. The Theme Park offers different range of activities: Teambuilding, Conferencing, Cultural activities, Racing Carts, Quadbike trail, Paintball, Volleyball, Braai Facility, Private events, Large Outdoor Screens for sporting events. NotTHEME forgetting and taking note DRIFTERS RACEWAY PARK DRIFTERS RACEWAY THEME PARK DRIFTERS RACEWAY THEME PARK DRIFTERS RACEWAY THEME PARK that, Drifting Raceway Theme Park is the only outdoor THE THE FUTURE! THE FUTURE! Go Kart dirt race track in Eastern Cape.

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Drifters Raceway Theme Park is an outdoor adventure amusement park; aa modern 21st century Drifters Raceway Theme Park is outdoor adventure and amusement park; itit is 21st century Drifters Raceway Theme Park is outdoor adventure and amusement park; is 21st century Drifters Raceway Theme Park is an an outdoor adventure andand amusement park; isititit aais modern 21st century Drifters Raceway Theme Park is an an outdoor adventure and amusement park; ismodern a modern modern 21st century gaming and entertainment centre.

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