A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Recreation and Tourism in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2009. / Coastal tourism development strategies are a new phenomenon in the world of community development and community conservation. The development of tourism products as compared to their conservation, is an ongoing debate, which has been tackled by many tourism scholars. The management of natural and cultural environments is of utmost importance in the development of ecotourism in places such as the Town of St Lucia, as well as in the St Lucia Estuary. This research study, therefore, sought to assess on comparative basis the conservation and commercialisation [commodification] of tourism resources, paying particular attention to the application of coastal tourism development strategies. In other words, the research study involves identifying key management practices and strategies that would contribute to the conservation of tourism resources. In this regard the basic objectives of this study include the following: (a) To reveal the extent to which stakeholders understand the meaning and importance of tourism development in the Town of St Lucia. (b) To find out if the coastal tourism resources in the study area are adequately supplied. (c) To determine the level to which tourism management and development strategies are employed or utilised in the study area. (d) To find out which ecotourism policy approach the stakeholders favour for the study area, between conservation as compared to the commercialisation [commodification]. (e) To establish how stakeholders perceive the existence and application on tourism development policies in the study area. (f) To establish the extent to which the local community benefits from ecotourism related activities or practices. The government and municipal authorities believe that tourism could enhance the development of rural areas on an ecologically and economically viable basis and improve the quality of life of the local people. The study has several hypotheses in this regard, and has utilised the qualitative and quantitative approach in collecting, analysing and interpreting data. In fact, data was analysed through use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to establish frequency tables, bar graphs, and cross-tabulations in representing statistical data. The findings of the study included the following: (a) the stakeholders were found to have a good understanding of the meaning and importance of ecotourism development; (b) the supply of coastal tourism resources was found to be inadequate; (c) the tourism management and development strategies were not up to the required standard; (d) the stakeholders favoured the policy of conservation as compared to that of commercialisation or commodification; (e) the existence and application of tourism development policies were found to be inadequately implemented; (f) the ecotourism benefits for the local community were found to be available and adequate. Finally, the emerging conclusion of the study was that, notwithstanding that the stakeholders favoured the policy of conservation, they were of the view that ecotourism management and development strategies, as well as community beneficiation, were not up to the required and expected standard in the study area.