Thesis (M.Tech. - Tourism and PR Management, Dept. of Hospitality)--Vaal University of Technology. / The purpose of this study was to segment the various markets attending the Transvalia Open Air Show (Vaal Region) and the Cherry Festival (Free State). A comparison of the various segments enabled the researcher to identify key success factors with regard to market segmentation for tourism events to be implemented in the Vaal Region. It will also enable organisers to target the correct tourist market segments for both events and provide guidelines for improving the planning and marketing of events in both regions. This study therefore aimed to compare the market segments of two tourism events, the Cherry Festival. held in Ficksburg which is located in the Free State and the Transvalia Open Air Show, held in the Vaal Region. Questionnaires were distributed amongst visitors on the festival grounds as well as in areas surrounding the festival grounds. The study was based on availability sampling since only visitors who were willing to parttcipate in the survey completed the questionnaires. A total of 550 questionnaires was distributed, of which 472 were suitable for use. At the Transvalia Open Air Show 273 questionnaires were completed, of which 260 were usable. Students were trained by the researcher to assist in the survey. The questtonnaires were distributed on the show grounds. The data were used to compile graphs and tables so that a profile of each festival could be designed The variables that were the focal point of this study were gender, occupation, language, visitors' province of ongin, group size, number of days spent at these events and average spend. These results can contribute to better marketing and more targeted markets to create a larger number of attendants. The organisers can determine what type of entertainment, music and activities the attendants favour, so that all the elements of the event can then be marketed as a whole. Feedback also allows the organisers to improve the facilities and services available at the events.

M. Tech. (Tourism and Hospitality Management, Faculty of Human Sciences) : Vaal University of Technology, / The birth of new governance in South Africa in 1994 positioned the country worldwide as a tourism destination with large numbers of tourists visiting South African shores. It is, however, not only international visitors that frequent the tourism products; the local residents also started to travel more with almost 50% of the population that participated in travel-related activities. At the same time South Africa gained a reputation of being an unsafe place to visit, which influenced the tourism growth percentage negatively. It was then realised that the notion of being an unsafe place to go on holiday to would impact negatively on a host country such as South Africa. Perceptions of safety and security in South Africa have been measured, but only for international visitors. Even though the domestic market should be the backbone of the tourism industry their perceptions regarding the safety of South Africa as a tourism destination has not been analysed. This could, however, be a factor inhibiting them from travelling locally. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of residents of Sasolburg regarding tourists’ safety and security in South Africa, to obtain insight into the current perspectives of residents and advise on strategies regarding the improvement of these perceptions. Questionnaires were distributed to residents of Sasolburg and a total of 380 questionnaires were suitable for analyses. The questionnaire was divided into three sections, namely demographic information, travel preferences and perceptions of crime. The data resulting from the questionnaires was captured and analysed by means of descriptive analyses in SPSS. Descriptive statistics were used focusing on the graphical display of frequency tables and figures providing information on the demographic profile and travel behaviour of the respondents. Factor analyses were used to identify specific safety experience factors as well as specific travel motivation factors. Spearman Rank order correlations were used to determine the factors influencing safety experience factors with reference to age, frequency of holidaying, average duration of the holiday, number of weekend trips and travel motivations. An independent t-test was conducted to explore the influence of gender, being a previous victim of crime and marital status on respondents’ assessment of safety experience factors and travel motivation factors. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to explore the effect of home language and occupation on the safety experience factors and travel motivation factors of Sasolburg residents. From the analyses it became clear that the respondents go on holiday once a year but do tend to go on more weekend trips per year. They travel mostly by car and stay with relatives, in hotels and guesthouses. Respondents were most concerned about crime whilst travelling and their biggest concerns were theft, robbery and rape. In everyday life respondents were more concerned about crime than when travelling. Respondents indicated that higher and more intense levels of policing would make South Africa a safer tourism destination. Regarding respondents’ previous holiday, it was found that they had felt safe when dining out, staying at their accommodation establishments and whilst driving during the day. Respondents did feel unsafe at night. The factor analysis on the safety experiences of respondents revealed three factors, namely day-time activities, night-time experiences and infrastructure with night-time activities considered to be the most unsafe activities. The factor analysis on travel motivations revealed the following factors, namely exploration, learning, social group activities and relaxation. The latter was identified as the most important travel motivator for the respondents. The factors that influence residents’ perceptions of crime included age, length of stay, number of weekend trips, previously being a victim of crime, marital status and occupation. The high correlations between the three safety experience factors revealed that if residents felt unsafe during the day they will probably also feel unsafe at night or while using infrastructure. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge of understanding the influence of perceptions of safety and security on the tourism industry in South Africa. In the light of the findings, it is therefore recommended that the tourism industry, law enforcement agencies and other tourism stakeholders co-ordinate efforts to improve crime prevention measures in South Africa. Travelling of local residents is as important as international visitors to South Africa and it is thus important to create a safe environment to travel.

M.Comm. / Tourism development has the potential to have significant impacts on the environment. To ensure that tourism is sustainable into the future there needs to be a balance between tourism development and environmental concerns. The move towards sustainable tourism development requires that there be a closer co-operation among four very different stakeholders. These stakeholders include the tourism business, the environment, the host population, and the tourist. The main purpose of this research was to identify, at the Kruger National Park, the levels of awareness and understanding of the concept of sustainable tourism development amongst the four stakeholders. Also are identified are their viewpoints on how to achieve sustainable tourism development, their efforts to ensure it, and the role that marketing can play to ensure sustainable tourism development. This study, being exploratory in nature, made use of in-depth interviews (a qualitative technique) to gather the needed primary data. In-depth interviews were conducted at the Kruger National Park with representatives from the various stakeholder groups. Observation of physical aspects and people behaviours were used to supplement the in-depth interviews. Overall, it was found that most groups are aware of the need to balance environmental concerns with tourism development. Tourists however, are less aware of concepts such as sustainable tourism development than the other stakeholders It is was found that in some cases there is a lack of communication between some of the various stakeholders on various issues. The respondents in this case thought that the other stakeholders might disagree with them on certain issues when in fact their ideas were similar. Strong emphasis is being placed on developing relationships with the local communities and involving them in the decisions that affect them. It is realised that these local communities can have a major impact on the larger ecosystem around the park and could eventually destroy tourism if they are ignored. Local communities need to benefit from the existence of the park. Overall, the respondents do not have a clear understanding of what marketing entails or the contribution it can make to ensuring sustainable tourism development. Marketing is viewed by most as simply selling bed-nights. The marketing function at the Kruger National Park is ineffective and not given the support or attention it requires to operate effectively. For marketing to play a significant role at the park serious attention needs to be given to redesigning the entire marketing department. It is absolutely essential that tourism be developed in an environmentally sustainable manner to ensure the industry's future existence. Marketing of the park needs to be done in a manner that will not lead to the environment being exploited. Marketing, apart from simply selling the park, can play an important role in developing a conservation ethic amongst tourists and potential tourists. This educational role extends to the youth of the country who are the future tourists, tourism developers and conservationists.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Traditional definitions of the museum present a building type that is intended to act as a repository for the collection, preservation and display of static artefacts. Since 1994, numerous efforts have been made to conceive and construct appropriate museums in previously excluded townships. What has resulted from these efforts is, in many cases, large scale State driven projects that elevate political grandstanding over considered contextual engagement and much needed social cohesion. This thesis aims to question the traditional role of museums as an architectural typology within the specific context of peri-urban township areas. The context chosen for this exploration towards a new museum is Tembisa. Tembisa received its first inhabitants in 1957 and is located within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It is the second largest township in the country by population. Unlike many of the country’s older townships, this peripheral neighbourhood is yet to receive sustained cultural interventions. As such, it lends itself as the ideal testing ground for the creation of a ’living museum’. The thesis aims to create a living museum that does not rely on imposing a master narrative, but instead aims to actively locate traces of history, heritage and culture with [IN] Tembisa for collection, reproduction and display. In this museum the ‘artefacts’ on display are the result of evolving processes that are not only present within the confines of the museum itself, but are informed by, and spill out into the fabric and consciousness of the immediate context. This is explored through a reconsidered museum program that includes a historical archive and art ensemble for Tembisa. / GR2017

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, August 2015. / Climate change literature is growing rapidly, with increasing literature being produced on the relationship between climate change and tourism. Globally, tourism is very dependent on the climate and the impacts of climate change may alter tourism flow and demand. Developing countries are likely to be the most affected by climate change and its effects on tourism which is worrying as this sector is a huge contributor to their economy. South African tourism relies heavily on its environment to attract tourists and give a satisfactory travel experience; climate change is a threat to the environment and thus a major concern for South Africa. This thesis investigates the perceptions of climate change threats within the tourism sector by exploring how perceptions may influence behaviour and how the tourism sector will respond to a changing climate. Research was carried out in two coastal towns, St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape Province. These towns are dependent on their tourism sectors to drive their economies. These towns are dependent on their local tourism sector to drive their economy. The results indicate that while both the tourists and tourist accommodation establishments are aware of the threat of climate change and are concerned about its impacts, there is very little adaptation being implemented. While the level of concern varies among the accommodation establishments, there appears to be no perceived significant relationship between the threat of sea level rise and their distance from the coastline. Tourism Climate Index calculations for the two towns suggest that the climate is worsening in terms of tourist comfort, and project that the towns will become less attractive for tourism based on their climate. A Digital Elevation Model developed for the towns however shows that the projected sea level rise for 2050 and 2100 will result in parts of the beaches and a protective artificial spit being washed away. The lack of climate change planning to deal with these impacts is directly linked to their perception. The tourist accommodation establishments do not believe they need to take major action and rather feel the government should respond to climate change. Overall, the results indicate that there is a need for further research into bottom-up approaches to climate change, to better plan and implement successful climate change mitigation and adaptation which can be done through educating individuals and businesses within the tourism sector.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Studies, Johannesburg 2016 / Like many cities around the world Johannesburg began marketing to attract tourists in the 1990s. Johannesburg has in the last couple of years become a ‘hot’ tourism destination and is increasingly ranked among the top global tourist destinations. Tourist cities market their cultural, historical shopping, entertainment and lifestyle attractions to attract tourists and wealthy residents. They also regenerate older historical districts or build new attractions in the form of high profile infrastructure and architecture. To attract tourists, cities use discourse to represent themselves in certain ways to the prospective tourist. This discourse found in tourism marketing and other communications; creates certain expectations or commonly held imaginings of a city as a tourism destination. These are referred to as tourism imaginaries. In cities these ‘tourism imaginaries’ become absorbed as urban imaginaries that shape not only tourist spaces, but the whole city. The research aims to deconstruct the imaginaries represented in Johannesburg’s tourism marketing to understand how tourism is shaping Johannesburg in line with this view. Discourse analysis is used as a method to achieve this. Michel Foucault understood discourse as a system of representation, where discourse is a way of creating meaning by representing knowledge and exercising power around a subject at a certain time in history and in a particular way. Besides the content analysis of the tourism marketing, the discourse analysis also captured how tourism businesses in three case study sites namely Newtown Precinct, Vilakazi Street and Montecasino Entertainment Complex have responded to the discourses in the City’s tourism marketing. A central argument made is that the drive to create tourist cities reinforces rather than reduces power inequalities and creates further fragmentation by creating pockets of exceptionalism reserved for tourists. The research contributes to the recent interest in the cultural and political understandings of cities which considers the often invisible or overlooked manifestations of power that shape cities. In the research tourism imaginaries are conceptualised as central in the generation and shaping of social practices in the City. It was concluded that the move to create tourist cities has given tourists and other tourism actors symbolic power, shaping the city by remote control, and therefore reinforcing global power dynamics that have shaped the world since colonial times. / XL2018

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. / Heritage management has been a growing phenomenon throughout the world. This growth is due to the increasing necessity to protect the world’s cultural heritage. Heritage management has been closely linked with community participation as well as laws and policies that protect the heritage. Furthermore, site use is also of importance to discover how the heritage is presented, protected and managed. These are the three components that will be the focus of my research. The implementation of heritage management requires a management plan that clearly stipulates and outlines specific procedures to be followed. An ideal management plan includes the components mentioned above, in that it states the stakeholders involved, how the heritage place will be preserved and how the legislation will be used to ensure the protection of such places. This research focuses on rock art sites as the cultural heritage places and the importance of protecting them, with specific focus on rock art sites from South Africa and Mexico. The objective of this study is to analyse the different management plans from sites chosen from the two countries, compare the management plans and recommend a best practice for management plans constructed for rock art sites. The hope is that the recommendations will contribute to managing rock art sites as well as to the International Collaboration formed between South Africa and Mexico.

This thesis explores the impact of volunteer tourism on the international tourist engaging in volunteer work in South Africa. A staged methodological design is adopted in this research. The first stage provides conceptual clarification of the term volunteer tourism, using grounded theory. Then a quasi-experimental study was carried out to collect data from volunteer tourists undertaking community and wildlife (including conservation) projects in South Africa. It consists of a standardised web-based personality inventory (IPIP-NEO) completed prior to, post, and one to two years following the volunteer vacation to measure personality changes in 15 core traits. A control group was used to enhance the validity of the scientific method. Thereafter, personal interviews were conducted to gain insight into the volunteering experience and any resulting changes in the volunteers’ day-to-day lives. This study’s findings point to significant changes in seven traits; some of these traits have not been previously identified by the literature and therefore broaden our understanding of the impact on the tourist. Additionally, while confirming some of the changes found in other studies, the findings of this study also point to some significant contrasts. Many of the changes identified were evident in the volunteer’s daily lives through their ‘personal circumstances’, ‘behaviour’, ‘emotions’, ‘confidence’, ‘values’, ‘knowledge or skills’ and ‘attitudes’. The experiences which the volunteers attributed to their changes were: active, involved, responsible, participatory, immersive and interactive, and whether they met volunteers’ expectations; influenced by: age, gender, project type and length of stay. The findings address a number of shortcomings in the volunteer tourism literature by providing statistical evidence of change; a better understanding of how change appears in participants’ everyday lives; and identifies some additional elements that influence change in the visitor, adding to knowledge of Engagement Theory. These findings can therefore contribute theoretically; and practically to tourism marketing, program design and volunteer satisfaction.

Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / The potential for tourism to contribute to the economy of South Africa has been embraced by the new democratic government for a lengthy period. In order for government to benefit fully from tourism, it has charted out strategies and policies to make tourism grow and for communities to also benefit from the activities emanating from tourism. Although these measures to support the growth, development and sustainability of tourism SMMEs are in place, implementation remains a challenge. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the growth and development strategies have been implemented in Limpopo province to support the sustainability of Tourism SMMEs in Polokwane. This is done through the interogation of the literature to determine the major objectives of the tourism growth and development strategies in Limpopo Province, the challenges faced by tourism SMMEs and also to gain feedback through empirical studies on the effectiveness of, and support of the Tourism Growth and Development Strategies.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Literature has shown that tourism provides benefits such as revenue generation, employment, regional development and economic prosperity to destination communities. The tourism industry is a highly labour intensive industry; hence it is a valuable source of employment. It employs a large number of people and provides a wide range of jobs, which extend from the unskilled to the highly specialised. Tourism industry plays an important role in the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipal economy and it has the potential to address the socio-economic challenges facing the Ba-Phalaborwa municipal area. The study recommends, based on its findings, the importance of tourism development in building the economy of Ba-Phalaborwa. Firstly, the municipality should consider establishing a municipal entity as per the provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act, which will be responsible for tourism in the area. Secondly, a clear marketing strategy for all special events, including the marula festival, in the area should be developed in consultation with all the stakeholders. Thirdly, the infrastructure, such as streets, electricity and sanitation, in the area should be upgraded to meet the future demand and expansion of the tourism industry.