Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of IsiZulu namaGugu in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2004. / Lolu cwaningo luhlose ukuqhakambisa iqhaza elibanjwe izindawo zomlando, ezemveIo nezokwakhiwa ekuthuthukiseni ezokuvakasha endaweni yasebaQulusini. Ucwaningo lukuveze kwagqama ukuthi indawo yasebaQulusini icebile ngezigigaba zomlando ezehla khona, icebile futhi ngezindawo eziyizikhungo zokongiwa kwemveIo, konke lokhu kuyiwozawoza elidonsa izivakashi ukuthi zithutheleke kule ndawo ukuze zizitike ngolwazi nobuhle bale ndawo.

The study scientifically and empirically evaluates the social and economic impact of ecotourism, as well as its relationship with the tourism policy. The primary focus is on the displacement of communities, the effect it brought to cultural needs of the communities as well as an escalating poverty rate. The South African tourism policy is the primary document underlying the development and promotion of tourism in the country for sustainable economic development. Supporting this is the South African constitution where it promotes the protection of the environment for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures that: prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. The research then looks at how the lives of the affected communities are incorporated into these objectives without affecting social and cultural lives of the people. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

This dissertation examines the role of Community Based Tourism as a Local Economic Development tool. It sought to establish the impact of Local Economic Development (LED) strategies employed by the Inanda Ntuzuma KwaMashu Area Based Management program (INK ABM) in alleviating poverty in Inanda Township through their living Heritage Site. It attempts to establish whether Community Based Tourism has had an impact on the economic empowerment of communities residing within the Inanda Heritage Route. Poverty Social and Impact Assessment was used in the assessment. The study revealed that LED strategies have had a significant impact in improving infrastructure and service delivery at Inanda Township, however Local Economic Development strategies have had marginal impact in improving the income, assets indicators, human capabilities, market share and employment creation for the local residents of Inanda. Moreover the study revealed that there is a strong positive correlation between education levels and the lack of success of entrepreneurs. A major finding is that LED strategies along the Inanda Heritage Route do not target all the segments of the poor in a meaningful way. As such the study suggests a new LED agenda in Inanda Township which is: holistic, targets all the segments of the poor, encourages skills development and consists of various investment packages which would ensure that poverty in its multidimensionality is addressed meaningfully. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Township tourism is one of the recognised ways in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) white paper to include communities that were previously excluded from tourism. However, township tourism is non existent in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. This mini dissertation is an attempt to identify the tourism potential of Sobantu township in Pietermaritzburg in an effort to encourage development and empower the local community. The primary aims are therefore to identify tourist attractions in the township, to explore people's perceptions about tourism development and to suggest ways to link Sobantu to the established tourist destinations in the greater Pietermaritzburg area. A purposive sample of 48 respondents participated in the study. The respondents were sampled from youth organisations in Sobantu, school teachers, Pietermaritzburg Tourism, Indlovu Regional Council, community members and key people in South African Police services. Semi-structured, in depth interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and site visits were utilised as data gathering techniques based on five leading questions designed by the researcher and modified through the first two interviews used as a pilot study. Tourist attractions are examined from an ideographic perspective and a thematic approach is used to analyse peoples' perceptions. A SWOT analysis is used to explore possible linkages and to provide a clear analysis of the critical issues that need to be addressed as they could promote or hinder sustainable tourism development in the area. Results showed that the historical background, the political history, old red bricked buildings and the cultural experiences are the main tourist attractions in the township. The community has positive attitudes towards tourism development in the area and their perceptions are compatible with the principles of sustainable tourism development and the DEAT document. To overcome the identified obstacles and realize sustainable tourism development, several recommendations are made. These include, extensive tourism awareness campaigns, education and training of tour guides from the community, proper community structures and an effective marketing strategy. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

The study outlines the impact a community based tourism project has on poverty alleviation in Isithumba. Isithumba Adventure Tourism village is the case analysed in this study. This community based tourism project has been developed in KwaZuluNatal, a place called Isithumba found in KwaXimba Tribal Authority outside Durban. The rationale behind the study is to determine whether the Isithumba community based project had a positive impact, negative impact or no impact on the standards of living of the KwaXimba community. This has been achieved through the use of interviews conducted by the researcher in terms of which a survey questionnaire was used to obtain information from the respondents in one hundred households covered by the study. A supplementary questionnaire was also formulated to obtain background information from people who were employed in the project and other key informants. In this regard, the quantitative study was chosen to express in numerical values and to analyze what the studied community feels about the project and its impact on their lives. The study concluded that the project, which was perceived by the community to bring about positive economic, socio-cultural and environmental impact, has produced lower results than anticipated. Those who had been directly involved have witnessed positive impact in the form of job creation, entrepreneurial opportunities and skills development. However, the rest of the local community did not find the project beneficial to them. The researcher therefore concluded that community based tourism projects, if well managed and properly planned, could have positive impact on the local communities, but in this case, the impact was minimal. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Society ‘obscures itself’ by presenting a world that is self-contained and logical (Barthes, 1973) – a world underpinned by a transparency of its underlying systems of meaning. This formulation maps the theoretical location of the dissertation, by which an investigation into tourism, as an economic and political expression of contemporary culture, occurs. More specifically, the dissertation addresses the type of tourism that bisects narratives of history and of cultures – that popularly described under the label of cultural tourism. Thus it employs an array of critical tourism and cultural theory, to offer an exposition on how best to understand the articulation of meaning in the consumption of ‘place’, formations of heritage and Otherness. The study also explores the epistemological nature/agendas of the so-called ‘Image of Africa’ and the ‘Absolute Other’, and how these are recycled in the parameters of modernity. Using a genealogical approach to studying discursive formations articulating some kind of Zulu Otherness, the dissertation grounds these conventions of identity predominantly in the symbolic practice of a colonial Western society. This exposes the arbitrary, constructed nature by which contemporary society governs itself. Methodologically, the research applies participant observation and semiotic analyses, predominantly in the cultural/filmic village of Shakaland, near Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, to explore how the constructions of identity manifest and are negotiated and consumed in the activity of this tourism. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2011.

Poverty alleviation through employment creation is the focus of the South African government and other developing economies. The SMME sector has been identified as the leading vehicle for the creation of employment opportunities. South Africa in particular went through a phase when economic growth did not translate into employment creation. Consequently the benefits of economic growth did not filter through to the unemployed. In South Africa there is a strong link between unemployment and poverty. Essentially the country experienced jobless growth and it is the poor who missed out on the possible benefits of economic growth. The challenge then for South Africa is to come up with a revolutionary approach to ensure that the country's poor are not excluded from the of benefits economic growth. Almost half of the South African population lives in poverty. Poverty and the consequences thereof are most pronounced among the African population. This is due to the South African history of apartheid which systematically excluded them from accessing economic opportunities. Bringing development to communities is the thinking behind local economic development (LED). The urgency for the country to address poverty lies in the fact that poverty is not a static phenomenon and if left unaddressed it may to lead more people being poor when the numbers are already overwhelming. Government has come up with various strategies for poverty alleviation, employment creation being the chief strategy. The SMME sector is the most prominent employer in South Africa, said to be responsible for over 61 % of all employment. Even given these figures of there are still high levels of unemployment in the country. Growing industries like the tourism sector present a lot of hope for the ambitions of employment creation and poverty alleviation in developing countries including South Africa. The focus of this study will be the South African tourism sector. / Thesis (M.Dev. Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The tourism industry has emerged as one of the key economic drivers in Africa and remains as one of the few growth industries in the world. The industry has well-documented, significant socio-economic and environmental impacts, many of which are not positive and result in enduring problems at destinations. This is particularly acute in countries such as South Africa where socio-economic inequities are high and historical patterns of development have resulted in most people being marginal from the tourism sector. The accommodation sector is one of the main players in terms of tourism and benefits the most from this industry. However, very few studies have critically examined this sector in terms of environmental management. It is the lacunae in the research that this study aims to address. The main objectives of the study were to investigate the nature and extent of environmental management in hotels and lodges in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The primary data collection was undertaken via the use of surveys to 60 accommodation managers and 400 hotel guests. In-depth interviews were also undertaken with key tourism industry stakeholders. The main findings of the research indicated that although participants were aware of the detrimental environmental impacts of the accommodation sector, environmental management programs were very much in its infancy. Hotel managers were enthusiastic about environmental management but were unable to implement environmental programs and actions due to a number of challenges and constraints. Environmental issues were also not a high priority for hotel guests in the study. The study concludes that environmental issues in the accommodation sector needs to be re-examined and measures need to be put in place to address the sector’s negative impact on the environment. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The dissertation presents an economic analysis of tourism in the Southern Maputaland Biosphere Reserve. The aim of the study was to gather relevant information on the benefits and costs associated with the existing tourism operations in the sub-region, and to determine the broader impact of tourism on the local economy. The study sampled twenty private tourism operations ranging from upmarket game lodges to bed and breakfast facilities. The results of the study present a comparison of indicators of the economic impact and efficiency of tourism, such as revenue generation, annual rates of return on investment, employment creation and wage levels, between various types of tourism operations as well as between tourism as a land use option and other land use options. They also highlight the economic importance of the protected areas to the local tourism industry. In addition, the nature and extent of interaction between the sampled tourism operations and the local communities, as well as possible constraints on the expansion of the tourism industry in the region are examined. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.