A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course-work degree of Master of Recreation and Tourism in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2003. / Tourism is an industry that will be able to alleviate poverty problems for many developing countries. The great multiplier effect in this industry means that every unit of tourist expenditure goes through several rounds of income creation before its effect is exhausted. South Africa, regarded as one of the new destinations, has a chance to plan tourism activities so as to promote sustainable development and avoid the known pitfalls and negative effects of this industry. This means that all its tourism related policies, such as Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Sports and Recreation and Reconstruction and Development, should be based on the principles of sustainable development. The Durban Metropolitan Area, and its sub-areas, is one of the popular destinations in the KwaZulu-Natal. The mission of the Durban Metro, also called Ethekwini Municipality, is to turn this region into South Africa's premier 'playground'. Its strategies to realise this dream include among other things: the development of Ushaka Marine Island Park, the Suncoast casino, the Sugar Mill casino, and many other initiatives. Amanzimtoti District is part of Ethekwini Municipality, known as the South Operational Entity (SOE). It therefore should share the vision of the Durban Metro, and also contribute to alleviating unemployment as well as congestion problems for the total area. This study was conducted with a view of finding out if there were any recreation and tourism-related developments taking place in Amanzimtoti, as well as its potential and standing as a tourist destination. On the whole, the lack of tourism awareness in the study area has been identified as a major hindrance to a superior level of tourism development, promotion and delivery. There seem to be lapses in communication between the tourism stakeholders such as authorities, local communities, service providers and the tourists themselves. The findings of this study went a long way and conclusively established that Amanzimtoti, as an important component of the Durban Metropolitan area, has not reached its full potential as a tourist destination in terms of the existing recreation and tourism infrastructure and facilities. In addition, perceptions of local authorities, communities and visiting tourists, indicate that the area has not reached maturity as a tourism resort, service area and destination.