A persistent trend in the tourism field is the emergence of different types of niche markets. One niche form of heritage tourism that has gained popularity in Scotland since the Millennium, is ancestral tourism. Ancestral tourism is defined as choosing to travel to a host country based on one’s ancestral origins and genealogical interest. This paper traces the nature and importance of ancestral tourism for Canadian Scottish descendents in Ontario, Canada. Based on a social constructivist and multiple methods approach, the ancestral tourism initiative was reviewed within the perspectives of both the demand and supply side. The demand side findings revealed that Canadian Scottish descendents identified with and participated more in their social heritage at the local level, than in their personal heritage in the homeland. The degree to which the descendents were involved in Scottish heritage and ancestry was dependent on a variety of factors such as the emigration date of the respective ancestor, life-changing circumstances, and external stimulants. The majority of Canadian Scottish descendents were characterized as supplementary ancestral tourists and revealed that traveling to Scotland, for an ancestral tourism experience, would be one of many motivations for traveling to the homeland. Supply side findings characterized ancestral tourism as being “embryonic and full of potential”. A few challenges for those involved in the facilitation and marketing of the ancestral tourism experience were also highlighted. Characteristics associated with the ancestral tourism product were diverse and the changing nature of the genealogical resources utilized by descendents was reviewed. A shortfall of marketing the ancestral tourism initiative to only international visitors was examined, despite healthy promotional efforts such as the “Ancestral Tourism Welcome Scheme”. Key recommendations for parties interested in the ancestral tourism initiative included increased coordination among stakeholders at a regional level, increased funding and functioning capacities for the volunteer sector, re-examining current marketing strategies to include the domestic level, expanding marketing activity in the Canadian context, and maintaining ancestral tourism as a modest and “intimate” trend.

Economic development in the declining Maritime Provinces has proven to be an intractable problem over the last 70 years. Efforts have ranged from capitalist industrial resource extraction to worker-owned producer co-operatives. Yet, throughout its many variations, these initiatives have done little to secure the long-term economic security of Canada’s most marginalized rural communities, such as those on the western coast of Cape Breton Island. Efforts toward this end during the closing decades of the twentieth century, up to present date, have applied market-led development strategies paralleling trends in the increasingly fluid global market economy. This local economic development approach, it is argued, reinforces economic dependency established during the last century’s staples commodity extraction, even as it attempts to reduce it and promote communities’ unique socio-cultural values, through ‘local ownership’ of integration into the market economy. An analysis of conventional approaches to economic development and ‘local ownership’, that focuses on two communities in rural western Cape Breton, demonstrates this point. Several alternatives to conventional economic development are considered, with a particular emphasis on the two Cape Breton communities.

Assessment of tourism’s contribution to the economy of a country or a region is extremely complicated because of the nature of tourism. A tourism satellite account (TSA) is a major recent contribution in this area. It involves building a specific tourism account in the context of a national account. After more than 20 years of development, the current trend in TSA research is to refine and implement the method. This paper summarizes the methodology developments of TSA and explores the feasibility of adopting a TSA in municipal area. Thus, it discusses the TSA system from a municipal perspective. Because it is a new topic, a qualitative method is adopted by using a case study in Suzhou, China. The paper discusses and provides a definition of TSA from varied perspectives. It also provides a technical framework for a municipal TSA, illustrates the driving forces and institutional attitudes behind the development of such a TSA, and examines the limitations and advantages of the TSA methodology in a municipal context.

A persistent trend in the tourism field is the emergence of different types of niche markets. One niche form of heritage tourism that has gained popularity in Scotland since the Millennium, is ancestral tourism. Ancestral tourism is defined as choosing to travel to a host country based on one’s ancestral origins and genealogical interest. This paper traces the nature and importance of ancestral tourism for Canadian Scottish descendents in Ontario, Canada. Based on a social constructivist and multiple methods approach, the ancestral tourism initiative was reviewed within the perspectives of both the demand and supply side. The demand side findings revealed that Canadian Scottish descendents identified with and participated more in their social heritage at the local level, than in their personal heritage in the homeland. The degree to which the descendents were involved in Scottish heritage and ancestry was dependent on a variety of factors such as the emigration date of the respective ancestor, life-changing circumstances, and external stimulants. The majority of Canadian Scottish descendents were characterized as supplementary ancestral tourists and revealed that traveling to Scotland, for an ancestral tourism experience, would be one of many motivations for traveling to the homeland. Supply side findings characterized ancestral tourism as being “embryonic and full of potential”. A few challenges for those involved in the facilitation and marketing of the ancestral tourism experience were also highlighted. Characteristics associated with the ancestral tourism product were diverse and the changing nature of the genealogical resources utilized by descendents was reviewed. A shortfall of marketing the ancestral tourism initiative to only international visitors was examined, despite healthy promotional efforts such as the “Ancestral Tourism Welcome Scheme”. Key recommendations for parties interested in the ancestral tourism initiative included increased coordination among stakeholders at a regional level, increased funding and functioning capacities for the volunteer sector, re-examining current marketing strategies to include the domestic level, expanding marketing activity in the Canadian context, and maintaining ancestral tourism as a modest and “intimate” trend.

Economic development in the declining Maritime Provinces has proven to be an intractable problem over the last 70 years. Efforts have ranged from capitalist industrial resource extraction to worker-owned producer co-operatives. Yet, throughout its many variations, these initiatives have done little to secure the long-term economic security of Canada’s most marginalized rural communities, such as those on the western coast of Cape Breton Island. Efforts toward this end during the closing decades of the twentieth century, up to present date, have applied market-led development strategies paralleling trends in the increasingly fluid global market economy. This local economic development approach, it is argued, reinforces economic dependency established during the last century’s staples commodity extraction, even as it attempts to reduce it and promote communities’ unique socio-cultural values, through ‘local ownership’ of integration into the market economy. An analysis of conventional approaches to economic development and ‘local ownership’, that focuses on two communities in rural western Cape Breton, demonstrates this point. Several alternatives to conventional economic development are considered, with a particular emphasis on the two Cape Breton communities.

Cultural clusters with an agglomeration of heritage and historic assets represent national or local history, culture and tradition. Hence, they often become distinctive urban tourism resources supplying multifunctional places for tourists to visit and enjoy. However, the designation of a cultural district by government is not merely a strategy for the preservation of cultural assets and tourism development because a variety of stakeholders, with divergent goals and objectives, are usually involved in the process of converting cultural resources into marketable products. The number of tourists to Insadong, a representative traditional cultural district in Seoul, Korea, has increased rapidly in the last decades with many issues and problems. Insadong is a place where Koreans and foreigners alike experience Korean tradition and it is a unique area where the atmosphere combines both the historical and modern in the centre of the city. The area is also multi-functional, offering a mix of history, entertainment, cuisine, shopping etc. for a mixed clientele. This area has a long history as a cultural business district which was organically generated, but numerous issues and changes have occurred in relation to the commercial development and policy of government. Since this area gained fame as a tourism destination after it was designated as a cultural district, it also encountered problems like rising rental fees, change of space use, modifications in the items for sale, and destruction of small traditional art-related shops, which created the traditional atmosphere. This study examined the policies of the public sector and the role of the private sector in the development of Insadong through examining the government’s assessment and perspectives, the NGO’s perspectives and the entrepreneurs’ situation and expectations for business. Through analyzing crucial events, NGO’s activity, and the initiation of government policies, my research reveals dramatic change under the impact of tourism and government policies, as well as recent problems that have occurred at the cultural district. This study also examined aspects of heritage tourism in an evolving culture cluster in a major city. To the author’s knowledge, this type of research has not been undertaken previously in Korea and is rare in Asia. However, it is difficult to generalize from a case study. Thus, there is a need to undertake similar studies elsewhere to determine if what has been observed in Insadong is unique or if it is an example of a phenomenon that can be observed in other places.

It is a widely accepted fact that tourism has become a prominent part of local economic development regarding to global economic restructuring and over the last two decades many regions have achieved tourism-led local economic development. The concept of &amp / #8216 / Institutional Thickness&amp / #8217 / which has been introduced within the context of institutional turn in economic geography and discussed intensively in local economic development context has important implications for tourism-led local economic development. The concept describes how institutional arrangements influence the capacity of localities to compete globally and emphasizes the importance of strong local institutional base and inter-institutional collaboration in local economic development. This thesis discusses tourism-led local economic development and the concept of institutional thickness and investigates how the concept relates to tourism-led local economic development. It aims to make an empirical assessment of institutional thickness. Using case study as a research method, the research focuses on Beypazari district that achieved domestic tourism development involving day excursions from the major metropolitan areas and trying to improve its local economy through tourism. In this locally initiated project, the local government collaborated with many institutions. The thesis assesses institutional thickness of Beypazari within its local economic development process. Keywords: Tourism, local economic development, institutional thickness

Cultural clusters with an agglomeration of heritage and historic assets represent national or local history, culture and tradition. Hence, they often become distinctive urban tourism resources supplying multifunctional places for tourists to visit and enjoy. However, the designation of a cultural district by government is not merely a strategy for the preservation of cultural assets and tourism development because a variety of stakeholders, with divergent goals and objectives, are usually involved in the process of converting cultural resources into marketable products. The number of tourists to Insadong, a representative traditional cultural district in Seoul, Korea, has increased rapidly in the last decades with many issues and problems. Insadong is a place where Koreans and foreigners alike experience Korean tradition and it is a unique area where the atmosphere combines both the historical and modern in the centre of the city. The area is also multi-functional, offering a mix of history, entertainment, cuisine, shopping etc. for a mixed clientele. This area has a long history as a cultural business district which was organically generated, but numerous issues and changes have occurred in relation to the commercial development and policy of government. Since this area gained fame as a tourism destination after it was designated as a cultural district, it also encountered problems like rising rental fees, change of space use, modifications in the items for sale, and destruction of small traditional art-related shops, which created the traditional atmosphere. This study examined the policies of the public sector and the role of the private sector in the development of Insadong through examining the government’s assessment and perspectives, the NGO’s perspectives and the entrepreneurs’ situation and expectations for business. Through analyzing crucial events, NGO’s activity, and the initiation of government policies, my research reveals dramatic change under the impact of tourism and government policies, as well as recent problems that have occurred at the cultural district. This study also examined aspects of heritage tourism in an evolving culture cluster in a major city. To the author’s knowledge, this type of research has not been undertaken previously in Korea and is rare in Asia. However, it is difficult to generalize from a case study. Thus, there is a need to undertake similar studies elsewhere to determine if what has been observed in Insadong is unique or if it is an example of a phenomenon that can be observed in other places.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / The Quarterly Labour Force survey by Statistics South Africa (2019) portrays a very bleak future for the South African economy and labour force. The unemployment rate is 27.6% and youth unemployment stands at 55.2%. The National Development Plan (NDP) recognises the relevance of the informal sector and the value that it will contribute to the economy and to solving the challenges of unemployment in South Africa. The NDP projects that the informal sector, which includes domestic work, will create between 1,2 and 2 million new jobs by 2030. Few studies have been conducted on informal trading projects. This study explores the case of a ‗transitional‘ informal enterprise support project aimed at micro-enterprise development wherein 10 informal traders in Cape Town took occupancy of provincial government-sponsored kiosks on 9 May 2016. The Long Street kiosks (LSK) offer 10 traders per year a unique trading opportunity in the CBD free of rent and service charges for a period of one year, with access to a unique and potentially large market. The purpose of this study is to critically examine the role played in the informal enterprise development project by the Western Cape provincial government through its project manager, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT). This research attempts to investigate aspects of project design such as the selection criteria of the informal traders for the project, and selected results such as whether the project provided the traders with enough market exposure to the formal economy and whether their businesses were improved by participation in the project. The qualitative research approach was used for this study of the LSK project, which was a single case study, as both a unit of analysis and as a research method. The study involved a combination of two approaches, namely desktop research followed by interviews and focus group sessions. The study found that a number of limitations and shortcomings in the conduct of the project impacted on the mixed results and success achieved, pertaining to selection criteria, lack of financial and other resources, training, market-related problems, skill set limitations as well as environmental factors such as transport. The study nevertheless cast useful light on potential changes and recommendations that could enhance the project going forward and provides new insights on the complex relationship between the informal and formal ii economies and their relative potential for addressing the challenges of employment and economic growth.

DAdmin / Department of Public and Development Administration / This study focussed on the roles of traditional leaders in the promotion of Local Economic Development (LED). This study focused on Limpopo Province but for this study, the research study was conducted in Vhembe District which consists of four (04) local municipalities which are Makhado, Thulamela, Musina and Collins Chabane local municipalities under Limpopo Province. Chiefs as traditional leaders are expected to play an active role in local development, on the day-to-day administration of their areas and the lives of people in their jurisdiction. One of the roles of traditional leaders is to promote socio-economic development and service delivery. The new government is trying to bring economic development to all areas, especially rural areas which were left out in the previous regime. The researcher chose a mixed research method in which both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. The reason for using a mixed research method is because it can be integrated in such a way that qualitative and quantitative methods retain their original structures and procedures. A qualitative approach is applicable in this study, because it allows openness to ideas, experiences, opinions, feelings and perceptions expressed by the research participants to the researcher. The researcher also applied a quantitative study for which would enable him to get results from many respondents. The researcher used a field research study as a research design. For this study, the researcher used a non-probability sampling and its subtype purposive sampling method to select the respondents for this study. The researcher chose purposive sampling method which is based entirely on the judgment of the researcher regarding the characteristics of the participants. Two data collection instruments were used, namely; research questionnaire and interview. The reason for selecting structured questionnaire and open-ended interview schedule is because the researcher wants to get relevant information about the study. Two methods of data analysis were used, namely descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings of the research study were:  The study findings revealed that majority of the respondents at 155 (74.3%) agreed that traditional leaders participate in approving Local Economic Development (LED) initiatives/projetcs. The study further affirms that most of the respondents at 178 which constitute 84.8% confirm that traditional leaders influence community members to participate in economic development projects in their communities.  Majority of the respondents at 147 (70.0%) agreed that traditional leaders are effective instruments to initiate LED and the researcher discovered that participation by traditional leaders promotes community development. vi  The findings revealed that there is a lack of co-operation between the traditional leaders and the municipalities. Poor working relationship between traditional leaders and the municipalities was revealed that it hampers the implementation of economic development projects in the municipality.  The study findings revealed that the LED in the municipality fails to create job opportunities and these result to an increase in crime rate. The study findings also revealed that poor planning, communication break-down; lack of common interest; poor management by the municipalities exacerbate the challenges facing traditional leaders in the implementation of local economic development.  The study findings revealed that traditional leaders lack knowledge, skills, capacity and resources in orders to promote LED. The study also discovered that due to the educational level of traditional leaders, it makes it difficult for them to understand the concepts and developmental projects.  The study findings discovered that traditional leaders only get involved in policy-making for IDP programmes wherein community stakeholders participate by providing the development projects that they require in the areas.  The researcher found that the role of traditional leaders in the promotion of LED is minimal because the only role of traditional leaders in the promotion of LED is mainly the allocation of land for LED projects. The recommendations of the research study are:  The researcher recommends that traditional leaders should actively participate in the decision-making to the implementation of LED. There is a greater need to ensure that the traditional leaders are made aware about the concept − LED. Traditional leaders should influence community members to participate in economic development projects. Traditional leaders should encourage community members to actively participate in economic development projects.  The study found that traditional leaders have development skills to benefit the community’s future and the researcher recommends that traditional leaders should be granted an opportunity on LED projects, as they are having development skills that can benefit the community. If traditional leaders are given a chance to participate in decision-making processes regarding issues that relate to and affect them, they will become part of the initiatives and this sense of ownership will encourage them to participate fully in the LED. vii  It is recommended that the culture of consultation and communication between traditional leaders and the municipalities should be promoted to enhance a good working relationship. Good working relationship between the traditional leaders and municipal councillors should be encouraged as it is very critical in enhancing the provision of services in the communities. The municipalities should improve their systems of communication to promote effective involvement of traditional leaders in LED. It is suggested that openness between community structures and the municipality should be encouraged.  The researcher recommends that the municipalities should provide enough budget to improve the implementation of LED in order to bring the communities and the government together in working towards the improvements of the LED projects. The findings suggested that in order for the municipalities to implement LED projects there should have well trained personnel and enough funding and be in a position to attract investors in order to implement the LED projects accordingly.  Supporting traditional leaders with training will enhance good governance, performance and accountability. The institution of traditional leaders should be trained about economic development as most of the respondents asserted that training on economic development is not given to traditional leaders. The researcher recommends that traditional leaders should be trained on economic development activities, as training is one form of communication which promotes the realisation of improved development. The researcher recommends that there should be a school that will educate traditional leaders to gain knowledge and skills which will result in a better community development.  It was stated that the municipality should involve traditional leaders in LED by clearly adding and stipulating out the roles of traditional leaders in the promotion of LED. The researcher recommends that the municipalities should involve the traditional leaders in LED as it encourages community ownership. The researcher recommends that LED meetings should be done regularly to give traditional leaders a better understanding of what is LED and what the municipalities is doing concerning job creation, eradication of poverty and other municipal matters.  The findings suggested that the traditional leader should be part of the LED by playing a meaningful role in the decision-making body (formulation stage) to implementation and have a voice in the LED council. / NRF