A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Recreation and Tourism, at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / Large numbers of rural people in South Africa are stuck in a poverty trap that is
characterised by extreme poverty to an extent that it is difficult to meet the
evergreen challenges of the lack of infrastructure, the prevalence of diseases and
the problem of hunger. These challenges, in turn, hamper economic growth and
sometimes promote rural depopulation (Sachs, McAuthur, Schmidt-Traub, Kruk,
Bahadur, Faye & McCord 2004:3). The irony of the whole situation is that the
countryside still remains a tourism paradise which offers a variety of attractions
including scenic beauty, diverse wildlife, a kaleidoscope of traditions, cultures, and
an array of opportunities to explore the outdoors through sporting and adventure
activities.
As a result of this situation, concerned academics such as Bennet & George
(2004:4) contend that there is inadequate information about the contribution of the
rural tourism assets to the socio-economic conditions of the local people
especially the alleviation of poverty. Similarly, scholars like Brown (2000) and
Meyer (2006) insist that tourism development planners must change their focus
from the enclave development of resorts which is characterised by exclusion of
linkages to the local poor rural areas. The danger of such approaches to tourism
development is that they undermine the role that the tourism industry can play in
poverty alleviation.
On basis of this background, this study was undertaken with an aim to analyse the
direct and indirect livelihood impacts of tourism and their implications on poverty
alleviation in Bergville. The analysis focused on tourism resources, contribution to
job opportunities, entrepreneurial skills development, increased income
generation and livelihood impacts. These focus areas were informed by a five-fold
general research objectives which are:
To identify the resources that can be used for rural tourism development in
Bergville. To establish the extent to which rural tourism development can contribute
positively to job opportunities, entrepreneurial skills development and
increased income generation in Bergville.
To find out the perceptions of Bergville residents relating to rural tourism
development as a mechanism for economic development in their area.
To identify the existing management practices or strategies perceived as
contributing to the improvement of the quality of livelihoods in the study
area.
To propose an integrated development model that would contribute to job
creation and thus result in poverty alleviation in Bergville.
The survey approach was used to address the research question. A particular
research methodology was used to capture the complexity of local perceptions
towards tourism development. To cover a broader spectrum of the local
community of the study area, three questionnaires were designed for the general
public, the local business people as well as the local municipality employees.
Triangulation of sources of data and methods blending the qualitative and
quantitative methods enabled the study to have the broad understanding of the
role that tourism development can play to alleviate poverty.
Because of time limitations, the study used the convenience sampling method
where the respondents who happen to be available at prominent points such as
farm stalls, shopping areas, and public places were targeted for the survey. The
sample size which was based on the estimated number of the population of the
study area was deemed to be adequate for the purpose of collecting information
required to answer the research questions and to achieve the objectives of the
study.
Questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. The
administration of the questionnaires took into consideration the objectives of the
study, the sequence of questions, question structure as well as ethical
considerations. The analysis of the data provided insight into various issues that
relate to the objectives of the study. The researcher converted the raw data into a
form that is suitable for analysis before it was subjected to statistical analysis. A series of univariate data presented in percentages, frequencies, tables and
graphs gave an understanding of the data that is purely descriptive. The
interpretation of the data concentrated on tourism resources, contribution to job
opportunities, entrepreneurial skills development and generation of income,
economic growth, perceptions on tourism development and management
practices that contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of the people of
Bergville.
The study concludes that the people are convinced that the resourcefulness and
accessibility of Bergville can support tourism development. Similarly, the findings
imply that rural tourism is seen as a very important and probably the most
important factor for economic development. The largest percentages of people
agree that tourism development can contribute positively to the creation of job
opportunities, development of entrepreneurial skills and the generation of
increased income. The study found that the people have both advocacy and
cautionary views about tourism development in Bergville. Furthermore, the
findings imply that people have mixed feelings about the contribution of existing
management practices in improving the livelihoods of local people.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1095 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Mthembu, Barney M.J. |
| Contributors | Nzama, A.T., Magi, L.M. |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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