A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science.
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies (GAES). Johannesburg, October 2017. / Climate and weather-related impacts have become widespread particularly affecting the
tourism industry. Changes in the climate and weather lead to changes in tourist seasons,
products and travel opportunities. Flooding has gained research attention over the past decade,
since the destruction creates many challenges for tourism businesses. Floods are a growing
global problem, increasing in terms of frequency of occurrence, property damages, business
economic losses, and fatalities. South Africa has begun to experience many annual flood events
both coastal and in-land, but the Limpopo Province has been declared as flood disaster area,
since the increase in temperatures and precipitation. Interest now lies on how particular tourist
destinations in the Limpopo Province can adapt to reduce flooding risks whilst increasing
opportunities mainly for the economy. Debates around flooding costs, recovery processes, and
adaptive capacities affirm to be more challenging for the tourism accommodation sector. The
study aimed to explore the perceived flooding impacts on different types of tourist
accommodation. Thus, to determine if floods hindered any tourist bookings, offerings, and
tourist length of stay. The exploration verified the possible flood risks to vulnerable
accommodation and no adequate adaptation plans. A purposeful sample of 145 tourist
accommodation businesses located across three flood-prone regions of the Limpopo Province
were selected to answer a semi-structured questionnaire to put across their flooding experiences
from a management perspective. The semi-structured questionnaire was combined with
telephone interviews and email responses. Coherent theme development within the theoretical
framework was achieved through content analysis. Content analysis allowed for the critical
discussion of deductive and inductive themes found in the results. Floods during peak-seasons
threaten and affect tourist accommodation, leaving them behind in business. Those not affected
benefit with increased tourist demand and new opportunities in the hospitality industry. Tourist
accommodation businesses are exposed to flood risks and experience challenges to assess,
recover and adapt from the direct and indirect impacts. Alongside the destruction of tourism in
these regions, were concerns of the provision of flood mapping and flood management plans
for tourism businesses. Wider flooding impacts on the environment and the surrounding local
communities demonstrates a growing problem for the future.
Key words: floods; tourist accommodation; flooding impacts; risks; opportunities; tourist
demand; adaptation; flood recovery, flood mapping, flood management plans. / LG2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/25038 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Southon, Mercia Patricia |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (xvii, 176 leaves), application/pdf |
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