The development and promotion of a tourism delivery strategy at the Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve

• Main Author: Padayachee, Karthigasen Kisten
• Other Authors: Magi, L.M.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Tourism delivery strategy
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10530/153

A dissertation of limited scope submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Recreation and Tourism degree in the Centre for Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2008. === The study on die assessment of the development and promotion of a tourism delivery strategy, within the Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve and surrounding, was conducted against the background that, in spite of the fact that South Africa is blessed with accessible wildlife, varied and impressive scenery, unspoiled wilderness areas; the country has not yet been able to realise full tourism potential. The failure of South Africa to realise a tourism delivery strategy for the benefit of the community and stakeholders, was a strong motivation for carrying out this research investigation. The subsequent result of this limited contribution is that some tourist destinations attract more tourists while other destinations attract few tourists. Notwithstanding the existence of the democratic government elected in 1994, tourism development in South Africa still focuses on urban areas and areas along scenic natural environments. It is also a serious challenge that the tourism industry is still dominated by the white population sector. The involvement of local indigenous communities in tourism related activities in the study area is almost non-existent. The study therefore, had specific objectives which are the following: (a) To reveal the extent to which the stakeholders are aware of the importance of tourism in the study area. (b) To find out whether the activities and facilities in the study area are adequately provided and are of good quality. (c) To establish the degree to which stakeholders participate in tourism activities in the study area. (d) To determine whether the level of utilisation and patronage of various resource facilities in the study area are of low or high order. (e) To investigate the adequacy and effectiveness of tourism management practices for benefiting the local communities in the study area. (i) To ascertain the adequacy of perceived community benefits coming from tourism activities in the study area. A number of hypotheses directly related to the objectives of the study were postulated. The hypotheses were duly tested in an attempt to uncover the underlying causes of the identified discrepancies in the study area. The testing of the hypotheses was done through the analysis and interpretation of the data collected from the population sectors that are directly or indirectly affected by the study area. There were various findings that emerge and were deduced from the research data analysed. The findings showed that the respondents from the study area: (a) community members are relatively aware of tourism facilities and activities in the study area; (b) the facilities were inadequately provided and thought to be ill-equipped; (c) there was a moderate to fair participation practice in tourism activities, mainly based on race and economics, where Whites and Indians showed a high level of participation; (d) levels of utilisation and patronage of facilities were not of a high order, that is, community members found utilisation to be inadequate in the study area; (e) the tourism management practices in the study area were inadequate and ineffective for benefiting the local communities; and (f) the tourism benefits for the local communities were found to be inadequate in the study area, in other word, community benefits coming from tourism activities are inadequate in the study On the whole, the study conclusively established that there were evidently negative perceptions of provision, participation, utilisation, management practice and community related tourism benefits in the study area. These findings lend themselves to the need for the development and promotion of a tourism delivery strategy at the Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve. Finally, the research study concluded by providing recommendations, which sought to ameliorate the negative outcomes of the investigation. It was further suggested that the development and promotion of a tourism delivery strategy would depend on mutual co-operation between all stakeholders: the government, the tourists, the nature reserve officials, the private sector tour operators and the local communities.