Tourism is a Morden-day engine for growth and is one of the largest industries globally. Being a labour intensive industry with a supply chain that links across many sectors, tourism is a priority sector in the government’s planning and policy frameworks. However, the involvement of community members in a project is often dependent upon the associated project benefits that can provide for the community, such as physical development of the area, the inclusion of community requests in project planning and development and the economic returns from the project for community members. To understand the impact of community based tourism projects in KwaZulu Natal, the research used a multi-pronged approach by applying naturalistic enquiry principles. Two case studies were selected for this study namely, Ugu District Municipality and Ethekwini Municipality. The former was chosen because of its potential to provide best practices whilst the later provided a broader perspective due to the number of tourists received by the City annually. Focus group discussions, in- depth interviews and researcher administered questionnaires formed the core data collection approaches. In total 154 people participated in the study of which 135 were community members, 3 representatives from Municipalities and 16 CBT representatives. The results of the study show that CBT projects have a potential to uplift the community’s livelihoods. Although a number of community benefits were realised, the viability of CBTs is affected by other variables. Despite increasing the community’s standard of living and creating employment opportunities, collective benefits are usually not enough to cater for all the needs of the community members. Furthermore, the study also revealed that there are some conflicts arising from managing these projects. Most community members have no training to manage profitable tourism enterprises. Therefore, meaningful participation should enable stakeholders, among them the local communities who are often the intended beneficiaries to influence and share control over development initiatives, decisions and resources which affect them. CBT projects however cannot be a panacea to unemployment and poverty in the surrounding local communities but should be used as an alternative livelihood option to complement other sectors. The study notes the challenges of CBTs and recommendations are made on the future direction of CBTs. Show less

Tourism is a Morden-day engine for growth and is one of the largest industries globally. Being a labour intensive industry with a supply chain that links across many sectors, tourism is a priority sector in the government’s planning and policy frameworks. However, the involvement of community members in a project is often Show more

Accommodation is one of the largest components of the tourism sector (Deng, Yeh, and Sung 2013). The increasing competition in the accommodation sector has meant that establishments have started focusing a lot on improving customer satisfaction with a view to retain existing and attract new customers. Consequently, a number of studies have been carried out to assess customer satisfaction and its determinants in several sectors, including accommodation. Several of such research investigates the relationship between various service quality dimensions and overall customer satisfaction. For example, The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), established in 1994 and inspired by the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer (SCSB) (Fornell et al., 1996), contains sets of causal relationship between the antecedents (e.g. customer expectations, perceived service quality and perceived value) and the consequences (e.g. customer complaints and customer loyalty) of customer satisfaction. Such studies are based on the premise that service quality influences customer satisfaction which in turn influences customer behavioural intention (i.e. their intention to return to the same accommodation again or complaints behaviour) (Kang, Okamoto, and Donovan, 2004). The latter empirically reported that increased customer satisfaction in the accommodation sector led to positive behavioural intention, prevented customer defection, and lowered marking costs of the organisations. There is also considerable evidence to suggest that service quality and perceive value with a product or service are associated with customer satisfaction (Brady, Robertson, and Cronin, 2001). Show less

Accommodation is one of the largest components of the tourism sector (Deng, Yeh, and Sung 2013). The increasing competition in the accommodation sector has meant that establishments have started focusing a lot on improving customer satisfaction with a view to retain existing and attract new customers. Consequently, a number of Show more

This study explored the socio-economic impacts of the religious gathering in Moria on the surrounding communities. Moria is the head-quarters of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), an entirely black denomination with millions of members from several African countries, formed in 1910 by the late Engenas Lekganyane. In a given year, the gathering takes place in April and in September, although attending services and spiritual consultations do take place outside these two main gatherings. In this highly spiritual context with a lot of activities that may not be comprehended by the common person, this research study is an attempt to gather information and give voice to the agents within the communities surrounding Moria themselves, and to present this evidence to policy-makers, business establishments and any other interested stakeholder in the tourism industry as an input to their strategizing and decision-making in relation to this massive gathering. The study was approached mainly from a qualitative approach and secondarily from a quantitative approach. In the field work, observations, informal interviews and two sessions of focus group discussions with agents from the business establishments located within 50km radius of Moria were conducted. The first observation method was executed before the gathering as a way of scanning the environment, and the second was done during the gathering and another a month after the gathering when activities in fuel stations were monitored. Informal interviews accompanied the first observation, while focus group discussions were a standalone. The findings of this research report are presented under five headings that were identified from the data gathered: a description of Moria and the surrounding communities; relations between the gathering and commercial establishments; determinants of business location; social impact of the gathering; and motorists utilizing fuel stations with and without the gathering. Using these findings we report that over and above being the supplier of spiritual food, the church is contributing towards employment, education and health. We argue that these contributions are vital as they have a great potential of reducing poverty, crime rate, and use of drugs that usually accompany the unemployed and the uneducated. The presence of the church without a doubt improves the rural-urban linkages. While most businesses report that they do not observe any significant change in their sales during the gathering, they do nonetheless respond to certain requirements of pilgrims to take advantage of the increased demand. The findings also suggest that the gathering triggers a ripple-purchasing effect from non-ZCC members of the community, where the report defines the ripple-purchasing effect as activities accompanying an event that lead people to be in a buying spree. For fuel stations in particular, the frequency with which motorists utilise their services is twice more during a week-end with the gathering. On the other hand, the report also highlights the reduction in sales observed by some hawkers during the gathering as a result of over-supply of commodities by business establishments who position themselves to supply only during this period. Moving beyond the socio-economic impacts of the gathering, the report provides the implications of the study for religious tourism in Moria, with a special emphasis on the potential of using the gathering to attract secular tourists as is the case with basilicas of Rome. Subject to the church’s approval, this may be achieved through collaboration between the church and the government and/or private sector. If well-orchestrated, this may bring benefits especially to tourism value chain business establishments such as accommodation, which are currently not benefiting at all from the gathering. Show less

This study explored the socio-economic impacts of the religious gathering in Moria on the surrounding communities. Moria is the head-quarters of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), an entirely black denomination with millions of members from several African countries, formed in 1910 by the late Engenas Lekganyane. In a given year, Show more

Service quality is an essential component contributing to the success and/or failure of tourism destinations. The study of tourism attractions in the context of service delivery and customer satisfaction is a useful exercise that can help the industry and the government to appreciate the country’s competitive position. The National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS, 2011) emphasises this concern by focusing on issues related to delivering a world-class visitor experience and positioning South Africa as a globally recognised tourism destination brand. Research has already documented the existence of inconsistencies of service levels in the South African destination offerings (i.e. poor culture of service, lack of service ethos and skills, inconsistent customer service delivery, and poor leadership). Production and consumption of a service are often inseparable (the quality of the production and consumption of each service depends on the type of interaction created between an employee and customer with the customer having an active part driving inputs that can uniquely modify the final service outcomes). Each of these factors affects both the interaction and final quality perceived to have been experienced of a service/product delivered by employees, for the customer. Managing both the employee and customer intangible contributions to what represents an acceptable service process, are then pivotal to what constitutes a successful outcome in service interactions. This research study concentrates on evaluating five tourism attractions in South Africa assessing customer satisfaction with the services, facilities and ‘experiences offered’ by tourism attractions and the perceptions of managers and employees at these attractions of what service quality they are delivering. Show less

Service quality is an essential component contributing to the success and/or failure of tourism destinations. The study of tourism attractions in the context of service delivery and customer satisfaction is a useful exercise that can help the industry and the government to appreciate the country’s competitive position. The Show more

The contribution of the tourism sector to the South African economy has been well documented. It is also well known that tourism impacts and benefits associated with the hosting of sporting events bolster economic development at the local level, it could be in an urban or rural milieu. For rural areas, sporting events can be a major generator of tourism since they attract many spectators from different areas. While both direct socio-economic and more intangible benefits of sporting events certainly exist, the presence of sporting events may bring with it some negative impacts as well. In South Africa, soccer is recognised as one of the country’s most popular sport codes. Because traditions of athleticism were a part of African societies, when Europeans came to the South African region, Africans adopted and adapted European sport. British colonial officials, soldiers, traders and missionaries introduced European sports to South Africa in the mid-1800s. They played sports such as soccer, cricket, and rugby and taught the games to the indigenous population. In the late 1850s, the African elite, educated at mission schools, adopted cricket, rugby and soccer, not only because they enjoyed it, but also as a symbol of their education and elite status. Missionaries, government officials, and mine owners at about that time encouraged or organized sport in an attempt to engage Africans in constructive activity, preventing them from what some white people at that time considered heathen, lazy, or destructive behaviour (such as drinking alcohol). In mining towns and industrial areas that arose in the late 1800s and early 1900s, sport (especially soccer) became an important social organization or association. At this time, the first black sporting organizations were formed. Furthermore, with the influx of soldiers who fought in the South Africa War (1899-1902), soccer and rugby were played by a wider group of people. Some sports soon became associated with certain races. For example, by the early 1900s, soccer became largely known as the “black sport” in most parts of South Africa. The game was easier to play for poor black people given that the only equipment needed was a ball and was promoted in most areas of the colony by missionaries. Rugby became more associated with white South Africans who were in positions of power in the colonial system. The British in general viewed soccer as a game for the lower classes, and rugby in South Africa as the game for the white people. Cricket, which became a popular sport in the country, was played primarily by white and Asian South Africans. Show less

The contribution of the tourism sector to the South African economy has been well documented. It is also well known that tourism impacts and benefits associated with the hosting of sporting events bolster economic development at the local level, it could be in an urban or rural milieu. For rural areas, sporting events can be a Show more

This study investigated the customer service satisfaction levels of domestic tourists at accommodation establishments in South Africa. Service excellence is acknowledged as a key driver of bottom-line results and will enable South African accommodation service providers to deliver an unforgettable customer service experience to tourists. However, challenges highlighted in the NTSS include the poor culture of service, lack of service ethos and skills, inconsistent customer service delivery, exacerbated by poor leadership in these areas. Benchmarking against international service standards to provide tourists with excellent service is recommended. Show less

This study investigated the customer service satisfaction levels of domestic tourists at accommodation establishments in South Africa. Service excellence is acknowledged as a key driver of bottom-line results and will enable South African accommodation service providers to deliver an unforgettable customer service experience to Show more

Tourism has recently been acknowledged as South Africa’s foremost money- spinner, job creator, and an effective tool for poverty alleviation. This study, on the basis of this assertion, seeks to determine the socio-economic impacts of rural tourism routes in KwaZulu-Natal on adjacent communities, through case study approaches to the three: the Zululand Heritage Route, the King Shaka Route and the Zululand Birding Route. The fundamental objectives of this study are to identify the nature of tourism routes and their impacts and the benefits accruing to the local communities. It was anticipated that the findings of this research study would help by revealing the extent to which local communities understand and participate in tourism development issues. Furthermore, the results of the research have the potential of benefiting rural tourism and uplifting the socio-economic status of communities adjacent to the routes. Show less

Tourism has recently been acknowledged as South Africa’s foremost money- spinner, job creator, and an effective tool for poverty alleviation. This study, on the basis of this assertion, seeks to determine the socio-economic impacts of rural tourism routes in KwaZulu-Natal on adjacent communities, through case study approaches Show more