Guided tours and tourism destinations are inseparable, with such guided tours often being sought after for their power to improve tourist satisfaction and envisioned to enhance visitors' experience and impact tourism growth at destinations. The success of such guided tours is often premised on several factors, which when present, would influence visitors' propensity to recommend, revisit and make future destination choices. Such factors play a critical role in determining whether visitors would consider guided or self-led excursions. Increasingly, South Africa relies on revenue from tourists as a major source of income. Statistics from South Africa show that the tourism industry is dependent on tour operators, tourist guides, and information services and that the travel industry and reservation services are built-in industries. Because of how much they enrich visitors' experiences, guided tours are offered in many different nations. These excursions are in high demand because of the positive effect they have on visitor satisfaction and, by extension, the development of the tourism industry in the places they visit. For a price or for free, tour guides may impart invaluable knowledge to their clients that can shape how visitors could remember their time in a certain location. Several studies have shown evidence of a correlation between tour guides and tourists taking tours. This is particularly true considering that many visitors choose guided tours rather than self-directed ones. Understanding the Critical Success Factors for guided tours is essential as it makes it easier for tourism suppliers to channel efforts toward tourist satisfaction. This research aimed at providing light on the under-researched topic of critical success factors for guided tours in South Africa's Western Cape Province. Understanding what makes for a successful guided tour is crucial for any tourist attraction. When the factors that make a guided tour enjoyable are isolated, tourism providers may better focus their efforts on satisfying their clients. It is worth noting that customers often want the provider and the tourist guide, to go above and beyond to ensure that they are satisfied with what is offered. The research used a mixed methods approach, which included both qualitative and quantitative techniques, to accomplish its goals. The number of interviewees was determined to be 12; all of them tour guides. For the quantitative data (n=451), a non-probability systematic sample comprised visitors taking part in guided tours in the Western Cape Province. Given that studies have shown that tour guides often lack the knowledge necessary to ensure that their clients are satisfied, it was crucial to investigate ways to enhance the quality of guided tours from the perspectives of both clients and tour guides. The study revealed that safety, knowledgeable guides, and pricing remain critical in the success of guided tours. The study highlights the critical factors considered essential for the success of guided excursions and the areas that require improvement. This research is important because it expands our understanding of a topic that has not been studied nearly enough so far especially focusing on how guided tours may be improved, and in the context of South Africa. According to the study findings, keeping an open line of contact with clients is crucial to retaining their loyalty. Those involved in the business tourism sector need to pay attention to new developments and come up with creative solutions if they want to compete with other business destinations over the globe. Those involved in the business tourism ecosystem should also stay abreast of research developments. Ultimately, this could lead to tour guides investing in skills development and knowledge expansion to conduct tours that satisfy visitors. The study further contributes to serving as a guide for further studies that may seek to investigate how guided tours in other provinces of South Africa should be conducted and ultimately improved. Furthermore, the study could provide a basis for tour guides within the Western Cape Province and South Africa more broadly to undertake more successful guided tours by understanding the CSFs required. Following an analysis of the study’s findings, recommendations for effective guided tours for the tourism industry were highlighted while practical and managerial implications were proposed. Show less

Guided tours and tourism destinations are inseparable, with such guided tours often being sought after for their power to improve tourist satisfaction and envisioned to enhance visitors' experience and impact tourism growth at destinations. The success of such guided tours is often premised on several factors, which when Show more

Reward systems are important tools that management can use to motivate employees; the main objective of organizations in awarding rewards is to attract and retain efficient, productive, and motivated employees. However, there is no evidence available regarding managers' perceptions of employee rewards in five-star hotels in Cape Town. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perceptions of five-star hotel managers about the reward systems offered to employees. Further, this paper attempts to explore the influence and impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the employee reward systems offered at five-star hotels. A total of 14 interviews were conducted with managers working in four selected five-star hotels. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data. The data were analysed using Creswell’s six steps. The study's findings indicate that managers offered distinct types of rewards to their employees, including extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Managers revealed that extrinsic rewards, specifically money, are the most preferred rewards. The study revealed that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic led to hotels adjusting their employee reward systems to offer less extrinsic rewards and more intrinsic rewards. This paper concludes by recommending strategies to hotel management for enhancing the type of rewards offered to employees and offering utilisation of effective intrinsic rewards. This is to ensure that employees increase their value towards intrinsic rewards as much as they value extrinsic rewards Implications for future research are also presented. Show less

Reward systems are important tools that management can use to motivate employees; the main objective of organizations in awarding rewards is to attract and retain efficient, productive, and motivated employees. However, there is no evidence available regarding managers' perceptions of employee rewards in five-star hotels in Show more

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists and contribute to the local economy. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly recognised as an integral part of the tourist experience. Within this context, this study set out to investigate the phenomenon of urban tourism and its impact in both the City of Cape Town, a coastal urban destination and legislative capital of South Africa, and the City of Tshwane, an inland urban destination and administrative capital of South Africa. Hence, this study will focus on both capital cities’ respective tourism industries, initiatives and strategies. Through this, it aims to identify criteria and actions implemented in each local case study for comparison and evaluation in order to determine whether the City of Cape Town’s approach to tourism development can be considered as a sustainable urban tourism development model for the City of Tshwane. Show less

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists and contribute to the local economy. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly recognised as an Show more

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists, satisfy their needs, and exceed their expectations. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly recognised as an integral part of the tourist experience. With this in mind, the City of Cape Town has become an increasingly popular urban tourism destination on the African continent. The City of Cape Town’s unique geographical location and history has had a significant influence on its tourism industry and contributed to the development of various tourism sectors, each with their own attractions and experiences in and around the city. As a result, urban tourism in all its facets increased the City of Cape Town’s share of the global tourism industry and made it a more attractive domestic and international urban tourist destination largely in part to the public-private partnership between the City of Cape Town (municipality) and Cape Town Tourism (official marketing organisation for Cape Town). Cape Town Tourism has also been invited to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to serve on the Destination and Business Council and present this public-private tourism model at its annual general meeting. Consequently, the immense diversity of Cape Town’s tourism sectors and its tourism model has contributed to its popularity as an urban tourism destination with an exemplary urban tourism product that could be adapted and transferred to other African cities. Show less

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists, satisfy their needs, and exceed their expectations. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly Show more

Municipalities are at the lowest level of Government, and it is where the actual implementation of tourism policies takes place. District municipalities and communities globally often face poorly planned development projects resulting from inefficient and ineffective policy and planning implementation. One of the reasons for this is that there is, at times, a lack of participation by key stakeholders. The success of tourism development policies and their implementation rests on the involvement of all relevant stakeholders. This study adopted a qualitative research approach whereby purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to identify the research sample from the research population. The research population included the district municipality staff, regional and local tourism organisations, also known as tourism forums, tourism development agencies, and the rural planning and economic development departments. Consequently, fourteen (14) semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from the district municipality, local municipalities, tourism organisations and Eastern Cape Parks Tourism Agency. A thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the data. This study focused on stakeholder involvement in the development and implementation of tourism policies in the O.R Tambo District Municipality (ORTDM). The key findings from the study revealed that there is a lack of stakeholder collaboration in development and the implementation of tourism-related policies in ORTDM. Show less

Municipalities are at the lowest level of Government, and it is where the actual implementation of tourism policies takes place. District municipalities and communities globally often face poorly planned development projects resulting from inefficient and ineffective policy and planning implementation. One of the reasons Show more

This study attempts to examine the relationship between archives, tourism and museums by positioning museums as a conduit between them. It takes a closer look at this triangular relationship by first considering the history and relationship between archives and museums. Secondly, it considers the relationship between museums and tourism and the recent trends that connect museums with tourism. Thirdly, it looks at how the development of archives is linked to museums and tourism to form this triangular relationship. It is argued that archives and tourism are set to become greater partners through museums. Museums and tourism are already connected through the history of their development, and therefore increased collaborative efforts between museums and archives in the fourth Industrial Revolution will lead to archives becoming more connected to the tourism sphere that museums are located in. The study uses Mapungubwe as an example of how the archive, museum and tourism sector share a triangular relationship. Show less

This study attempts to examine the relationship between archives, tourism and museums by positioning museums as a conduit between them. It takes a closer look at this triangular relationship by first considering the history and relationship between archives and museums. Secondly, it considers the relationship between museums Show more

This study considers tourists' perspectives on the Critical Success Factors for guided tours in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Guided tours and tourism destinations are inseparable, with such guided tours often being sought after for their power to improve tourist satisfaction and envisioned to enhance visitors' experience and impact tourism growth at destinations. The success of such guided tours is often premised on several factors, which when present, would influence visitors' propensity to recommend, revisit and make future destination choices. Such factors play a critical role in determining whether visitors would consider guided or self-led excursions. Understanding the Critical Success Factors for guided tours is essential as it makes it easier for tourism suppliers to channel efforts toward tourist satisfaction. Using a structured questionnaire, 451 tourists participating in guided tours in the Western Cape Province of South Africa were surveyed to ascertain the Critical Success Factors for guided tours. The study revealed that safety, knowledgeable guides, and pricing remain critical in the success of guided tours. The study highlights the critical factors considered essential for the success of guided excursions and the areas that require improvement. Following an analysis of the study’s findings, recommendations for effective guided tours for the tourism industry were proposed. Show less

This study considers tourists' perspectives on the Critical Success Factors for guided tours in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Guided tours and tourism destinations are inseparable, with such guided tours often being sought after for their power to improve tourist satisfaction and envisioned to enhance visitors' Show more

Hospitality can be described as the friendly reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers and usually includes food and accommodation. Because of the line of business, it requires employees with various levels of expertise, however, there are challenges in retaining these employees. The challenge of employee retention in the hotel subsector has been reported by multiple studies around the world, which have consistently reported high employee turnover in hotels. Most of these studies report on data obtained in Europe and North America and the literature lacks African data, with limited studies from South Africa. Much of the literature on staff turnover and retention focuses on hotels and not the high turnover observed in restaurants. This identified the need to focus on this gap as the researcher observed staff turnover within the restaurants. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate staff turnover in the restaurant sector, specifically within the kitchen department. The specific aim of the study was to assess staff turnover within these restaurant kitchens, to determine the status, causes and impact thereof. This study used a quantitative research approach with a positivist paradigm. Two questionnaires were used for data collection, one for managers and one for employees. The sample frame was developed using the TripAdvisor website, which indicated that there were 401 restaurants in the Cape Town Central Business District at the time that the study was conducted, of which 150 participated in this study. A sampling calculator was used to calculate the number of restaurants to participate in the study. Systematic sampling was used to select the restaurants from the developed sample frame and convenience sampling was used to select the respondents (Managers and Employees) who participated in the study. Fifty managers and 100 employees completed the questionnaires. Data gathered were captured and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 26. Data were presented in the form of tables and graphs with frequencies and percentages, using descriptive statistics. Apart from the three main objectives of the study, demographic information was collected from both participants to understand the differences between managers/executive chefs and employees (chefs). It was found that in both participants males dominated (60% and 54%) respectively, while there was a difference in age as for managers the age group which dominated was the 30-39 while employees were younger (20-29). The qualifications of managers differed significantly from the employees, the majority of the managers had a post-Matric qualification compared to the employees, which means the leaders are more educated than the employees in this study. Data collected from managers gathered information about the status of staff turnover and the reasons thereof. The main highlights of the findings showed that most (62%) of the respondents (Managers) experienced high staff turnover. Managers further attributed high staff turnover to staff who could not handle the pressure of the restaurant industry (24%), those who left for better opportunities (12%), and a culture of constantly changing companies among young people (4%), not necessarily due to being dissatisfied with their current one. Employee data were collected to understand the cause and impact of staff turnover. The employees highlighted factors that cause constant staff turnover as long working hours (82%), being underpaid (86%), workers’ efforts not being recognised (56%) and poor leadership roles (56%). The impact of staff turnover was reported by the employees of which the majority (86%) stated that the workload increased, 84% stated that the service was immensely impacted and the physical health (76%) of the employees was affected. Whilst some of the restaurants experienced low (38%) staff turnover, it is evident that most (62%) experience high staff turnover. The study has revealed that high staff turnover is prevalent within these restaurants. Furthermore, the causes of high staff turnover were also observed with the impact thereof. Based on these findings the researcher has suggested the following recommendations which are, complying with labour laws specifically working hours, recognition of hard-working employees and thus giving incentives to those deserving individuals. These will benefit both managers/owners and employees working within the restaurant industry and more especially the kitchen department as they assist in reducing staff turnover. Show less

Hospitality can be described as the friendly reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers and usually includes food and accommodation. Because of the line of business, it requires employees with various levels of expertise, however, there are challenges in retaining these employees. The challenge of employee Show more

Tourism is an important economic sector in many countries worldwide. Many governments are placing a higher priority on tourism development because it leads to increased foreign exchange income and creates employment opportunities. However, the tourism sector is prone to both natural and human-made crises and risks, which invariably affect the functionality, sustainability, and competitiveness of a destination. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical analysis of the tourists' perceptions of crises and risks affecting the tourism sector in Durban. The paper used a mixed-method through the use of surveys and direct interviews with a sample of local, regional, and international tourists and key informants in the tourism sector within Durban. The results show that the level of risks in the city is perceived to be high and was found to have a significant impact on destination decision- choices. First-time visitors might be discouraged by mediatised risks. However, repeat visitors were likely to visit Durban since they were more conversant with the local conditions. Domestic tourists were likely to visit the destination since they have various mechanisms at their disposal to deal with perceived risks than first-time visitors. Furthermore, the results indicated that tourists are resilient to negative media coverage of risks. The study concludes that several factors influence the image of a destination, so tourist visitation cannot be affected by crises and risks alone. The study recommends a multi-pronged strategy to mitigate the impact of crises and risks on the destinations. Show less

Tourism is an important economic sector in many countries worldwide. Many governments are placing a higher priority on tourism development because it leads to increased foreign exchange income and creates employment opportunities. However, the tourism sector is prone to both natural and human-made crises and risks, which Show more

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists, satisfy their needs, and exceed their expectations. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly recognised as an integral part of the tourist experience. With this in mind, the City of Cape Town has become an increasingly popular urban tourism destination on the African continent. The City of Cape Town’s unique geographical location and history has had a significant influence on its tourism industry and contributed to the development of various tourism sectors, each with their own attractions and experiences in and around the city. As a result, urban tourism in all its facets increased the City of Cape Town’s share of the global tourism industry and made it a more attractive domestic and international urban tourist destination largely in part to the public-private partnership between the City of Cape Town (municipality) and Cape Town Tourism (official marketing organisation for Cape Town). Cape Town Tourism has also been invited to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to serve on the Destination and Business Council and present this public-private tourism model at its annual general meeting. Consequently, the immense diversity of Cape Town’s tourism sectors and its tourism model has contributed to its popularity as an urban tourism destination with an exemplary urban tourism product that could be adapted and transferred to other African cities. Show less

Urban tourism has become an important sector within the global tourism industry as it is able to serve a range of tourists, satisfy their needs, and exceed their expectations. The urban environment usually is seen as “standing alone” with regards to the operational aspects of tourism, however, it has become increasingly Show more