Urban Tourism in the Global South: South African Perspectives (GeoJournal Library) 3030715469, 9783030715465

Table of contents :
Preface
Contents
Contributors
Chapter 1: The Other Half of Urban Tourism: Research Directions in the Global South
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Mainstream Scholarship on Urban Tourism
1.3 Urban Tourism in the Global South
1.3.1 Urban Tourism Matters in the Global South
1.3.2 Some Trends in Existing Research
1.3.3 Informality and Poor Urban Tourists
1.3.4 Slum Tourism: Poverty as Tourist Attraction
1.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 2: Looking to the Past: The Geography of Tourism in South Africa During the Pre-COVID-19 Era
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Methods and Sources
2.3 The Geography of Tourism in South Africa in the Pre-COVID Era
2.3.1 City Dominance
2.3.2 Differential Urban Tourism
2.3.3 Structural Urban Diversity and Vulnerability
2.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Climate Change Threats to Urban Tourism in South Africa
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Quantifying the Climatic Suitability of Cities for Tourism
3.3 Tourists’ Experiences of Poor Weather and Climates in South African Cities
3.4 Key Climate Change Threats to South African Urban Tourism
3.5 Avenues for Adaptation and Resilience
3.6 Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Mundane Urban Tourism: The Historical Evolution of Caravan Parks in South Africa 1930–1994
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Evolution of Camping and Caravan Parks in South Africa
4.2.1 Early Growth and Geographical Spread
4.2.2 Government Intervention and Industry Evolution
4.3 Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Connection, Place, Transit: Airport Atmospherics and Meaning-Making at Cape Town International Airport
5.1 Welcome to the Airport: May I Have Your Attention, Please?
5.2 Situating Airports at the Intersection of Mobilities, Tourism and Meaning-Making
5.2.1 Air(Port) Space, Place and Mobilities
5.2.2 Airport Tourists: Making Use of Waiting
5.2.3 Meaning-Making: Airport Atmospherics
5.3 Airside Access: Methods and Insights
5.4 Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Cape Town
5.4.1 Transit and Dwelling at CTIA: The Waiting Game
5.4.2 Airport Atmospherics at CTIA
5.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Airbnb in Townships of South Africa: A New Experience of Township Tourism?
6.1 Introduction
6.2 History of the Township of Langa
6.3 Development of Township Tourism in Langa
6.4 Changes in the Accommodation Sector in Langa
6.5 The Introduction of Airbnb to the Accommodation Sector in Langa
6.6 Airbnb in Langa: A New Development in Township Tourism?
6.7 Conclusion
Appendix
References
Chapter 7: Urban Tourism Under Apartheid: The Johannesburg Chapter
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Visitor Economy and Tourism Trajectories
7.3 Apartheid and the Johannesburg Hotel Industry
7.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Student-Centred VFR Travel: Evidence from Johannesburg
8.1 Introduction
8.2 International Research on VFR Travel
8.2.1 Definition and Categorisation of VFR Travel
8.2.2 Social Aspects and the Host
8.3 Students and VFR Travel: International Perspectives
8.4 Student-Centred VFR Travel: The Johannesburg Case Study
8.4.1 Context and Methods
8.4.2 Key Findings
8.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: Small Town Tourism in South Africa Revisited
9.1 Introduction
9.2 A Review of Selected Small Town Tourism Research Themes in South Africa
9.2.1 Second Homes
9.2.2 Festivals and Events
9.2.3 LED and Tourism Development
9.3 Selected Case Studies
9.3.1 Slow City Status and the Power Elite
9.3.2 Branding and Festivals: Oudsthoorn
9.3.3 Destination Marketing in Swellendam
9.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: The Role of Tourism in Small Town Cultural and Creative Industries Clustering: The Sarah Baartman District, South Africa
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Literature Review
10.2.1 The Sarah Baartman District
10.3 The Role of Tourism in Small Town CCI Clustering
10.3.1 Towns with CCIs Clustering Potential
10.3.2 Towns with Small CCIs Clusters
10.3.3 Towns with Large CCIs Clusters
10.3.4 Are Cultural Tourism Development Strategies Inclusive?
10.4 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 11: Creative Networks and the Making of Africa’s First UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Creative Networks and UNESCO
11.3 UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy
11.4 The Making of the Africa’s First Creative City of Gastronomy
11.4.1 Historical Tourism Development
11.4.2 Post-1994 Developments, Internationalization and Towards the Creative City
11.5 Conclusion
References

Citation preview

Urban Perspectives from the Global South

Christian M. Rogerson Jayne M. Rogerson   Editors

Urban Tourism in the Global South South African Perspectives

GeoJournal Library Urban Perspectives from the Global South Series Editor Christian M. Rogerson, School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa Gustav Visser, Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa

The Urban Perspectives from the Global South brings together a wide variety of urban scholars under one series title and is purposefully multi-disciplinary. The publications in this series are theoretically informed and explore different facets of varying sized urban places. This series addresses the broad developmental issues of urbanization in developing world countries and provides a distinctive African focus on the subject. It examines a variety of themes relating to urban development in the global South including: city economic development, issues of local governance, urban planning, and the impact of multi-ethnic and multicultural formations in urban affairs. The series aims to extend current international urban debates and offer new insights into the development of urban places in the Global South from a number of disciplines including geography, sociology, political science, economics, as well as urban studies. A special focus of the series is the challenges of urbanization and cities in Africa. More information about this subseries at http://www.springer.com/series/15342

Christian M. Rogerson  •  Jayne M. Rogerson Editors

Urban Tourism in the Global South South African Perspectives

Editors Christian M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality University of Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa

Jayne M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality University of Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa

ISSN 0924-5499     ISSN 2215-0072 (electronic) GeoJournal Library ISSN 2511-2171     ISSN 2511-218X (electronic) Urban Perspectives from the Global South ISBN 978-3-030-71546-5    ISBN 978-3-030-71547-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

Urban tourism has been an academic and practical interest of the editors for nearly two decades. For urban scholars of tourism in the global South, the South African experience is of considerable relevance. This specialist book arises from our ongoing research over many years alongside that of several colleagues to whom we express our sincere thanks for their contributions. Arguably, the research frontiers on urban tourism are ever-changing. This said, in common with many books to be published in 2021, the origins of this collection lay in another ‘era’ for tourism research. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced tourism scholars to re-think research agendas as a whole and for urban tourism in particular. As much of the writing of this book was undertaken during the pandemic, it resulted in certain changes being made in terms of content as well as a restructuring of certain themes that originally had been proposed. The book begins by contextualising urban tourism in South Africa as part of ‘the other half of urban tourism’, namely a somewhat overlooked but energetic scholarship which is emerging on urban places in the global South. The volume then shifts to present a collection of original material variously on national perspectives on urban tourism followed by a cluster of city-level perspectives. The last three chapters turn to the role of tourism in small towns, which occupy the bottom rung in the urban settlement system. Conscious of the potential of COVID-19 as a defining historical moment for urban tourism scholarship, we have sought to include across the volume a number of historical perspectives in order to address what we consider is the overwhelming ‘present-mindedness’ of mainstream urban tourism writings. Arguably, in the existing urban tourism scholarship for the global South, there is a limited research surrounding the historical development of such tourism. This collection highlights a need to explore such histories and identifies their relevance for understanding contemporary (and future) tourism development pathways. For supporting the completion of this book, the editors would like to express their appreciation to Evelien Bakker and her team at Springer Nature. In addition, several individuals must be singled out for special noting. Major credit is due to Arabella Rogerson who did outstanding editorial work in terms of language, checking references, and standardising text formatting. Thanks are due to Gustav Visser v

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and Julia Giddy for their inputs over many years, especially for the many conversations that we have had with them on urban tourism, usually with glass of wine in hand. For their inputs made throughout the making of this volume, we are grateful to the assistance of Teddy, Dawn and Skye Norfolk. For adding new energy to spur the completion of the volume, credit must go also to Robbie Norfolk. We must offer appreciation to all our reviewers who provided carefully crafted comments on earlier versions of submitted chapters. The external review process for each chapter was peer-reviewed by two independent scientific experts in the field. Inputs from reviewers at the following institutions are acknowledged: Flinders University, Australia; King’s College, University of London, England; Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, Scotland; Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland; University of Botswana, Botswana; University of Johannesburg, South Africa; University of Mpumalanga, South Africa; University of North West, South Africa; University of Oulu, Finland; University of Pretoria, South Africa; and, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. A further external review of the book as a whole was undertaken by two anonymous tourism experts appointed by Springer, and our thanks go to those reviewers for their valued comments. This book was prepared whilst both editors were attached to the School of Tourism and Hospitality, College of Business & Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa

Christian M. Rogerson

Johannesburg, South Africa

Jayne M. Rogerson

Contents

1 The Other Half of Urban Tourism: Research Directions in the Global South����������������������������������������������������������������������������������    1 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson 2 Looking to the Past: The Geography of Tourism in South Africa During the Pre-­COVID-­19 Era��������������������������������������������������   39 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson 3 Climate Change Threats to Urban Tourism in South Africa ��������������   77 Jennifer M. Fitchett 4 Mundane Urban Tourism: The Historical Evolution of Caravan Parks in South Africa 1930–1994 ��������������������������������������   93 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson 5 Connection, Place, Transit: Airport Atmospherics and Meaning-Making at Cape Town International Airport����������������  113 Bradley Rink and Lisa Grobler 6 Airbnb in Townships of South Africa: A New Experience of Township Tourism?������������������������������������������������������������������������������  129 Jana Hofäcker and Matthias Gebauer 7 Urban Tourism Under Apartheid: The Johannesburg Chapter����������  149 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson 8 Student-Centred VFR Travel: Evidence from Johannesburg��������������  173 Jermaine Barnes and Christian M. Rogerson 9 Small Town Tourism in South Africa Revisited������������������������������������  193 Ronnie Donaldson

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10 The Role of Tourism in Small Town Cultural and Creative Industries Clustering: The Sarah Baartman District, South Africa����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  213 Fiona J. Drummond 11 Creative Networks and the Making of Africa’s First UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy������������������������������������������������  239 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

Contributors

Jermaine Barnes  School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa Ronnie  Donaldson  Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Fiona  Jane  Drummond  School of Economic Sciences, North West University, Mahikeng, South Africa Jennifer  M.  Fitchett  School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Matthias  Gebauer  Institute Bayreuth, Germany

of

Geography,

University

of

Bayreuth,

Lisa  Grobler  Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa Jana Hofäcker  Section Geography, University of Passau, Passau, Germany Bradley  Rink  Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa Christian  M.  Rogerson  School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa Jayne M. Rogerson  School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Chapter 1

The Other Half of Urban Tourism: Research Directions in the Global South Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

1.1  Introduction Globally, it is apparent that the majority of contemporary tourism activity occurs in urban places of different sizes (Dixit 2021; Morrison and Coca-Stefaniak 2021). The phenomenon of urban tourism “stands out from other types of tourism in that people travel to places with a high population density, and that time spent at the destination usually is shorter than normally spent on vacation” (Aall and Koens 2019: 1). Cities are multi-motivated travel destinations (Law 1993; Stepchenkova et al. 2015; Morrison and Coca-Stefaniak 2021). As an outcome of their size and roles in national (and international) settlement systems an array of facilities evolve in cities to serve residents “of such a scale to make them attractive to visitors” and thereby function as the anchor for a local tourism industry (Law 1996: 2). Indeed, cities provide visitors with an array of multifunctional, complex, multiuser environments (Koens et al. 2018). Individuals travel to urban places of different size for many purposes – often for more than one reason – including for leisure and entertainment, for business, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) or to undertake personal business which might include shopping or health visits (Ashworth 1989; Haywood 1992; Pasquinelli 2015; Maitland 2016). Nevertheless, because of the accumulation of economic and political power in large cities these have long been viewed as especially attractive destinations for tourists to visit for several different purposes (Ashworth and Page 2011; Ashworth 2012; Stepchenkova et  al. 2015). Correspondingly, the multifunctionality of large cities “allows for different experiences to be lived contemporarily, contributing to making the connection between urbanity and tourism complex” (Aall and Koens 2019: 1). The march of urbanisation is transforming the world, one of the most visible features of the contemporary age with claims society has entered ‘the century of the C. M. Rogerson (*) · J. M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_1

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city’ (Rockefeller Foundation 2009). By 2015, according to United Nations data, more than half of world’s population resided in urban settlements – large metropolitan areas, medium-sized or secondary centres and small towns – as opposed to rural areas (Miraftab and Kudva 2015). By 2050 this urban share is projected to rise to 75% with an annual growth of 65 million new urban residents (Saghir and Santoro 2018). As a whole the ‘global South’ is viewed as the “new epicentre of urbanism” (Oldfield and Parnell 2014: 1) with the greatest projected growth for expansion being for sub-Saharan Africa (Miraftab and Kudva 2015). Aall and Koens (2019: 1) speculate that if the next 100 years is the century of the city then “perhaps the same can be said about urban tourism, which also is increasing rapidly compared to other forms of tourism  – maybe society is entering the century of urban tourism”. Although the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic represents a major threat to such a prediction, in the shifting international landscape of urban tourism, destinations in the global South are likely to become ever more significant ‘growth poles’. The concept of global South is acknowledged as imprecise (Myers 2020). Indeed, it is described as “fluid and increasingly contested both geographically and conceptually” (Oldfield and Parnell 2014: 3). Műller (2020: 734) observes that since the end of the Cold War “carving up the world into Global North and Global South has become an established way of thinking about global differences”. Conventionally, the term global North is associated with the historically industrialized and urbanized parts of North America, Europe, Australasia and more recent additions from parts of Asia. By contrast, the global South is linked with more recently industrializing and urbanizing nations as well as low-income countries (Pike et  al. 2014). Horner and Carmody (2020: 181) argue that the “terms and framing of global North and South grew in popularity from the 1970s as various actors and groups sought to promote awareness of, and actions to address, the vast differences in standards of living and development standards across different world regions” and they point to a variety of metrics for measuring and thinking about defining the global North and South. The latter term has multiple meanings, the most common is as a reference point for the group of countries which the World Bank classifies as ‘low or middle income’ and are located in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean. Admittedly, this categorisation lumps together a range of highly diverse economic, social and political circumstances. Accordingly, more recently, others have embraced a de-territorialised political economy conceptualisation of the term and prefer to use global South to “address spaces and peoples negatively impacted by globalisation” (Mahler 2018: 32). One benefit is that such a definition allows for the recognition of ‘Souths’ in the global North and ‘Norths’ in the global South (Horner and Carmody 2020). In this analysis the term ‘global South’ is aligned to the World Bank’s1 long-­ standing definition in order to bring into the academic conversation on urban 1  In 2020 the World Bank introduced a new classification of countries: low-income, low-middle income, upper-middle income and high income. Macao SAR, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar are classed as high income. As the focus of this book is South Africa, which the World Bank classifies as falling in the category of upper-middle income bracket, the high income urban

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tourism an array of destinations that do not always feature prominently in international research reviews which usually are dominated by writings about urban places in North America, Europe, Australasia, Singapore and Hong Kong. The debates in the global North include cases of either cities which historically have long attracted visitors (London, Venice, Paris) or others which are more recently established and consolidating as major international tourism destinations. As vitally important urban destinations for tourism in the pre-COVID-era among others Amsterdam, Boston, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, London, Paris, New  York, Singapore and Venice justifiably have accumulated a substantial research literature in the annals of international urban tourism scholarship. Progress in our understanding and debates on ‘urban tourism’ initially has been shaped by research undertaken in such (and similar) centres. Arguably, research trends and directions concerning ‘the other half’ of global urban tourism have been influenced by this literature but at the same time evolved several distinct foci of concern.

1.2  Mainstream Scholarship on Urban Tourism The evolution of international academic and policy-related research concerning urban places as tourism destinations exhibits marked spatial and temporal variations. In one of the first scholarly reflections on tourism in urban spaces – which appeared in the early 1980s – it was considered that “urban tourism has not received extensive recognition in tourism research, policy and planning yet its current and potential market is great” (Vandermey 1984: 123). Although the 1980s generally is considered the period of scholarly ‘discovery’ of urban tourism the phenomenon is not new rather it has existed from the earliest times of civilization following the birth of urban settlements (Karski 1990; Page and Connell 2006). Historically, the rise of cities encouraged people with the discretionary means and inclination to visit and experience these places as melting pots of national culture, art, music, literature, architecture and design (Cohen and Cohen 2015a). Ancient cities in China such as Hangzhou, Suzhou and Xi’an demonstrate that urban tourism has a long history (Li and Wu 2013; Bao et al. 2020; Wu et al. 2021). For some observers there are long-­ term continuities in the drivers for city tourism such that modern urban tourism continues to expand as it has done “more or less uninterrupted, for more than three centuries” (Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016: 278). According to Ashworth and Page (2011) the serious ‘take-off’ of urban tourism scholarship began during the 1980s and was part of the broader expansion which occurred in tourism scholarship as a whole. The consistent post-1980s growth of writings on urban places as tourist destinations must be interpreted, however, at one level as associated with the end of an era when tourism studies exhibited a strong

destinations are viewed as Norths within the South and thus not included in our research overview of the global South.

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rural bias (Ashworth and Page 2011). With tourism studies emancipated from its historic rural bias the urban-tourism nexus no longer could be overlooked (Pasquinelli 2015). By the early 2010s Ashworth (2012: 1) reports “the existence of a mountain of books, articles, academic papers and official reports produced in the past few decades on many aspects of tourism in cities”. Likewise, Bellini et  al. (2017: 333) identify what they term as a “burst” of interest in urban tourism by scholars and with significant ramifications for urban policy-makers and planners. The maturation of urban tourism scholarship is signalled by the establishment and publication since 2015 of the International Journal of Tourism Cities which is dedicated to the critical study of tourism in cities. In addition, further confirmation of the consolidation of the academic field of urban tourism is the preparation by Morrison and Coca-Stefaniak (2021) of the benchmark Routledge Handbook of Tourism Cities. The critical surge of academic writings on tourism and cities is inseparable from on the one hand the substantial boom in tourism in cities and on the other hand the corresponding growing policy significance of tourism in urban planning (Postma et al. 2017; Šegota et al. 2019). Before the 1980s rarely were cities viewed as powerful receptive destinations for tourism but instead “mainly seen as centres that generated tourism demand towards nature and ‘sun-sea-sand’ destinations” (Mikulić and Petrić 2014: 381). Murillo et al. (2011: 4) contend that whilst tourists visiting cities represent one of the earliest forms of travel “it was only during the last decades of the twentieth century that many cities became aware of its economic potential and embraced it as a key sector inside their economies”. During the 1980s tourism as a sector experienced a fundamental directional shift on urban policy agendas. The catalyst for its appearance on the radar screen of policy makers was the advance and impacts of deindustrialization that occurred across many cities of the United States and Western Europe. Severe economic recession and distress triggered a burst of interest in tourism as policy makers sought new activities to reinvent and regenerate their ailing city economies (Law 1992, 1993). With the haemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs in many Northern cities there occurred the diffusion of the concept of ‘urban tourism promotion’ at a time when tourism was globally acknowledged as a vibrant and growing economic sector (Law 1992, 1993). With the emergence of urban entrepreneurialism and of competitive place-based development strategies, tourism became an indispensable component of city economies and image making (Maitland 2016). For the USA works by Ioannides and Petridou (2016) and by Spirou (2021) document how urban places searched for ‘neo-liberal’ policy options in order to remedy the debilitating effects of economic restructuring which connected to globalisation, de-industrialisation and decentralisation. Overall, it is evident that by the beginning in the 1980s “what was new was that cities now saw tourism as an industry of great potential importance and one that should be encouraged” (Law 1992: 599). From its origins in the USA and Western Europe the popularity of promoting urban tourism spread widely in terms of policy acceptance and practice implementation. It travelled to Australia, New Zealand, post-communist Eastern Europe, and to large parts of developing Asia and the Middle East with Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore among its most enthusiastic proponents (Rowe and Stevenson 1994;

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Henderson 2006, 2014, 2015a, b; Cudny et al. 2012; Dumbrovská and Fialová 2014; Joksimović et  al. 2014; Pearce 2015). As cities became re-invented and re-­ constructed as places for consumption, city tourism with its economic and employment opportunities became a vital issue for urban planners (Haywood 1992). Among others Pasquinelli (2015: 5) notes “tourism has become a central element of local economy as well as the social life of urban communities”. Amore and Hall (2017) underline that tourism and the visitor economy are utilised as leverage for the attraction of capital and skilled people for the long-term strategies of cities. Likewise, Spirou and Judd (2019) detail that significant investments are made for the purpose of improving urban identities and of translating that reconstituted image into opportunities for growth. Maitland and Newman (2009) identify urban tourism as an inseparable part of the transformation which has occurred in the physical landscapes of many cities of the global North during recent decades. The appearance of new waterfront developments, sports stadia, business convention centres, the repackaging of culture and heritage, and the making of café culture have spread widely across ‘world tourism cities’ which are viewed as “large polycentric cities offering a range of experiences” (Maitland and Newman 2009: 2). One common thread in writings on urban tourism in the global North is the heightened intensity of inter-urban competition for visitors (Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016). In Europe and increasingly so in Asia the de-regulation of aviation markets and the emergence of low cost air carriers and of budget travel (as a whole) impacted radically the growth and character of tourism in many urban places (Pasquinelli 2015; Iwanicki et al. 2016; Aall and Koens 2019). With improvements in connectivities these cities had to adapt their marketing activities to attract a new type of tourism product, namely the short city break (UNWTO 2012). Innovation was essential in the services and activities offered at destinations in order to offer enhanced visitor experiences (Richards and Roariu 2015). Sometimes that innovation involved focusing on niche forms of urban tourism. As a cohort of ‘new urban tourists’ increasingly sought out ‘distinctive’, ‘local’ and ‘authentic’ experiences a critical change has been the shift in many cities towards co-creation with residents and tourists and ‘the creative turn’ with the burst of creative tourism experiences as well as creative place-making (Richards 2014, 2020; Dirksmeier and Helbrecht 2015; Rabbiosi 2016; Postma et al. 2017). In recent years therefore globalisation has driven rapid economic, social and technological shifts in the character of tourism “with ever more sophisticated imaginaries, appealing to proliferating niches” (Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016: 273). In competing for larger or higher value share of urban tourism markets the take-up and use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been critical. Utilising ICTs can enable cities to better coordinate their services and activities to potentially become more accessible and pleasurable for tourists and residents (Stephenson and Dobson 2020). Coca-­ Stefaniak and Seisdedos (2021) suggest, however, that ‘smart’ urban tourism destinations have reached a strategic crossroads and that there is a need to transcend technology-focused initiatives and instead to adopt a new strategic positioning that centres upon urban sustainability and balances often conflicting global/local trends.

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Within the increasingly competitive environment of urban tourism new destinations have appeared and seek to attract flows of mainly leisure or business visitors. The number and range of cities targeting to promote themselves for tourism development has expanded considerably (Cudny et  al. 2012; Iwanicki and Dłużewska 2015). In Europe Coca-Stefaniak et al. (2016: 276) show that the first-mover advantages of short-break destinations are under challenge from newer rival competing cities. Further, there is a “raft of small- and medium-sized cities that are also trying to use tourism to develop their economies and position themselves” (Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016: 276), including for example, as clubbing or stag tourism destinations (Iwanicki and Dłużewska 2015; Iwanicki et al. 2016). Another particular category of urban tourism destination is national capital cities which enjoy a distinctive competitiveness which needs to be maintained in terms of national identity and representation (Hall 2002; Maitland and Ritchie 2009; Maitland 2012a, b; Sima 2013). Arguably, from a planning perspective, multiple interconnections occur between the city and tourism (Pasquinelli 2015; Pasquinelli and Bellini 2017; Aall and Koens 2019). As urban places are multi-functional entities that can absorb many different types of tourists, planners necessarily must consider issues around a variety of products and experiences for people with a wide range of motivations, preferences and cultural perspectives (Carlisle et al. 2016). Policy divergence is observed between planning in ‘mass tourism resort’ areas (such as Cancun) where tourism is the economic staple as compared to larger metropolitan areas where, because of the diversity of urban economies of which tourism is only a part, it represents one potential development path among many (Brouder and Ioannides 2014). Several other significant themes are evidenced in urban tourism scholarship for the global North. From the 1980s urban economic decline was a catalyst for the awakening by policy-makers to the developmental potential of tourism; much analysis therefore is concentrated on tourism as a vehicle either for local economic revival and/or the physical regeneration of declining urban spaces. The evidence on developmental impacts is mixed with certain recorded ‘success stories’ and yet other cases of the negligible impacts of tourism promotion for urban economic turnaround (Law 1992, 1993, 1996; Gonzalez 2011; Joksimović et al. 2014; Mikulić and Petrić 2014; Khusnutdinova et  al. 2019). The competitiveness of individual urban destinations is viewed as aligned to innovation and the capacity of cities either to provide a high-quality tourist experience or the ability of local tourism businesses to deliver quality products and services (Daskalopoulou and Petrou 2009). Tourism’s role in the physical regeneration of places and the making of urban tourism precincts is reviewed in literature about North America and Europe (Hoffman et al. 2003; Hayllar and Griffin 2005; Hayllar et al. 2008; Heeley 2011; Spirou and Judd 2014). The transformation of inner-cities into standardized tourism enclaves or ‘bubbles’ is interpreted as an element of neoliberal entrepreneurial strategies and associated with place-competitive re-imaging (Ioannides and Petridou 2016; Spirou and Judd 2019). At its heart this involved the re-purposing of ‘abandoned spaces’ formerly used for factories, warehousing, railway stations or docklands as new spaces for consumption (Hoffman et al. 2003; Gregory 2016). One consequence of the new competitive approach towards tourism in urban places has

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been “continuing homogenisation” which in some respects, such as the appearance of green roofs and enhanced sustainability practices, is positive but in other ways results in ‘sameness’ “such that tourists find it difficult to distinguish one urban environment from another” (Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016: 273). A changing geography of intra-urban tourism is observable (Kadar 2013; Spirou and Judd 2014; Kotus et al. 2015; Rogerson and Rogerson 2017; Smith and Graham 2019). This is manifest not only in tourist mobilities within urban centres but also in shifting spatial patterns in the location of hotels (Oppermann et al. 1996; Shoval et al. 2011; Rogerson 2012, 2013a, b, 2014a, b; Yang et al. 2012; Adam 2013; Adam and Amuquandoh 2013a, b) and other forms of accommodation services (Greenberg and Rogerson 2015, 2018, 2019; Liu et  al. 2015). In the USA Spirou and Judd (2014) identify a process of the de-concentration of tourism from certain US inner city core areas to parts of the urban periphery which threatens to slow the regenerative impacts of tourism in urban core areas. An important development has been that marginalized neighbourhoods such as Harlem, New  York and Berlin-Kreuzberg have been re-imagined, re-constructed and re-experienced as places for tourists to visit and explore (Novy 2011). In other cities (particularly in Europe) the shifting spatial flows of tourists is a function of the growth of ‘participatory tourism’ which relates to the growth of walking tours and new off-the beaten track experiences (Condevaux et  al. 2016; Maitland 2016; Rabbiosi 2016). Tourism is taking root therefore in ‘ordinary places’ as ‘new’ urban tourists “are drawn to the mundane, the routine and the familiar” (Condevaux et al. 2016: 5). Ketter (2020) maintains that the Millennial Generation (or Generation Y) is a key driver for the popularity of off-the-beaten track experiences. Maitland (2016) points to the growing movement that tourists want to explore the city beyond tourism precincts and to discover the ‘real’ city. The major new trend is for tourists to go ‘off the beaten track’, searching out the ‘backstage’ and “places that are distinctive and uncontrived, not planned as tourism zones” (Maitland 2016: 19). In particular in the global North for the cohort of ‘world tourism cities’ their polycentric spatial form “open up opportunities for tourism to develop away from traditional attractions and for visitors to discover new attractions off the beaten track” (Maitland and Newman 2009: 2). The geographical expansion of the visitor economy of London is well-documented by Smith and Graham (2019). As well as bringing-in revenues to new tourism spaces, flows of tourism can shift the socio-economic complexion of places by introducing displacement through gentrification (Gravari-Barbas and Guinand 2021). As a whole Dirksmeier and Helbrecht (2015) can point to the turning away from inner-cities and from often ‘placeless’ tourist bubbles as the usual destinations for urban tourists. Rather, there is a spatial shift often towards gentrifying former working-class neighbourhoods that lack any classic tourist offerings besides ‘authentic’ and ‘messy’ everyday life (Larsen 2020). The geography of this new urban tourism is therefore “characterised by increasing contacts between residents and tourists due to the active quest by visitors for ‘typical’ mundane experiences in the everyday spaces of the visited city” (Dirksmeier and Helbrecht 2015: 276). With the rising popularity also of the sharing economy and online accommodation services such as AirBnb “the desire to see

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‘real’ and ‘authentic’ everyday city life has meant that tourism activities become further intertwined with local life, also outside of the main tourist areas in cities” (Koens et al. 2018: 1). Sustainability is one of the most pressing issues that confronts policy-makers in urban tourism debates in the global North (Miller et al. 2015; Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016). Until recently Koens et al. (2018: 1) observe “tourism was seen as one of the more sustainable economic growth strategies for cities”. In a prescient observation made in 2015 Pasquinelli (2015) identified a ‘paradigm shift’ in research about city tourism, writing of an end to cities’ honeymoon with tourism which was signaled by the emergence of anti-tourism urban movements that asserted residents’ rights to the city. The literature on ‘overtourism’ in the urban global North has grown exponentially over the past few years (Fletcher et al. 2019). The sharing economy represents an overlapping phenomena with the issue of ‘overtourism’ (Moreno-Gil and Coca-Stefaniak 2020) which, it has been pointed out, is not a recent concept in cities (Pinke-Sziva et al. 2019). Sharpley (2020: 1940) agrees that “it can be considered to be, in some respects, simply a new term for an old phenomenon”. It builds upon a long tradition of critique concerning the myriad negative impacts of conventional tourism development (Fletcher et al. 2019). Academic debates surrounding variously ‘overtourism’ and ‘tourismphobia’ burgeoned across several cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dubrovnik, Florence, Lisbon, London, Palma (Majorca), Paris, Seville and Venice (Seraphin et  al. 2018; Milano et  al. 2019; González-Pérez 2020; Pasquinelli and Trunfio 2020a, b; Pechlaner et al. 2020; Diaz-Parra and Jover 2021). Arguably, the unplanned occurrence of overtourism in these and other popular urban destinations is a byproduct of “unregulated capital accumulation and growth strategies heavily associated with selling cities as tourism commodities” (Milano et al. 2019: 1857). Colomb and Novy (2016) document the increasing politicization of the issue of city tourism and observe tourism as a crucible of contention and dispute in many cities. It is evident that a rising tide of resident protest and resistance is occurring sometimes against the growth of tourism and its negative impacts for residents and in some cases against the expansion of particular forms of tourism which are contested or deplored (Füller and Boris 2014; Pasquinelli 2015; Colomb and Novy 2016). Novy and Colomb (2019) attribute this ‘politicisation from below’ as a result of the impacts of the visitor economy on urban places and of both the quantitative and qualitative transformation of urban tourism in recent years. In addition, they acknowledge importantly the role of the changing spatialities of tourism flows in and across city spaces as a determining factor for resident protests about their alienation from city spaces. These vibrant and challenging debates concerning a range of issues on the growth and multiple impacts of tourism in cities of the global North were transformed in 2020 by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ramifications of disasters and crisis phenomena (including climate change) on urban tourism destinations suddenly (re-)emerge as priority research issues (Panasiuk 2019; Faisal et al. 2020). COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in urban areas revealing clearly the failures and unjust outcomes of planning and governance as well as vulnerabilities to the

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pandemic’s impacts (Florida et al. 2020). Recovery will be slower in urban destinations exposed to the shock where the leisure tourism offer is based on indoor cultural and heritage attractions, events involving large numbers of people, or business and MICE tourism (OECD 2020). Urban scholars, however, argue that COVID-19 provides a platform for new innovation and for a movement towards a more just urban environment (Florida et al. 2020). Similar sentiments are expressed in respect of the impacts of the pandemic for tourism (Brouder 2020; Cheer 2020; Hall et al. 2020; Niewiadomski 2020; Rogerson and Baum 2020; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020). Arguably, the global pandemic can be a transformational opportunity for urban tourism research and researchers through consideration of the myriad of questions that COVID-19 poses for the academy (Sigala 2020). Certain scholars assert that in rethinking tourism – including urban tourism – for a post-COVID-19 world it must be built on the rights and interests of local communities in order to address the structural underpinnings of overtourism (Higgins-­ Desbiolles 2020a, b). Based on the case of Macau Hannam and Zuev (2020) highlight that the disaster of the pandemic showed it as a ‘monocrop tourist destination’ geared primarily towards mainland Chinese tourists. With its forced pivot to rely on the local population they observed that “cities should care about their own residents as they can be tourists in their own ‘homes’ and they will be the consumers for the initial recovery” (Hannam and Zuev 2020: 21). Russo (2020) maintains that the COVID-19 crisis and its long tail could be a watershed moment in the handling of the structural drivers that produce overtourism. Several scholars maintain that despite all the struggles and negatives of the global COVID-19 pandemic “the seeds of possibilities of doing tourism differently have emerged in a more forceful and realistic way” (Higgins-Desbiolles 2020a: 69) not least for the future of urban tourism.

1.3  Urban Tourism in the Global South This section seeks to demonstrate that tourism in the global South ‘matters’ for international scholars of urban tourism. This is primarily because of the remarkable rise of many cities in the global South to rank among the leading destinations in the world for welcoming visitors. The discussion serves as context for the subsequent review of existing research trends on tourism in urban destinations of the global South. The themes we present are by no means comprehensive but instead should be read as indicative of the vibrancy of a growing urban tourism scholarship about the global South. Overall, it is shown there are certain themes common in the emerging corpus of research on the urban global South with those discussed in Northern urban places. But, there are also certain differences. In particular, we try to highlight distinctive issues relevant to the overarching environment of household low incomes and widespread poverty in countries of the global South. Three themes are isolated, namely the informality of tourism, the need to acknowledge that many of the poor

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in the global South are tourists; and, the controversies and scholarship about so-­ termed ‘slum tourism’.

1.3.1  Urban Tourism Matters in the Global South New hubs of urbanism are appearing with the global advance of urbanisation (Parnell and Oldfield 2014). These changes in urbanisation inevitably must impact patterns and the character of urban tourism. This said, it must be appreciated that already there are several city destinations in the global South which rank among the most significant as measured by international tourist visitors. Given the acceleration of urbanisation trends as is occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, in future it can be anticipated that urban destinations in the global South as a whole are likely to further strengthen their status as international leading foci for urban tourism. The consulting firm Euromonitor and the financial services provider Mastercard both collect data which allows an approximation of the relative significance of particular destination cities. As a result of methodological differences certain variations occur between the two listings. The leading ten global urban tourism destinations that emerge are Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Macau, Singapore, Paris, Dubai, New York, Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul. For the global South the list is dominated entirely by Asian destinations headed by Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Delhi, Shenzhen, Mumbai, Phuket, Pattaya, Guangzhou, Shanghai. and Ho Chi Minh City. Figures 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 show the leading urban tourism destinations in the global South which are listed either by Euromonitor in the Top 100 cities or by the Mastercard index. For Africa and the Middle East the cities of Cairo, Johannesburg and Marrakesh are the most significant destinations (Fig. 1.1). For the region of Latin America, Cancun, Buenos Aires, Lima, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City are the most prominent (Fig. 1.2). Overall, however, by far the greatest cluster of major international urban tourism destinations occurs in China (Fig. 1.3). What these listings reveal also is that in the global South the macro-geography of urban tourism is mainly dominated by large or mega-cities with diversified economies in which tourism is an emerging sector. In addition, there are several destinations which are strongly anchored upon tourism as the foundation for the urban economy – the best examples would be Cancun, Denpasar, Marrakesh, Pattaya and Phuket. In thinking about tourism in urban places in the global South it is essential, however, to move beyond only those significant centres which appear in the Euromonitor or Mastercard rankings. It is acknowledged tourism assumes a critical role in the economy and society of many other kinds of urban places in the global South. Indeed, across the national settlement hierarchies as a whole there is evidence of a substantial expansion taking place in visitor numbers – for leisure, business, VFR, religion, shopping or health purposes – among groups of smaller cities, intermediate or secondary centres as well as small towns which represent the bottom tier in the hierarchy of urban settlements (see e.g.. Adam 2013; Adam and Amuquandoh, 2013a, b; Steel 2013; Rogerson 2016a, b; Bogale and Wondirad

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Fig. 1.1  Leading city tourism destinations in the global South: Africa and the Middle East Note Urban destinations viewed as Norths within category of the global South are indicated by italics. (Source: Authors based on Euromonitor and Mastercard listings)

2019; Taherkhani and Farahani 2019; Gálvez et al. 2020). Overall, therefore, it must be concluded that looking across the urban global South, tourism as both a mobility phenomenon and a policy issue is of critical significance for research agendas.

1.3.2  Some Trends in Existing Research Globalisation radically recast the potential of tourism to be an anchor for competitive place-based development in cities in the global South as well as in the global North (Rogerson and Visser 2014; Rogerson 2019). Over the past 30 years therefore

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Fig. 1.2  Leading city tourism destinations in the global South: Latin America. (Source: Authors based on Euromonitor and Mastercard listings)

many large and leading cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America sought to capture the potential of rising flows of international tourists in order to deliver developmental benefits to their local populations (Rogerson and Visser 2007; Kalandides 2011; Bowman 2015). It is evident that this opportunity has related both to the promotion of different segments of business as well as leisure tourism. Questions and policy issues around these issues of place-based development with tourism as sectoral

Fig. 1.3  Leading city tourism destinations in the global South: Asia Note Urban destinations viewed as Norths within category of the global South are indicated by italics. (Source: Authors based on Euromonitor and Mastercard listings)

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driver have led to a vibrant collection of research studies. Business tourism mobilities are highly significant for urban tourism development in the global South (Cong et al. 2014; Park et al. 2014; i Agusti 2020). In Dalian, China Xiao and Wall (2009) detail the efforts made by urban policy-makers to integrate tourism into overall urban development, including the construction of multi-functional urban facilities such as conference centres. Business tourism is “less seasonal than leisure tourism and more resistant to political change” (Christie et al. 2013: 55). In order to compete for attracting the high spending niche of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism inter-city rivalry and competition is evidenced in the flurry of construction of new convention centres and often accompanying luxury hotels. The case of sub-Saharan Africa is instructive as Africa is the region of the world which is most heavily dependent on business tourism and the only one where the number of business tourists consistently exceed leisure tourists (Rogerson and Rogerson 2021). Overwhelmingly the activity of business travel is focussed on cities, especially large economic centres and/or capital cities, which are the location of economic and political power. Major cities such as Addis Ababa, Accra, Johannesburg, and Nairobi as well as capital cities such as Gaborone, Harare, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Pretoria or Windhoek are the sites for meetings for private sector businesses at headquarter offices as well as meetings with government, NGOs and international development agencies (Mbaiwa et al. 2007; Rogerson 2015a). The construction of convention centres situated in large cities or national capitals has been a vital catalyst for expanding MICE travel, much of which is by regional (African) business travellers as well as flows of international business travellers. Accompanying these facilities there has been a recent boom in upmarket hotel accommodation often operated by or branded by major Northern based hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton or Accor as well as – in the case of Southern Africa – by the expansion of South African-based hotel chains (Rogerson 2016). The vital significance of formal sector business tourism in urban Africa is analysed in several research investigations (Rogerson 2015a, b). One critical finding is that from a pro-­ poor policy perspective there appear “sound reasons for looking at business tourism in countries and cities where this generates more significant tourist flows than leisure tourism – because of the scale of economic activity which does (or could potentially) benefit the poor is larger” (Coles and Mitchell 2009: 34). In the urban global South the scramble to compete for international leisure tourists has required policy and product innovation with the outcome of producing both winners and losers. It is argued successful policy innovation in tourism demands “the application of novel or recombined methods or products at any stage of the tourism cycle that allows a destination to successfully offer new and/or improved tourism services and products, which result in improved performance in the sector” (Bowman 2015: 138). Indeed, in an environment of intense inter-urban competition it is shown that local policy choices matter and “successful cities must be creative and deliberate in developing and executing long-term tourism plans that differentiate them” (Bowman 2015: 139). This is demonstrated by a rich comparative analysis which was undertaken of institutional response and policy innovation (or lack thereof) in Buenos Aires, Havana and Rio de Janeiro. The cities of Buenos Aires and

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Havana exhibited creative and innovative local governments revolutionizing their brand and product with an outcome of buoyant international tourism (see Schettini and Troncoso 2011; Kanai 2014; Völkening et al. 2019). By contrast, Rio de Janeiro maintained a rigid and constrained bureaucracy with limited policy innovation which resulted in product stagnation and tourism decline for the period 2000–2010. Overall, these policy responses produced different tourism development pathways for these cities. Bowman (2015) identifies Buenos Aires as illustrating ‘innovative inclusive tourism’, Havana as ‘innovative disarticulated tourism’, and Rio de Janeiro a situation of ‘stagnant urban enclave tourism’. South Africa is a fertile territory for research investigations of place-based economic development strategies which have been enacted by or driven by urban governments in response to globalization impacts (Rogerson and Visser 2020). The rise of urban tourism in the country’s major cities is, at least in part, inseparable from the responses of entrepreneurial local governments to the imperatives for new sources of job creation after the 1994 democratic transition, the removal of international sanctions and of the country’s accompanying re-insertion into the global economy (Rogerson 2002a, b, 2013; Rogerson and Visser 2007). Amidst the hollowing out of the local industrial base of many South African cities the opportunities for strategic planning to upgrade tourism as a replacement sector were seized upon energetically by governments in all leading metropolitan areas (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014). As a counter-response to the negative impacts of globalization and in a close parallel with the European and North American experiences, post-apartheid urban South Africa thus witnessed the unfolding of an ‘infrastructure of play’ in terms of the appearance of new leisure spaces, museums, cultural attractions, food markets, the hosting of sports festivals, and the like (Rogerson 2002b; Naicker and Rogerson 2017). The classic leisure-dominated space is the remaking of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, which is the leading individual attraction for (long haul) international tourists visiting South Africa (Ferreira and Visser 2007). Different niche tourism products have been used to strengthen the competitiveness of destinations across the urban global South. Three points can be observed from Table  1.1. First, is that the most popular, as well as the best-documented niches, are the maximisation of local assets for cultural and heritage tourism or food and gastronomy. In many cases these represent the leveraging of particular assets which have been accorded international recognition by UNESCO as either World Heritage Sites or in terms of the designation of Creative Cities. In addition, the growth of creative tourism offerings as well as the existence of thriving economies of sex tourism in certain destinations is further evident in the context of the urban global South. Second, is the remarkable array of niches of tourism that are utilised in the global South for the building of competitive urban destinations. Of interest is that in many cases these innovative niche forms of tourism are pursued outside of major cities and in secondary or intermediate urban places. Finally, in terms of the diversity of niche tourism offerings the weight of existing research suggests urban destinations in South Africa are, perhaps, the most varied at present. Planning issues and the multiple challenges  – including safety and security  – around urban tourism development constitute a cluster of issues of concern that

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Table 1.1  Examples of research on niche forms of tourism in the urban global South Form of niche tourism Adventure Begging Coastal and marine Creative Cruise Culture/ heritage

Dark Film Gastronomy

Gay Geotourism Graffiti Halal Medical Nature Off the beaten track Sex Sport Volunteer Wedding

Country and research examples South Africa (McKay 2013, 2017, 2020) India (Gowreesunkar et al. 2020) South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019a) South Africa (Rogerson 2006; Booyens and Rogerson 2019a; Drummond and Drummond 2021); Thailand (Somnuxpong 2020) South Africa (Rink 2020) Argentina (Schettini and Troncoso 2011; Kanai 2014); China (Li and Wu 2013; Su and Wall 2015; Wu et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2020); India (Singh 1992) Kenya (Sarmento 2010); Morocco (Lee 2008); South Africa (van der Merwe 2013; van der Merwe and Rogerson 2013, 2018); Thailand (Trupp and Sunanata 2017) Argentina (Korstanje and Baker 2018); Mexico (Speakman 2019) Mexico (Adie and Cepeda 2018) Bolivia (Cruz et al. 2019); China (Chen and Huang 2016; Pu et al. 2019); Colombia (Gálvez et al. 2020; Rodríguez-Gutiérrez et al. 2020); India (Chand et al. 2007; Amore and Roy 2020; Kaushal and Yadav 2020); Indonesia (Komaladewi et al. 2017); Malaysia (Khoo and Badarulzaman 2014); Peru (Gálvez et al. 2017); South Africa (Naicker and Rogerson 2017); Thailand (Lunchaprasith 2017); Vietnam (Avieli 2013) Mexico (Cantu 2002; Mendoza 2013); South Africa (Visser 2002, 2003; Rink 2013) Brazil (Del Lama et al. 2015) Colombia (Seok et al. 2020) South Africa (Bhoola 2020); Thailand (Uansa-ard and Binprathan 2018) Thailand (Lertwannawit and Gulid 2011; Yin 2014) Kenya (Mbatia and Owuor 2014); South Africa (Burton et al. 2020) South Africa (Opfermann 2020) Argentina (Jeffrey et al. 2017); Brazil (de Jesus 2020); Cuba (Wonders and Michalowski 2001); Peru (Gálvez et al. 2017) Brazil (Steinbrink 2013) Mexico (McGehee and Andereck 2009); Peru (Burrai et al. 2017); South Africa (Rogerson and Slater 2014) South Africa (Rogerson and Wolfaardt 2015)

Source: Authors

have attracted considerable attention in Southern cities (Jamieson and Sunalai 2002; Ladkin and Bertramini 2002; Bhati and Pearce 2017; Jurado and Matovelle 2019; Rudsari and Gharibi 2019; Montes and de Pinho Bernabé 2020; Nyerere et  al. 2020). The impacts of the expansion of tourism upon urban regeneration, accompanying gentrification processes and the displacement of resident-oriented urban functions by tourism ventures is of major concern in several cities including for example, Havana, Cuba and Salvador da Bahia in Brazil (Rohr 1997; Scarpaci 2000; Nobre 2002; Colantonio 2004; Colantonio and Potter 2006; Kaczmarek 2018;

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Völkening et al. 2019; Amanpour and Nikfetrat 2020; Parvin et al. 2020). Climate change is a growing challenge for decision-makers involved in urban tourism in Southern cities (Pandy and Rogerson 2019; Coca-Stefaniak and Seisdedos 2021). The diffusion and application of smart tourism practices to develop more sustainable approaches to urban development and tourism is crucial and explored in urban Southeast Asia (Stephenson and Dobson 2020). Finally, the interactions between environmental hazards (smog), other forms of risk (such as flooding), tourism and sustainable development have come under scrutiny in research in Beijing (Li et al. 2016) and most recently for a range of different cities in sub-Saharan Africa (Musavengane et al. 2020; Leonard et al. 2021).

1.3.3  Informality and Poor Urban Tourists Informality is one of the most distinguishing features of urban settlements in the global South (Rogerson 1997, 2018a; Parnell and Pieterse 2014). Baumgart and Kreibich (2011) assert urban informality is a critical component in the growth dynamics of most societies in the global South and as such transcends and modifies all aspects of urban livelihoods. Chen and Carré (2020) make the important observation that there is a significant overlap between informality and being poor. Over the past 30 years in the urban global South substantial expansion is recorded in the economic landscape of informality and poverty (Rogerson 1997; Kamete 2013; Parnell and Oldfield 2014; Chen and Carré 2020). Grant (2015: 135) observes that informality “looms large” and Crush et al. (2015: 10) that it now simply represents “the main game in town”. Across all levels of the urban settlement hierarchy – metropolitan areas, cities, secondary cities and small towns – in the case of Africa informality is a ubiquitous facet of life and livelihoods (Kamete 2013; Grant 2015). Although the definition of the term ‘informality’ is disputed it is applied generally to capture “a range of behaviours and practices that are not regulated or controlled by the state or formal institutions, including those related to income generation, service provision and settlements” (Chen et al. 2016: 336). As an economic reality ‘informality’, however, received a mixed review in development circles with some observers believing that it would disappear with economic growth and the advance of industrialization. But, informality in Southern cities is far from disappearing with the advance of urbanization rather it has been shown as further strengthening in significance (Chen and Carré 2020). Notwithstanding predictions to the contrary behind the advance towards informalization is the fact that recent urbanization trends taking across the global South have been neither driven nor accompanied by industrialization (Ghani and Kanbur 2013). Consequently the majority of urban work in low-income countries derives from informal livelihoods (Chen et  al. 2016). In a typical low-income country of the global South the informal economy employs as much as 70% of the labour force (Loazya 2016). The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Economic Commission for Africa (2015: 35) noted that informal economies

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and everyday livelihood practices “are the dominant modes of economic life in most sub-Saharan African cities”. The Brussels-based Cities Alliance (2014: 6) confirms informality as the largest component of African cities. The march of informalization across major urban places in Africa has been so extensive that Steck et al. (2013: 145) view informality as “emblematic of the African city”. Indeed, these authors go so far as to assert “when thinking of African cities, one almost automatically associates them with the idea of ‘informality’” (Steck et al. 2013: 145). One issue that goes little recognised in urban tourism scholarship is that the nature of tourism in the global South – and most especially its urban places – is, to a large extent, conditioned by informality.2 This situation is a reflection of Cohen and Cohen’s (2015a) view that in much tourism research the mobilities within and from the world’s ‘emerging tourism regions’ as a whole are largely ignored especially the discretionary mobilities of the poor. In moving beyond a Eurocentric perspective to explore these neglected mobilities a valuable conceptual distinction is offered by Gladstone (2005) and Cohen and Cohen (2015a, b) between a formal and an informal sector of travel and tourism. Poor tourists occupy much of the informal sector of tourism, that part of the travelling public which usually does not make use of (formal) tourist-oriented means of transport or accommodation services and which in many ways represents a modification of ‘pre-modern’ forms of travel (Gladstone 2005; Cohen and Cohen 2015a). Arguably, an overlooked theme on urban tourism in the global South is the poor themselves as tourists (Rogerson and Saarinen 2018). The discretionary mobilities of the poor usually are ‘invisible’ and without agency in tourism statistics, in part a mirror of the hegemony of ‘Anglo-Western centrism’ in tourism scholarship (Winter 2009; Rogerson and Saarinen 2018). Gladstone (2005: 195) maintains “for most Western scholars and even those who write extensively about tourism, people in low-income countries do not seem to qualify as tourists”. As a consequence there is “no theoretical work that deals explicitly with poor Third World tourists” (Gladstone 2005: 166). With the Northern bias in tourism research as a whole there has been an underlying assumption in certain tourism scholarship that tourism remains an essentially ‘Western’ leisure-related phenomenon and that most ‘tourists’ originate in and reside in advanced economies of the global North (Winter 2009). Nevertheless, it is necessary to appreciate that poor people in the global South do make frequent tourist trips for various reasons and mainly unrelated to leisure. Gladstone (2005) calls therefore for alternative formulations of tourism for pursuing research in the global South stressing that most existing tourist typologies deal only with tourists from Western industrial societies. Building upon theories of formality and informality a fourfold typology is put forward. This conceptualizes travel and tourism in the global South in terms of a segmentation between international formal sector tourism, international informal sector tourism, domestic formal sector tourism, and domestic informal sector tourism (Gladstone 2005).

2  This section builds upon and extends certain of the discussion presented in Rogerson and Saarinen (2018).

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Our starting point is that in urban areas of the global South the largest segment of the discretionary mobilities of the poor is not about trips for leisure but mainly about VFR, business travel and sometimes for health purposes (Cohen and Cohen 2015a; Rogerson and Saarinen 2018). An emerging and distinctive scholarship is uncovering this informal sector of travel and tourism with respect to the urban global South. It includes both a component of international informal sector tourism and domestic informal sector tourism. Visits to friends and relatives and pilgrimages to sacred spaces are the oldest and certainly the most important reasons for the poor to become urban tourists in the global South (Singh 2004; Cohen and Cohen 2015a, b). As shown in, for example, research from India, Iran, Sri Lanka or Thailand many of these pilgrimage destinations are sacred sites in urban centres (Singh 2004; Ihalanayake 2009; Aukland 2018; Chianeh et  al. 2018; Ziaee and Amiri 2018). Shinde (2020) provides a destination perspective on the spatial practices of pilgrimage in India. For sub-Saharan Africa large-scale pilgrimage tourism by the poor has been documented as taking place to urban destinations in both Nigeria and Uganda (Ukah 2016, 2018; Ele 2017). VFR travel occupies the meeting point of debates concerning migration, mobilities and tourism in the global South. Significant flows of VFR travel exist relating to urbanization and shifting migration dynamics which produce close connections between urban areas and the second rural ‘homes’ of migrants (Rogerson and Mthombeni 2015; Rogerson 2017a). In South Africa large flows of VFR travel occur because of the existence of multi-locational households and the persistence of circulatory migration flows even after the ending of apartheid influx control restrictions (Rogerson 2017b). Together these mould the detailed patterns of VFR mobilities in the country between geographically stretched households as members move between rural and urban bases or ‘homes’. Considerable VFR travel flows are recorded into urban areas and these are dominated by ‘ordinary’ or working class travellers including from the country’s poorest communities (Rogerson 2015a, 2017a). In addition to pilgrimages and VFR travel, in many countries of the global South the poor are compelled to become need-based health tourists in order to consume healthcare that is either unavailable, unaffordable or of low quality in their home areas (Mogaka et al. 2017). In some cases international flows of health tourists also are observable. Crush and Chikanda (2015) disclose the flows of ‘Southern’ health tourists from Lesotho in search of treatment in South Africa’s public sector hospitals. The uneven geography of health care services within countries is a further catalyst for ‘informal’ domestic movements of poor health tourists. For example, in South Africa these health tourists travel from marginalised rural areas into the country’s better-serviced urban areas searching for better health care (Crush and Chikanda 2015). Finally, business travel is another critical reason for the poor of the global South to become urban tourists. It is apparent the character of business tourism in much of the global South differs greatly from the nature of Northern business tourism (Rogerson 2015b). For example, in the context of sub-Saharan Africa the majority of business travel to cities is informal business tourism and involves complex networks of informal cross-border and domestic traders. Over the past quarter-century

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the region of Southern Africa has emerged as a major focus for cross-border traders or shoppers. Johannesburg in South Africa has become established as the shopping hub of sub-Saharan Africa and magnet for international informal sector tourism. Communities of cross-border shoppers mainly drawn from surrounding countries in the Southern African Development Community are attracted to the city by the variety of goods and price competitiveness of products that can be purchased (Rogerson 2018b). Large numbers of these ‘invisible tourists’ – many of them women traders – come to the city in order to conduct their precarious business activities (Rogerson and Rogerson 2021). In addition to Johannesburg other sub-regional shopping hubs have emerged for cross-border traders. One of the most significant is Musina on the Zimbabwe-South Africa border (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b; Pophiwa 2020). Informal sector business tourism is a domestic as well as an international tourism phenomenon in Africa with cities the major axes for spatial flows. In recognizing informal domestic tourism Mitchell and Ashley (2010: 8) reflect that a trader from a small town or rural area “who comes to the capital city to buy goods to take home and sell is a business tourist”. Documented examples of this phenomenon are found in research works on Maseru, Lesotho (Rogerson and Letsie 2013) and Yaoundé, Cameroon (Tichaawa 2017). Of particular note is that one segment of these informal urban tourists is rural farmers who bring their crops or livestock to sell, often over several days, at markets in leading cities.

1.3.4  Slum Tourism: Poverty as Tourist Attraction The most distinctive form of niche leisure tourism in the urban global South is that of ‘slum tourism’ which is an expanding form of international tourism available in many cities (Frenzel 2019, 2020). Under the impress of globalization Cejas (2006: 224) articulates that “impoverished inhabitants of Third World cities and their environments have become new commodities to be consumed by the North, fashioned as an ‘exotic experience’”. Accordingly, in Brazil “the favela turned from a social problem into a tourist attraction” (Frisch 2012: 320). Slum tourism is understood thus as the touristic valorization of poverty-stricken urban areas in the global South (Steinbrink 2012, 2013, Dürr and Jaffe 2012; Freire-Medeiros 2014; Frenzel 2016, 2017; Nisbett 2017; Holst 2018). Essentially the activity of slum tourism describes short visits on organized tours to deprived areas (Frenzel 2016). It involves transforming poverty, squalor and violence into a tourism commodity (Dürr and Jaffe 2012). More broadly, Frenzel (2019) conceives the activity of slum tourism “as a practice that addresses the relationship between poor and non-poor and thus is connected to the ‘social question’”. Within slum tourism destinations the nexus between tourism and poverty is re-configured as tourism is no longer simply a vehicle to combat poverty but poverty itself becomes an attraction for tourists (Freire-Medeiros 2014; Frenzel et  al. 2015; Frenzel 2016, 2020; Rogerson and Saarinen 2018). Tzanelli (2018: 149) contends that slum tourism “has evolved into a mobility trend worthy of dedicated study by tourism scholars”. Its leading writer Frenzel (2016: 6)

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argues slum tourism ‘matters’ for scholars and policy-makers alike, not least because “it offers an important example of the power of tourism to shape discourses, alter perceptions and make worlds”. The origins of contemporary slum tourism are situated in the 1990s social justice movements of Brazil and South Africa (Frenzel et  al. 2015; Muldoon and Mair 2016; Booyens and Rogerson 2019a; Booyens 2021). Following its establishment in these countries slum tourism spread into a highly popular practice for tourists looking for off the beaten track experiences in different parts of the urban global South (Frenzel et al. 2012; Freire-Medeiros et al. 2013; Frenzel 2016). The geographical travels of slum tourism have seen its appearance in several countries including Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia and Zimbabwe (Mekawy 2012; Hernandez-Garcia 2013; Buning and Grunau 2014; Frenzel et al. 2015; Frenzel and Koens 2016). From an historical perspective several scholars point out that the practice of visitations to areas of poverty is not new in the context of the urban global North (Frenzel et al. 2015; Frenzel and Blakeman 2015). They identify its origins in Victorian London where tours were undertaken around the city’s squalid East End by members of the upper class as well as social reformers and clergymen (Steinbrink 2012; Frenzel 2016). According to Dovey and King (2012) international tourists recently, however, have picked up ‘a taste for slums’. In response, during the past three decades organised visits to urban slums have consolidated as a ‘new’ niche form of tourism which is mainly consumed or ‘performed’ by tourists from the global North within poverty areas of cities in the global South (Steinbrink 2012; Frenzel and Koens 2016; Frenzel 2020). Tours to areas of urban poverty with visits to slums are a ‘must do’ item on the bucket list of Northern tourists travelling to Brazil, India, Kenya, Namibia or South Africa (Diekmann and Hannam 2012; Kieti and Magio 2013; Freire-Medeiros 2014; Nisbett 2017; Holst 2018; Booyens 2021). Ma (2010) asserts the international spread of slum tourism was given considerable impetus by the mass media and the appearance of several hit films which depict slum life such as Slumdog Millionaire (Mumbai), District 9 (Johannesburg), and City of God (Rio de Janeiro). As Angelini (2020: 15) notes “reversing decades of fear and neglect as no-go zones for outsiders, Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic favela communities have become tourist attractions offering a glimpse of the purported ‘other side’ of Brazilian society”. Recent estimates point to a pre-COVID-19 annual volume of one million international tourists that visit a township, a favela or slum in some part of the world (Frenzel 2016, 2020). Although slum tourism with visitation to areas of urban poverty is a global trend it manifests distinct local variations (Frisch 2012). On a global scale the largest numbers of slum tourists are concentrated either in South Africa’s townships or the favelas of Brazil. Dharavi in Mumbai is another important locus for international slum tours (Diekmann and Hannam 2012; Nisbett 2017). It can be observed that slum tourism is “a mass tourism phenomenon occurring only in few destinations and a niche form in a growing number of other destinations” (Frenzel et al. 2015: 237–238). The niche of slum tourism is a controversial research topic with contributions across several destinations (Rolfes et  al. 2009; Rolfes 2010; Dovey and King 2012; Dyson 2012; Frenzel and Koens 2012; Steinbrink 2012;

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Burgold and Rolfes 2013; Frenzel 2013, 2016, 2020; Hernandez-Garcia 2013; Frenzel et al. 2015; Holst 2015, 2018; Jones and Sanyal 2015). The pioneer investigations in the global South were case studies of the development and workings of township tourism in South Africa, of favela tourism in Brazil and of similar activities in India (Jaguaribe and Hetherington 2004; Rogerson 2004; Dyson 2012; Freire-Medeiros 2014; Booyens 2021). Controversy surrounds the moral, economic and social implications of slum tourism (Steinbrink 2012; Frenzel et  al. 2015). Holst et  al. (2017: 1) maintain slum tourism is “sometimes cast as a laboratory where the relationships and interactions between the global North and South appear as micro-sociological encounters framed by the apparent concern over inequality” (Holst et al. 2017: 1). Different narratives surround slum tourism alternatively as philanthropic travel or the organised exploitation of poverty. Questions about ‘responsible slum tourism’ were raised in a useful study on the Egyptian experience (Mekawy 2012). The role of ‘brokers’ – especially tour guides – who mediate encounters between residents and tourists is critical in “aestheticizing and performing poverty and violence and converting disadvantaged spaces into a tourist product” (Dürr et al. 2020: 4). Further, Nisbett (2017: 44) points out the “normalization, romanticisation, and depoliticization of poverty legitimizes social inequality and diverts attention away from the state and its responsibility for poverty reduction”. Many contend that by turning people’s lives and miseries into a spectacle slum tours are inherently exploitative (Frenzel 2016). In Brazil its proponents claim that the practice benefits communities by bringing much needed capital into the favelas whilst also challenging narratives on informal settlements and breaking prevalent stereotypes (Duchesneau-­ Custeau 2020). Dovey (2015: 8) considers that slum tourism indicates that “urban informality can be picturesque with elements of nostalgia and a quest for authenticity” and accompanied by “elements of the sublime, the shock of the real, a spectacle of hyper-intensive urbanity and an uneasy voyeurism”. At Dharavi local tour operators sometimes glossy presentation of slums as hives of resourcefulness and diligence at times is so successful that “visitors overlook, or even deny, its obvious poverty” (Nisbett 2017: 37). Frenzel (2016) spotlights concerns that activists have about slum tourism in terms of voyeurism and questions the ethics of opening slums to the tourist gaze, when this gaze might be seeking dark enjoyment. Often local residents express particular frustrations about the commercialisation of poverty especially when on occasions tourists intrude on their privacy and at other times the limited freedom to interact with tourists is criticised. In certain Brazilian favelas tourist saturation exists such that Da Cunha (2019) can point to mounting evidence that overtourism is not just a phenomenon of Northern cities. The case of Rio de Janeiro stands out because it reveals the most sophisticated attempt at adapting and adopting tourist valorization of the favela in relation to wider urban development goals. Frenzel (2016: 124) stresses that favela tourism has consolidated as “part of an urban policy aiming at the pacification and securitization of the favelas, also leading to sharp rises in real estate value and processes of displacement of residents”.

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The pro-poor impacts of slum tourism have attracted attention (Booyens 2010; George and Booyens 2014). Frenzel (2013: 117) makes clear that “slum tourism promoters, tour providers as well as tourists claim this form of tourism contributes to development in slums by creating a variety of potential sources of income and other non-material benefits”. A key finding is the expected local impacts of slum tourism have been limited for destination communities and that the real beneficiaries are non-residents (Chege and Mwisukha 2013; Frenzel et  al. 2015). Disappointments around slum tourism exist even in those cases, such as Brazil or South Africa, where visitor numbers have been (at least for certain slum destinations) impressive (Koens and Thomas 2015; Frenzel 2016, 2020). Essentially, the limited local benefits relate to underlying structures and the geography of control of slum tourism which cause high levels of economic leakage (Rogerson and Saarinen 2018). Overall, Nisbett (2017: 37) concludes that the potential of slum tours “as a form of international development is limited, as they enable wealthy middle-class westerners to feel ‘inspired’, ‘uplifted, and ‘enriched’, but with little understanding of the need for change”. In South Africa small steps are in progress to re-imagine slum tourism and re-configure it in a more responsible manner through creative tourism (Booyens and Rogerson 2019a, b). Potentially this new focus on creative forms of culture opens up economic opportunities and pathways out of poverty for township residents by diversifying the range of existing slum tourism product offerings (Booyens and Rogerson 2019a).

1.4  Conclusion In mainstream urban tourism scholarship writings about cities in the global South currently are only of passing concern. The ‘other half’ of urban tourism is the axis in this discussion. Arguably, in light of the changing global patterns of urbanization and of the shifting geography of leading destinations for urban tourism much greater attention is justified upon the range of urban settlements in the global South. The analysis discloses the appearance of an increasingly vibrant scholarship about urban tourism in the setting of the global South. In respect of sizes of urban settlement it is unsurprising that the greatest amount of attention has been paid to mega-cities and large urban centres with far less attention so far given to tourism occurring either in intermediate centres or small towns. Geographically, within the extant literature the greatest amount of writings currently are recorded for leading cities in Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. Urban centres in Argentina, Cuba, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico and Thailand are further destinations that have led to a burst of scholarly interest. In a broad comparative assessment between scholarship on urban tourism in the global North versus South it is clear there are identifiable common themes and trends in writings about urban tourism. These are most especially in relation to the phenomenon of inter-urban competition, questions of sustainability and planning. Nevertheless, certain important differences can be isolated. In the urban global

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South the environment of low incomes and informality combine to provide for the emergence and the relative greater significance of certain different forms of tourism to those high on the agenda within the urban global North. Three key issues are highlighted by this ‘state of the art’ overview, namely the significant size of an informal sector of tourism, the distinctive characteristics of the discretionary mobilities of the poor, and, the marked controversies which surround the niche of slum tourism as the tourist valorization of poverty for the enjoyment of international tourists that originate from the global North. Acknowledgements  Thanks to comments received from two reviewers which influenced the final revision of this chapter. Arno Booyzen produced the accompanying maps. Dawn and Skye Norfolk assisted the writing process.

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Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, P., Cruz, F. G. S., Gallo, S. M. P., & López-Guzmán, T. (2020). Gastronomic satisfaction of the tourist: Empirical study in the creative city of Popayán, Colombia. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 7, 8. Rogerson, C. M. (1997). Globalization or informalization?: African urban economies in the 1990s. In C.  Rakodi (Ed.), Managing urban growth in Africa (pp.  337–370). Tokyo: The United Nations University Press. Rogerson, C. M. (2002a). Tourism-led local economic development: The South African experience. Urban Forum, 13, 95–119. Rogerson, C.  M. (2002b). Urban tourism in the developing world: The case of Johannesburg. Development Southern Africa, 19, 169–190. Rogerson, C. M. (2004). Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism. GeoJournal, 60, 249–257. Rogerson, C. M. (2006). Creative industries and urban tourism: South African perspectives. Urban Forum, 17, 149–166. Rogerson, C.  M. (2013). Urban tourism, economic regeneration and inclusion: Evidence from South Africa. Local Economy, 28(2), 186–200. Rogerson, C. M. (2015a). Unpacking business tourism mobilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(1), 44–56. Rogerson, C. M. (2015b). Revisiting VFR tourism in South Africa. South African Geographical Journal, 97(2), 183–202. Rogerson, C. M. (2016a). Outside the cities: Tourism pathways in South Africa’s small towns and rural areas. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 5(3), 1–16. Rogerson, C. M. (2016b). Secondary cities and tourism: The South African record. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 5(2), 1–12. Rogerson, C.  M. (2017a). Visiting friends and relatives matters in sub-Saharan Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(3), 1–10. Rogerson, C. M. (2017b). Unpacking directions and spatial patterns of VFR travel mobilities in the global South: Insights from South Africa. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19, 466–475. Rogerson, C. M. (2018a). Informality, migrant entrepreneurs and Cape Town’s inner-city economy. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-Economic Series, 40, 157–171. Rogerson, C. M. (2018b). Informal sector city tourism: Cross border shoppers in Johannesburg. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 22(2), 372–387. Rogerson, C.  M. (2019). Globalisation, place-based development and tourism. In D.  Timothy (Ed.), Handbook of globalisation and tourism (pp. 44–53). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Rogerson, C.  M., & Baum, T. (2020). COVID-19 and African tourism research agendas. Development Southern Africa, 37(5), 727–741. Rogerson, C.  M., & Letsie, T. (2013). Informal sector business tourism in the global South: Evidence from Maseru, Lesotho. Urban Forum, 24, 485–502. Rogerson, C. M., & Mthombeni, T. (2015). From slum tourism to slum tourists: Township resident mobilities in South Africa. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 24(3–4), 319–338. Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2014). Urban tourism destinations in South Africa: Divergent trajectories 2001–2012. Urbani izziv, 25(Supplement), S189–S203. Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2017). City tourism in South Africa: Diversity and change. Tourism Review International, 21(2), 193–211. Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2019a). Emergent planning for South Africa’s blue economy: Evidence from coastal and marine tourism. Urbani izziv, 30(Supplement), 24–36. Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2019b). Tourism in South Africa’s borderland regions: A spatial view. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 24(1), 175–188. Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2020). COVID-19 and tourism spaces of vulnerability in South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 9(4), 382–401.

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Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson, J. M. (2021). City tourism in southern Africa: Progress and issues. In M. Novelli, E. A. Adu-Ampong, & M. A. Ribeiro (Eds.), Routledge handbook of tourism in Africa (pp. 447–458). London: Routledge. Rogerson, C. M., & Saarinen, J. (2018). Tourism for poverty alleviation: Issues and debates in the global South. In C. Cooper, S. Volo, B. Gartner, & N. Scott (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of tourism management: Applications of theories and concepts to tourism (pp. 22–37). London: Sage. Rogerson, C. M., & Visser, G. (Eds.). (2007). Urban tourism in the developing world: The South African experience. New Brunswick: Transaction Press. Rogerson, C. M., & Visser, G. (2014). A decade of progress in African urban tourism scholarship. Urban Forum, 25, 407–417. Rogerson, J. M. (2012). The changing location of hotels in South Africa’s coastal cities, 1990–2010. Urban Forum, 23(1), 73–91. Rogerson, J. M. (2013a). Reconfiguring South Africa’s hotel industry 1990–2010: Structure, segmentation, and spatial transformation.Applied Geography, 36, 59–68. Rogerson, J. M. (2013b). The economic geography of South Africa’s hotel industry 1990 to 2010.Urban Forum, 24(3), 425–446. Rogerson, J. M. (2014a). Hotel location in Africa’s world class city: The case of Johannesburg, South Africa.Bulletin of Geography: Socio-Economic Series, 25, 181–196. Rogerson, J. M. (2014b). Changing hotel location patterns in Ekurhuleni, South Africa’s industrial workshop.Urbani izziv, 25(Supplement), S82–S96. Rogerson, J. M. (2016). Hotel chains of the global South: The internationalization of South African hotel brands.Tourism – An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 64(4), 445–450. Rogerson, J. M., & Slater, D. (2014). Urban volunteer tourism: Orphanages in Johannesburg. Urban Forum, 25, 483–499. Rogerson, J.  M., & Visser, G. (2020). Recent trends in South African tourism geographies. In J.  M. Rogerson & G.  Visser (Eds.), New directions in South African tourism geographies (pp. 1–14). Cham: Springer. Rogerson, J. M., & Wolfaardt, Z. (2015). Wedding tourism in South Africa: An exploratory analysis. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 4(2), 1–13. Rohr, E. (1997). Planning for sustainable tourism in old Havana, Cuba. MA dissertation, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Rolfes, M. (2010). Poverty tourism: Theoretical reflections and empirical findings regarding an extraordinary form of tourism. GeoJournal, 75(5), 421–442. Rolfes, M., Steinbrink, M., & Uhl, C. (2009). Townships as attraction: An empirical study of township tourism in Cape Town. Potsdam: University of Potsdam. Rowe, D., & Stevenson, D. (1994). ‘Provincial paradise’: Urban tourism and city imaging outside the metropolis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 30, 178–193. Rudsari, S.  M. M., & Gharibi, N. (2019). Host-guest attitudes toward socio-cultural carrying capacity of urban tourism in Chalus, Mazandaran. Iranian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(4), 31–47. Russo, A.  P. (2020). After overtourism?: Discursive lock-ins and the future of (tourist) places. ATLAS Tourism and Leisure Review, 2020-2, 74–79. Saghir, J., & Santoro, J. (2018). Urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa: Meeting challenges by bridging stakeholders. Washington, DC: Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Sarmento, J. (2010). Fort Jesus: Guiding the past and contesting the present in Kenya. Tourism Geographies, 12(2), 246–263. Scarpaci, J.  L., Jr. (2000). Winners and losers in restoring old Havana. Cuba in Transition, 10, 289–299. Schettini, M.  G., & Troncoso, C.  A. (2011). Tourism and cultural identity: Promoting Buenos Aires as the cultural capital of Latin America. Catalan Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies, 3(2), 195–209.

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Chapter 2

Looking to the Past: The Geography of Tourism in South Africa During the Pre-­COVID-­19 Era Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

2.1  Introduction 2020 will forever be defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and the enormous challenges it brought for everyday life. The pandemic is “the third and greatest economic, financial and social shock of the twenty-first century after 9/11 and the global financial crisis of 2008” (OECD 2020a: 3). The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been labelled as a ‘black-swan event’ and even likened to scenes reminiscent of World War Two as it precipitates turmoil across the world economy with adverse implications across nearly all sectors of activity and life (Hamidah 2020; Nicola et al. 2020). The international economy has experienced a precipitate downtown following the geographical spread of the virus from its Wuhan China origins to advanced economies in Asia, Europe and North America and more recently to developing countries in Latin America and Africa (Baum and Hai 2020). It is anticipated that the greatest macro-economic shocks will hit particularly hard the group of low- and middle-income countries (Noy et al. 2020). Many advanced economies are able to mitigate the pandemic’s impact and social costs by implementing palliative fiscal policies that are not available to less affluent countries which are projected will “suffer in an extremely acute fashion the trade-off between health and wealth” (Hevia and Neumeyer 2020: 35). Overall, the economic risk associated with the pandemic is calculated as highest for countries in the global South with the greatest risks for the poorest parts of South Asia and the region of sub-Saharan Africa. As is observed by Noy et al. (2020: 38) these are regions of the world “that do not get much global attention in normal times, and get even less when the media’s interest has turned to tragedies happening in places such as Bergamo in Italy and New York City”.

C. M. Rogerson (*) · J. M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_2

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With over 90% of the world’s population impacted by travel bans alongside widespread restrictions on public gatherings and community mobility “tourism has become the industry most symbolic of the crisis” (Bailey et al. 2020: 1164). In 2020 the hospitality and tourism sector, including commercial aviation, experienced the worst socio-economic impacts of the pandemic (Dube et al. 2020; ILO 2020; OECD 2020b; Wen et al. 2020). With borders closed, air fleets grounded, cruise vessels docked, and the shutdown of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions at risk are an estimated 75 million jobs in the sector (Zenker and Kock 2020). COVID-19 is widely acknowledged as a possible “game-changer” for globalisation as well as for global tourism (Higgins-Desboilles 2020a: 65). Within a period of only a few months “the framing of the global tourism system moved from overtourism to ‘non-­ tourism’” (Corbisiero and La Rocca 2020:95) As emphasized by Gössling et  al. (2020) the pandemic’s worldwide spread is not only causing a global crisis for hospitality and tourism but also dramatically changing consumers’ wants and market demands that were satisfied by existing tourism value chains and business models during the pre-COVID-19 era. Several scholars view the pandemic as a transformative opportunity for the tourism sector as well as for a resetting of tourism research agendas (Brouder 2020; Butler 2020; Gössling et al. 2020; Hall et al. 2020; Higgins-­ Desbiolles 2020b; Niewiadomski 2020; Rogerson and Baum 2020; Sigala 2020). For example, pointing out that the neoliberal version of globalization is associated with environmental devastation, economic inequality and excessive global travel, Goffman (2020: 48) maintains that the “pandemic provides opportunities for a new kind of glocalization in which people live far more local lives than in recent decades but with greater global awareness”. The vision for certain observers is that the tourism sector be reoriented and should sit within a sound economy and society that is geared towards social and ecological well-being (Higgins-Desbiolles 2020a, b; Ioannides and Gyamóthi 2020). Better alignment with and contribution towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a major recommendation (Bailey et al. 2020; Bianchi 2020). Recently, various lenses and perspectives have been applied to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and hospitality. These include environmental distress (Crossley 2020), geopolitics (Mostafanezhad et al. 2020; Seyfi et al. 2020), human rights (Baum and Hai 2020), mobilities (Iaquinto 2020), media analysis and communication (Seraphin and Dosquet 2020; Wen et al. 2020; Yu et al. 2020; Zheng et  al. 2020) global versus local approaches (Brouder et  al. 2020; Higgins-Desbiolles 2020a; Jamal and Budke 2020; Niewiadomski 2020; Romagosa 2020; Tomassini and Carvagnaro 2020), resilience (Baraero-Era and Del Rosario 2020; Prayag 2020), sustainability (Corbisiero and La Rocca 2020; Galvani et al. 2020; Jones and Comfort 2020) as well as technology and the fourth industrial revolution (Gretzel et  al. 2020; Seyitoĝlu and Ivanov 2020; Sigala 2020; Zeng et  al. 2020). Inter-disciplinary and integrated studies also have flourished to add further rich insights on the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the tourism sector (Aliperti et al. 2019; Brouder 2020; Lew et al. 2020; Naumov et al. 2020; Rogerson and Baum 2020). In the works of Kock et al. (2020) and Zenker and Kock (2020) a call is issued for tourism researchers to transcend impact studies and instead to

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interrogate deeper underlying relationships and how these – such as tourist psyche or destination image – might shift as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Against this background this chapter uses a spatial perspective on COVID-19 and tourism in South Africa. The spatial viewpoint, the determination, display and understanding of the organisation of spatial systems, is one of the core approaches in geographical scholarship (Pattison 1964; Taaffe 1974). Pattison (1964: 211) identifies the “importance of spatial analysis” as one of the four ‘traditions’ or foundations of the geographical discipline which are seen “as parts of a general legacy of Western thought”. As is traced by Johnston and Sidaway (2016) since 1945 the spatial viewpoint has formed one of the historical anchors for scholarship in Anglo-­ American human geography. Timothy (2018: 166) contends that geography is the very essence and “substance” of tourism. Over the past four decades as an outcome of its strong synthesizing approach the discipline of geography has made important contributions to tourism studies (Hall and Page 2009; Saarinen et al. 2017) including through the application of a spatial perspective (Rogerson 2014; Rogerson and Rogerson 2019a, 2020a; Rogerson and Visser 2020). Hall (2012) avers that spatial analysis is a valuable tool for tourism geographers. Butler (2018: 922) asserts it is “of critical importance to tourism research to keep the spatial element in tourism research strong and visible, thus reminding researchers and others of the importance of the geographical viewpoint”. As is re-iterated most recently by Raun et al. (2020: 261) understanding the spatial patterns of tourism flows is one of the essential “undertakings of tourism geography research and a key issue behind effective destination management and development”. Arguably, geography matters in terms of the economic turmoil unleashed by COVID-19 (Bailey et al. 2020; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). Research by the OECD (2020c, d) confirms that the impacts of COVID-19 will be spatially uneven with some regions and places more exposed to risks than others. Cities that do not have a diverse economic structure are those highly vulnerable (Sharifi and Khavarian-Garmsir 2020). Tourism-dependent countries and regions are those most exposed to the devastating implications of COVID-19 (Bailey et al. 2020; Mooney and Zegarra 2020). In the short-term the OECD (2020c: 3) projects that “large cities, tourist destinations, intensive energy producing regions and places more connected to trade will be among those most affected”. In the USA research by The Brookings Institution produces similar findings with Las Vegas, Orlando and Atlantic City listing among the most high risk urban areas (Muro et  al. 2020). Around the world, tourism in cities has been hard hit; however, cities are expected to be leading in the crisis response and recovery. The negative impacts of COVID-19 for city tourism are illustrated by the experiences of Vienna and Salzburg in Austria (Jiricka-Pürrer et  al. 2020). Urban places which are tourism-dependent are those most vulnerable to the negative economic effects from COVID-19 (de Oliveira and de Aguilar Arantes 2020). The initial analyses of the impact of COVID-19 within countries document its devastation most particularly for those destinations unable to pivot quickly from international to domestic markets (Felinas and Metaxas 2020). Spatial variations emerge in the performance of hotels across eight Polish cities with certain differences the direct outcome of COVID-19 impacts (Napierała et al.

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2020). Several capital cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Foo et al. 2020) and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Bogale et al. 2020) have recorded the greatest number of hotel cancellations. Investigations of the economic impacts and responses to COVID-19 represent a contribution to the emerging literature on crises, risk and resilience in city tourism destinations (Panasiuk 2019; Ritchie and Jiang 2019; Musavengane et al. 2020; Leonard et al. 2021). In South Africa, as elsewhere in the world, the country’s tourism sector in 2020 has been devastated by the novel coronavirus pandemic (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020b). The ramifications for tourism were experienced immediately following the declaration of a National State of Disaster and the announcement made on Sunday 15 March 2020 by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of a 3 week lockdown period for the country. As the pandemic might become viewed as a historical turning point for the tourism sector of South Africa the aim here is to ‘look to the past’ and reconstruct the geography of tourism for 2018 almost the close of the pre-COVID 19 era. Future research on urban tourism in South Africa in the post-COVID period can utilise this historical benchmark of information in order to evaluate the COVID-19 impacts upon the tourism space economy of South Africa as well as for measuring the resilience of different destinations.

2.2  Methods and Sources Research investigations on the tourism space economy in South Africa are made possible by accessing an unpublished data base from the private sector consultancy IHS Global Insight. This tourism data base represents a subset of the IHS Global Insight Regional eXplorer which is a consolidated platform of integrated data bases that, in the absence of official establishment and enterprise surveys, provides currently the most useful data for planning in South Africa at a sub-national scale, including down to municipal (and for major cities even at administrative region) level. Data is collated regularly from a wide range of sources (official and non-­ government) with the primary data reworked to ensure consistency across variables and by applying national and sub-national verification tests in order to ensure that the model is consistent for measuring business activity. For tourism research the local tourism data base of IHS Global Insight is highly valued as it furnishes details concerning the tourism performance of all local municipal authorities in the country, inter alia, the number of tourism trips differentiated by primary purpose of trip; bednights by origin of tourist (domestic or international); calculation of tourism spend; and, the contribution of tourism to local gross domestic product (GDP). Data is available from IHS Global Insight on an annual basis from 2001. Applying a spatial viewpoint the task is to document the geography of tourism in 2018 at the scale of local municipalities. At the outset it must be cautioned that during the democratic era (post-1994) several shifts have taken place in the administrative boundaries of South African local governments which makes comparisons

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difficult with earlier research findings. The remapping of South Africa through the amalgamation of racialised spaces has been a major project of the democratic government as part of a process to redress the injustices of apartheid planning (Lincoln 2019). A process of restructuring of local government and redrawing the boundaries of local authorities followed the first democratic elections in 1994 (Cameron 2006). According to Lincoln (2019: 158) “the main impetus driving the demarcation appears to be political rather than criteria based on the economic potential, socio-­ economic, revenue or other considerations”. The demarcation and recategorization of municipal boundaries resulted in a reduction in the number of local authorities from 1260 in 1994 to 284 by the early 2000s and to 278 by 2005 (Cameron 2006). This total comprised eight metropolitan authorities (Category A), 226 local municipalities (Category B) and 44 district municipalities (Category C). In 2006 the Constitution was amended to prohibit the existence of administratively cumbersome ‘cross-border’ municipalities in terms of local authorities straddling two different provinces; instead moves were made to place local authorities in one province or another. This amendment resulted in a further round of restructuring which impacted the geographical delimitation of administrative boundaries both of the nine provinces as well as of local governments (Mkhize and Khanyile 2020). As well as category B and C municipalities this delimitation altered the boundaries of several metropolitan areas. Reshuffling of the administrative boundaries means that the geographical jurisdictions of South African metropolitan areas as well as certain secondary cities are not directly comparable to those which were used in previous investigations using IHS Global Insight data. Since the further round of boundary reform which was undertaken at the time of South Africa’s 2016 municipal elections there are eight metropolitan authorities, 44 district authorities and 205 local governments. The research reported here utilises the 2016 administrative delimitations for unpacking the tourism space economy of South Africa in 2018. In terms of the analysis the study utilises descriptive data and the calculation of location quotients. The latter is viewed “as one of the most basic analytical tools available to the economic development researcher” (Miller et  al. 1991: 65) and more particularly is “a useful tool for comparing area characteristics” (Moineddin et al. 2003: 249). For certain scholars, location quotients are lauded as “very important techniques” for regional analysts (Niyimbanira et al. 2020: 55). The location quotient is not a new technique rather it represents a long-established and commonly applied tool in geographical research, regional studies and planning (Isard 1960; Richardson 1969; Isserman 1977; Billings and Johnson 2012). According to Miller et al. (1991: 65) the LQ “has been widely used by researchers in economic geography and regional economics since the 1940s”. The purpose of the location quotient technique is to yield a coefficient or simple expression, of how well represented a particular industry or activity is in a given study region. It measures “the percentage of some activity in a spatial unit relative to the percentage of the same activity in an entire study region” (Andresen 2007: 2424). The outcome is an index which discloses the over-representation or under-representation of a particular activity in a study region. The formula for its calculation is as below.

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LQ 

XY   X' Y' 

Illustratively, in the case of analysing leisure tourism in any specific local municipality in South Africa X stands for numbers of leisure trips in the local municipality, Y for the total numbers of trips in the local municipality, X′ is the total leisure trips in South Africa and Y′ is the total number of tourist trips in South Africa. Location quotients are measured on a simple numerical scale with a quotient of less than one indexing that an industry or sector is underrepresented in that it has less than its share relative to the base. Correspondingly, a quotient of more than one is indicative that the region enjoys ‘more than its share’ or is overrepresented in a particular industry or activity. A quotient score of one indicates that the study region’s share of an industry or activity is identical to the reference base and is referred to by some researchers as the ‘self-sufficiency ratio’ (Miller et al. 1991). Overall, the technique generates an index revealing the over-representation or under-representation of a particular activity in a study region. (Andresen 2007). By using location quotients researchers can determine whether or not a study region has its ‘fair share’ of a specific activity given the record of the reference region (which might be the nation) (Miller et al. 1991). In economic base analysis location quotients are a widely applied tool to identify specialized local activities with a score above unity as indicating a base economic activity in a local economy (Leigh 1970; Norcliffe 1983). By contrast, a location quotient below unity is considered to represent “an activity that is relatively underrepresented in the local economy, and which cannot be regarded as a specialized local activity” (Leigh 1970: 202). Spatial analysts view LQs advantages as those of including ease of calculation and interpretation (Tian et al. 2020). This said, the LQ index cannot always be taken at face value as its findings reveal little of why a particular activity is underrepresented in a region and limited insight into whether there is potential for improvement (Isard 1960). Despite these issues the LQ remains widely used in spatial economic analysis and especially is valued in situations such as South Africa where high resolution data is scarce in terms of sub-national economic information. Tourism studies that apply location quotients include Krakover (2004) on Israel, Majewska (2015) on Poland, Bohlin et al. (2016) on Sweden, and Tsui et al. (2019) on New Zealand. The closest parallel to this investigation is the recent application of location quotients to interpret the uneven spatial distribution of tourism in Brazil the findings of which highlight the particular significance of tourism for the local economies of the country’s smaller cities (Pimentel and de Lima Pereira 2020).

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2.3  T  he Geography of Tourism in South Africa in the Pre-COVID Era This historical analysis of the geography of tourism in South Africa at the close of the pre-COVID-19 era is presented at two levels. The first is in terms of the urban settlement hierarchy with distinctions drawn between three tiers of centres. The second stage of the analysis turns to map out a more fine-grained picture of the tourism space economy of South Africa for 2018. The focus is on data for a total of 213 spatial units which comprise the country’s eight metropolitan areas (defined by 2016 administrative delimitations) and 205 local government areas; the 44 District Municipalities are not included in this analysis.

2.3.1  City Dominance The relative significance of urban places in South Africa’s tourism space economy can be assessed in terms of a differentiation between three levels of settlements in the national urban hierarchy. First, are the large metropolitan areas. In South Africa these are the eight official metropolitan areas which are shown on Fig. 2.1. Second, are the group of ‘secondary cities’, the precise definition of which is contested both by international and local researchers (Marais et al. 2016; Donaldson et al. 2020).

Fig. 2.1  South Africa’s eight metropolitan areas. (Source: Authors)

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C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

Ranchod (2020) describes them as “socio-economically contentious cities”; generally, however, the designation of secondary cities refers to “the urban middle ground” of those places that occupy the middle tier of the national settlement hierarchy (Ammann and Sanogo 2017). In South Africa the group of secondary cities is considered to comprise 22 urban centres which are shown on Fig.  2.2. These 22 centres have been the basis for previous analyses of secondary cities in the country (Marais 2016; Rogerson 2016b; Marais and Cloete 2017; Donaldson et al. 2020). Together the eight metropolitan areas and 22 secondary cities represent ‘city tourism’ in South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2017). Outside of these 30 centres the third category of analysis is ‘small towns and rural areas’. The lowest tier in the hierarchy of South Africa urban centres are the country’s small towns. The category of small towns and rural areas includes virtually the entire Northern Cape and Limpopo provinces as well as a majority of local municipalities in all other provinces with the exception of Gauteng the national economic heartland (Rogerson 2016a). In recent years many of the country’s small towns along with their surrounding rural hinterlands have experienced massive social and economic transformations – a post productivist shift – as a consequence variously of agricultural restructuring or mine closures (Hoogendoorn and Nel 2019). Table 2.1 presents three different macro-indicators of the tourism economy of South Africa in 2018. Notwithstanding the common association of South Africa as an international tourism destination with nature tourism occurring in iconic rural

Fig. 2.2  South Africa’s secondary cities. (Source: Authors)

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Table 2.1  The settlement hierarchy: Key macro-indicators Total Trips South Africa 40,028,963 Metropolitan Areas 15,448,640 Secondary Cities 7810 802 Small Towns and Rural 16,751,747 Areas

% 100 38.6 19.5

Total Bed-nights 183,250,965 86,644,717 30,805,567

% 100 47.3 16.8

Total Spend (R’000) 295,571,450 147,165,956 44,710,053

% 100 49.8 15.1

41.9

65,800,681

35.9

103,695,441

35.1

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

settings such as Kruger National Park these three indicators confirm that the space economy of tourism is dominated by city destinations. For 2018 city tourism destinations account for overall 58.1% of tourism trips, 64.1% of bed-nights, and 64.9% of total tourism spend. It is evident South Africa’s metropolitan areas are the most significant single category and critically so for national total spend for which the eight large metropolitan areas capture almost half of the national total. This said, it is notable that the largest share of tourism trips is recorded for destinations that would be defined as small towns and rural areas. Differences can be observed across the three indicators. Especially striking is that for metropolitan areas the share of bed-nights and total spend is higher than that for total trips. This result signals a higher value and yield of tourism trips to metropolitan destinations as compared to those for either secondary cities or small towns and rural areas. It should be appreciated that the category of bed-nights includes both commercial and non-paid accommodation much of which is accounted for by large flows of domestic travellers who stay at the homes of friends or relatives (J.M. Rogerson 2018). Unpaid bed-nights are acknowledged as a major component of accommodation services as a result of the high proportion and volume of domestic VFR travel which occurs in South Africa (Rogerson 2015a, b, c, 2017a, b). Tables 2.2 and 2.3 unpack the data according to the three settlement categories for origin of travel (Table 2.2) and purpose of travel (Table 2.3). These two tables give further insight into the nature of South Africa’s tourism economy for the historical pre-COVID-19 baseline year. In terms of origin of trips the distinction is drawn between domestic tourism and international travel. The latter category for South Africa is dominated numerically by regional tourism in terms of visitors from other proximate countries in sub-Saharan Africa – most importantly the surrounding nations of Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana – rather than long haul travel from Europe, Asia or North America. (Rogerson and Visser 2006). Table 2.2 reveals once again the dominance of city tourism destinations for both the groups of domestic and international tourists. The 30 city tourism centres account for 56.5% domestic trips and 59.3% domestic bed-nights as well as for 63.0% of international trips and more than two-thirds (67.7%) of international bed-­ nights. Variations are noted between the different categories of settlement. The most significant is the much higher share of trips and bed-nights in metropolitan areas accounted for by international tourism as compared to domestic travel. By contrast,

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C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

Table 2.2  The settlement hierarchy: Origin of travel

Domestic Trips Total % South Africa 30,003,030 100 Metropolitan 11,045,600 36.8 Areas Secondary 5,909,114 19.7 Cities Small Towns 13,048,316 43.5 and Rural Areas

Domestic Bed-nights Total % 78,417,588 100 33,076,464 42.2

International Trips Total % 10,008,159 100 4,403,040 44.0

International Bed-nights Total % 104,833,376 100 53,568,253 51.1

13,408,863 17.1

1,901,688

19.0

17,396,704

16.6

31,932,262 40.7

3,703,431

37.0

33,868,419

32.3

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

Note: Bold indicates a higher share than recorded as share of trips/bed-nights for South Africa as a whole

Table 2.3  The settlement hierarchy: Purpose of travel Leisure Total % 7,468,498 100 3,399,974 45.5

South Africa Metropolitan Areas Secondary Cities 1,179,875 15.8 Small Towns and 2,888,649 38.7 Rural Areas

Business Total % 3,967,870 100 1,885,865 47.6

VFR Total % 24,658,855 100 8,832,855 35.8

Other Total % 3,915,966 100 1,329,946 34.0

819,166 20.6 1,262,838 31.8

4,765,228 19.3 11,060,772 44.9

1,046,532 26.7 1,539,438 39.3

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold indicates a higher share than recorded as share of trips for South Africa as a whole

outside the cities the relatively greater importance of domestic tourism is evidenced for the category of small town and rural areas. Table 2.3 indicates the differential importance of city tourism destinations for the purposes of leisure, business and VFR travel. In proportional terms South Africa’s 30 city destinations account for 61.3% leisure travel, 68.2% business trips and 55.1% VFR travel. As compared to the relative share of total trips it is evident that metropolitan areas specialize in both leisure and (most strongly) business tourism, secondary city destinations display a weak specialization in business travel, and small towns/rural areas are highly specialized in VFR tourism. It is apparent that the structure of tourism varies across the three types of settlements. Tables 2.4 and 2.5 disclose the structure of tourism for the three categories of settlement; Table 2.4 shows by origin of travel and Table 2.5 by purpose of travel. Table 2.4 reveals a sharp distinction between the metropolitan centres on the one hand and both secondary cities and small towns and rural areas on the other. As is evidenced by data for trips and bed-nights the tourism economy of metropolitan areas is weighted towards international travel whereas domestic tourism dominates

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Table 2.4  The settlement hierarchy: % share of travel by origin

South Africa Metropolitan Areas Secondary Cities Small towns and rural areas

Domestic Trips 75.0 71.4 75.7 77.9

Bed-nights 42.8 38.2 43.5 48.5

International Trips Bed-nights 25.0 57.2 28.6 71.4 24.3 56.5 22.1 51.5

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold indicates a higher share than recorded for South Africa as a whole Table 2.5  The settlement hierarchy: % share of travel by purpose South Africa Metropolitan Areas Secondary Cities Small towns and rural areas

Leisure 18.7 22.0 15.1 17.2

Business 9.9 12.2 10.5 7.5

VFR 61.6 57.2 61.0 66.0

Other 9.8 8.6 13.4 9.3

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold indicates a higher share than recorded for South Africa as a whole

for the groups of secondary cities and for small towns and rural areas as a whole. Finally, Table 2.6 confirms that, as measured by trip data, the metropolitan areas emerge as relatively specialized in respect of both leisure and business travel. For the group of secondary cities the strengths for specialization here are in business travel and most strongly of all in terms of the category of ‘other’ travel which is comprised mainly of travel for religious and health purposes. For small towns and rural areas it is demonstrated that the most distinguishing feature of local tourism economies is the general prevalence of VFR travel.

2.3.2  Differential Urban Tourism The above analysis affords a broad-brush picture of the geography of tourism in South Africa at the close of the pre-COVID era emphasizing the dominance of the space economy by urban places and most especially by city destinations. This section drills down to a finer scale by investigating the data for 213 spatial units which are defined in terms of local government administration areas. The discussion stresses the differential performance as well as the heterogeneity of South Africa’s urban centres as tourism destinations. Table 2.6 provides a profile of the spatial distribution of tourism in South Africa in terms of the total number of trips and total bed-nights and lists the leading 20 destinations. It reiterates the leadership of the country’s individual metropolitan areas for both indicators of total trips and total bed-nights. Using such indicators it is confirmed that the most important tourism destinations remained those of

50

C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

Table 2.6  Leading South African municipalities: Total trips and bed-nights 2018 No. of Trips National (‘000) Share (%) 4276 10.69

Municipality City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane Ekurhuleni

3078 2190

7.69 5.47

City of Cape Town eThekwini Polokwane City of Mbombela

2085 1816 1688 958

5.21 4.54 4.22 2.39

Mangaung Buffalo City

797 629

1.99 1.57

Rustenburg Nelson Mandela Bay Greater Giyani Thulamela Madibeng Nkomazi Fetakgomo/Greater Tubatse Steve Tshwete Greater Tzaneen Mogale City Emalahleni

613 577

Bed-nights (‘000) 25,025

National Share (%) 13.66

16,459 14,780

8.98 8.07

12,873 7066 5589 4199

7.03 3.86 3.05 2.29

3542 2486

1.93 1.36

2365 2255

1.29 1.23

Rustenburg Matjhabeng Nkomazi Emfuleni Overstrand

2173 2060 1952 1819 1522

1.19 1.12 1.06 0.99 0.83

Madibeng Emalahleni Stellenbosch George

1512 1511 1467 1439

0.83 0.82 0.80 0.79

1.53 1.44

Municipality City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane City of Cape Town Ekurhuleni eThekwini Mangaung City of Mbombela Polokwane Nelson Mandela Bay Buffalo City Mogale City

512 477 419 413 403

1.28 1.19 1.05 1.03 1.01

394 389 378 373

0.98 0.97 0.94 0.93

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town and eThekwini (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014; McKelly et al. 2017). All eight metropolitan areas featured as major tourism destinations as indexed by numbers of trips and bed-nights. Beyond the metropolitan areas for these indicators the most significant secondary cities for tourism were Polokwane, Mbombela, Rustenburg, Mogale City and Stellenbosch. In terms of the indicator of bed-nights a similar ranking is revealed of leading metropolitan areas and secondary city destinations. Outside the cities, however, among the ranked top 20 destinations for bed-nights were some small towns and rural areas most notably Nkomazi in Mpumalanga and the coastal areas of Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus coast), Overstrand (Hermanus), and George. With a high component of VFR travel to rural areas of out-migration the total trip data highlight several areas of Limpopo as significant, namely the small town and rural areas of the municipalities of Greater Tzaneen, Thulamela, Fetakgomo/Greater Tubatse and especially the Greater Giyani locality.

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Table 2.7  Total tourism spend: Leading 20 municipalities 2018 Municipality City of Cape Town City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane eThekwini Ekurhuleni City of Mbombela Polokwane Mangaung Bushbuckridge Nelson Mandela Bay Moses Kotane Nkomazi Madibeng Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus Coast) Rustenburg Mogale City Overstrand Buffalo City Stellenbosch Knysna

Total spend (R million) current prices 45,583 41,340 19,431 17,451 10,852 8400 5777 5519 5394 4266 3647 3475 3362 3206 3177 2976 2846 2722 2672 2524

National share (%) 15.42 13.99 6.57 5.90 3.67 2.84 1.95 1.87 1.82 1.44 1.23 1.18 1.14 1.08 1.07 1.01 0.96 0.92 0.90 0.85

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

Table 2.7 offers a profile of the value of tourism to particular destinations as it gives estimates of total tourism spend per local municipality. It discloses a differential ranking of local authorities as compared to the data on trips and bed-nights which, as previously noted, is weighted substantially by the numbers of VFR trips and bed-nights in non-commercial accommodation. Table 2.8 shows that tourism spend is dominated by the leading metropolitan areas. The top five metropolitan areas – Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, eThekwini, and Ekurhuleni – account for almost half (45.6%) of total tourism spend in South Africa. The fact that Cape Town was the most significant single destination for tourism spend (15.4% of total) is indicative of the fact that expenditures per trip there were higher than for any other metropolitan area. In terms of Table 2.8 it is observed that beyond the group of metropolitan areas there was a high ranking for Mbombela, Bushbuckridge and Nkomazi in Mpumalanga because of spending linked to the nearby nature tourism game parks. Of note also is the listing of Polokwane, the provincial capital of Limpopo, several local authorities close to the casino mega-entertainment resort of Sun City (Moses Kotane, Madibeng and Rustenburg), and the winelands hub of Stellenbosch. Mogale City in Gauteng benefits from its combination of leisure attractions, most notable the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, and a buoyant economy of conference tourism as well as wedding locations which are in close proximity to the major cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria (Rogerson and Wolfaaardt

52 Table 2.8  South Africa’s 20 lowest tourism spend local authorities, 2018

C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson Municipality Nkandla Richmond Ndwedwe Dikgatlong Tswelopele Tsantsabane Intsika Yethu Siyathemba Impendle Mkhambathini Tokologo Dannhauser Kgatelopele Ntabankulu Maphumulo eMadlangeni Thembelihle Renosterberg !Kheis Magareng

Province KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal Northern Cape Free State Northern Cape Eastern Cape Northern Cape KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal Free State KwaZulu-Natal Northern Cape Eastern Cape KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal Northern Cape Northern Cape Northern Cape Northern Cape

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

2015; Rogerson 2016c; Rogerson and van der Merwe 2016). Further, Table 2.7 confirms the relative significance of coastal tourism in South African tourism (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c). It shows that the ranking of leading 20 tourism spend destinations includes a number of coastal tourism centres such as the metropolitan areas of Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City as well as the smaller coastal centres of Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus coast) in Kwazulu-Natal and Overstrand (Hermanus) and Knysna in Western Cape. A high degree of concentration of total tourism spend is indexed by the finding that two-thirds of all national spend occurred within these leading 20 destinations on Table 2.7. By contrast, Table 2.8 provides a comparative listing of the 20 local authorities with the least tourism spend recorded for 2018. In terms of this list it is observed that eight of these least spend destinations are in remote rural areas of KwaZulu-­ Natal, seven (including the bottom ranked four municipalities) were situated in sparsely populated areas of Northern Cape, two are in Free State and two were in the province of Eastern Cape. This group of lowest tourist spend areas – nearly all of which are non-urban places  – closely reflected the patterns of South Africa’s ‘least visited tourism spaces’ as articulated by Rogerson (2017c). Of special interest in this list is Nkandla, home town of the controversial corruption-tainted former President Jacob Zuma, as well as the location nearby of a number of Zululand battlefield heritage sites (Henama et al. 2016).

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53

The indicator of total tourism spend is an aggregate of expenditure made by trips for different purpose and trips of different origin. Table  2.9 ranks the 20 leading destinations for 2018 as differentiated by the four categories of purpose of travel. Several points are observable. First, is that across three of the four categories of purpose of travel the City of Johannesburg emerges as the most significant destination in terms of total numbers of trips. Second, the dominance of the metropolitan centres is evidenced for all purposes of travel. Strikingly, it is strongest for the category of business travel in which eight of the top ten destinations are metropolitan areas. The high ranking for business tourism is observed of the two secondary cities of Mbombela and Polokwane, respectively the provincial capitals of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. For the category of leisure trips the high ranking of Stellenbosch, and the coastal tourism areas of Ray Nkonyeni and Overstrand in the Western Cape is particularly striking. The Overstrand municipality, which is centred on Hermanus, is a major focus for food and wine tourism, adventure tourism and is an iconic destination as the world’s best land-based venue for whale-watching (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b, 2020d). In addition, at Gansbaai within the Overstrand municipal area there are opportunities for shark-cage diving which is a highly popular activity for international tourists (McKay 2020). The list of leading VFR travel destinations is headed once again by the country’s largest cities but notably also includes Giyani, a small town and rural destination which incorporates areas of former apartheid Homelands. Three, variations can be observed in the relative significance and comparative ranking of destinations across particular categories. Especially noteworthy are the variable rankings for Cape Town (second in leisure, third in business and sixth for VFR travel) and Ekurhuleni (fifth in leisure, sixth for business and third for VFR travel). The category ‘other’ is distinguished most clearly by the dominance of the Polokwane area, which accounts for almost 12% of this category mainly because of its role in religious travel. Overall Table  2.9 demonstrates the differential urban tourisms across South Africa with marked variations in the significance of different purposes of travel. Table 2.10 provides the respective listings of leading 20 destinations as differentiated by origin of travel. Two indicators are provided, namely for numbers of trips and bed-nights. Several points must be noted. First, is the phenomenon of metropolitan dominance for both domestic and international tourism, the latter category being dominated by regional African visitors. Second, across the metropolitan areas certain variations can be observed. Table  2.10 indicates the leading positions of Johannesburg and Tshwane in terms of both domestic and international trips. Utilising bednight data, however, the relatively greater weight is evident of Cape Town in the tourism economy. This result is a clear signal of variations in the proportion of bed-nights accounted for in commercial versus non-commercial ­ accommodation services as a result of the varying mix of purposes of travel (J.M. Rogerson 2018). Three, for the categories of international trips and bed-nights it is evident that proximity to an international border is a factor which explains the high relative ranking of Mangaung and Nkomazi. This confirms the observation that borderland spaces are significant destinations for international travellers between

11.46

Rank Municipality 1 City of Johannesburg

City of Cape Town

City of Tshwane

eThekwini Ekurhuleni City of Mbombela Mangaung Overstrand

Nelson Mandela Bay

Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus Coast)

2

3

4 5 6 7 8

9

10

1.56

1.65

5.79 3.72 3.37 2.18 1.86

8.30

National Share (%) 11.54

Leisure

City of Cape Town Polokwane eThekwini Ekurhuleni Mangaung City of Mbombela Nelson Mandela Bay Buffalo City

Municipality City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane

Business

1.85

1.90

5.27 4.97 4.46 3.71 3.64

7.86

8.43

National Share (%) 14.35

Table 2.9  Leading destinations in South Africa by purpose of trip, 2018

Buffalo City

Rustenburg

eThekwini Polokwane City of Cape Town City of Mbombela Greater Giyani

Ekurhuleni

City of Tshwane

1.76

1.87

4.05 3.78 3.23 1.94 1.92

6.37

7.30

National Municipality Share (%) City of Johannesburg 10.22

VFR

Nelson Mandela Bay Lepele-Nkumpi

eThekwini Ekurhuleni City of Cape Town City of Mbombela Mangaung

City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane

Municipality Polokwane

Other

1.60

1.83

4.80 4.20 3.11 2.12 2.06

8.27

8.30

National Share (%) 11.74

54 C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

Mossel Bay Nkomazi Saldanha Bay Polokwane Mogale City Knysna Rustenburg

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1.23 1.21 1.19 1.17 1.15 1.12 1.01

National Share (%) 1.36 1.30 1.26 Rustenburg Steve Tshwete Emfuleni Greater Tzaneen Nkomazi Makhado Madibeng

Municipality Mogale City Emalahleni Thaba Chweu

Business

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

Municipality Stellenbosch George Thaba Chweu

Rank 11 12 13

Leisure

0.90 0.84 0.82 0.81 0.80 0.77 0.71

National Share (%) 1.44 0.99 0.99 Municipality Thulamela Mangaung Greater Tubatse/ Fetakgomo Nelson Mandela Bay Madibeng Greater Tzaneen Govan Mbeki Steve Tshwete Mogalakwena Nkomazi

VFR

1.24 1.17 1.11 1.08 1.07 1.04 1.04

National Share (%) 1.71 1.64 1.36 Matjhabeng Blouberg Steve Tshwete Rustenburg Bushbuckridge Molemole King Sabata Dalindyebo

Municipality Emalahleni BUF Buffalo City Emfuleni

Other

1.11 1.11 1.07 1.01 1.00 0.99 0.98

National Share (%) 1.43 1.38 1.14 2  Looking to the Past: The Geography of Tourism in South Africa… 55

7.41

Rank Domestic 1 City of Johannesburg

City of Tshwane

eThekwini Polokwane

Ekurhuleni City of Cape Town

City of Mbombela Buffalo City Nelson Mandela Bay Greater Giyani Rustenburg

2

3 4

5 6

7 8 9 10 11

2.08 1.95 1.67 1.56 1.50

4.86 4.74

5.24 5.08

National Share (%) 9.50

Trips

Ekurhuleni City of Cape Town Mangaung City of Mbombela eThekwini Rustenburg Polokwane Nkomazi Matjhabeng

International City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane

2.43 1.63 1.63 1.60 1.39

3.64 3.32

7.31 6.62

8.56

National Share (%) 14.25

Table 2.10  Leading destinations in South Africa by origin of trip, 2018

Buffalo City Nelson Mandela Bay City of Mbombela Mangaung Rustenburg

Ekurhuleni Polokwane

City of Cape Town eThekwini

City of Tshwane

Domestic City of Johannesburg

Bednights

2.34 1.99 1.67 1.49 1.30

5.48 3.53

6.14 5.70

8.34

National Share (%) 10,70

Mangaung City of Mbombela eThekwini Matjhabeng Mogale City Nkomazi Emfuleni

International City of Johannesburg City of Cape Town City of Tshwane Ekurhuleni

2.48 1.65 1.46 1.35 1.22

4.21 2.76

9.46 8.18

9.50

National Share (%) 15.87

56 C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

Mogalakwena

20

0.90

0.91

1.02 0.93

Bushbuckridge

1.12 1.11 1.09 1.08

1.18

National Share (%) 1.33 1.19

Greater Tzaneen

Thaba Chweu Thulamela Emfuleni Emalahleni

Musina

International Mogale City Madibeng

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

15 16 17 18

19

14

1.03 1.00 0.96 0.92

1.18

Rank Domestic 12 Mangaung 13 Thulamela

Greater Tubatse/ Fetakgomo Steve Tshwete Madibeng Greater Tzaneen Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus Coast) Govan Mbeki

National Share (%) 1.44 1.22

Trips

Govan Mbeki

Madibeng Thulamela Steve Tshwete Greater Tubatse/ Fetakgomo Overstrand

Domestic Greater Giyani Ray Nkonyeni (Hibiscus Coast) Mogale City

Bednights

0.74

0.77

0.87 0.85 0.83 0.82

0.92

National Share (%) 1.09 1.00

Nelson Mandela Bay Overstrand

George Thaba Chweu Stellenbosch Emalahleni

Knysna

International Rustenburg Dihlabeng

0.88

0.88

0.95 0.93 0.92 0.91

1.01

National Share (%) 1.10 1.02 2  Looking to the Past: The Geography of Tourism in South Africa… 57

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C. M. Rogerson and J. M. Rogerson

South Africa and surrounding countries especially Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019c).

2.3.3  Structural Urban Diversity and Vulnerability From the foregoing analysis it is evident that the pre-COVID-19 geography of tourism in South Africa was geographically highly uneven. Marked variations existed between the performance of different urban places in terms of the volume of tourism trips, tourism spend, and in respect of different purpose of travel as well as differing origins of trips. Further unpacking of the diversity of South African urban places as tourism destinations can be pursued through examining the unique structure of individual tourism economies. This is investigated through descriptive data, the application of location quotients and examining the contribution of tourism to local GDP. The discussion is organised separately for metropolitan areas, secondary cities and small towns. Together the analysis of the computed location quotients as well as data which shows the extent to which different local economies are reliant on tourism as a sector allows the identification of potential vulnerable urban spaces to the inevitable downturn of tourism which will be precipitated by COVID-19. The diverse nature of the tourism economies of South Africa’s eight metropolitan areas is demonstrated on Figs. 2.3 and 2.4 In terms of purpose of travel considerable variations existed. In all eight metropolitan areas the largest single purpose for tourism was VFR travel. The most striking differences surround the significance of leisure travel for six of the metropolitan areas  – especially so for Cape Town and eThekwini – with the limited relative role of leisure trips for Ekurhuleni and Buffalo 2018 Trips by Purpose City of Cape Town City of Johannesburg City of Tshwane eThekwini Ekurhuleni Mangaung Nelson Mandela Bay Buffalo City 0

20

40 Leisure

Business

60 VFR

Other

Fig. 2.3  South Africa’s metropolitan areas: purpose of travel. (Source: Authors)

80

100

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Number of Trips Domestic vs. International City of Cape Town City of Johannesburg

City of Tshwane

eThekwini

Ekurhuleni

Mangaung

Nelson Mandela Bay

Buffalo City 0

10

20

30

40

Domestic

50

60

70

80

90

100

International

Fig. 2.4  South Africa’s metropolitan areas: origin of travel. (Source: Authors)

City. These two metropolitan areas were distinguished also by more than two-thirds of all total trips accounted for by VFR travel. The relatively smaller share of VFR travel in metropolitan Cape Town tourism is noteworthy. The category of business travel was recorded for 10% of all tourism trips in 2018 at the national scale. This share was exceeded for seven of the eight metropolitan areas, the only exception being the case of Ekurhuleni, and reconfirms that business tourism historically has been always concentrated in South Africa’s largest cities (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014; Rogerson 2015d, 2019a). Domestic tourists massively dominated the origins of travellers for three long-established coastal metropolitan areas, namely Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and eThekwini (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c). The proportion of domestic trips for these metropolitan areas was especially high and respectively reached 93%, 87% and 87% of share of total trips. It is observed correspondingly that for the other five metropolitan areas the share of domestic trips is far lower than the national share of 75% of trips. Different explanations can be offered. In the case of Mangaung the numbers of international travellers were buoyed by cross-border visitors from Lesotho. Likewise, cross-border shopper/traders from surrounding African countries were known as established features of the local tourism economies of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni in the pre-­ COVID period (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014, 2017; C.M. Rogerson 2018). By contrast, for Cape Town the city’s extraordinary natural beauty and attractions made it a bucket-list place for visits by long haul international tourists from especially Europe, North America and with a rising cohort of travel from China (Rogerson and Visser 2006; Ferreira and Visser 2007; Visser 2016).

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Table 2.11  Metropolitan areas: Location quotients 2018 Cape Town eThekwini Ekurhuleni Johannesburg Nelson Mandela Bay Tshwane Mangaung Buffalo City

Leisure 2.20 1.28 0.68 1.08 1.14 1.08 1.10 0.57

Business 1.51 1.09 0.81 1.34 1.32 1.10 1.86 1.18

VFR 0.62 0.89 1.16 0.96 0.86 0.95 0.83 1.12

Other 0.60 1.06 0.77 0.78 1.27 1.08 1.04 0.88

Dom T 0.91 1.16 0.89 0.89 1.16 0.96 0.72 1.24

Int T 1.27 0.54 1.34 1.33 0.53 1.11 1.83 0.28

Dom Beds 0.76 1.48 0.78 0.78 1.47 0.93 0.49 1.81

Int Beds 1.18 0.64 1.16 1.16 0.65 1.05 1.38 0.39

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold highlights the most vulnerable destination on a particular indicator

Table 2.11 presents the location quotients for the eight metropolitan areas across eight indicators. The heterogeneity of South Africa’s metropolitan destinations is evidenced clearly from Table 2.11. The data signposts the potential vulnerability of metropolitan areas to the decline of specific forms of tourism. In terms of the eight metropolitan areas Cape Town was clearly the most vulnerable as a leisure destination with its strong dependence on long haul international tourism and with a secondary strength in business tourism. Indeed, for leisure travel Cape Town recorded the highest LQ score of any metropolitan area for any single purpose of travel. The metropolitan areas of eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City emerged as predominantly domestic tourism destinations. For eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay there was reliance particularly on leisure and business travel. Buffalo City recorded a strength in business tourism and most distinctively for VFR travel. Tourism in both Johannesburg and Tshwane was shown to be potentially vulnerable to downturns in international (regional) tourism and business tourism. The importance of the capital city function reinforced business flows to Tshwane; for Johannesburg the strength of business tourism linked to its status as the commercial heart of South Africa with the greatest cluster of corporate headquarter offices and business services (Rogerson and Rogerson 2015). Mangaung was characterised by a strong dependence on business tourism and with proximity to Lesotho, it was another focus for regional tourists rather than reliant on domestic travel. The situation of Ekurhuleni was particularly distinctive as the metropolitan area was characterised by a focus on international travel (mainly regional tourists) and with strong flows recorded for the component of VFR travel. For the group of 22 secondary cities Table 2.12 records the location quotients across eight indicators relating to purpose and origin of travel. It is evident that amongst the cohort of 22 secondary cities a highly differentiated picture exists concerning the nature of local tourism economies and correspondingly of potential vulnerability to COVID-19 impacts. The secondary cities of Paarl, Stellenbosch and George are clearly shown to be vulnerable for negative knock-ons for leisure travel; Richard’s Bay and Upington head the list for most at risk to declining business travel; Pietermaritzburg for VFR travel, and Polokwane for other religious travel.

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Table 2.12  Secondary cities: Location quotients 2018

Drakenstein Stellenbosch George Dawid Kruiper (//Khara Hais/Mier) Sol Plaatje Matjhabeng Msunduzi Newcastle City of uMhlathuze Govan Mbeki Emalahleni Steve Tshwete City of Mbombela Polokwane Lephalale Madibeng Rustenburg Mahikeng City of Matlosana J.B Marks Emfuleni Mogale City

Leisure 2.14 2.55 2.64 0.81

Business 0.98 1.26 1.19 1.60

VFR 0.71 0.58 0.56 1.05

Other 0.66 0.40 0.44 0.46

Dom T 1.00 0.92 0.88 1.14

Int T 0.99 1.23 1.36 0.59

Dom Beds 0.96 0.80 0.72 1.22

Int Beds 1.03 1.15 1.21 0.84

0.67 0.53 0.42 0.30 0.69 0.31 0.59 0.75 1.41 0.28 1.18 0.87 0.66 0.40 0.40 0.96 0.69 1.22

0.56 0.64 0.45 0.53 1.65 0.67 1.06 0.85 1.52 1.25 0.88 0.68 0.59 1.07 0.67 1.20 1.13 1.52

0.95 1.09 1.28 1.22 0.93 1.27 1.03 1.09 0.81 0.90 1.06 1.12 1.22 1.23 1.27 1.00 0.98 0.86

2.37 1.71 0.92 1.44 1.39 0.97 1.54 1.08 0.89 2.79 0.36 0.84 0.66 0.65 0.78 0.85 1.56 0.95

1.20 0.62 1.16 1.20 1.05 1.07 0.95 1.05 0.87 1.20 0.89 0.96 0.98 1.09 1.00 0.96 0.83 0.86

0.40 2.14 0.51 0.41 0.84 0.80 1.16 0.86 1.39 0.39 1.33 1.13 1.06 0.74 1.01 1.13 1.50 1.41

1.47 0.37 1.51 1.63 1.17 1.14 0.86 1.09 0.73 1.83 1.01 1.05 1.10 1.37 1.14 1.06 0.69 0.75

0.65 1.47 0.62 0.53 0.88 0.90 1.11 0.93 1.20 0.38 0.99 0.96 0.93 0.72 0.90 0.95 1.23 1.19

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold highlights the most vulnerable destination on a particular indicator

Turning to origin of travel Kimberley (Northern Cape) and Newcastle (KwaZulu-­ Natal) were the most vulnerable among the 22 secondary cities for a demise in domestic travel, and Welkom for international (regional) travel which overwhelmingly originated from Lesotho. The extant research on tourism in small towns in South Africa discloses a marked diversity in terms of their evolution and development as tourist destinations. Research on tourism as a vehicle for place-based development in small towns highlights an array of different niche forms of tourism that have been identified for destination development and in many instances to generate a post-productivist change of local economies (Donaldson 2007; Rogerson and Collins 2015; Rogerson and Harmer 2015; Butler and Rogerson 2016; Campbell 2016; Irvine et  al. 2016; Leonard 2016; Rogerson 2016a; Donaldson 2018; Munien et  al. 2018; Kontsiwe and Visser 2019; Rogerson 2019b, 2020). In particular, these studies indicate a divergence in the tourism evolutionary pathways of two sets of small towns in South Africa which provides the basis for a selection of 10 small towns in order to illustrate the varying characteristics of local small town tourism economies. The first are

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a group of small towns which are situated in the former privileged space of ‘white’ South Africa of the apartheid years. The five selected local municipalities which represent the first sub-category are Knysna, Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) and Beaufort West in Western Cape, Dr. Beyers Naudé (Graaff Reinet) in Eastern Cape and Emakhazeni (Dullstroom) in Mpumalanga. The second group are representative of small towns located in the former ‘Homelands’ which were established under apartheid and today form part of the most economically distressed parts of South Africa (Rogerson and Nel 2016). The five local municipalities in former Homelands are Greater Giyani in Limpopo, King Sabata Dalindyebo (Mthatha) and Port St Johns in Eastern Cape, and, Richmond and Umzimkhulu both in KwaZulu-Natal. The rationale for this selection of small towns is that whilst many, if not the vast majority, of South African small towns confront challenges of marginalization, others have entered a phase of long-term economic demise which is burdened also by the social and economic chains of the apartheid past (Hoogendoorn and Nel 2019). As pointed out by Beinart and Delius (2018) small town tourism development in the former Homelands is constrained often by infrastructural shortcomings, absence of accommodation services and of demarcated routes, trained guides and websites. Fig. 2.5 shows the location of the ten small towns chosen for detailed investigation. For the selected small towns Table 2.13 gives the respective location quotients in order to furnish insight into the diverse character of tourism in South African small towns as well as their vulnerability to the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The broad picture is clear that for the group of small towns located in areas outside of the former Homelands there is a strong reliance on leisure tourism with

Fig. 2.5  Location of selected small towns in South Africa. (Source: Authors)

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Table 2.13  Small towns: Location quotients 2018 Beaufort West Dullstroom Graaff Reinet Knysna Plettenberg Bay Giyani Mthatha Port St Johns Richmond Umzimkhulu

Leisure 2.04 1.94 1.27 3.13 3.17 0.23 0.36 0.41 0.33 0.17

Business 1.34 1.48 0.45 1.52 1.67 0.13 0.66 0.35 0.30 0.20

VFR 0.70 0.37 0.80 0.37 0.33 1.50 1.02 1.19 1.33 1.31

Other 0.54 2.67 2.32 0.38 0.38 0.21 2.44 1.61 0.89 1.41

Dom T 0.96 0.82 1.16 0.67 0.73 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.05 1.24

Int T 1.39 1.54 0.54 1.99 1.82 0.34 0.30 0.28 0.85 0.29

Dom Beds 0.86 0.64 1.47 0.44 0.50 1.88 1.77 1.79 1.14 1.80

Int Beds 1.10 1.27 0.65 1.42 1.37 0.35 0.43 0.41 0.89 0.40

Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data Note: Bold highlights the most vulnerable destination on a particular indicator

additional strength in business tourism and dominated by mostly international tourists. The Karoo small town of Graaff Reinet is somewhat of an anomaly with its only limited focus on business travel and with the majority of tourists being domestic rather than international travellers. For the group of former Homelands towns it is demonstrated that in relative terms leisure and business travel is of limited consequence as compared to the overwhelming dominance of domestic VFR travel. The analysis above shows uneven geographies in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 impacts both on different purposes and origins of travel. The application of location quotients allows the identification of urban places at risk. For 2018 Figs. 2.6, 2.7 and 2.8 show the 20 South African local municipalities which record the highest location quotient score for respectively the segments of leisure (Fig. 2.6), business (Fig. 2.7) and VFR travel (Fig. 2.8). The results should be read as indicators of those urban places where local economic health and development futures emerge as most at risk from downturns precipitated by COVID-19 for particular forms of tourism. What is most striking is the vulnerability of urban places across the Western Cape for leisure tourism. Indeed, the top 15 most at risk leisure municipalities are all located in the Western Cape. Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay are distinguished by the fact that they also are among the most vulnerable places to a downturn in business travel. For VFR travel a different picture emerged with nine of the leading 20 at risk destinations situated in Limpopo province with Giyani the most vulnerable according to its LQ score. Turning to origin of travel Figs.  2.9 and 2.10 map the 20 local municipalities which have the highest location quotient scores for domestic (Fig. 2.9) and international travel (Fig. 2.10). Once more these localities represent those most at risk in terms of COVID-19 impacts in terms of their high proportion of local trips accounted for by specific origins of travel. The two maps show markedly different patterns. Fig. 2.9 for domestic tourism reveals that areas of the Eastern Cape, including the Buffalo City metropolitan area, are highly exposed to downturns in domestic travel particularly for VFR travel. The Eastern Cape had 12 of the leading 20 localities

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Fig. 2.6  South Africa: Highest location quotients for leisure travel. (Source: Authors)

Fig. 2.7  South Africa: Highest location quotients for business travel. (Source: Authors)

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Fig. 2.8  South Africa: Highest location quotients for VFR travel. (Source: Authors)

Fig. 2.9  South Africa: Highest location quotients for domestic travel. (Source: Authors)

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Fig. 2.10  South Africa: Highest location quotients for international travel. (Source: Authors)

with the highest proportion of domestic tourism. Outside of this province other areas vulnerable to domestic travel impacts of COVID-19 include parts of KwaZuluNatal, Northern Cape and Limpopo (including the major centre of Polokwane). By contrast for international tourism the vulnerable spaces to COVID-19 impacts are concentrated in the provinces of Free State, Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Gauteng (Fig.  2.10). The importance of international (regional) tourism arrivals from Lesotho explains its leading role in the local tourism structures of several municipalities in the Free State (Rogerson and Visser 2006). In the cases of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni there were major flows of informal cross-­border shoppers/traders from surrounding African countries (C.M. Rogerson 2018). For the cluster of municipalities in the Western Cape, however, the exposure to COVID-19 impacts relates mainly to long haul international visitors. The three Mpumalanga municipalities are exposed both to a COVID-19 downturn in long haul tourists who would be visiting South Africa’s iconic game reserves as well as to declining flows of regional cross-border travellers from nearby Mozambique and Eswatini (Butler and Rogerson 2016). Finally, the vulnerability of different urban places in South Africa to the effects of COVID-19 can be viewed within the lens of the proportionate contribution of tourism to local GDP. This is a critical indicator as it allows a measure of vulnerability of tourism COVID-19 impacts in relation to the broader structures of local economies. Arguably, those more economically diversified urban centres (mainly the major metropolitan areas) would have greater potential resilience to the negative local effects of COVID-19. Correspondingly, those localities which are most

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Table 2.14  Tourism spend in relation to local Gross Domestic Product Share >50% 41%–50% 31%–40% 21%–30% 11%–20%

Municipality Bela-Bela Bitou, Knysna Overstrand, Bushbuckridge Okhahlamba, Nkomazi, Kopanong, Emakhazeni, Moses Kotane, Maruleng Mookgopong/Modimolle, Cederberg, Saldanha Bay, Thaba Chweu, Prince Albert, Umsobomvu, KwaDukuza, Sundays River Valley, Beaufort West, Oudtshoorn, Hessequa, Cape Agulhas, Ramotshere Moiloa, Umdoni, Port St Johns, Musina, Ray Nkonyeni, Stellenbosch, Ephraim Mogale, George, Swellendam, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Mogale City, Laingsburg, Mantsopa, uPhongola, Kamiesberg, Mogalakwena, Mtubatuba, Nongoma, Umzimvubu 7.5%–10.99% Big Five Hlabisa, Dihlabeng, Jozini, Lephalale, Mossel Bay, Kareeberg, Mohokare, Swartland, Chief Alvert Luthuli, Kou-Kamma, Joe Morolong, City of Mbombela, Ndlambe, Dr. Beyers Naude, City of Cape Town, Bergrivier, Ba-Phalaborwa, Kannaland, Msinga, Dipaleseng, Ubuntu, Emthanjeni, Elias Motsoaledi, uMhlabuyalingana, Greater Giyani, Thulamela, Langeberg, Polokwane, Thabazimbi, Letsemeng, Matatiele 6.2%–7.49% uMngeni, Makhuduthamaga, Great Kei, Greater Tzaneen, Kouga, Nqutu, Impendle, Blouberg, Theewaterskloof, Nkandla, Ngwathe, Engcobo, Karoo Hoogland, Kai! Garib, Umuziwabantu, Hantam, Nyandeni, Setsoto, Collins Chabane, Nama Khoi, Richtersveld, Dr. Pixley Ka Isaka Seme, Makana, Mpofana Source: Authors based on IHS Global Insight data

heavily tourism-dependent in terms of highly concentrated around the tourism sector are those overall which were most at risk or the most vulnerable urban spaces. Table 2.14 records the share of GDP contributed by tourism to the local economy by the 40 urban places (eight metropolitan centres, 22 secondary cities and 10 small towns) that have been under scrutiny. It should be noted that in the historical baseline year of 2018 the tourism sector was calculated as contributing 6.1% to South Africa’s GDP. The list of vulnerable urban places is dominated overwhelmingly by a number of small towns which were traditionally leisure-dominated tourism destinations such as Bela-Bela, Plettenberg Bay (Bitou), Knysna, Overstrand, the Drakensberg mountain resorts, and small towns surrounding Kruger National Park. In terms of the group of city destinations the most vulnerable are the Cape Town metropolitan area and the secondary cities of Mbombela (gateway to Kruger National Park) in Mpumalanga, Stellenbosch in Western Cape, Polokwane in Limpopo, and Mogale City in Gauteng. Figure 2.11 captures the 20 most tourism-dependent localities in the country as defined by share of tourism spend as contribution for local GDP. By definition these 20 localities were those South African urban spaces that were most under threat from the negative economic (and social) consequences of COVID-19 for tourism. The single most vulnerable is Bela-Bela in Limpopo province where tourism spend contributes an extraordinary more than half of local GDP.

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Fig. 2.11  South Africa’s 20 most tourism dependent localities. (Source: Authors)

2.4  Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic “has the potential to be the largest macroeconomic shock of the past 100 years” (Hevia and Neumeyer 2020: 35). Arguably it ushers in “an era of major change of the equivalent of a world war or great depression” (Higgins-­ Desbiolles 2020b: 620). Its various health communication strategies and measures, such as social distancing, lockdowns, curbs on crowding and travel restrictions, have generated a crisis that Sigala (2020: 314) styles as of “economized societies rooted in the growth paradigm”. The pandemic is unlike many other disasters and crises that previously have impacted the tourism sector as a whole (Hall et al. 2020) and in particular those that have affected the development of urban tourism (Panasiuk 2019). Seemingly, there will no return to the ‘normal’ as existed before (Brouder et al. 2020; Gössling et al. 2020; Lew et al. 2020). Many tourism geographers see COVID-19 as an opportunity for a redesign of the tourism system globally and locally in order to become more resilient and closely aligned to the SDGs (Bianchi 2020; Brouder 2020; Butler 2020; Hall et al. 2020). This said, for urban tourism destinations across sub-Saharan Africa COVID-19 represents a (nother) major risk factor for sustainability (Rogerson and Baum 2020; Leonard et al. 2021). In 2020 the tourism industry of South Africa in common with the rest of the world experienced radical impacts from COVID-19. Indeed, as is the situation across the world the pandemic represents a crisis event that potentially is set to

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transform South Africa’s tourism sector as well as the context in which it functions. Undoubtedly, the magnitude of the pandemic will reshape extant patterns of tourism, accommodation services and commercial aviation flows for South Africa. This ‘look to the past’ sought to reconstruct the tourism space economy of South Africa at the close of the pre-COVID era. It provides a benchmark against which tourism geographical scholars can map out and interpret the re-making of the landscape of urban tourism in South Africa in coming years. For the baseline year of 2018 it discloses that whilst the metropolitan centres formed the core of the national tourism system certain significant contributions as tourism destinations were made both among the group of secondary cities as well as small towns outside of the former Homelands. Within each of the three categories of settlement that were investigated considerable variations existed between individual urban places. The diversity of urban tourisms was evidenced in terms of both different purposes and origins of travel. Finally, the differing nature of individual urban places as tourism destinations results in varying degrees of vulnerability to the ramifications of COVID-19. Cape Town emerges as the most ‘at risk’ South African city from the fall-out from COVID-19 for tourism. Nevertheless, the most severe overall impacts potentially threaten the group of leisure tourism-dependent small towns in Western Cape province. Future research attention is merited from South African tourism scholars of the COVID-19 impacts and post-COVID-19 recovery strategies of especially the group of most vulnerable small towns as well as those most at risk city tourism destinations, namely Cape Town, Mbombela, Stellenbosch, Polokwane, and Mogale City. Acknowledgements  Thanks to Arno Booyzen for producing the accompanying maps and to the valuable comments received from two insightful reviewers. Dawn and Skye Norfolk offered useful inputs to this research.

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Chapter 3

Climate Change Threats to Urban Tourism in South Africa Jennifer M. Fitchett

3.1  Introduction Climate is a key factor in determining the competitive advantage and success of a tourism destination (Gössling et al. 2012). The mean monthly climate influences the choice between otherwise comparable destinations, the timing of peak visitation, average length of stay, and the variety of attractions possible (Becken 2005; Kyriakidis and Felton 2008; Stockigt et al. 2018). The day-to-day weather during a given vacation affects tourists’ ability to take part in planned activities, their enjoyment of their stay, and the likelihood that they or their friends would return (Hassan et al. 2017; Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018). The sensitivity of tourism to climate has prompted considerable research into these dynamics, with the aim to quantify the threats of climate change to the tourism sector (Dubois and Ceron 2006; Hall 2008). These studies employ a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques, and at least broad results span much of the globe (Scott et al. 2012). This empirical work contributes to policy development through the theoretical underpinnings of sustainable tourism development (Berno and Bricker 2001; Weaver 2006), and in the urban contexts, the theories of livable cities (Ley and Newton 2010; Southworth 2016). Finally, individual climatic stressors may have their own theoretical underpinnings, such as the theory of heat stress pertaining to heatwave events and their occurrence under conditions of incremental warming (Teague et al. 2017). Urban tourism has been largely neglected in tourism and climate change literature (Pandy and Rogerson 2019). This is in part due to the misattribution of urban tourism as predominantly, if not entirely comprising business tourism, which in turn is perceived to be less sensitive to climate and weather, whereas rather cities have diversified their offerings and may therefore be particularly sensitive to climate J. M. Fitchett (*) School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_3

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change (Pandy and Rogerson 2019). There is an argument to be made that business tourism is less sensitive to the climate than outdoor forms of tourism including beach, nature and adventure tourism, as much of the business-related activities take place indoors and often in climate-controlled buildings, which have proliferated in the development of urban tourism (Gössling and Hall 2006; Rogerson 2016; Pandy and Rogerson 2019). However, while business tourism forms a component of urban tourism, it is not synonymous with urban tourism (Pearce 2001; Ashworth and Page 2011; McKercher et al. 2015; Pandy and Rogerson 2019). Rather, urban tourism comprises perhaps the greatest number of tourism attractions, serving as a host, an entry point, and a destination (Ashworth and Page 2011). All cities, by their nature, offer a variety of tourism offerings, including cultural and heritage tourism, historical tourism, architectural tourism, retail tourism, and for some cities beach and coastal tourism, adventure tourism, slum tourism and voluntourism (Pearce 2001). For some tourists, the city itself is the primary attraction, and immersion within the city life is the primary aim of the visit (Ashworth and Page 2011). Urban tourism also comprises educational visits, and visits to friends and relatives (Griffin and Dimanche 2017). Major cities serve as the entry point to many destinations within countries, hosting airports, sea ports, and major road interchanges (Pearce 2001). Many of these functions of urban tourism are indeed climate sensitive (McKercher et al. 2015; Torabi et al. 2017). The urban setting also carries a particular set of climate hazards (Lanquar 2017; Torabi et al. 2017; Aal and Koens 2019). The most notable relate to the Urban Heat Island effect, which exacerbates heat wave events (Li and Bou-Zeid 2013). The Urban Heat Island also serves to trap pollutants above the city through induced subsidence, reducing air quality in cities (Tso 1996; Abbassi et al. 2020). The predominance of hard tarred and paved surfaces encourages flash flood events during high volume storms (Coulibaly 2008). The city infrastructure does, however, arguably also provide mitigation to climate change threats to tourism. The wide variety of offerings within a city, and connected by city transport infrastructures, removes the reliance on ‘good weather’ for an enjoyable vacation (McKercher et al. 2015). The access to buildings in the form of shops, museums and other indoor attractions provides shade from sun and rain, and occasionally heating and cooling, and indoor lighting to provide a tourist with breaks from unsuitable climate (Gómez Martín 2005; McKercher et al. 2015). This chapter is the first to interrogate the climate change threats to tourism in South African cities from the perspective of biometeorology climate analyses (Fitchett 2021), contributing to discussions that have emerged from qualitative social science (Pandy and Rogerson 2019). This is presented through the synthesis of recent research in the disciplines of tourism and climate change and biometeorology more broadly in southern Africa through the lens of the urban setting The chapter explores the case of 10 cities in South Africa which have been the subject of recent quantitative climate research, isolating and replotting results exclusively for city destinations. It begins with the quantification of climatic suitability for tourism across major cities in South Africa, using calculations of the Tourism Climatic Index (TCI), first presented for a range of locations in South Africa by Fitchett et al.

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(2016a, 2017). It then explores tourists’ experiences of poor weather and climate in South African cities through the analysis of TripAdvisor reviews, presented as part of a broader study of 19 locations by Fitchett and Hoogendoorn (2018, 2019). This is followed by a critical analysis of the key climate change threats to urban tourism in South Africa, and finally avenues for adaptation and resilience, both through critical engagement with the literature on both climate change and tourism, and applied climatology and biometeorology more broadly. The 10 cities selected for inclusion in this study are those for which biometeorological research on tourism and climate change have already been conducted, and which can be considered a city based on their scale. Those were selected in their respective studies to span the majority of the provinces, and as indicative of broader regional climate and touristic interest, and details of the tourist attractions of each are presented by Fitchett et  al. (2017). Furthest north in Limpopo Province is Polokwane, a city amongst a region which attracts nature-based tourists to the numerous private game reserves. Further south are Pretoria and Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, which form part of the broader Gauteng City Region, an important economic hub of southern Africa. East of these is Nelspruit, located in Mpumalanga Province, serving predominantly as a gateway to the Kruger National Park. Bloemfontein, south of Johannesburg in the Free State Province, is the judicial capital of South Africa. Located to the west is Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province which hosts the big hole, and to the east along the coast is the city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal Province, with the Durban Harbor and Dube TradePort. Further South along the east coast in the Eastern Cape Province are East London and Port Elizabeth, each of which host numerous industries. In the Western Cape is Cape Town, famous for Table Mountain and the Fynbos Biome.

3.2  Q  uantifying the Climatic Suitability of Cities for Tourism Often pegged in advertising as ‘Sunny South Africa’, the country is world renown for what is considered to be a particularly good climate for tourism (Fitchett et al. 2016a; Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018). Although ‘good climate’ and ‘good day-­ to-­day weather’ are subjective at an individual scale, and to an extent specific to the type of activities that form the primary attraction for a destination, considerable work has been undertaken over the past four decades in developing indices to quantify and compare the climatic suitability of destinations for tourism (cf. Mieczkowski 1985; De Freitas et al. 2004, 2008; Scott et al. 2016; Ma et al. 2020). In recent years these indices have been applied to southern Africa (cf. Fitchett et al. 2016a, 2016b, 2017; Noome and Fitchett 2019; Mushawemhuka et al. 2020). An ever-growing selection of indices has been developed, the majority of which are a refinement of the TCI (cf. Perch-Nielsen et al. 2010), either to accommodate for a shortage or absence of input data (eg. Perch-Nielsen et al. 2010; Fitchett et al.

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2016a), or tailored to a particular environment or tourist attraction (eg. Ma et al. 2020). While the Holiday Climate Index has been formulated with a sub-index for urban settings (Scott et al. 2016), this has been developed from the TCI, with a primary adaptation of removing evening thermal comfort. This adaptation has been made with the logic that since 1985 when the TCI was first developed, most accommodation establishments in the developed world and most attractions in the developing world have been installed with air conditioning (Scott et  al. 2016). This however does not hold true for many accommodation establishments and the majority of attractions in South African cities where air conditioning is not standard, and not least as many attractions are outdoors (Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018; Hoogendoorn and Fitchett 2019). The TCI, which remains widely used globally, is thus the most appropriate for Southern and South African cities (Mushawemhuka et al. 2020). Of the 10 major cities in South Africa included in this analysis, nine are classified as having an ‘excellent’ mean annual climate for tourism (Fig. 3.1). Of those, four have scores in the lower range of the scale from 80.0 to 84.9, while the remaining five have scores ranging 85 to 89.9. There is a broad north-south distribution in

Fig. 3.1  Mean annual TCI scores for South African cities. (Source Adapted from Fitchett et al. 2017, methods detailed therein)

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these scores, with greater suitability for tourism in the north than the south. The majority of destinations with lower scores are those that offer coastal and beach attractions which rely more heavily on a suitable climate. It should, however, be noted that these lower scores are still significantly higher than mean annual TCI scores for much of Europe (Mieczkowski 1985; Perch-Nielsen et al. 2010). Considering the tourism climate change nexus, the change in climatic suitability for tourism in recent decades is an important consideration for tourism planning and adaptation. Across the nine cities, there is a markedly equal proportion of decreasing and increasing TCI scores and rates of change per year over a decadal period. The greatest improvements in climatic suitability for tourism are calculated for Johannesburg at 4 TCI units per decade, while a roughly equivalent decline in climatic suitability is recorded for Port Elizabeth (Fig. 3.2). East London, which has the lowest mean annual TCI score of the sampled cities, has a calculated increase of 2 TCI units per decade, which if sustained would move the climatic suitability of the city into the ‘excellent’ category by 2030. Both Johannesburg and Pretoria have recorded improvements in TCI scores, although many of the attractions in these two cities are indoors, these improvements are not of significant benefit to the tourism

Fig. 3.2  Decadal change in mean annual TCI scores. (Source Plotted from data presented by Fitchett et al. 2017, methods detailed therein)

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sector. The reductions in climatic suitability for Polokwane, Cape Town, Kimberley and Port Elizabeth (Fig.  3.2) should be carefully monitored due to the predominance of outdoor attractions in and around these cities.

3.3  T  ourists’ Experiences of Poor Weather and Climates in South African Cities In a pilot study of two small coastal towns near to Port Elizabeth (Hoogendoorn et al. 2016), it was found that tourists’ concerns regarding climate change far outmatched those of tourism accommodation establishments. In the urban context, Pandy and Rogerson (2018) found a similar lack of concern among tourism operators regarding climate change. This disjunct threatens the adaptability of the tourism sector, as tourism operators who are unconcerned about climate change are unlikely to invest in implementing infrastructural and managerial changes to limit the impacts of climate change induced threats. Many operators argue that climate change will only be a problem in the distant future, at which point they would no longer be in business (Hoogendoorn et al. 2016; Pandy 2017; Pandy and Rogerson 2018). It is interesting to note that tourism operators are more concerned about, and receptive to adapting to, broader environmental issues through ‘greening’ practices to reduce their environmental impact (Hoogendoorn et al. 2015). Similar patterns are observed in second homes, where the tourist arguably acts as both the client and operator, who likewise show greater concern and adapts more readily to environmental rather than specifically climate issues (Long and Hoogendoorn 2013; Hoogendoorn and Visser 2015; Hoogendoorn and Fitchett 2018). Contrary to the perceptions of tourism operators, tourists are already sensitive to both suitable and unsuitable climates experienced in South Africa (Hoogendoorn et  al. 2016; Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018, 2019), and the weather that they encounter during their vacation can leave a lasting impression of the destination (Giddy et al. 2017). TripAdvisor reviews provide a platform to objectively assess tourists’ experience of weather during their vacation without asking potentially leading questions which may amplify the recorded effect of weather for tourists’ satisfaction with their visit to a destination (Fitchett et al. 2020). Exploring a sample of 3767 TripAdvisor reviews from the 10 cities of interest in this study from a broader study into 19 destinations (Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018, 2019), an average of 6.9% included mention of the weather (Table 3.1; re-calculated for this sample as described by Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2018, 2019). The greatest sensitivity to weather is recorded for Nelspruit, with 10% of TripAdvisor reviews citing climatic factors. The lowest sensitivity is for Port Elizabeth at only 4.7% of reviews. This is notable as both destinations offer outdoor attractions, and both have TCI scores classified as ‘excellent’ (Fig. 3.1). East London, for which the lowest TCI score is calculated, has an average of 5.4% of reviews which mention the weather. Temperature is cited most frequently by reviewers across all of the locations, which

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Table 3.1  TripAdvisor analysis for the nine South African cities Proportion of Reviews City Mentioning Weather Bloemfontein 5.5% Cape Town 5.5% Durban 8.2% East London 5.4% Johannesburg 6.7% Kimberley 8.1% Nelspruit 10.0% Polokwane 6.4% Port 4.7% Elizabeth Pretoria 8.4% Average 6.9%

Weather Feature Mentioned Most Frequently Cold temperatures Hot temperatures Sun Hot temperatures Hot temperatures Hot temperatures Cold temperatures Hot temperatures Cold temperatures

Month of Greatest Reviews May, July January July August May, September April October April, October April, December

Hot temperatures Hot temperatures

March April

Source Dataset originally collated and presented by Fitchett and Hoogendoorn (2018, 2019), methods described in these cited works

is consistent with the climatic component which serves to reduce TCI scores for most locations (Fitchett et al. 2017). The month in which the greatest number of reviews are authored, which tracks reasonably well with visitation patterns (see Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2019), varies between the cities. This coupled with the differences in climatic sensitivity, variation in climatic factors most frequently mentioned, and seasonal variations in climate serve to improve the adaptive capacity of the country as a whole to poor weather and climate change, as tourists will have a range of destinations on offer. Many tourism operators use TripAdvisor reviews in refining their offerings, resolving issues that tourists have raised, and in adapting to a changing market (Cunningham et al. 2010). Analysis of reviews for commentary on climatic factors by tourism operators would allow them to tailor their adaptations to improve climatic suitability in near real time (Buzinde et al. 2010; Fitchett and Hoogendoorn 2019).

3.4  K  ey Climate Change Threats to South African Urban Tourism In addition to the improvement or reduction in the net climatic suitability for tourism of a particular city through gradual changes in temperature, humidity, wind and cloud cover, climate change poses a number of more urgent threats through an increase in the intensity, severity and, in some instances, frequency of extreme climatic events (Dubois et al. 2016; Torabi et al. 2017). In the South African context, the most frequent climatic extreme events posing threats to tourism are floods (Fitchett et al. 2016c) and droughts (Smith and Fitchett 2020). Climatic extremes which are currently less prevalent but are projected to increase in future decades are

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the risk of heat waves and of sea level rise. The urban setting heightens each of these risks (Lanquar 2017; Torabi et al. 2017). Situated between the subtropics and the mid-latitudes, South Africa is a semi-­ arid country by global standards, and drought events occur primarily as a result of fluctuations in the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole (Fitchett 2019). Under climate change, droughts are projected to occur more frequently, globally. Particular to South Africa, the poleward recession of the influence of the westerly wave and associated mid-latitude cyclone passage is projected to continue to heighten drought risk in the southwestern tip of the country (Sousa et al. 2018), while a reduction in net rainfall is projected for much of the country excluding the northwestern region (Engelbrecht et al. 2009). These factors induce what are termed meteorological and hydrological droughts, relating to a reduction in rainfall and resultant reduction in dam levels (Cook 2019). Urban settings contribute to the latter through an increase in consumption per square meter of land, and through heightened waste of water through leaking taps (Cook 2019). Notably the tourism sector has come under criticism for contributing in this manner to the 2016–2017 ‘day zero’ drought in Cape Town (Prinsloo 2019). This is due both to greater number of persons in the city using water, but more pertinently as many tourists were not personally invested in water saving. The tourism sector in turn suffers through the imposed restrictions to water use, reductions in river flow rates which affect various water-based activities, and through longer term damage to the destination image (Drummond 2019). Floods in South Africa are primarily caused by discrete cyclonic systems. These include tropical depressions, storms and cyclones in the Indian Ocean, and cut-off lows and coastal lows along the coastline (Mason et  al. 1999). Under climate change, the intensity and size of tropical systems is projected to increase, while the area of storm track extent has expanded poleward (Malherbe et al. 2013; Fitchett 2019). Cyclone Dineo in 2017 affecting cities in Limpopo and Storm Dando in 2012 flooding the Mopani District Municipality provide evidence of the type of damage to tourism caused by these systems (Fitchett et  al. 2016c). In urban settings, the predominance of hard, impermeable surfaces frequently results in flood events, of any climatological origin, being expressed as flash floods (Coulibaly 2008). This is due to the alteration of natural hydrological systems, and the accumulation of above-surface water. Flash floods, which have recently been experienced in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, result in considerably heightened damage to infrastructure and danger to human life (Coulibaly 2008). Of particular relevance to tourism in urban settings, flash floods have the potential to affect airports, delaying travel into and out of the country. South Africa does not currently experience the frequency or intensity of heatwaves and heatwave associated mortality which have become commonplace in Europe over recent decades. However, extreme temperature events do occur, and are projected to increase in frequency and severity under climate change (Lyon 2009). The intensity of heatwave events is heightened in cities due to the urban heat island effect which induces upper air subsidence and low-level uplift, constraining warm

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air directly above the city (Ward et al. 2016). Air is heated further through the predominance of dark, heat trapping surfaces, and the emission of heat-trapping pollutants within the city (Tso 1996; Abbassi et  al. 2020). Heatwaves are particularly problematic in cities which do not have extensive air conditioning for tourism attractions and in tourism accommodation establishments, and can pose severe medical risks to tourists visiting the city from regions of much cooler climates. Particularly severe heatwaves also have an impact on tourist arrivals and departures when airports are forced to cancel or divert flights (Anderson 2014). The fourth key climate change threat to South African urban tourism is that of sea level rise. While this will most seriously affect low-lying coastal cities, the implications for the South African tourism sector as a whole are likely to be widespread, particularly as international tourists tend to visit more than one destination per trip, and the coastal destinations often form the primary reason for selecting South Africa as a destination (Friedrich et al. 2020). The impacts of sea level rise will be progressive, beginning with discrete flood events from storm surges, and transitioning into the increasing loss of beach area and finally the more pervasive flooding of properties and infrastructure along the coastline (Fitchett et al. 2016b). Due to the competitive advantage of sea views, many properties along the coastlines of South African cities include tourism accommodation establishments and tourism destinations (Rogerson 2012). Some South African cities, such as Durban, have been very proactive in their modelling and strategizing for the risk of sea level rise (Roberts 2010). Of concern, many tourism operators are unconcerned about sea level rise, perceiving this as a risk for the distant future (Hoogendoorn et al. 2016). Finally, in addition to the direct threats of a changing climate to urban tourism in South Africa, a number of secondary threats that are driven by climate change pose challenges to tourism in South Africa. First, climate change threats to airports have already been mentioned, which would have a secondary impact on tourist arrivals. Climate change policies have also been posited to threaten tourist arrivals to major urban centers in the decades to come (Griffin and Dimanche 2017; Aal and Koens 2019). Second, South Africa has experienced rolling black outs intermittently throughout the past decade termed ‘loadshedding’ (Steenkamp et  al. 2016). The causes of loadshedding are manifold, including poor maintenance of power stations, the delay in two newly built powerstations being implemented at full capacity, and supply chain problems (Bashe et al. 2019). A notable new challenge frequently cited in 2019–2020 has been coal becoming too wet to burn due to persistent rainfall (Singh 2019). At a broader level, poor weather of any form increases the load on the electricity network through the greater use of air conditioners, fans and indoor lighting (Hoogendoorn et al. 2015). The impact of loadshedding on tourism is considerable, compromising the availability of activities, comfort of tourists and the destination image (Steenkamp et al. 2016). Third, climate, and in particular incidents of hot temperatures, has also been linked to crime, including both petty and violent crime in South Africa (Schutte and Breetzke 2018; Chersich et al. 2019). For a country which already struggles with a problem of crime, particularly in urban centers, this too would compromise the tourist experience and destination image (Ferreira and Harmse 2000).

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3.5  Avenues for Adaptation and Resilience The potential for adaptation and developing the resilience of the tourism sector to climate change depends significantly on the receptivity of the tourism sector to investing in infrastructural and behavioural changes for low probability high impact events which may only occur decades from now (Hoogendoorn et al. 2016). This is a particularly difficult weight-up for small, medium and micro enterprises for which such adaptations come at a cost of immediate capital investments and retaining sufficient cashflow (Rogerson 2016). Similar decisions are difficult at the country level, where government investment necessarily needs to prioritize the immediate human rights of the population (Rogerson 2016). In the urban context, successful adaptation of the tourism sector to climate change requires the active consideration of town planners and the engagement of the civil sector and society. At the scale of individual tourism operations, awareness of and receptivity to tourists’ experiences is paramount (Hoogendoorn et al. 2016). Specific adaptation measures depend on the particular demographic of the city’s tourism sector, the climate hazards specific to that geographic location, and the already existing climate challenges (Aal and Koens 2019). For example, regions which have faced challenges of flash floods would need to invest in improved drainage systems. Recent approaches in this domain include the development of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, which in the South African context have even been found to be successful in urban informal settlements (Fitchett 2017). For cities facing threats of drought, smaller scale adaptations within tourism attractions and accommodation establishments to low-flow taps, to address leakages promptly, and covers for swimming pools to prevent water loss will result in cumulative benefits (Hoogendoorn et al. 2015; Smith and Fitchett 2020). For regions facing heat stress, quick and relatively low-cost adaptations would include the installation of fans and air conditioners (Hoogendoorn et al. 2015). Longer term adaptations would include heat-sensitive building design, the construction of green roofs, and increasing vegetation density in urban settings (Lundholm 2006). For the threats of sea level rise, the South African invention of dolloses have been valuable (Quick 1993). Strategic planning of future flood lines, efforts to preserve sand dunes and mangroves, and the building of flood levees are all pertinent. In the urban context, many of the adaptations which are necessary for the tourism sector provide value to the city as a whole (Roberts 2010). This would, potentially, allow for cross-subsidization if packaged in a mutually beneficial manner. Finally, while the occurrence of even a single extreme climatic event has the potential to obliterate a city’s tourism sector both infrastructurally and financially, the slower trends in climate must also be considered. As demonstrated by the trends in the TCI, for some cities the more gradual changes in temperature, humidity, sunshine hours, rain and windspeed which have occurred over the past decade have improved the climatic suitability for tourism. These improvements are likely to continue into the future until such point that the thermal thresholds for human comfort are exceeded. These gains at the individual city level should be maximized, and

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tourism planning should consider the proactive advertising of cities, and times of the year, for which the climatic suitability for tourism is at its best. If managed effectively, promoting the climate change ‘wins’ of gradual climate change against the ‘losses’ under extreme events, may provide a financial buffer to support the tourism sector and individual operations through the more difficult times.

3.6  Conclusion Climate change poses significant threats to tourism sectors globally, with the potential to influence the number and timing of tourist arrivals, tourists’ satisfaction of the vacation, and the long-term destination image and popularity of a destination. This is of particular concern to South Africa, which is projected to experience climate changes in excess of the global mean, and for which the tourism sector comprises many SMMEs. Urban tourism, which for most destinations serves as a host to a range of other tourism subsectors, is often neglected in research into the climate change tourism nexus. This is an oversight, as not are many of the various tourist attractions in urban settings climate-sensitive, but often the urban setting itself amplifies the climate change effect. TCI scores calculated for South African cities confirm the current ‘excellent’ suitability of the climate for tourism. However, the trends in these scores should be carefully monitored, particularly for Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Kimberly where reductions have already been detected. An analysis of TripAdvisor reviews for the same set of cities confirms the importance of temperature to tourists’ satisfaction of their trip, and indeed the importance of the thermal comfort component of the TCI. Notably Nelspruit, which has experienced negligible change in TCI scores and an ‘excellent’ classification, received the most reviewer comments on climate. Port Elizabeth, which has experienced the greatest decline in scores, has the lowest proportion of reviews mentioning climate. Further climate change related threats to urban tourism in South Africa include droughts, floods, extreme temperature events and sea level rise. Successful adaptation and resilience to these climate change threats requires the national tourism sector to be aware of, and receptive to, tourists’ current experiences of weather in South Africa, and cognizant of climate change projections. Acknowledgements  The author credits funding from the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Palaeoscience. Contributions to the writing of this draft by Ash are acknowledged with great appreciation.

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Lundholm, J. T. (2006). Green roofs and facades: A habitat template approach. Urban Habitats, 4(1), 87–101. Lyon, B. (2009). Southern Africa summer drought and heat waves: Observations and coupled model behavior. Journal of Climate, 22, 6033–6046. Ma, S., Craig, C. A., & Feng, S. (2020). The Camping Climate Index (CCI): The development, validation, and application of a camping-sector tourism climate index. Tourism Management, 80, 104105. Malherbe, J., Engelbrecht, F. A., & Landman, W. A. (2013). Projected changes in tropical cyclone climatology and landfall in the Southwest Indian Ocean region under enhanced anthropogenic forcing. Climate Dynamics, 40(11–12), 2867–2886. Mason, S. J., Waylen, P. R., Mimmack, G. M., Rajaratnam, B., & Harrison, J. M. (1999). Changes in extreme rainfall events in South Africa. Climatic Change, 41(2), 249–257. McKercher, B., Shoval, N., Park, E., & Kahani, A. (2015). The [limited] impact of weather on tourist behaviour in an urban destination. Journal of Travel Research, 54(4), 442–455. Mieczkowski, Z. (1985). The tourism climatic index: A method of evaluating world climates for tourism. Canadian Geographer, 29(3), 220–233. Mushawemhuka, W. J., Fitchett, J. M., & Hoogendoorn, G. (2020). Towards quantifying climate suitability for Zimbabwean nature-based tourism. South African Geographical Journal. https:// doi.org/10.1080/03736245.2020.1835703. Noome, K., & Fitchett, J. M. (2019). An assessment of the climatic suitability of Afriski Mountain Resort for outdoor tourism using the Tourism Climate Index (TCI). Journal of Mountain Science, 16(11), 2453–2469. Pandy, W. R. (2017). Tourism enterprises and climate change: Some research imperatives. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(4), 1–18. Pandy, W. R., & Rogerson, C. M. (2018). Tourism and climate change: Stakeholder perceptions of at risk tourism segments in South Africa. EuroEconomica, 37(2), 104–118. Pandy, W. R., & Rogerson, C. M. (2019). Urban tourism and climate change: Risk perceptions of business tourism stakeholders in Johannesburg, South Africa. Urbani izziv, 30, 225–243. Pearce, D.  G. (2001). An integrative framework for urban tourism research. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(4), 926–946. Perch-Nielsen, S. L., Amelung, B., & Knutti, R. (2010). Future climate resources for tourism in Europe based on the daily Tourism Climatic Index. Climatic Change, 103(3–4), 363–381. Prinsloo, A.S. (2019). A case study of resource consumption in the sharing economy: Airbnb as a tourist accommodation in Cape Town, South Africa. MSc dissertation submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand. Quick, M. I. (1993). Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa: Synthesis of available information and management implications. South African Journal of Science, 89(6), 276–287. Roberts, D. (2010). Prioritizing climate change adaptation and local level resilience in Durban, South Africa. Environment and Urbanization, 22(2), 397–413. Rogerson, C.  M. (2016). Climate change, tourism and local economic development in South Africa. Local Economy, 31(1–2), 322–331. Rogerson, J. M. (2012). The changing location of hotels in South Africa’s coastal cities, 1990–2010. Urban Forum, 23(1), 73–91. Schutte, F. H., & Breetzke, G. D. (2018). The influence of extreme weather conditions on the magnitude and spatial distribution of crime in Tshwane (2001–2006). South African Geographical Journal, 100(3), 364–377. Scott, D., Gössling, S., & Hall, C.  M. (2012). International tourism and climate change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 3(3), 213–232. Scott, D., Rutty, M., Amelung, B., & Tang, M. (2016). An inter-comparison of the Holiday Climate Index (HCI) and the Tourism Climate Index (TCI) in Europe. Atmosphere, 7(80). https://doi. org/10.3390/atmos7060080. Singh, O. (2019). Stage 4 load-shedding kicking in from 2pm due to wet coal, water shortages. Sowetan. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/

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south-­africa/2019-­12-­06-­stage-­4-­load-­shedding-­kicking-­in-­from-­2pm-­due-­to-­wet-­coal-­water-­ shortages/ Smith, T., & Fitchett, J. M. (2020). Drought challenges for nature tourism in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in the eastern region of South Africa. African Journal of Range and Forage Science, 37(1), 107–117. Sousa, P.  M., Blamey, R.  C., Reason, C.  J., Ramos, A.  M., & Trigo, R.  M. (2018). The ‘Day Zero’Cape Town drought and the poleward migration of moisture corridors. Environmental Research Letters, 13(12). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-­9326/aaebc7. Southworth, M. (2016). Learning to make liveable cities. Journal of Urban Design, 21(5), 570–573. Steenkamp, H., February, A., September, J., Taylor, A., Hollis-Turner, S., & Bruwer, J.-P. (2016). The influence of loadshedding on the productivity of hotel staff in Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Business Management, 4(2), 69–77. Stockigt, L., Hoogendoorn, G., Fitchett, J.  M., & Saarinen, J. (2018). Climatic sensitivity and snow-based tourism in Africa: An investigation of TripAdvisor reviews on Afriski, Lesotho. In Proceedings of the Society of South African Geographers Biennial conference (pp. 207–224). Bloemfontein, 1–5 October 2018. Teague, C., Youngblood, J. P., Ragan, K., Angilletta, M. J., Jr., & Van den Brooks, J. M. (2017). A positive genetic correlation between hypoxia tolerance and heat tolerance supports a controversial theory of heat stress. Biology Letters, 13(11), 20170309. Torabi, E., Dedekorkut-Howes, A., & Howes, M. (2017). Urban resilience to climate-related disasters: Emerging lessons from resilience policy and practice in coastal tourism cities. In W.  L. Filho (Ed.), Climate change adaptation in Pacific countries (pp.  241–254). Cham: Springer. Tso, C.  P. (1996). A survey of urban heat island studies in two tropical cities. Atmospheric Environment, 30(3), 507–519. Ward, K., Lauf, S., Kleinschmit, B., & Endlicher, W. (2016). Heat waves and urban heat islands in Europe: A review of relevant drivers. Science of the Total Environment, 569, 527–539. Weaver, D. B. (2006). Sustainable tourism: Theory and practice. Oxford: Routledge.

Chapter 4

Mundane Urban Tourism: The Historical Evolution of Caravan Parks in South Africa 1930–1994 Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

4.1  Introduction In her seminal contribution to tourism history Anne-Mette Hjalager (2015) catalogues 100 innovations that transformed tourism and led to the opening of new destinations. One of these innovations was the development of the caravan. In particular, what Hjalager (2015) stresses is the innovation which occurred from 1907 when the first caravan club was formed symbolising the emergence of a segment of people – beyond that of gypsies – who enjoyed the pleasures of being ‘on the road’. Historically, the evolution of the caravan is seen as coinciding with the emerging international camping and outdoor movement. From the early twentieth century the technology of caravans shifts dramatically away from traditional wooden designs to become more aerodynamic and adapted to the requirements of the motor car; the first steel-bodied caravan is recorded to have made its appearance in 1938 (Hjalager 2015). Arguably, the activity of caravanning which is associated with the development and changing character of caravans and caravan parks must rank as among the most overlooked facets in international urban tourism scholarship. Patterson et  al. (2015) style caravanning tourism as a special form of tourism with the caravan as part of both tourism transportation as well as accommodation. Caravanning is conceptualised as a subset of ‘drive tourism’ as well as a component of wider recreational experiences that involve outdoor hospitality (Prideaux and McClymont 2006; Van Heerden 2010a; Caldicott 2011; Brooker and Joppe 2013; Lashley 2015; Doğantan et al. 2017; Doğantan and Emir 2019; Prideaux 2020). As a whole Brooker and Joppe (2013: 1) characterise the outdoor hospitality sector as encompassing caravan parks, camping grounds and glamping and observe that the sector “has emerged from a low-cost tourist niche to a mainstream versatile recreation experience valued at different levels by different segments”. This said, as a C. M. Rogerson (*) · J. M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_4

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whole, caravan parks represent “a rather neglected element of the tourism and hospitality industry” (Mikulić et al. 2017: 226). The deficit in academic research about caravan parks and planning issues around caravan tourism is discussed by several scholars (Prideaux and McClymont 2006; Mikkelsen and Cohen 2015; Mikulić et al. 2017). In general Lashley (2015: 121) maintains that “the amount of research undertaken with the specific intention of exploring caravanning and caravaners is limited”. The results of the recent bibliometric analysis produced by Okumus et al. (2019) confirm that the activity of caravanning is one of the least well-researched of different forms of lodging. One reason for its under-researched status is offered by Mikkelsen and Blichfeldt (2015: 252) namely that caravanning is often considered only as “a mundane type of holidaymaking”. Caldicott (2011: 10) writes of its representation of “ordinary and routine practices” and suggests its lack of attention relative to other forms of leisure is accounted for also by its “fragmented” character. Lashley (2015: 115) states that when caravanners go on holiday they can be likened to snails “in that they carry their ‘homes’ with them”. This said, caravan parks offer a range of accommodation options from basic to resort standard and can include in some countries short-term as well as permanent sites (Gilbert 2013). Caldicott et al. (2018) argue that the caravan park, as a subsector of tourism accommodation services, is viewed as the traditional symbol of caravanning. The existing international scholarship on caravanning is dominated by demand-side investigations variously of the demographics, motivations and satisfaction of participants with choices of particular camp sites (Prideaux and McClymont 2006; Van Heerden 2010b; Østby 2013; Brooker and Joppe 2014; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a; Van Heerden 2020). Until recent years the supply-side of camping and caravanning was relatively uncharted academic territory (Caldicott 2011; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). For the United Kingdom Rees Pryce (1967) analysed the location and growth of caravan parks in Wales and O’Dell (2015) explored the rise of the holiday caravan park in one coastal region of England. In the USA Timothy and Teye (2009) stress the different roles assumed in the supply of facilities by the public and private sector. Private sector entrepreneurship is a particularly neglected theme with extant research pointing to a significant role for lifestyle entrepreneurs in caravan park development (Van Rooij and Margaryan 2019). Some of the most recent innovative supply-side research has emerged out of Australia and New Zealand (Collins and Kearns 2010; Caldicott 2011; Caldicott and Scherrer 2013a, b). The historical record of Australia and New Zealand confirms the assertion of Simeoni and Cassia (2019) that the makers of caravans are ‘co-creators’ of the tourism experience of caravanning. In a rich analysis Caldicott (2011) examines the evolution of caravan manufacturing and of the caravan park sector in Australia. The life cycle of caravan parks in Australia has been scrutinised within the framework of Butler’s classic tourism area life cycle model (Caldicott and Scherrer 2013a). Using historical data it is shown the pattern of caravan park development and evolution conforms to the involvement, exploration, development, consolidation and stagnation stages of the model (Caldicott and Scherrer 2013a). In Australia few caravan parks existed before the 1940s. It was the period of the 1950s and 1960s that witnessed the growth of such parks following the

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mass production of caravans and falling costs which made caravans more affordable to a wider market. In both the cases of Australia and New Zealand the development of these caravan parks was undertaken under the aegis of the public sector as well as by private entrepreneurs (Collins and Kearns 2010; Caldicott 2011). From rudimentary sites at the outset caravan parks in these countries were upgraded as caravanners demanded “greater amenities within caravan parks to service their new gadgetry; running water to internal sinks replaced buckets and kerosene tins to draw water from a well; overhead wiring brought electric light to stamp out hurricane lanterns; and electric followed by gas stoves ushered out the open fire and liquid fuel stoves” (Caldicott 2011: 155). It is against this background that the objective in this chapter is to analyse the historical development of caravan parks in South Africa from the 1930s to the period of democratic transition in 1994. The existing literature on caravan parks and caravanning in South Africa is small with the most notable works those by Van Heerden (2008, 2010a, b, 2020) which are mainly on tourism in national parks. Urban-­ centred investigations are limited with work looking at marketing strategy to improve off-season occupancy of caravan parks in coastal Natal (Achtzehn 1980) and a business strategy for developing a caravan park in Cape Town (Snyders 2007). The most extensive recent research is by Rogerson and Rogerson (2020b, 2021) who examine in the context of Western Cape province the contemporary management and planning of caravan parks as municipal assets. In our analysis of caravan park development in South Africa the approach is chronological and is supply-side focussed. The archival material includes newspaper reports, caravanning directories of the Caravan Club of Southern Africa (sourced at the National Library in Cape Town), archival material on the development of public resorts (sourced at the National Library in Pretoria), national government House of Assembly debates in Hansard, and newsletters produced during the 1960s by the country’s first Department of Tourism which are available in the provincial archives depot in Cape Town. The research represents a contribution to the limited international scholarship surrounding caravan tourism most especially in urban areas. Further it is an addition to a developing historical tradition in urban tourism scholarship in South Africa (Rogerson and Visser 2020). This emerging focus in South African urban tourism research is exemplified by a series of works which have appeared examining inter alia the historical development of tourism both in cities (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019) as well as small resort towns (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c); the evolution of accommodation services, including hotels (C.M. Rogerson 2011; J.M. Rogerson 2013; Rogerson and Rogerson 2018; J.M. Rogerson 2018, 2019; C.M. Rogerson 2020; J.M. Rogerson 2020) and time-share facilities (Pandy and Rogerson 2013); the rise of conference tourism in South Africa (C.M.  Rogerson 2019) and the appearance of first black (African) tourism entrepreneurs (Sixaba and Rogerson 2019). In addition, for the apartheid period of South African history there are studies on the emergence of racialized landscapes of tourism with separate facilities for different racial groups (C.M. Rogerson 2020; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020d) and the struggles mounted against beach zoning and segregation during the 1980s (J.M. Rogerson 2016, 2017).

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4.2  T  he Evolution of Camping and Caravan Parks in South Africa The evolution of the camping and caravan sector in South Africa is one of many unwritten topics in the country’s tourism history (Grundlingh 2006). One element of that sector’s early history is the establishment of a network of public resorts in South Africa some of which were based on the assets of thermal springs (Oliver and Jonker 2013). According to Viljoen et al. (2018: 11) the initial acquisition was of Badplaas mineral springs in 1893 which was proclaimed as a holiday resort and owned initially by the South African Republic, later by the Union of South Africa in 1910. Further resort development followed with most of these resorts “owned by government and managed by municipalities” (Viljoen et al. 2019: 2). By 1933 the network of public resorts was managed by the so-termed Board of Curators for Mineral Springs (Viljoen et al. 2018). Several of these resorts anchored upon healthful mineral springs, such as at the Cape Province small town of Aliwal North, subsequently offered sites for use by early caravanners (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950).

4.2.1  Early Growth and Geographical Spread Although the actual year of the first establishment of a dedicated caravan park in South Africa is not known, material in the state archives shows a trend for requests for permission for caravan sites to emerge steadily in the 1930s. Arguably, as was observed in the case in Australia before the Second World War, in South Africa caravanning and the emergence of caravan parks must have been minimal at this time. Growth in the caravan sector occurred only on the basis of improved automobilities and following the beginnings of a formal caravan production sector in South Africa. By 1950 there is mounting evidence that the activity of caravanning was on the rise in South Africa. This was shown by the appearance of the first guidebooks to caravan parks in South Africa which were issued by the Johannesburg-based Caravan Club of Southern Africa. Its first published guide in 1950 proclaimed “South Africa is a friendly hospitable country. The caravanner who is courteous can almost always secure permission to park on public or private land if he asks the local Authority, the local Police Commander or the private owner” (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950). The guide provides the details of the principal “recommended parking sites” for caravans, many of which, such as at Butterworth, were not regular sites, but at no charge “caravanners were welcome to park on the outskirts of town” (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950: 1). This said, there were a number of well-established and designated parks with specific sites and facilities for caravans and caravanners. Several of these caravan parks were under private ownership, most notably those parks at the coastal resorts of Knysna, Margate, Ramsgate and Durban as well as four private caravan parks in Johannesburg, South Africa’s leading city.

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In 1950 the major share of listed caravan parks functioned on public land (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950). Users were required to apply for permission to the local Town Clerk for municipal caravan park operations. One of the largest municipal facilities was at Eastern Beach, East London which offered 200 caravan sites. The guidebook lists information as follows in respect of its facilities, costs and regulations re-permitted length of stay: Municipal: no fences; 200 vans. Good approaches, Apply Beach Manager, Orient Beach. Bus services to town. Water and waterborne sanitation. Refuse removal services. Tariff: December, January, February £1 week, 5/- day, minimum 10/-; March to November, 15/week, 4/-day, 8/- minimum – all payable in advance. Printed regulations available. No dogs, animals or poultry allowed. Sites are 40ft x 30 ft. Maximum 3 months total in any calendar year (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950: 2).

The fact that the largest sites for caravan parks, especially municipal owned parks, were found in the Cape coastal areas indicates the popularity of these urban localities for the growing caravanning economy (Fig. 4.1). The major urban centres of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London as well as smaller centres such as Mossel Bay all had municipal caravan parks at this time. Nevertheless, the municipal provision of facilities for caravan sites was geographically spread across South Africa. The 1950 guide lists 63 municipal sites in total of which 27 were in Cape Province, 12 in Natal, nine in Orange Free State and 15 in Transvaal. Overall, it is observed geographically that caravan parks existed in all the country’s major urban centres (including Johannesburg and Pretoria) with the notable exception of Durban where only private caravan grounds were available. In many small towns such as Barberton, the caravan parks were described and developed as ‘tourist rest camps’ offering alternative accommodation options as well as caravan sites. The

Fig. 4.1  South Africa’s old provinces. (Source Authors)

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information for the small camp at Barberton gives an indication of its location, range of facilities and charges: Municipal; capacity 20 caravans. Tarred approaches. 3 minutes walk to centre of town. Meals available in town. Water; ladies’ and men’s showers (hot and cold), waterborne sanitation, lighting, laundering facilities, including ironing board, electric iron etc.; public telephone. 6 rondavels available (2 beds, no linen) at 5/- per bed. Native attendant on premises. Linen on hire at 2/- per bed per night, 10/- per week. Apply Town Clerk, Box 33, Phone 134. Caravan site tariff: 1/- per person per day. Children 6d, native servants 6d (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950: 21).

In certain small towns the facilities – at private or public sites - were clearly of a rudimentary character. At Jeffreys Bay the site was described as with “primitive facilities”. At the municipal site for Upington it was ‘no charges’ but ‘no facilities’. For the town of Volksrust the guide described the site as “intended as an overnight service” and with “no provision for protracted stay” (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1950: 24). The early impress of racial segregation on caravan parks was reflected in the entry for Port St Johns which noted “separate areas are set aside for Europeans and non-Europeans”. During the decade of the 1950s it is apparent the foundations were laid down for a growth phase in the South African caravan sector that would last for almost 30 years. The industry was on an upward trajectory and buoyed by the fact that the “caravaner is well placed to taste the riches of the country and to sense the warmth and vitality of a land barely scratched by human hands” (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961: 1). By 1960 the caravan economy of South Africa included not just guidebooks but an established sector for the manufacture of caravans as well as a suite of ancillary services such as fleet hire and servicing, and specialist equipment producers such as for tents. The range of these production and service activities is signalled by several advertisements that appeared in the eleventh annual guide that was published by the Caravan Club of South Africa (1961). The major caravan producers were represented by Jurgens and Sprite and with support by several equipment firms (Fig. 4.2). It was disclosed by 1961 South Africa’s “caravan industry is developing at an astonishing rate and new caravan parks are continually springing into existence all over the country” (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961: 1). The burst in popularity of caravanning in South Africa is evidenced by the remark that “During the past Christmas season it was reported that ‘it was easier to book into an hotel than into a caravan park” (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961: 1). Expansion occurred in the provision of caravan facilities in terms of parks established both by private entrepreneurs and also with a further growth of municipal caravan parks. The listings reveal an upturn in private entrepreneurship for establishing caravan park facilities across South Africa with many such private facilities linked to what were described as ‘motels’ (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961). For 1961 the guidebook provides details for 113 municipal sites which represents a near-doubling in supply as compared to 1950. In terms of this growth it occurred across all parts of the country. By 1961 the spatial distribution of municipal caravan parks included 60 in Cape Province, 21 in Transvaal, 18 in Orange Free State and 14 in Natal. Although the growth and establishment of caravan parks occurred at

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Fig. 4.2 Major caravan producers and equipment firms. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1961))

Fig. 4.3  Marketing by private caravan parks. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1961))

inland destinations the coastal areas were leading areas for development of both private and public facilities. Between 1950–1961 the greatest growth in the openings of new municipal caravan parks took place in the Cape Province. Based upon the provided information it is evident that facilities had been upgraded at many sites and at some parks a range of recreational facilities now were on offer. Arguably, many of the private camps  – such as those at Hout Bay and Ottery in the Cape Peninsula – were competing to a large extent with those run by municipal enterprise (Fig. 4.3).

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Fig. 4.4  Loch Athlone caravan park advertisement. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1961))

Across the country caravanners now were to be tempted variously by the establishment of new swimming pools, games facilities including tennis and bowls, opportunities for rock and surf fishing, improved shading at sites or new tea rooms. At the Bethlehem Loch Athlone Caravan Park a range of attractions made it simply “a must for caravanners” (Fig. 4.4).

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Fig. 4.5  Municipal caravan park advertising. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1961))

Many parks offered grocery deliveries of meat and milk. The availability of “accommodation for servants” was highlighted as an attraction by several parks with Potchefstroom being one example. Other parks sought to lure caravanners by providing, as at Germiston, meals at kiosks as well as “hot water for tea and washing-­up on Sundays and Public Holidays” (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961: 59). At the Clocolan park close to the Basutoland (Lesotho) border, as well as meals available and unsurpassed scenery it emphasized the attraction of “Raw Native Life!” (Caravan Club of South Africa 1961: 50). Several municipalities took out special advertising in order to promote their parks for the growing economy of caravanning. As shown on Fig. 4.5 among notable examples are Bloemfontein in Orange Free State, Amanzimtoti or Pietermaritzburg in Natal and of Barberton and Vereeniging in the Transvaal. With the largest number of municipal parks being in the Cape Peninsula that region was the first to attract the attention of government regulators. In 1964  in order to ensure the highest practical standards in the development of caravan park facilities the Cape Provincial Administration “promulgated a set of Standard Caravan Park Regulations and, the adoption and implementation hereof by local authorities in the Western Cape will be yet another contribution towards the improvement of our tourism facilities” (Schultz 1966: 178). During the 1960s the first estimates appear of the number of caravans in South Africa. In a 1965 talk on promoting tourism and of development in Western Cape the Town Clerk of Oudtshoorn

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suggested that “there are some 15, 000 caravans in use in the Republic today and that this number is increasing at the rate of 4, 000 a year” (Schultz 1966: 178). By the end of the decade the number of registered caravans in South Africa had reached 60,000 in total (National Productivity Institute 1990: 22).

4.2.2  Government Intervention and Industry Evolution The boom in caravanning spurred the attention of the apartheid government in the 1960s as a budget form of tourism which would broaden the tourism economy. It was viewed that tourism no longer was reserved only for wealthy people able to afford the high charges of hotels and escalating costs of travel. With improved roads and enhanced automobilities the following was observed in parliamentary debates about caravanning and its impact for domestic tourism: “The position is changing now with the cheaper modes of transport we have with our good roads. With the developing of caravanning and camping tourism is now being enjoyed by the middle classes and other people who form the majority of the population. It is no longer restricted to the favoured few at the top” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 11 May, 1967 Col. 5822). Another Parliamentary speaker re-iterated the importance of caravanning for the (white) middle-classes and declared as follows: “For a family man I think caravanning is the ideal way to spend a holiday and at the same time to see his own country” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 11 May, 1967 Col. 5825). Arguably, the growth of the caravan industry was causing a positive geographical spread of the impacts of domestic tourism in South Africa. It was apparent that the “number of caravan parks and camping grounds in the country is increasing every month” with the consequence that “little known places are being opened up” for tourism (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 11 May, 1967 Col. 5822). The 1966 newsletters of the Department of Tourism announced the opening of new resorts which would include facilities for caravans. It was remarked that the “Free State recreational resorts have become so popular that the demand for accommodation could not be satisfied” (Cape Archives Depot 3BFWP.42/1 Department of Tourism Newsletter May 1966). At Parys the town council “has carried out a long-term plan for the development of two fine resorts” (Cape Archives Depot 3BFWP.42/1 Department of Tourism Newsletter May 1966). The private sector was also alert to the expansion of market opportunities relating to caravanning. In June 1966 the government newsletter announced that: “Two miles from Jan Smuts Airport on the banks of the Bloupan Dam one of the most modern caravan parks in the Republic is being planned by a Kempton Park firm” (Cape Archives Depot 3BFWP.42/1 Department of Tourism Newsletter June 1966). One attraction of the particular location of this new resort, including for caravanners, was that “it will be possible to watch the landing and taking-off of aeroplanes at the airport” (Cape Archives Depot 3BFWP.42/1 Department of Tourism Newsletter June 1966). The importance that many municipalities attached to the development of caravan parks during the 1960s can be illustrated by Pretoria, the administrative capital of

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South Africa. In 1961 concern was expressed that in light of the growth of caravanning that the city required “the development of an up-to-date and modern caravan park” (Pretoria Publicity Association 1962: 3). In particular, it was considered that “as caravan tours are becoming more and more popular, something will have to be done to bring Pretoria into line with other big centres” (Pretoria Publicity Association 1962: 3). By 1964 the City Council had begun work on the caravan park at Fountains Valley situated in a picturesque valley and accessible to the major tourist attractions of Pretoria. The Council made a commitment that this park would “be developed into one of the finest and most attractive caravan parks in the country” (Pretoria Publicity Association 1964: 5). The local publicity association welcomed this park in the southern part of the city and began representations for the establishment of a second park on the northern entrances to the city on grounds of the positive impacts for the city economy of local spending by caravan owners. This second park was developed by 1971 and viewed as a response to the continued importance and role of caravanning “in the holiday habits of South Africans and Rhodesians” (Pretoria Publicity Association 1972: 5). The 1967 parliamentary debates afford insight into the production side of the caravan industry in the country. It was stated that as follows: “Estimates of the number of caravans in South Africa at the moment vary from 34, 000 to 45 000. The production of caravans in this country increases every year. Production during 1966 was approximately 5,200” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 11 May, 1967 Col. 5822). With the maturation of the caravan industry national government began to consider the introduction of regulations to control its development. In 1967 legislation was passed to enable the four provinces to control matters. This followed upon national regulations which had been promulgated during February 1967 to control caravan parks and camping grounds by laying down minimum standards for such facilities. The need for such minimum standards – especially in terms of health regulations – was evident from one speaker who announced that “I have stayed in caravan parks where conditions, to say the least, were disgusting” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 11 May, 1967 Col. 5825). Nevertheless, concern was expressed by others that the “unrealistically high requirements” as laid down for caravan parks by the Department of Health might have the impact of putting certain (private) caravan parks out of business (Rand Daily Mail 12 May, 1967). The growth in the provision of municipal caravan parks and their facilities is inseparable from what Grundlingh (2006: 118) identifies as the desire by national government to make tourism more accessible and “more affordable for the white lower-middle classes”. Among major new public resort developments during the 1960s and 1970s which included provisions for caravanners were the Jim Fouche Holiday Resort in Free State (South African Railways and Harbours 1964) and the opening of the Loskop Dam Resort, 50 km north of Middelburg in Transvaal which offered attractions of angling and visits to a well-stocked local nature reserve. According to Nupen and Burger (1981) the Board for Public Resorts was active in the Transvaal in upgrading facilities particularly at several mineral baths resorts in small towns. The 1969 Caravan Guide provides further evidence of the continued expansion of the industry and of the new growth of caravan parks  – private and

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Fig. 4.6  Advertising of family-owned caravan park. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1969))

municipal-owned across South Africa (Caravan Club of Southern Africa 1969). It is evident that family-owned private caravan parks were actively marketing themselves in the guidebook (see Fig. 4.6). Industry advertisements highlight new ‘luxury’ innovations in caravan design (Fig. 4.7). In terms of municipal caravan parks at least 173 such parks can be recognised by 1969 suggesting an increase of over 60 since the publication of the 1961 guide. As a whole 102 municipal caravan parks were located in Cape Province which by 1969 accounted for 59 percent of the national total. Once again growth in numbers of municipal caravan parks occurred in all provinces with the Transvaal the second most significant with 34 parks representing nearly 20 percent of the national share. Of significance is the increasing range of municipalities which placed advertisements in this particular guide (Fig. 4.8). The total of caravan parks in South Africa was estimated at 500 for 1970 which would suggest that privately owned parks represent roughly 80 percent of total supply. The Chairman of South Africa’s tourist corporation spoke in 1970 of “the increased demand for caravan park facilities” and that “more will have to be added” (Steyn 1970: 30). In addition, attention was drawn to the quality upgrading of facilities and that “as people become more discerning caravan parks are obliged to provide more than just toilet and ablution facilities” (Steyn 1970: 30). The growth of demand was overwhelmingly from domestic caravanners but was boosted also by cross-border regional tourists. In particular it is evident that the market of white settlers in colonial Rhodesia was viewed as significant (Pretoria Publicity Association 1972). As was noted: “Our Rhodesian neighbours are also taking to caravans in bigger numbers, probably for the same reasons

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Fig. 4.7 Advertising new caravan product innovations. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1969))

that apply to South Africans. Coming from a land-locked country, they, like the people of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, usually make for the coast, where there are too few facilities to cope with the demand” (Steyn 1970: 30).

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Fig. 4.8  New municipal caravan park advertising. (Source Caravan Club of South Africa (1969))

The pressures for expanded resort and caravan park development are highlighted by the growth in the numbers of official caravan registrations in South Africa from 60,000 in 1969 to 84,000 by 1972 (National Productivity Institute 1990). During the early 1970s overseas tourists arriving in South Africa could even have a package deal (organised by Trekliner) that allowed them to pick up a motorised caravan in Johannesburg for use for their local travels (Rand Daily Mail, 4 December 1973). In 1970 parliamentary debates it was reported there was an estimated increase of “about 400 percent in caravans along our roads” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 31 August, 1970 Col. 2952). Across South Africa it was evident that all four provincial administrations were actively engaged in new holiday resort development not least “so that congestion cannot take place at a few very popular spots” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 31 August, 1970 Col. 2964). In addition, it was remarked that the provincial administrations “are also scattering our holiday resorts more evenly over the country”, with the further advantages of “splitting up of our holiday makers, and also splitting up of the traffic on our roads” (Hansard, House of Assembly Debates 31 August, 1970 Col. 2964). The strict splitting up of South African caravanners along racial lines was one of the objectives of petty apartheid. Nevertheless, during the 1970s it was evident that at certain private resorts close to Johannesburg racial intermingling was taking place. By 1975 “Government could not condone the unlawful use of the resort by mixed groups of Coloured, Indian and White people” (Rand Daily Mail, 25 September 1975). The increasing impress of apartheid legislation on the caravan sector was manifest in the construction of separate caravan resorts for whites and for ‘non-Whites’. As part of the development of racialized landscapes of tourism the Roodeplaat Dam Public Resort, 30 km from Pretoria, was opened in 1979 as the first of its kind in South Africa to cater exclusively for people classified as ‘Coloureds’ and ‘Indians’ (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c). The resort had two camps – one for each racial group – each with an Olympic sized swimming pool, children’s paddling pool and shop (The Automobile Association of South Africa no date). At the Indian resort, it was stated also “there is a special swimming pool for ladies” (The Automobile Association of South Africa no date).

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For Africans, however, apartheid legislation did not permit their entry into either the large number of exclusively ‘white’ caravan parks or for those specially built for Coloured or Indian South Africans. In 1978 Dr. Nthato Motlana, one of the well-­ known leaders of the Soweto Committee of Ten, purchased a caravan because of the difficulties of securing hotel accommodation as a result of apartheid restrictions. His experience was reported as follows: After taking the caravan on holiday, once, however I had to sell it. No caravan parks or holiday resorts would allow my family to use their premises because I am black. When I tried to camp at the side of the road the police threatened to lock me up. I felt degraded and humiliated by the whole affair because I am black. All I wanted was a pleasant holiday. Instead my trip was completely ruined (Sunday Times, 29 October 1978).

Under the absurdities of apartheid legislation the only caravan parks that were available to Dr. Motlana would be those situated in the ‘separate black Homelands’ or Bantustans such as the nominally ‘independent’ Republic of Transkei. Not surprisingly, participation in caravanning or camping more broadly was not rated highly in surveys undertaken of the recreation and leisure choices of urban Africans under apartheid (Hugo 1974). The scrapping of racial apartheid in South African hotels occurred by 1986 (C.M. Rogerson 2020). Similar nationwide changes would have been logical (and anticipated) but did not follow in the case of all public resorts. The major exception was in the Transvaal where the 12 public resorts administered by the Overvaal Board for Public Resorts remained racially segregated. Roodeplaat dam continued to be only for Coloureds and Indians and the remaining 11 resorts, including Badplaas and Loskop Dam, were for exclusively whites only use (The Star, 8 July 1986). By 1986, however, the public resorts in Natal were multi-racial and in Orange Free State the major resorts of Maselspoort, Hendrik Verwoerd Dam and Jim Fouche were no longer racially segregated. In the Cape Province the parks linked to all the Provincial Administration’s nature reserves were open to all races. The implementation of apartheid policies cannot explain the downturn that occurred in the caravan sector of South Africa. According to one study which was conducted by the National Productivity Institute (1990) a progressive decline was recorded in the annual growth of registered caravans from the mid-1970s. In 1972 the annual growth rate of new registrations was as high as 11.9 percent; 15 years later it was down to 4.4 percent. Between 1972 and 1987 the total number of registered caravans in the country rose from 84,000 to 160,000. During the next three years it actually decreased to 140,000 in total (National Productivity Institute, 1990: 22). These trends towards a decline in the sector are confirmed by another investigation which focussed on numbers of caravan stands and their usage (Xcel Engineering and Management 1991). This study revealed that by certain indicators caravanning peaked in 1982 at which point there were 64,000 caravan stands across the country. More revealing is that “occupancies have declined from 27% to 11%, amounting to a drop from 6.3 million caravan stand nights sold in 1989” which would be equivalent to 600,000 caravan weeks (Xcel Engineering and Management 1991: 60). Such trends meant that the market base of many caravan parks and resorts was eroding at

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a rapid pace. Particularly troubling was the low occupancy of stands which at 11% compared unfavourably with estimated average occupancy levels for hotels (approximately 58%) and the utilisation of fixed accommodation at resorts (between 65–75%) (National Productivity Institute 1990: 24). As caravans were the anchor business for caravan parks as well as an important business source for resorts this downturn in stand occupancy meant that income from caravanning as a percent of total income at resorts was in decline (National Productivity Institute 1990). An observed trend was that the performance of fixed accommodation as opposed to stands in resorts was stronger. It was disclosed that “even caravans for hire at resorts enjoy better occupancies than the stands themselves”; the occupancy levels of such caravans were recorded as high as 45% which was much better than for caravan stands. Between 1982 and 1989 it was calculated the decline in caravan stands in South Africa was from 64,000 to 53,000 in total. In addition, there was a precipitate drop from 6.3 million caravan stand nights sold in 1982 to 2.1 million by 1989 which represents 15 percent per annum compounded fall in sales. Accordingly, one report in 1990 described the “medium term prospects for caravan parks as bleak” (Xcel Management and Engineering 1991: 59). One response was the growth in fixed accommodation at the expense of caravan stands for rental by mobile caravanners (Xcel Management and Engineering 1991). In particular, the conversion of caravan stands to self-catering units in fixed accommodation was a trend taking place especially in privately-owned caravan parks and resorts. Several factors have been advanced to account for this downturn in the caravan sector of South Africa throughout much of the 1980s. These include the increasing costs of petrol, the move toward fixed accommodation, and the introduction in the 1980s of the segment of time-share accommodation as a competing segment for the leisure-time of South Africans (Pandy and Rogerson 2013). It is evident that the market of caravanning and caravan parks was overwhelmingly that of white domestic travellers and had not diversified. The international market was less than 1 percent of all guests and the black caravanner by 1990 was estimated at 0.1% of the total market of the caravan sector (Xcel Engineering and Management 1991). During the 1980s, however, one study conducted of the ‘non-White’ holiday sector in South Africa suggested a potential growth in the ‘Coloured market’ for camping and caravanning (Ferrario 1986: 345). An important explanation for overall decline was that the traditional concept of caravanning in South Africa as “roughing it” was beginning to shift (National Productivity Institute 1990: 23). In parallel with international trends in the caravan sector, the trend was observed for caravans (and tents) to become more luxurious. Accordingly, “as caravans become more costly to purchase the perception of a ‘poor man’s holiday’ is giving way to the view that caravanning is mainly the preserve of the wealthy” (National Productivity Institute 1990: 23). From the late 1980s an accelerating trend was for the caravan manufacturing sector to adjust its production “to meet the needs of the sophisticated and fastidious buyer” (National Productivity

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Institute 1990: 23). Arguably, a major change was taking place with the increased sophistication and quality upgrading of the South African caravan market which was becoming part of an emerging economy of “drive tourism” (Prideaux 2020).

4.3  Conclusion Historical perspectives are rare in the international scholarship which exists on caravans and caravanning (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). For the urban global South no studies are available. This research is the first to interrogate aspects of the historical evolution of caravanning and of caravan park development in South Africa. It examines an under-researched phenomenon in South African tourism and in particular for urban tourism, namely what Mikkelsen and Cohen (2015) characterise as the ‘mundane mobilities’ which surround caravanning. The study shows clearly that the location of the majority of caravan parks was in urban areas of South Africa with a notable share across the country’s small towns. It is evident that caravanning was a vital component in historical development of coastal resort tourism and for the economy of many coastal small towns as well as large cities (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c, e). The analysis further discloses that across the sixty-year study period (from the early 1930s to the time of democratic transition) caravanning and caravan parks have undergone several changes. In common with the experience of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom the role of municipal governments was significant in the early supply of caravan parks in South Africa. Private sector entrepreneurship, however, grew and eventually surpassed the role of local governments in the development and operation of caravan parks. Certainly, by the late 1970s the private sector was the major player in the caravan park segment of South Africa. Arguably, the growing role of the private sector was taking place at a time when caravanning itself was beginning a transition away from simply a low budget form of domestic travel. At the time of democratic transition in 1994 the estimated 700 caravan parks in South Africa - a mix of privately-controlled as well as municipal-operated  - faced a rapidly shifting market environment. In comparative international perspective the shifts observable in South Africa show certain parallels with those structural changes and innovations which occurred in the caravan sectors of Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom. Acknowledgements  South Africa’s national Department of Tourism is thanked for funding this research as part of a broader study on caravan parks as municipal assets. Arno Booyzen produced the map and reviewers provided helpful suggestions for text improvement. Teddy, Dawn and Skye Norfolk offered rich contributions during the period of this chapter’s research and writing.

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Chapter 5

Connection, Place, Transit: Airport Atmospherics and Meaning-Making at Cape Town International Airport Bradley Rink and Lisa Grobler

5.1  W  elcome to the Airport: May I Have Your Attention, Please? Airports play a vital role in tourism, serving as portals for the movement and circulation of tourists, amongst others.1 Airports provide an infrastructural and institutional ‘mooring’ (Hannam et al. 2006; Hannam and Butler 2012) for tourism—moving tourists and their objects (luggage and souvenirs) through a global network of aeromobility; a term that Adey et al. (2007: 774) use in reference to the “dominance of flying as the normal international mode of travelling”. Airports are hubs of activity that juxtapose stillness and waiting with movement and action (Bissell and Fuller 2011); both being necessary for mobility to take place. These spaces are thus imbued with equal parts excitement and boredom, movement and stillness. They are worthy of our attention but have received relatively little in the African context aside from studies focusing on service quality (see Lubbe et  al. 2011; Potgieter et  al. 2014; Chuchu et al. 2018; Mhlanga 2018; Chuchu 2020). For many tourists the airport is just another uncomfortable, frustrating and time-consuming obstacle in the transition between everyday life and the liminal tourism experience awaiting at their destination. Airports have been considered ‘non-places’ (Augé 1995) that lack the

1  The research upon which this chapter is based was completed before the COVID-19 global pandemic changed the way that travellers experience airports—if at all. Once places of transit, connection and meaning-making, airports now carry the stigma of being sites of disease transmission, fear and anxious-ridden regimes of personal protective counter-measures. In spite of this, we trust that airports will continue to play a vital role in tourism in the years to come, and thus our contribution to the literature of tourism mobilities remains.

B. Rink (*) · L. Grobler Department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_5

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relational importance or specific identity that humans have with place in the age of globalisation. For many, airports have become just another ‘sorting mechanism’ (Adey 2004) in the flow of mass tourism (Hannam et al. 2006). We argue that the experience of airports can offer much more to tourism and the tourist city. Both of us as authors and travellers are fascinated by airports. Standing in the middle of a busy airport watching the constant flow of people, goods and aircraft, one can sense the affective atmospheres: tears upon a loved-one’s departure; joy and excitement awaiting the arrival of another; anxiety as one passes through the various stages of security, immigration and customs (Bogicevic et al. 2015); wonder at the marvel of flight itself. Airports can also spark memories of past travels as they awaken the senses for travel in the present (Colomer 2020). For us, like many travellers, the airport is not a placeless sorting machine. In addition to being a place of transit, we also understand airports to be sites of connection and place-making that engender relational geographies with the destinations they serve. While playing an important role in the individual travel experience, they thus have the opportunity to become place ambassadors for the destinations they serve. In this chapter, we consider the presumed ‘non-place’ of an international airport in the global South as a meaningful space for connection with- and transit to a tourist city. As the gateway to South Africa’s ‘Mother City’, Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) welcomes 10 million air passengers each year (Airports Company South Africa 2020a). CTIA is the third largest airport on the African continent in passenger volume, behind OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cairo International Airport in Egypt. In spite of hosting fewer direct international flights than its larger counterparts, CTIA has received international awards including ‘Best Airport in Africa’ in 2010 from the Airports Council International (Airports Council International 2020a) as well as ‘Best Airport in Africa’ in 2017 at both the Skytrax World Airport Awards (Nkanjeni 2017) and the World Travel Awards Africa (Mortlock 2017). Aside from its accolades—or perhaps because of them—we intend to interrogate the image that CTIA portrays within its context in Africa and the global South. Is CTIA a meaningful place as part of destination Cape Town, or simply a space of transit that acts as yet another cog in the wheel of global mobility? The aim of this chapter is to explore the airport atmospherics of CTIA within the binary of airports as either non-places or utopias of globalisation. We do this by exploring the character of airport atmospherics at CTIA through investigation of transit and dwelling elements within the airport that enable meaning-making, and by defining the image that CTIA portrays to its passengers and other users. Our exploration of CTIA against the backdrop of Africa allows us to problematise the binary across which airports are situated: on the one hand as ‘non-places’ (Augé 1995) that only serve as a transit space through which passengers pass on their journey; and on the other as a ‘utopia of globalisation’ (Urry et al. 2016) where passengers feel comfortable and uniquely situated in Cape Town. At the same time, we wish to address the limited research focusing on airport experience and meaning-­ making in airports of the global South. The remainder of this chapter is divided into four parts. First, we frame our exploration of CTIA through literatures that interrogate airports, their environments, meanings and atmospherics from the perspective of the new mobilities paradigm (Sheller and Urry 2006). We situate airports broadly

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and CTIA specifically through their potential for meaning-making, affect and emotion. Framing airports in this way allows us to see the generative possibility of airports in the global South and beyond as meaningful spaces for connection with- and transit to a tourist city. Second, we present a brief discussion of the methods used to collect data in both landside and airside spaces of CTIA. Reflecting on the lengthy and challenging process of gaining access to the airport, we derive methodological insights with regard to the paucity of research in the highly-secured (and thus inaccessible) spaces of airports. Next, we present the results of our qualitative methods where we highlight the unique aspects of CTIA; its spaces of transit and dwelling; and the ways that CTIA welcomes and bids farewell to passengers in ways that render the experience meaningful, memorable, and part of destination Cape Town. We conclude with an assessment of the relationship between CTIA and the tourist city in which it is located. Rather than a ‘non-place’, we argue that the passenger experience at CTIA brings Cape Town tourism attractions and distinctive Cape Town places and landmarks into the space of the airport in meaningful ways, despite enduring feelings of boredom while waiting.

5.2  S  ituating Airports at the Intersection of Mobilities, Tourism and Meaning-Making Since the mid-twentieth century, a network of homogeneous and highly efficient international airports has grown to serve as a critical element in the mobility of tourists and the growth of mass tourism. However, there are few studies that examine the distinctiveness or role of these airports in their connection to the tourist cities they serve. With the exception of Chuchu (2020), Chuchu et  al. (2018) and Potgieter et al. (2014), few do so in the context of Africa. We frame our exploration of CTIA through literatures that interrogate airports, their environments, meanings and atmospherics from the perspective of the new mobilities paradigm (Sheller and Urry 2006). Together, these literatures problematise airports on either end of a spectrum: as either ‘non-places’ (Augé 1995) or as utopias of globalisation (Urry et al. 2016). We use these literatures to help us situate CTIA through its potential for meaning-­ making, affect and emotion while also burnishing the generative possibility of airports as meaningful spaces for connection with- and transit to a tourist city.

5.2.1  Air(Port) Space, Place and Mobilities In their most basic form and function, airports are infrastructure. They act as a ‘mooring’ for (tourist) mobilities (Hannam et  al. 2006). Mobilities require these distinct social spaces that orchestrate forms of social and cultural life including flying (Hannam and Butler 2012: 129). As a space of/for mobility, such moorings

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exhibit a lack of permanence (Adey 2006: 75). While airports in particular have a firmly-fixed and thus immobile location in space, they have multiple relationships with other bodies, materials and infrastructures. Airports are dynamic spaces that are entangled in multiple, intersecting vectors of movement that create each other, and they are hubs of contemporary global circulation—of bodies, affects, and cultures (Shih Pearson 2018). Airport spaces, similar to other moorings, are both contexts for- and products of mobility (Adey 2006). As Adey (2007) further argues, airport spaces are created through the relationship between mobility and immobility. Airlines want passengers to move as quickly as possible through an airport – to be mobile – while airport managers want passengers to stay as long as possible – to be immobile – in order to capture and hold their attention (Adey 2007: 522); ultimately generating revenue through their retail, food and beverage, and duty-free shopping expenditures (Graham 2009). From an historical perspective, Salter (2008) traces the morphology of airport spaces and how they have changed over time since the early decades of commercial aviation. Salter argues that airports were originally designed and constructed much like a railway terminus: a space to pass through with no distractions. Contemporary airports are designed in the image of shopping malls, as they seek non-aviation means of generating revenue (Graham 2009). Retail and coffee shops, restaurants and merchandise stalls dominate space and have become the norm (Salter 2008: 6). While modern airports may look like shopping malls, Fuller (2008) argues that there is one significant architectural difference between a shopping mall and an airport: windows. As an architectural feature of contemporary airports, windows have dual purpose: They not only allow appreciation of the wonder of flight; but also enable internal views of the airport itself, showcasing its franchises and stores (Fuller 2008: 164). Adey (2007) suggests that windows are important for meaning-­ making at the airport because, Here, moving passengers, whisking their way around the retail space, may be made immobile by gazing at the shop window. Obviously, this type of spectatorship is more glancing and temporary than the balconies, and it is used to draw consumers into the shop (Adey 2007: 525).

Thus, windows like stores in shopping malls, have the power to ‘pull’ people – creating a space where immobility is favoured over mobility and where passengers are ‘still’ rather than mobile. Beyond windows themselves, the physical environment of an airport can by itself capture and hold the attention of passengers. Here the physical environment does not necessarily mean the traditional definition of the word, but rather what Moon et al. (2016: 195) refer to as, “factors that can be controlled…to enhance customer’s internal [emotion and satisfaction] and external [staying and re-patronage] responses”. Bitner (1992 in Ali et al. 2016) uses the term servicescape to describe the physical environment through which passengers’ attention is captured and held. Ali et al. (2016) concur with Moon et al. (2016) in their proposed four dimensions of servicescape, including layout accessibility, facility ambience and aesthetics, functionality, and cleanliness. Taken together, these four aspects of airport design lend a homogenous placeless aspect to airports, since all

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international airports have standardised signage and ease of legibility across contexts (Ali et al. 2016: 215). This is to lessen confusion when in a rush, but also to guide passengers toward revenue-generating activities (Hubregtse 2020). Airport interiors can thus influence passengers’ attitudes towards place and can consequently contribute either positively or negative toward the servicescape (Moon et al. 2016: 196), depending on how a passenger or airport user likes the interior or whether or not their senses have been stimulated.

5.2.2  Airport Tourists: Making Use of Waiting Passenger immobility during waiting time is favoured by management who encourages architects to design airports in such a way which reflects shopping malls and high streets; allowing passengers to be exposed to as much retail frontage as possible in order to maximise profits from the space (Adey 2007: 525). Crary (1988) states that great importance is placed on these windows because airport managers and architects know of their value and recognise their purpose to ensure that passengers’ movements will become immobile; capturing and holding their gaze and attention to gain financial reward (Adey 2007: 526). This has caused many airports to focus on interior architecture and design to build their identity, to create spaces that are unique (Urry et al. 2016). Coupled with the notion that these airports have a lot of ‘dwelling’ time, they consequently have “airport cultures to better serve and sustain the dwelling of passengers in transit” (Elliot and Radford 2015: 1071). This can be seen in Singapore’s Changi Airport that has a butterfly garden perfectly fitting to the tropics of the region (Urry et al. 2016: 17) along with a swimming pool, sauna and movie theatres. Beijing Capital International Airport has free entertainment for its passengers, for example art troupe performances ranging from signers to dancers and magicians. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has its own Dutch master (painting) gallery while Las Vegas McCarran Airport has the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum which operates 24/7. Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport has a chapel that conducts hundreds of annual weddings. Munich Airport has a full-service medical hospital at its disposal. Lastly, South Korea’s Incheon International Airport not only has a golf course and driving range, but also a skating rink made of artificial ice to keep passengers dry if they were to fall (Elliot and Radford 2015: 1071). These and other airports around the world have deliberately shaped their atmospheres for the benefit of the passenger experience and revenue generation. To capture passengers’ attention beyond merely being consumers, management often prefers designs that imbue airports with place-specific attributes and experiences in order that passengers may become ‘airport tourists’ (Elliot and Radford 2015: 1072). It is not just about shopping any more, but rather transit and the “accumulation and diversification of experiences and events” (Elliot and Radford 2015:1071). Resultantly, a sense of place is constructed and conveyed to passengers, forging relationships with the destination, and authentic experience tied to the

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location (Amadeus 2012: 27). The airport has transformed from just a space to move through, to a place where emotional attachment is formed and encouraged.

5.2.3  Meaning-Making: Airport Atmospherics More than just placeless sorting machines, Urry et al. (2016) make an argument for airports and their ‘atmospherics’. Their work recognises how airports create place through passenger emotions and, in turn, how passengers enact relational geographies with one another and with the airport. This results in a certain mood being created along a spectrum of harmony or discord. While a passenger is in an airport their emotional state is being stimulated, and as a result of the physical environment they can have emotional reactions ranging from delight (Finn 2005 in Ali et  al. 2016: 26) to boredom (Bissell and Fuller 2011). Finn (2005) suggests that there are various kinds of delight: there is delighted, gleeful and elated. This is in response to the criticism that one word cannot fully measure the complexity of a passenger or airport user’s emotion (Ali et al. 2016: 216). This alludes to the idea that emotions are multi-dimensional and can include both positive and negative attitudes towards a certain environment (Jang and Namkung 2009 in Moon et al. 2016: 198). A passenger’s emotional response can be divided into four categories namely, time, exploration, communication and satisfaction. Satisfaction is the ultimate goal of every service provider because it considers service performance and passenger’s expectation to be the most vital. Atmospherics provide one way for airports to gain an advantage amidst fierce competition. As underscored by Urry et al. (2016: 18), “(the?) fields of commercial activity at airports are intensely competitive, and the focus on tying customer and commercial operations together reflects the retail pressures of capturing passengers on the move in an increasingly crowded marketplace”. This competition extends to a local scale (airports within countries, against one another), to a regional scale between countries in one region of the world (either in Europe or in South East Asia or Africa) and on a global scale between airports in countries across the globe. This re-emphasises the point that airports are in competition within one another and, therefore, on the move (Adey 2007; Fuller 2008; Salter 2008). The reinvigorated approach to airports as ‘places’ that Urry et al. (2016) provide still fails to incorporate perspectives from the global South. Their exploration of airport atmospherics encompassed multiple domestic and international airports in two regions, namely East Asia and the European Union (2016: 17). While Ali et al. (2016) focused on Malaysia, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Bogicevic et al. (2015) rely on a sample of airports exclusively from the USA. In the existenting literature on airports in Africa, airport atmospherics are not a key concern. Rather, service quality and passenger experience remain the principle focus (Lubbe et al. 2011; Potgieter et al. 2014; Chuchu et al. 2018; Mhlanga 2018; Chuchu 2020). Moreover, only Chuchu (2020) and Chuchu et al. (2018) highlight the role of the airport experience in fostering a positive image of the destination.

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Nonetheless, airport atmospherics provides a useful measure of the generative place-making potential of airports, and the paucity of research from the perspective of Africa presents an opportunity to contribute to literatures focusing on tourism mobilities.

5.3  Airside Access: Methods and Insights In an effort to capture the experiences and meaning-making in CTIA, our methods were appropriately qualitative and ethnographic. Data were collected by the second author using qualitative methods including: 1) structured interviews conducted in English with 60 airport users and staff; and 2) participant observation in both landside and airside spaces of the airport for international and domestic flights. The majority of interviews were conducted in domestic and international departures areas, with others in the passenger drop-and-go area. CTIA management suggested that passenger interviews be conducted at departure gates as it was noted from previous experience that passengers would be more willing to engage in an interview format if they see their plane at their gate. Airport users who were under 18 years of age, those who refused to be interviewed or who did not speak English were excluded from the sample. All interviewees were asked the same eight questions (See Fig. 5.1 below) while basic demographic and travel information were also collected. This included: Respondent role (passenger, visitor, employee, or other); Interview location; Flight number and destination (where applicable); Gender; Nationality; and Purpose of travel. All responses were captured on a standardised form designed by the authors. Adding to structured interviews, both authors contributed participant observations both land- and airside to data collection. Observations added an important dimension to the research, as we sensed the airport atmosphere from the experience of a visitor and—in the case of the first author—as a frequent passenger. Observational data were also analysed along with structured interview responses.

Fig. 5.1  Structured interview questions

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Where respondents noted particular spaces, experiences and feelings from their airport experience, we were able to tie them into our observations, photographs and field notes. A vital part of local, provincial and national infrastructure, Cape Town International Airport is considered a ‘National Key Point’ (National Key Points Act 102 of 1980) by the South African government and falls under the management of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). As a result, establishing approval to conduct research and collecting data involved a rigorous and lengthy process of permitting comprised of criminal background checks, security clearance, and approval from the airport’s management authority. To obtain final approval, various engagements took place between the authors and ACSA management in the form of electronic, telephonic and face-to-face meetings. The purpose was to clarify the field of study and determine the added value offered to the airport. A further step involved obtaining a permit which allowed one of the authors access to restricted areas in order to engage passengers directly. Data were collected over a period of 30 days during the month of October 2017 in collaboration with the airport’s Passenger Services Survey Division. The researcher had airside access similar to that of airport or airline employees. As such, it was possible to observe the environment and usage of the airport from both landside and airside perspectives, and to interview travellers and other airport users. It also served to legitimise the presence of the researcher in the airport space, including a high-­ visibility vest and ACSA credentials. The level of access allowed the researchers unique opportunities for data collection which add to the validity of the findings.

5.4  Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Cape Town ‘Welcome to Cape Town’. These are the words that passengers first hear upon landing at Cape Town International Airport on domestic and international flights. Whether departing passengers who exchange their terrestrial mobility for a journey through the air, or arriving passengers at the start of their visit to the city, all experience the destination that is Cape Town International Airport. In the following section we explore the results of our study, focusing on several unique aspects of CTIA; including elements of transit and dwelling, airport atmospherics, that emerge from the airport user experience.

5.4.1  Transit and Dwelling at CTIA: The Waiting Game The name of the game at most airports is waiting. Regardless of class of travel, long-­ haul or short, every passenger must wait in some shape or form - wait to check-in, wait to get past security, wait till their flight departs. Waiting is not unique to CTIA, but rather part of any mobility practice (Bissell and Fuller 2011). How and what an

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airport offers to overcome waiting is important because it will in part determine the character of the airport: one defined by ‘transit’ or ‘dwelling’. By looking at both transit and dwelling elements at an airport, the resulting airport atmospheric is formed. Elements of transit invoke an image of merely passing through, while dwelling has the connotation of meaning-making. The emphasis here is not whether the airport is a place, but if passengers intentionally travel through the airport as a stop-over point such as the mega-hubs in the Middle East. Given CTIA’s geographical location at the southern tip of Africa, it has little chance of serving as a stop-­ over hub. When asked if CTIA is a destination, many respondents saw the airport as an extension of Cape Town, yet not the reason they travelled to Cape Town in the first place. Rather it was the many tourist attractions that Cape Town has to offer like Table Mountain, Robben Island, V&A Waterfront, the beaches and mountains that made people want to come to Cape Town. Thus, it is first Cape Town that attracts passengers and not the other way around. CTIA is not the main feature of tourists experiences, nor do they choose to fly through it for any specific reason other than as a gateway to the city and region. One South African local resident who regularly travels to the airport to drop-off passengers encapsulated a popular view of the airport as a transit node when she noted that “…[T]here are much better places to visit in Cape Town [than the airport]…The Airport is just a ‘station” (Respondent 53). This echoes the view that many sampled passengers and airport users have regarding CTIA. Most of these international and domestic passengers experience the airport as a transitional space only; just another airport. Thus, they do not establish a meaningful relationship between the airport and the city. These passengers do not travel with the intention of visiting and staying at the airport, there are other more influential attractions outside the airport which motivate them to come to CTIA. As a result, passengers do not choose to ‘dwell’ at the airport. Although passengers may not choose to dwell at CTIA, waiting as a form of enforced dwelling is part of almost every passenger’s experience. We therefore asked respondents if they found any activities within the airport that makes passing by time easier. It is widely recognised in the airport management industry that airports are no longer simply transit nodes, and thus airports need to provide opportunities for passing time. As the Airports Council International (ACI) notes: Gone are the days when airports were merely points of departure and arrival. Today, airports are complex, multifunctional travel centres offering a wide range of services. Indeed, many have non-aeronautical revenues reaching more than half of total revenues. Airports have become key drivers of social and economic progress in cities, regions and countries the world over (Airports Council International 2020b).

CTIA is no exception when it comes to the need to provide amenities for awaiting passengers and other airport users. Airport users’ perceptions of amenities throughout CTIA, both land- and airside, received mixed results in our sample. In spite of a range of places to eat, drink and shop, a common trend amongst those waiting in international departures was that there was nothing for passengers to do. Although our observations take note of a steady stream of international departing

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passengers browsing through a large duty-free shop and another dedicated to African curios, respondents called for more shops, restaurants and entertainment, thus, a better range of everything that may help them to pass the time. In short, passengers want a more diverse and engaging servicescape. A British female who came to Cape Town for holiday, lamented the lack of activities for waiting international passengers. She noted “…There is limited and minimal [amount] of shops and restaurants” (Respondent 31). And she was not the only one who took notice of this, for many there were not enough activities to capture or hold their attention. As a result, this made the airport atmosphere “dull” for another passenger (Respondent 33), another British female who came to Cape Town to visit her daughter. While passengers accept the need for waiting, they enjoy being entertained. Others, like Respondent 54, a South African male who travels frequently for business to Johannesburg, focus not on entertainment but on efficiency, noting that he “never had an incident or bad experience” while at CTIA. Most respondents singled out the staff for particular praise in making their experience a good one. In spite of a range of positive and negative feelings, when asked to provide one word that encapsulates the airport experience, nearly all of our 60 respondents gave a word with a positive connotation including—amongst others—‘modern’, ‘efficient’, ‘world-class’, ‘pleasant’, ‘small’, ‘excellent’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘fantastic’. In contemporary airports, as elsewhere across the tourism experience, internet connectivity is central to entertainment as it is for connecting with home and work (Fan et al. 2019). The wi-fi experience at CTIA drew the attention of a number of respondents. A male international business traveller who came to Cape Town for work, had a good experience with the airport wi-fi because he was able to use it to connect to his family back home in Cameroon (Respondent 3). However, others like respondent 34, a German female who also came to Cape Town for work, noted that “…access to the wi-fi [was poor]. Only for 30 minutes.” When compared with the waiting time required at the airport, 30 minutes ‘free’ wi-fi was simply not enough. For those airport users who wish to entertain themselves with connecting to the internet, CTIA offers the opportunity to embark on a journey through books at the ‘Flybrary’. The CTIA Flybrary is located in the international arrivals hall, and provides a quiet place to grab a book while waiting for arriving passengers. Set apart from the bustling arrivals hall, the Flybrary is literally a ‘flying library’ filled with an array of books amidst a comfortable and quiet seating area. It epitomises dwelling within CTIA. Users of the Flybrary are guided and encourage by the following notice at the entrance: Sit down and have a look. Take advantage of each fine book. History or heritage, romance or true crime. We have drama, fantasy and more! Our books cost nothing, not a dime. But if you find a book or four take it home, we don’t mind. Just please–please– please always leave one of your own behind.

CTIA’s Flybrary provides a calm, quiet and cosy atmosphere compared to the busy arrivals hall outside. But the question remains, does it promote a sense of dwelling in CTIA? The novelty of an airport-based take-one-leave-one library helps to create a sense of dwelling. However, in our observations, the location of the

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Flybrary in the far corner of the international arrivals hall meant that few airport users found it. None of our respondents mentioned it as a unique aspect of the airport, nor as a place to help pass the time. Considering the need to wait during an airport passage, the concept of the Flybrary has potential to positively contribute to CTIA’s airport atmospheric, yet its location in the international arrivals hall rather than in departures limits its usefulness for airport users.

5.4.2  Airport Atmospherics at CTIA What makes CTIA unique? This is a question that we posed to the sampled airport users. This line of questioning was designed to allow us to understand if CTIA as a ‘non-place’ or place with a unique identity made through intention, meaning and memories. Of the 60 respondents interviewed, roughly one-quarter answered that there was nothing unique or special about CTIA. Respondent 10, a German female who came to Cape Town to do volunteer work said that, “[T]here is nothing. It is just normal. It is nothing special.” Respondent 28, a South African female going on an overseas business trip echoed this by saying there is, “nothing that makes it special.” When it comes to passengers like this, all an airport can do is try their best to make the journey as pleasant as possible. Their view is, however, in the minority. The majority of respondents understood CTIA as more than simply a ‘non-place’. Instead of it just being a space through which they needed to move, the majority of sampled users understood CTIA as a ‘place’. The most popular reason given for this was the view of the surrounding landscapes and mountains as seen from the airport departures halls themselves. Sixteen of our respondents spoke directly about how unique it was for them to be sitting at international and domestic departures looking out over Stellenbosch and its mountains. Against the backdrop of aircraft in the foreground, and mountains beyond, passengers can frequently be seen taking photographs or simply gazing out at the view. Respondent 18, a British female who came to Cape Town for work, captured how the surrounding environment and the airport itself can work in tandem with one another. For her, the airport experience is about the, “…landscapes and how the windows frame it.” Because of how modern buildings are constructed – using a lot of steel and glass – it was not hard to achieve a picture which ‘frames’ the mountains. The airside architecture and interior design of CTIA provides giant ‘picture frames’ of steel and glass that not only allow as much light as possible to enter the departures hall, but they also provide a connection between the exterior vistas and the interior ambiance. The windows enable departing passengers to watch planes take-off and land on a continual basis, while they also enjoy sunrise or the reflection of sunset from the distant mountains. The overall design of CTIA plays a part in the uniqueness of the airport for some respondents. Most passengers noted the layout of the airport, how spacious and open it is, how it was not too big, that is was not too crowded, that there was enough seating and it was user-friendly. All of these aspects were positively reflected upon by respondents, who in turn saw CTIA as being unique.

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The atmosphere of CTIA is not only defined visually, but also aurally—through sound. The sound of languages from around the world both lend to the experience of an international airport as it complicates the accessibility to respondents. Two South African respondents noted how unique it was for them to hear their mother tongue of Afrikaans around them and to hear it spoken by some of the staff and how in turn it made them feel at home. Adding to this soundscape are frequent announcements of flight boarding and delays. Such announcements add to the airport experience in positive and negative ways. For some passengers they signal excitement as the journey begins, for others disappointment in the face of delays. And for others, the urgency of a boarding call is the impetus to run in an effort to catch their flight before closing. Although the constant cacophony of announcements helped to define the atmosphere of the airport during the period of data collection, CTIA has since gone silent, (Tourism Update 2018) following a global trend of airports eliminating all but the most critical announcements. Building on the concept of the airport as a symbol of ‘home’, is a recently-­ arrived South African female respondent. Arriving at CTIA after a year as an au-pair in the USA, she noted the feeling of walking through the international arrivals hall and feeling like, “you [are] in Cape Town. You see pictures along the walls of Table Mountain, the beaches and winelands.” This notion of ‘home’ is further echoed by Respondent 35, a South African female, who stated, “you know you are home when you see the walls at [international] arrivals.” The walls that both respondents mention are a combination of three-dimensional tableaux of typical Cape Town cityscapes and elements of the surrounding region. These include: a mock-up of a wine cellar, with a notice to passers-by that says ‘Wine capital of the world’; an image of Kalk Bay Harbour, complete with a life-size wooden fishing boat; the ‘Long walk to freedom’ which includes a full-size mock-up of a Robben Island prison cell and portrait of former President and apartheid-era political prisoner, Nelson Mandela; the ‘Getahead Shebeen’ which may be as close as tourists get to an actual township drinking establishment; a life-size façade of five Georgian-style Bo-Kaap homes in typically bright colours; and piles of rocks and a diorama of penguins at Simons Town’s famous Boulders Beach. Hanging above it all in the International Arrivals Hall is the ‘Mandela Tapestry’. As the ‘gateway to Cape Town’ according to ACSA (Airports Company South Africa 2020b) CTIA carries important symbolic weight for the city and those who visit it. The identity of this gateway is deliberately tied to the legacy of those who shaped both the city and the country, including former President Nelson Mandela. Building upon the symbolic relationship between Mandela and South Africa, CTIA unveiled the ‘Mandela Tapestry’ on 10 December 2015. The importance of this artwork does not go unnoticed by us. The tapestry serves as an emblematic meaning-maker for visitors and users of the airport. It directly connects the legacy of Madiba with the airport that brings visitors to and from the city. This and the other features noted above cannot be found anywhere else and are emblematic of Cape Town. Because passengers have attached the temporal feeling of home onto a space at the Airport, made an emotional connection, and as a result it is immediately transformed into a place.

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These scenes greet international arriving passengers as they walk through the arrivals hall and help to establish tourists’ image of Cape Town, while adding to the distinctiveness of CTIA. They also remind visitors of the most popular tourist sites in the region, thus reinforcing the distinctiveness of the destination. In a way, the destination of Cape Town is replicated in miniature within the arrivals hall. The airport acts as a stand-in for the destination itself, providing a glimpse of the holiday experience to come.

5.5  Conclusion In this chapter we have set out to explore the relationship between CTIA and the tourist city in which it is located. We sought to establish the identity of CTIA along a continuum of ‘non-place’ (Augé 1995) or ‘utopia of globalisation’ as argued by Urry et  al. (2016). Our final assessment situates CTIA somewhere in-between. Responses from airport users suggest that CTIA is an efficient transit node on account of its ease of use, small size and comfort. As a servicescape it sorts and moves tourists and their goods through the global system of aeromobility the same as any airport around the world. However, our findings recognise the potential for CTIA to bring Cape Town tourism attractions and distinctive Cape Town places and landmarks into the space of the airport in meaningful ways. For some airport users, however, CTIA remains simply a waiting and sorting point along their journey. Literatures that highlight airport atmospherics (Adey 2007; Urry et  al. 2016) provide examples from major hub airports in the global North. Thus, one of the primary contributions of our study is to provide empirical evidence of place-based airport atmospherics from the perspective of an airport and tourist destination in the global South. In addition to offering an African perspective on airport atmospherics, our study of CTIA also provided unintended methodological insights. Considering the experience of doing research in the secured spaces of an airport, we surmise that the lack of research on user experiences of airports—other than from the autoethnographic perspective of researchers or airport authorities themselves—has much to do with the sensitive nature of airports as strategic and highly-securitised elements of tourism. Thus, our study and its methods have much to contribute toward the understanding of airports as meaningful spaces in tourist cities. Our findings demonstrate that CTIA serves its terminus role like many other airports, but is also a unique and meaningful place. The architectural and interior design of CTIA helps to bring Cape Town into the airport atmosphere. The expansive airside views unite modern jet aircraft with Cape Town’s natural environment. Walking through the international arrivals hall, CTIA is shaped as a distinctive place that invites users to experience Cape Town before setting foot in its many tourist attractions. It provides an opportunity to get one last glimpse of the tourist landscapes of Cape Town—Boulders Beach, the Winelands, a township shebeen, Bo-Kaap or District Six—as they make last-minute duty-free purchases before boarding their flight home.

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The atmosphere of CTIA is not static. The experience of the airport changes depending on time of day, day of the week, and with the holiday seasons. It is a quieter place than it was when we first collected data, going ‘silent’ like many other airports worldwide. Looking ahead, the experience of airports will undoubtedly continue to change in the post-pandemic era, as will the experience of travel and tourism more generally. As Gössling et al. (2021) argue, air travel and airports are not only complicit in the spread of disease, they are also critical players in the monitoring and control of pathogenic mobilities. Thus, airports will continue to serve an important role, yet their experience will be fraught with health and safety concerns in addition to more conventional feelings of boredom. Boredom as a result of waiting remains a feature of CTIA passenger experiences and thus the airport atmospheric, as it does in airports around the world. However, the CTIA airport atmosphere provides an opportunity for place branding through distinctive amenities and services. If only through the architecture and materiality of the airport itself—as literally ‘seen’ through CTIA’s windows—airports have an opportunity to connect themselves with the destination they serve. As the gateway to a popular tourist destination in the global South, CTIA has the opportunity to underscore Cape Town’s unique cultures, geographies, identity and selling points. As Hannam (2008: 130) argues, “[d]estination branding is viewed as perhaps the most powerful marketing weapon available to contemporary regional developers confronted by increasing global competition”. The role of the airport experience is further underscored by Chuchu (2020) whose study of travellers at OR Tambo International Airport concludes that a positive image of the destination—partly driven by the airport experience—becomes the strongest influence on tourists’ intention to revisit the country as a travel destination. Echoing the notion that airports can provide ‘romantic emotional connection’ (Urry et al. 2016: 14) for both for passengers and other airport users, our study has demonstrated that the architecture and interior design elements help to connect CTIA and its passengers with the landscapes and sites of touristic value in Cape Town. The airport also provides a sense of being ‘home’ for those returning from domestic or international journeys. For tourists, it provides a unique glimpse of natural, cultural and heritage sights to be explored in Cape Town. Rather than a ‘non-place’, we argue that the passenger experience at CTIA brings Cape Town tourism attractions and distinctive Cape Town places and landmarks into the space of the airport in meaningful ways for passengers both upon arrival and departure. CTIA remains firmly-rooted in contemporary South Africa as it does with its complicated past. In this way, the airport provides an important conduit for tourists to both transit and dwell in the rich tourism landscapes of South Africa’s Mother City. Acknowledgements  The authors wish to thank the management and staff at Cape Town International Airport for their support of this study. In particular we would like to thank Deidre Davids and CTIA General Manager Deon Cloete for their support.

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References Adey, P. (2004). Secured and sorted mobilities: Examples from the airport. Surveillance and Society, 1(4), 500–519. Adey, P. (2006). If mobility is everything then it is nothing: Towards a relational politics of (im) mobilities. Mobilities, 1(1), 75–94. Adey, P. (2007). ‘May I have your attention’: Airport geographies of spectatorship, position, and (im)mobility. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 25(3), 515–536. Adey, P., Budd, L., & Hubbard, P. (2007). Flying lessons: Exploring the social and cultural geographies of global air travel. Progress in Human Geography, 31, 773–791. Airports Company South Africa. (2020a). Cape Town International Airport. Retrieved 10 August 10, 2020, from: https://www.airports.co.za/airports/cape-­town-­international-­airport/the-­airport Airports Company South Africa. (2020b). Airport talk, 9th edition. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from: https://www.airports.co.za/CTIA/Pages/Airport-­Talk.aspx Airports Council International. (2020a). ACI-ASQ past winners. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from: https://aci.aero/customer-­experience-­asq/asq-­awards-­and-­recognition/asq-­awards/ past-­winners/year-­2010/ Airports Council International. (2020b). Customer experience. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from: https://aci.aero/customer-­experience-­asq/ Ali, F., Kim, W.-G., & Ryu, K. (2016). The effect of physical environment on passenger delight and satisfaction: Moderating effect of national identity. Tourism Management, 57, 213–224. Amadeus. (2012). Reinventing the airport ecosystem. Retrieved August 10, 2020, from: www. amadeus.com/airportecosystem Augé, M. (1995). Non-places: Introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity. London: Verso. Bissell, D., & Fuller, G. (2011). Stillness unbound. In D. Bissell & G. Fuller (Eds.), Stillness in a mobile world (pp. 1–17). Abingdon: Routledge. Bitner, M. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of the physical surrounding on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57–71. Bogicevic, V., Yang, W., Cobanoglu, C., Bilgihan, A., & Bujisic, M. (2015). Traveller anxiety and enjoyment: The effect of airport environment on traveller’s emotions. Journal of Air Transport Management, 57, 122–129. Chuchu, T. (2020). The impact of airport experience on international tourists’ revisit intention: A South African case. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 29(2), 414–427. Chuchu, T., Chiliya, N., & Chinomona, R. (2018). The impact of servicescape and traveller perceived value on affective destination image: An airport retail services case. The Retail and Marketing Review, 14(1), 45–57. Colomer, L. (2020). Feeling like at home in airports: Experiences, memories and affects of placeness among third culture kids. Applied Mobilities, 5(2), 155–170. Crary, J. (1988). Techniques of the observer. October, 45, 3–35. Elliot, A., & Radford, D. (2015). Terminal experimentation: The transformation of experiences, events and escapes at global airports. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 33(6), 1063–1079. Fan, D.  X., Buhalis, D., & Lin, B. (2019). A tourist typology of online and face-to-face social contact: Destination immersion and tourism encapsulation/decapsulation. Annals of Tourism Research, 78, 102757. Finn, A. (2005). Reassessing the foundations of customer delight. Journal of Service Research, 8, 103–116. Fuller, G. (2008). Welcome to windows 2.1: Motion aesthetics at the airport. In M. Salter (Ed.), Politics at the airport (pp. 161–175). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C.  M. (2021). Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 1–20. Graham, A. (2009). How important are commercial revenues to today’s airports? Journal of Air Transport Management, 15(3), 106–111.

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Hannam, K. (2008). Tourism geographies, tourist studies and the turn towards mobilities. Geography Compass, 2(1), 27–139. Hannam, K., & Butler, G. (2012). Engaging the new mobilities paradigm in contemporary African tourism research. Africa Insight, 42(2), 127–135. Hannam, K., Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). Editorial: Mobilities, immobilities and moorings. Mobilities, 1(1), 1–22. Hubregtse, M. (2020). Wayfinding, consumption, and air terminal design. London: Routledge. Jang, S., & Namkung, Y. (2009). Perceived quality, emotions, and behavioural intentions: Application of an extended Mehrabian-Russell model to restaurants. Journal of Business Research, 62(4), 451–460. Lubbe, B., Douglas, A., & Zambellis, J. (2011). An application of the airport service quality model in South Africa. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(4), 224–227. Mhlanga, O. (2018). Customer experiences and return patronage in airport hotels: Evidence from OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa. Acta Commercii, 18(1), 1–11. Moon, H., Yoon, H. J. Y., & Han, H. (2016). Role of airport physical environment in the satisfaction generation process: Mediating the impact of traveller emotion. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2(2), 193–211. Mortlock, M. (2017). Cape Town International is now Africa’s leading airport. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from: http://ewn.co.za/2017/10/12/ ct-­international-­airport-­is-­now-­africa-­s-­leading-­airport Nkanjeni, U. (2017). Cape Town International voted best in Africa as SA regional airport clean up. Retrieved April 8, 2017, from: http://traveller24.news24.com/News/Flights/afritravel-­cape-­ town-­international-­voted-­best-­in-­africa-­as-­sa-­regional-­airports-­clean-­up-­20170315 Potgieter, M., Saayman, M., & Du Plessis, L. (2014). Key success factors in managing a visitors’ experience at a South African international airport. Journal of Contemporary Management, 11(1), 510–533. Salter, M. (Ed.). (2008). Politics at the airport. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A, 38, 207–226. Shih Pearson, J. (2018). Choreographing the airport. Cham: Palgrave Pivot. Tourism Update (2018). Cape Town airport goes silent. Accessed October 15, 2020, from: https:// www.tourismupdate.co.za/article/cape-­town-­airport-­goes-­silent-­boarding-­calls-­cut?page=128 Urry, J., Elliot, A., Radford, D., & Pitt, N. (2016). Globalisations utopia?: On airport atmospherics. Emotion, Space and Society, 19, 13–20.

Chapter 6

Airbnb in Townships of South Africa: A New Experience of Township Tourism? Jana Hofäcker and Matthias Gebauer

6.1  Introduction The townships of South Africa’s metropolitan areas are places of social disadvantage and socio-economic exclusion (Jürgens and Donaldson 2012; Jürgens et  al. 2013; Rogerson 2019). Originating in the early twentieth century, these settlements developed into areas of social deprivation during the apartheid era, reflecting politics of planned segregation, forced resettlements and racialized urbanisation. To this day, townships are still considered unsafe, shaken by poverty, unemployment and crime. The implicit and explicit warnings against entering the townships, let alone staying there for longer periods of time, which appear in everyday discourse especially for visitors, reproduce the racism inscribed in space, as well as the resulting stigmata (Briedenhann and Ramchander 2006). Despite this, it is precisely here, in places of daily produced and reproduced exclusion, that a tourism sector has emerged (Steinbrink 2012; Booyens 2021). Township tourism has a very special path of development due to the historical embeddedness within and after apartheid. With an estimated 500,000 visitors to townships per year, it recently has become a mass tourism phenomenon (Frenzel et al. 2015: 238). Moreover, the tours through a township are often described as the highlight of a traveller’s trip to South Africa. While visiting townships as part of a tour became an established element in South African tourism, individual accommodation of international township tourists within these areas seemed to be out of question. The introduction of Airbnb1 as a  Airbnb is a peer-to-peer apartment sharing platform founded in California in 2008 for booking and renting accommodation (Peuckert et al. 2017: 9, 11). Private as well as commercial providers 1

J. Hofäcker (*) Section Geography, University of Passau, Passau, Germany M. Gebauer Institute of Geography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_6

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global platform offering various types of accommodation to South Africa’s townships may point to a shift in terms of how townships are perceived as tourist destinations by visitors. By featuring a qualitative case study which deals with the impact of Airbnb on homestay accommodations in the township of Langa in Cape Town,2 this chapter asks if the here presented developments point to a new step of township tourism experience. We thereby consider (1) to what extent the new way of offering accommodation within the township may have repercussions for the place in terms of the above-mentioned inscriptions and (2) whether the introduction of Airbnb has an impact on township tourism in general. Beyond researching the most dominant form of township tourism, namely township tours (see among others Ludvigsen 2002; Rolfes et  al. 2009; Butler 2010; Frenzel et al. 2015; Frenzel 2020), only a few isolated studies have so far dealt with the accommodation system in townships. Rogerson (2004), for example, examines the development and challenges of South Africa’s emerging small black-owned bed and breakfasts. He considers existing problems to be a result of apartheid, especially against the backdrop of unequally distributed ownership, since most tourism enterprises are still managed or owned by the country’s formerly White classified minority. Hikido (2018) examines bed and breakfast accommodation with a perspective on the role that social connections and networks play in the success of these businesses. In contrast, this chapter does not intend to focus on small business development or discuss the opportunities and risks that tourism entails, but rather looks into the actual development of township accommodation as a part of township tourism in the light of the introduction of Airbnb. The peer-to-peer rental platform and its influence on the hospitality sector, tourism, and overall urban development is discussed on a global scale in a number of contributions (see among others Varma et al. 2016; Oskam and Boswijk 2016). In recent years, several contributions with a focus on South Africa have joined the debate. Haripershad and Johnston (2017) discuss the overall influence of the sharing or gig economy with the examples of Uber and Airbnb in South Africa (for a critical account on the gig economy in general see Ravenelle 2017). Visser et al. (2017) provide a more specific perspective of Airbnb’s role within the field of tourist accommodation in Cape Town. Mhlanga (2019, 2020a, b) engages in a comparison of what he terms the flagship and the sharing economy, i.e. hotels vs. Airbnb, and points to a conflicting position on the accommodation market. In a similar vein but with regard to the tourism industry in general, Henama (2018) discusses the influence of Airbnb on the entrepreneurial landscape in South Africa. A recent study by Prinsloo (2019) puts the emergence of Airbnb in Cape Town into relation with resource consumption and climate change.

offer their accommodations or part of them through the platform (Peuckert et  al. 2017: 9), but without Airbnb assuming any legal obligations. 2  Date of research: September 19th – December 16th, 2019. The project study is based on qualitative interviews conducted with hosts and other relevant key persons related to Langa’s hospitality industry as well as participatory observations (i.e. overnight stays at the Airbnbs).

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Nevertheless, the introduction of the accommodation platform to South Africa’s urban townships is a so far under-researched issue. Booyens and Rogerson (2019) mention the phenomenon briefly in their account on creative tourism. Resarch by Siegenthaler (2019) on tourism in the township of Langa presents insights into the life and business motivation of one Airbnb host and provides an initial discussion on the effects that the new form of accommodation can have on the tourist encounter with a township. Adding to this growing body of literature, our case study engages specifically with Airbnb as a variation or even a new way of touristic experience of townships.

6.2  History of the Township of Langa Langa was initially founded in the 1920s in order to resettle the inhabitants of Ndabeni, a so called ‘native location’ under the urban planning logics of colonial Cape Town (Phillips 1987, 1990: 81; Coetzer 2009; Sambumbu 2010: 184–186; Booyens et al. 2021). Considered as a place for Africans living within the territory of White3 or European urban South Africa, Langa can be seen as a representation of the historical genesis of exclusion, racism, resettlement and segregation which took place in South Africa throughout the twentieth century and still exists as an urban reality of today’s post-apartheid cities. At the turn of the century, South Africa’s economic development in the course of industrialization increasingly stimulated the migration of ‘Native’ migrant workers to the cities (Swanson 1977: 410). These processes of rapid urbanization were seen by the White minority as an influx of ‘uncontrolled hordes’ and ‘uncivilized barbarians’ (Swanson 1977: 392) and ultimately a threat to the social and spatial order. Thus, in 1900, a proposal came up to develop separate places of residence for the native African population to the east of the city and its emerging suburbs. While such initial processes of planned segregation along racial categories were linked to urbanization, it was the outbreak of the bubonic plague at the Cape in 1901 and the Spanish influenza in 1918 (Phillips 1990) that would spur the construction of what would become the first townships in the so-called Cape Flats to the east of Cape Town (see Fig. 6.1). The notion of a health threat emanating from the native African population became increasingly popular and can be seen as an important strand in the emergence of urban apartheid, as it rationalized previous efforts to segregate residents of these settlements (Wilson and Mafeje 1963). Subsequently, the quickly overcrowded place of Ndabeni which evolved out of dynamics of racially motivated 3  The use of racist population categories in a scientific work entails the risk of their reproduction. Nevertheless, ascriptions such as Black African/Bantu, White/European, Coloured, Indian or Asian are of crucial importance for the current discussion as they survived South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past and have remained a social reality (Posel 2001: 56). In addition, population groups are still surveyed in the official census, albeit in addition to the category Other (Statistics South Africa 2011).

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Fig. 6.1  The township of Langa to the east of the Central Business District of Cape Town. (Source Authors)

relocations became again an issue of unwanted Black urban development and therefore earmarked for resettlement. Under the newly created legal conditions of the Native Urban Areas Act of 1923, which regulated and restricted the right of residence of the indigenous rural population within urban areas, constructions for the township of Langa began with its official opening in 1927 (Ludvigsen 2002: 26; Coetzer 2009: 5). The township was planned for 5000 Ndabeni residents and 5000 Cape Townians with the possibility to host a maximum of 12,000 inhabitants (Coetzer 2009: 7). According to the practice of township planning in terms of infrastructural layout, there were only two points at which the township could be entered or left, a factor that allowed increased police control, especially later on during apartheid (Ludvigsen 2002: 27). Following these initial developments, South Africa’s townships around larger urban areas and economic hubs were first and foremost designed as dormitory towns and transition zones for a migratory workforce that was crucial to the economic prosperity of urban South Africa. While infrastructural investments were kept to a necessary minimum (Turok 2001: 2350–2351; Ludvigsen 2002: 28), efficient and cost-effective public transport became essential to ensure the everyday mobility of workers (Pirie 1992: 172; Ludvigsen 2002: 29). This manifested the idea that the inhabitants of the townships were tolerated solely to meet the needs of the White

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population in the city, while at the same time being restricted and highly regulated in their movements (Swanson 1977: 395; Savage 1986: 193). Therefore, the apartheid’s spatial politics and practices of racist segregation and control of the majority of the people living in (urban) South Africa are crucially linked to attempts to regulate the urban population in racial terms that began before 1948. The resulting racist spatial structures created a socio-spatial order, which was underlined by access restrictions and buffer zones to neighbouring residential areas. The population classified as ‘Native’ or later as ‘Black African’ was, on the one hand, needed as a work force for the city, but was also to be segregated from the White urban space understood as orderly. These historical developments of racialized territorialization manifested social and spatial modes of ordering (Gebauer 2019: 17) into the urban landscape of South Africa which survived the end of apartheid. Despite political programmes of redevelopment and integration, townships continue to be relatively disadvantaged areas. Haferburg (2013) goes as far as to argue that, due to persistent social and economic inequalities, even post-apartheid urban planning aiming at desegregation and integration is prone to reproduce the inscribed logics of racialized social and spatial orderings. In the example of the township of Langa, the logics of continuous exclusion apply as well, especially when contextualizing the urban space of the township through the lens of tourism. While the historical exclusivity of townships can without a doubt be described as one of the reasons for the emergence of township tourism, the actual practice can also be seen as crossing a boundary. Visiting townships therefore entails the possibility to challenge the inscribed spatial belongings and temporal frames of interaction with the actual place by facilitating encounters between individuals who would have otherwise been kept apart by the persistence of the history of colonialism and apartheid (see Ludvigsen 2002: 77).

6.3  Development of Township Tourism in Langa In townships, tourists encounter relics and manifestations of historical and socio-­ structural marginalization. Since the end of apartheid international interest into township tourism has grown steadily (Rolfes et al. 2009; Rogerson 2013; George and Booyens 2014) reflecting a global development of slum tourism (Frenzel et al. 2012; Hoogendoorn et  al. 2020). Visiting the marginalized settlements and poor quarters of large urban areas is by no means a new phenomenon but dates back to Victorian London (Koven 2004; Steinbrink 2012; Freire-Medeiros 2013). Steinbrink (2012) conceptualizes the expanding interest in this form of tourism, especially in the Global South, as ‘global slumming’ and thus links post-apartheid township tourism in South Africa to global historical contexts of visiting the ‘other side’ of a city or the ethnicized otherness of specific neighbourhoods that are in some way linked to aspects of poverty (Freire-Medeiros 2013). A diversification and thematic specialization can be observed as destinations in the Global South mature, adding especially the experience of art to the guided tours as the most common form of this kind

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of tourism (Frenzel et al. 2015: 242). Beyond that, more and more touristic offerings with a more interactive dimension seem to emerge, such as the participation in festivals, short term volunteering or staying overnight (Frenzel et al. 2015: 242–243). The focus is always on experiencing a certain local culture that is defined for example by a sense of community and an attachment to the locality (Steinbrink 2012: 17). George and Booyens (2014: 450) define township tourism in South Africa as “a niche market segment of urban tourism and, thus, part of the leisure offering in all of South Africa’s three major cities”. Nevertheless, visiting a township became an important element within the idea of an ‘authentic’ South African tourism experience. In line with the concept of slum tourism, township tourists expect to gain a local sense of place of the ‘other’ respectively ‘real side’ of the city when touring a township (Dondolo 2002: 39; Rolfes et al. 2009: 29; Steinbrink 2012). Persistent poverty and the historically inscribed socio-spatial exclusion function as the guarantor for the authenticity of the tourist’s experience and therefore become constitutive for this ‘reality’. As Steinbrink et al. (2016: 50) put it:” poverty is, therefore, not the actual attraction, but, primarily, the medium through which ‘reality’ is experienced”. In the township of Langa, tourism can be traced back to the late 1980s (Dondolo 2002; Booyens 2021). After the formal end of apartheid, Paula Gumede was one of the first to bring foreign visitors to Langa. Before starting her own tour company, she gained experience while working for a local NGO and accompanying international politicians and development workers to the townships (Ludvigsen 2002). In the early 1990s, as international visitors became more interested in the actual places of the anti-apartheid struggle, the township tour market expanded (Ludvigsen 2002: 17). In the beginning, the tours mainly focused on the political situation in South Africa as well as specific locations related to the struggle. They thus served as a niche tourism for politically interested travellers (Steinbrink 2012: 4). Over time, however, historical and political aspects have been pushed further to the background (Rolfes et al. 2009; Steinbrink 2012: 4) and interest began to focus on gaining a cultural experience. In this process, a shift in the perception of the slum or township can be observed. The reasons for this are the negative semantics surrounding the basic terms. Slums and townships are perceived in public discourses mainly as places of poverty, disease and crime (Burgold and Rolfes 2013: 164). With the new focus on culture and everyday life and the presentation of an image of the township as a place of diversity, tour providers try to have a direct influence on the negative perceptions (Burgold and Rolfes 2013: 167.). In Langa, for example, four different socio-economic areas are presented to visitors, which are reflected in different living situations (from shipping containers, tin huts and social housing to brick houses), in order to break with a rather one-dimensional picture of the township as it is often to be found in the media or appears to be entrenched in the minds of ‘outsiders’. In addition, crèches, schools, small social projects (usually with the opportunity to donate a little something) and shebeens (informal bars) are visited; as is the arts and culture centre Guga S’thebe, where, among other things, pottery with African themed designs, paintings and art made from recycled materials are produced and sold to tourists. It is also repeatedly emphasized that the tours

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present the ‘real Langa’ (see for example Siviwe Tours 2020) with local guides, i.e. residents of the township being employed in order to guarantee the authenticity of this experience (Dondolo 2002: 82; Burgold and Rolfes 2013: 166). Through tourism, the township is celebrated as being an ‘authentic’ African space within urban South Africa with its inhabitants depicting the ‘real’ people (Dondolo 2002: 43), therefore catering for a tourist gaze that revolves around the demand for authenticity (Mkhize and Ivanovic 2020). The desired effect of improving the actual image and discursive construction of the township can be regarded as successful. “Most leave with a very different impression from the one with which they arrived, having gained new insights following tours led by local entrepreneurs, and discovering that townships are not depraved areas of violent crime, but vibrant centres populated by friendly people with inspirational stories to tell” (Ramchander 2004: 8). A study by Rolfes et al. (2009) found similar results. Their findings suggest that after the tours, tourists have a much more positive image of the township, describing the place and its inhabitants as much friendlier, more hopeful, more peaceful and more developed than expected before the tour. In addition to the well-established tour businesses, a new development seems to gain momentum: Staying overnight in the township.

6.4  Changes in the Accommodation Sector in Langa In townships of South Africa, a well-established accommodation sector exists, ranging from guesthouses, bed and breakfasts and homestays to a four-star hotel which can be found in Soweto near Johannesburg (Rogerson 2004, 2008; Sin 2009; Hikido 2018). Apart from a hotel, Langa today reflects these developments. Due to the fact that the majority of places of accommodation in this township are homestays4 and with regard to the specific influence that Airbnb has on this kind of accommodation in Langa, the following section will put an overall focus on homestays (for an overview and discussion on the diversity of the accommodation services landscape in South Africa see Visser et al. 2017: 154; Visser and Eastes 2020). From a historical perspective, accommodating visitors in Langa began long before the end of apartheid. During the period of oppression, relatives of convicts imprisoned on Robben Island occasionally sought a place to stay in Langa for one or two nights in order to visit their relatives (IVP35). Another interviewee of the study furthermore mentioned women whose husbands were staying in the single sex men’s hostels, where women were not allowed and therefore, when a raid was imminent, fled to other residents of Langa to hide for a few nights (IVP6). Also, traders who came to Cape Town to buy goods sometimes looked for an overnight 4  In this discussion, homestays are understood as a commercial form of accommodation in which guests rent a room in a local’s apartment. Accommodation can also include the provision of meals, which are usually taken with the family. The length of stay can vary from one night to more than one year. 5  See appendix for further information regarding the interviewees.

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stay in Langa (IVP6). However, these were all, in the logic of apartheid, encounters among the same racialized population group. The idea of accommodating White visitors in the township started in the late 1990s. Some children had the opportunity to go to school in other parts of the city, which also led to friendships with White children. Now and then on weekends, some of these came to stay overnight with their friends in the township (IVP9; IVP6; IVP8). This private exchange shortly after the end of apartheid can be linked to the political discourse and the idea to induce transformation at that time: The “attempt to bring people together and make them know the other side of the society” (Dondolo 2002: 128). Since the end of apartheid, legislation that prohibited people classified as White from entering townships without permit no longer applied. Hence, in legal terms nothing stopped anyone from entering townships anymore. However, perceptions that townships are generally unsafe persisted. White children grew up with stories about the townships as being unsafe and dangerous places (Ludvigsen 2002: 77). The courage and trust in friendship that was necessary on a very individual level marked the starting point for some of the homestays that exist until today and laid the foundation for further developments, even though the majority of White South Africans still express trepidation about entering townships (Ludvigsen 2002: 32). In 2001, an international student organization asked a few households in Langa if they would be willing to host foreign students for a weekend as part of an exchange programme at the University of Cape Town (IVP4). Accordingly, several families regularly accepted and hosted two or three students twice a year, depending on capacity (IVP4). This led to the emergence of the first post-apartheid homestays. About the same time another interviewee heard about a B&B in Khayelitsha (another township in Cape Town), which aroused her interest in running one herself. “It upset me that the tourists visiting the townships didn’t interact with us. They stayed in the bus, afraid to come out” (IVP6). After her retirement she contacted several tour operators and in 2002, she opened her house for lunch and accommodation, becoming the first B&B in Langa. This point of entry into the accommodation business seems to represent a regular pattern. The accommodations featured in this study were opened by women, usually after retirement, as they had more time at their disposal from that point in their lives. Rooms in the house that were initially used by children became available, and by accommodating guests, an additional income besides their pension could be generated without having to leave the house. The success remained rather moderate until 2004, when the Ministry of Tourism and Environment launched the national marketing campaign ‘Sho’t Left’6 (Freeman 2004), thus officially supporting the development of tourism in townships. The campaign aimed to strengthen domestic demand for travels within the country. On the night before the campaign’s launch, the minister in charge, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, stayed overnight at Langa’s first B&B.  His stay brought significant 6  “Sho’t Left” is derived from the South African taxi jargon. A commuter who wants to drive to a nearby destination says: “Sho’t left, driva” – which means that he wants to get off just around the corner (Brand South Africa 2004).

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media attention to this sector, leading to an increase in the numbers of guests (IVP6). The inclusion into a national marketing campaign at this time is in line with the general phase of commercialisation of township tourism as pointed out by Booyens et  al. (2021). It can also be seen as a step towards the professionalization of the hospitality industry in Langa, which is also expressed by the fact that in 2007 one of the above-mentioned homestays officially registered as a B&B in order to be able to host more guests independently from the student exchange programme. In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, other township residents were upgrading their homes to meet tourist needs (IVP1; IVP5), as it was propagated that small homestays and B&Bs, particularly those from previously disadvantaged communities, would be supported in being classified and registered as official accommodation providers during the event (GCIS 2010: 497). However, the hoped-for rush of guests did not materialize. Most accommodation establishments remained empty (IVP1; IVP5). In the following years, many homestays began to merge their economic activities, a process which can be related to two different dynamics. One is the sharing of visions and competences in hosting among befriended hosts, as it happened for example in the homestay cluster in eastern Langa (Fig. 6.2). The other development is linked to the activities of an individual business actor (IVP1) who saw great potential in the accommodation sector in Langa. His personal

Fig. 6.2  Accommodation types in the township of Langa with indication of those listed on Airbnb (as of December 2019) (Source Authors survey)

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acquaintance with one of the homestay owners provided him with the necessary foundation to the realization of his idea. Unlike him, she was part of the community and enjoyed their trust. She knew the domestic situation of the other residents (i.e. who had free rooms available) and encouraged them to set up their own homestays. Subsequently, 18 homestays were established. They then became advertised collectively with bookings being accepted and distributed centrally, which also provided the hosts with the opportunity to accommodate larger groups. Such groups are currently the main guests in these homestays and are mostly made up by students, or so called voluntourists7 (predominantly from the United States or Europe) who have booked their stay through an organization in their home country (IVP1; IVP4; IVP10). Student groups usually stay for only a few days, while volunteers stay from 10 days up to one year.

6.5  T  he Introduction of Airbnb to the Accommodation Sector in Langa In late 2016, Airbnb became aware of Langa as part of its search for partners for the launch of its new section Airbnb Experiences.8 As one of six launch partners worldwide, the company selected an event in Langa, which involves re-staging a typical day in the Old Pass Office9 (IVP1). One of Airbnb’s founders travelled to Langa in person to participate in the launch of the new section and, thereby came to know about one of the existing homestay clusters. This led to the idea of offering workshops for these homestay owners to teach them how to become an Airbnb host. Nine out of 18 women successfully completed the workshop and now began to market themselves through this platform as well (IVP1). Some of the reasons for giving up or not completing the course were, the requirement to have a smartphone and constant access to the internet, respectively sufficient data volume, as well as the fact that the platform was by some perceived as being too complicated to use (IVP9; IVP10; IVP4).

7  Voluntourism is a form of tourism in which tourists voluntarily dedicate (a varying) share of their time to work in local communities as part of their trip (Sin 2009: 480). The traveler – supported by an organization – engages in improving social and ecological conditions in the chosen destination (Wearing 2001: 1) while also making use of tourism offers. The time frame of such a trip varies greatly, but usually remains under one year (Wearing 2001: 1). 8  Experiences are activities such as tours, courses or workshops offered by and with locals. According to Airbnb, these experiences provide an opportunity to share hobbies, skills or expertise with others without the need for an extra room (Airbnb 2020b). Experiences last a few hours on average, ranging from workshops to long treks and can be available for different skill levels and interests (Airbnb 2020b). 9  During the apartheid, township residents had to carry passbooks when leaving townships and entering other parts of town. The Old Pass Office also had a detainment area for those who violated the pass laws and curfews (Dondolo 2002: 105).

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Workshops of this kind continued to be held at the time of this study. They are linked to a concept called Airbnb Africa Academy (Airbnb 2019b). The Academy has no fixed location, but rather is a mobile three-month intensive programme for hosts that focuses on helping people from financially disadvantaged communities across the continent to succeed on Airbnb as accommodation or Airbnb Experience hosts. Participants receive local online and offline training, starting with a two-day boot camp (Airbnb 2019a). The company’s focus on townships and the training of hosts in marginalized areas of Africa could be linked to an image strategy. Airbnb advertises this branch with the keywords ‘healthy tourism’ and ‘inclusion’ (Airbnb 2018, 2017b), which strongly contrasts the massive accusations of accelerating gentrification10 against which the company has had to defend itself in recent years (Gurran and Phibbs 2017). The above-mentioned workshop in Langa served as a pilot project (Airbnb 2017a: 6). Today the programme’s participants also come from several other townships. As of December 2019, 11 of the former 18 homestays in western Langa were still active. Of these 11, seven were also listed on Airbnb. The reasons for giving up the activity ranged from low occupancies, to the moving away of the family or the moving out of the family member who ran the business, to the problem of not being able to combine hosting with another commercial activity due to time restrictions (IVP10; IVP4; IVP9). The cluster in eastern Langa continues to be active albeit not on Airbnb. In brief, the total number of active homestays found in this research is 17, of which 8 were listed on Airbnb at the time of study.

6.6  A  irbnb in Langa: A New Development in Township Tourism? Without a doubt, a stay in a homestay goes beyond the classic township tour. However, it can be argued that precisely the tours made overnight stays imaginable or conceivable for tourists as these activities began to advertise townships as places of interest to foreigners. The development resembles a slow, cautious, but steady process. The tours through the township lasting two to three-hours, had already established themselves with the overall effect that the inhabitants of those parts of Langa which were highly frequented by the tours got used to the presence of tourist groups. Likewise, international groups having dinner in one of Langa’s restaurants (as part of an excursion of a language school, for example) had become common occurrences. With the possibility to stay overnight, the development of township tourism now takes a step further, as the actual length of stay of a visitor in the  The company is accused of promoting gentrification in major cities around the globe. Accordingly, the business model increases the housing shortage and thus the rent prices. Landlords can use Airbnb to obtain a multiple of what a furnished apartment would earn by renting it out as regular housing. As a result of this incentive, more and more dwellings have been withdrawn from the local housing market, which are then rented out to short-term guests instead (Gurran and Phibbs 2017).

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township extends. The township becomes a tourist destination not only for a few hours, but for several days. Apart from affording locals more economic opportunities to sell goods and services it also introduces a change in the space-time experience of the tourists. Furthermore, a gradual extension of the clientele gaining access to the formerly structurally and discursively segregated and excluded part of Cape Town becomes evident. First, volunteer organizations and exchange programmes enabled a certain ‘group’ to have access to overnight accommodation, namely students and volunteers. With the online presence of some homestays through Airbnb, a further opening is now coming about. The listing on the globally operating platform gives any tourist an easy and more direct access to accommodation in Langa. In addition, Airbnb facilitates solely the individual booking of an accommodation which is in contrast to fully structured visiting programmes, as is the case with exchange students or volunteers. This results in overnight stays that are to a less amount pre-­organised while opening up time and space for un-orchestrated encounters with the township. This also points to a changing spatial use in terms of ‘who moves how and in company of how many’ in Langa. Thus, as the destination matures, its offers seem to grow from (solely) organised and packaged group offers to include offers for independent travellers as well. Guests who currently arrive by themselves are in most cases journalists, researchers and couples, the latter mostly for the purpose of spending a few nights in the township to complete their visit to South Africa (IVP2). The overnight accommodation also increases the number of people involved in Langa’s township tourism sector. There is a much wider spread of income than previously. Not only trained tour guides, agencies and souvenir vendors now benefit from the tourists, but also the host families, taxi drivers who transport the tourists during their stay (within the city or through Langa) teenagers or young adults who may accompany them on foot and neighbours who offer to take the guests to church services or ceremonies (IVP2). Indeed, there seems to be an integrated economy around accommodating visitors when length of stay is extended. The question can be asked whether the overnight stays (through Airbnb) change the focus of township tourism in general. If so, there should be a noticeable difference between what the tours are about and what the stays are about. Whether this is the case will now be examined. First, it is noticeable that similar to what is reported about the tours (see Burgold and Rolfes 2013: 166), hosts claim that overnight guests (whether they are students, volunteers or holiday tourists, the hosts make no difference) are provided with a presentation of the so far underrepresented life in the township as it ‘really’ is. The direct experience of everyday life serves as a guarantor for this authenticity. When asked what tourists want to see in the township, most of hosts answered: “they want to see how we live” (IVP2; IVP4; IVP9). Several times it was reported that the requesting organizations assured that the hosts would not have to change their lifestyle when hosting guests and that a homestay means the guests accompany the hosts in their everyday life. When a ceremony is due, the guest can go along. When the host goes to church, the guest can join as well (IVP10). Thus, staying at a homestay in Langa  – with or without Airbnb involved  – promises to bring the visitor much closer to the ‘reality’ of township life than is possible on township tours. This

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social and spatial proximity also resonates with Airbnb’s general entrepreneurial approach: “we provide unique local experiences, a sense of belonging, and fewer strangers around the world, we want […] to showcase just how small and friendly the world can be with Airbnb. […] Explore […] today and every day to see how our community is bringing people together around the world.” (Schapiro cited in Airbnb 2015).

Apparently, it is about the interest in another ‘reality of life’ or the ‘real life’ of others, which MacCannell (1999: 91) describes as the predominant motive of modern tourism. According to his analysis, this fascination with the authenticity of other people’s livelihoods arises from the social alienation as a result of the socio-­ economic changes in the western world brought about by modernity. In addition, in the quote above it is referred to a sense of belonging and indeed, changes in terms of social distance can be observed. Here, the stays relativize the stereotypes that accompany life in the township (Burgold and Rolfes 2013: 171), although the perceived danger of crime is still often addressed in interviews: “I’m not saying nothing will happen while you are here. Anything can happen anywhere. But it’s not as bad as people think” (IVP4).

As a conscious reaction to this possible fear of the visitor, guests are always accompanied when leaving the house. “Most probably nothing will happen, when you walk here by yourself. But it’s better to be too careful than not being careful enough for once” (IVP7).

At the same time, stories are proudly told about long-term guests who, as soon as the neighbours knew them, moved around by themselves: “As soon as people know your face and know; ah yes, she/he belongs to [IVP9/IVP7], nobody will bother you. Even the little children will watch out for you” (IVP9; IVP7).

The stereotype of an unsafe environment ridden with crime is thus countered by trust, care and the conveyance of a sense of belonging in order to create a feeling of security among the tourists. As described by Burgold and Rolfes (2013) regarding the tours, the homestays resemble an intention to influence the individual attitudes of the visitors during their stays. The following description of one of the Airbnbs sums this up quite vividly: “Bridging the gaps at Nombulelo’s home of learning. Everyone is welcome at my home and every guest can be sure to learn something new when they visit my home in Langa! […] Most guests are surprised by my home so I call it the home of learning! We offer a friendly environment that is extremely culture rich! […] There are many negative stories about townships but people should know this is not true. They will see this when they visit Langa!” (Airbnb 2020b).

The visit is therefore intentional and serves to educate or destigmatize. The feedback from international guests, who praise the informative stays and refer to enlightening insights, suggests that the ‘lesson in township life’ is gratefully accepted: “We spent the whole evening chatting and learned a lot about living in a South African township. […] It was one of the best AirBnB places I stayed at so far and I would definitely recommend Linda’s homestay to everyone who wants to experience everyday life in a township. Thanks again, Linda, for this awesome experience.” (User Christian, July 2018)

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“Langa is an incredible place, with great things going on.” (User Adam, November 2019) “It was interesting to stay with her in Langa to learn a bit about township life. Thank you for the hospitality and stimulating conversation.” (User Scott, January 2020) “I really can’t recommend it more highly. […] her lifestory (sic!) is fascinating. It’s a great way to experience Langa life” (User Lena, December 2018) “Embrace the township, you’ll learn a lot” (User Mike, December 2019) (Excerpts from Airbnb reviews, Airbnb 2020c, 2020a)

Thus, overnight stays of international travellers continue to revolve around the reduction of the negative township image, around authenticity and education. Overnight stays in the township seem to be booked because of the demand of guests to experience the township (life) and not due to possibly cheap prices or the type of accommodation (albeit there is more research needed to further test this argument). The here presented results therefore point towards an extension and manifestation of township tourism due to congruent motives with township tours. Through their guests the Airbnb homestays are connected to other forms of tourism as well. Although exchange students are not tourists per se, their perspective on the township during a weekend visit is of tourist nature. The same applies to volunteers who stay in Langa for a few weeks and up to a year and are hosted in these Airbnb homestays (and homestays that market themselves elsewhere). They are not classic holiday tourists either. Nevertheless, they are integrated into the organizational context of (township) tourism because the trips are booked through tourist organizations. In addition, the short-term service works in a similar way to other types of tourism, where the host communities are more responsive to the needs of the visitors than vice versa (Borland and Adams 2013: 3). According to Sin (2009: 488) these needs are primarily the search for personal development, exoticism and authentic encounters. Interestingly, voluntourism thereby shows strong parallels to township tourism. Here, too, the aim is to get to know other cultures and living conditions as authentically as possible, to gain a ‘new view of the world’, and to influence the personal development of the guest through the adventure of volunteer service. The aspect of helping thereby seems to be the ‘ticket’ into the host society.

6.7  Conclusion Since the end of apartheid and running parallel to the growing number of township tours, the accommodation sector in townships also underwent shifts in terms of the various types and overall numbers of places to stay, as well as in terms of the clientele. Here, accommodating student groups and later on volunteers became a facilitator for bringing to the formerly racially segregated urban area people who would have otherwise avoided going there, and would not have considered an overnight

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stay. This research on Langa township Cape Town shows that Airbnb’s introduction to the township as a tourist experience is in a way ‘new but not new’. It has to be understood as a variation of an already existing accommodation sector as well as a further development of township tourism. This is due to the following aspects. First, while the peer-to-peer platform brought about a highly individualized travel experience with a global outreach in terms of bookings, it did not create a new type of accommodation. All Airbnbs in Langa have been operating as homestays before. Airbnb merely constitutes a new platform to market themselves and did not initiate the occurrence of entirely new accommodations. Second, while this specific homestay quality to the visitors’ stay is strongly marketed as an element of (South) African authenticity that can only be experienced in a formerly Black African township, the logic of a specific sense of place aligns with the existing aspirations of township tourism. In other words, the inscribed exclusivity of the township fits the overall scheme behind the peer-to-peer economy, that is striving to sell the experience of a locality. Third, the introduction of Airbnb to Langa marks a new step in township tourism (with its familiar motives as described above) in so far as it gives rise to a development from a form of merely day tourism to include a form of ‘authentic’ overnight tourism as well. This is not to say that there was no overnight tourism in Langa before. But in the concept of township tourism, staying overnight is new. The inherent paradox is that whilst the introduction of Airbnb to the township of Langa is making the local accommodation sector accessible to a wider public, this is done by marketing the narrative of a specific quality of the locality that is still linked to the path-dependency of racialized segregation. Apart from that, the company’s interest in townships and the training of hosts in marginalized areas of Africa could be linked to an image strategy, as it allows Airbnb to present its operations more as a kind of responsible tourism. Furthermore, the Airbnb experience in Langa contrasts Airbnb experiences in other parts of the city in so far, as guests not only live with the family (homestay experience) but are to a greater or lesser extent integrated in the family’s daily activities as well, whereas for the rest of Cape Town a more anonymous guest experience has been reported (Visser et al. 2017). Airbnb in townships is a relatively unknown phenomenon and many tourists to South Africa react with surprise when being told about it. And it may be the contradiction between this expectancy when it comes to the actual quality of the place and the practice of staying overnight with an Airbnb host that can have long-lasting repercussions on the exclusivity and inclusivity of the township itself. Acknowledgements  Special thanks go to Ndipiwe Mkuzo for his tireless support in the field, crucial advice and talks as well as valuable insights into South African society, to Prof. Dr. Malte Steinbrink for his supervision and for pushing this research forward, to the University of Passau for its funding that made this research possible, to the HSRC Cape Town for hosting and support and to Dr. Irma Booyens for her kind and generous supervision on site. Words of thanks go to all interviewees, especially all host Mamas and Gogos Jana stayed with, for their hospitality and great support of this research. Last but not least we are also grateful for the comments of two anonymous reviewers on an earlier version of this article.

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Appendix

IVP1: Interview with the founder of a project for the development of social enterprises in Langa (on 15.10.2019) IVP2: Interview with Airbnb hostess (on 24.10.2019) IVP3: Interview with the husband of an Airbnb hostess (on 25.10.2019) IVP4: Interview with Airbnb hostess (on 28.10.2019 and on 16.11.2019) IVP5: Interview with Airbnb hostess (on 04.11.2019) IVP6: Interview with B&B hostess (on 10.11.2019) IVP7: Interview with homestay hostess (on 20.11.2019) IVP8: Interview with homestay hostess (on 20.11.2019) IVP9: Interview with Airbnb hostess (on 02.12.2019) IVP10: Interview with Airbnb hostess and her daughter (on 08.12.2019)

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Siegenthaler, F. (2019). Cosmopolitan gazes, envisioning the township: Local agents and contemporary tourism encounters in Langa, Cape Town. Basel: MA Dissertation, University of Basel. Sin, H. L. (2009). Volunteer tourism – “Involve me and I will learn”? Annals of Tourism Research, 36(3), 480–501. Siviwe Tours. (2020, April 5). Siviwe Tours – Langa. Available at: https://siviwetours.com/langa/ [Accessed April 5, 2020]. Statistics South Africa. (2011). Census 2011. Statistics by place. Main Place: Langa. Available at: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=4286&id=318 [Accessed April 5, 2020]. Steinbrink, M. (2012). We did the slum!: Urban poverty tourism in historical perspective. Tourism Geographies, 14, 1–22. Steinbrink, M., Schauwinhold, B., Süßenguth, T., Buning, M., & Legant, M. (2016). Touring Katutura!: Poverty, tourism, and poverty tourism in Windhoek, Namibia. Potsdam: Universitätsverlag Potsdam. Swanson, M. W. (1977). The sanitation syndrome: Bubonic plague and urban native policy in the Cape colony, 1900–1909. The Journal of African History, 18(3), 387–410. Turok, I. (2001). Persistent polarisation post-apartheid?: Progress towards urban integration in Cape Town. Urban Studies, 38(13), 2349–2377. Varma, A., Jukic, N., Pestek, A., Shultz, C. J., & Nestorov, S. (2016). Airbnb: Exciting innovation or passing fad? Tourism Management Perspectives, 20, 228–237. Visser, G., & Eastes, N. (2020). Mainstreaming guesthouses: Reflections on the evolution of South Africa’s first alternative tourist accommodation sector. In J. M. Rogerson & G. Visser (Eds.), New directions in South African tourism geographies (pp. 75–92). Cham: Springer. Visser, G., Erasmus, I., & Miller, M. (2017). Airbnb: The emergence of a new accommodation type in Cape Town, South Africa. Tourism Review International, 21(2), 151–168. Wearing, S. (2001). Volunteer tourism: Experiences that make a difference. Wallingford: CABI. Wilson, M., & Mafeje, A. (1963). Langa: A study of social groups in an African township. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Chapter 7

Urban Tourism Under Apartheid: The Johannesburg Chapter Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

7.1  Introduction The tourism scholar David Harrison (2016: 1) maintains that “there is much in modern tourism that replicates the past”. During the early 1990s Towner and Wall (1991: 73) discussed the potential for the development of historical approaches in tourism studies and concluded that it “has yet to be realized”. The emergence of tourist studies as an academic discipline was dominated by economics and business management studies and with minimal time for the recognition of history (Walton 2011). Only recently and mainly through the works of John Walton has the discipline of tourism history gained some degree of academic respectability (Walton 1998, 2000, 2005, 2009a, b, c; Wood and Walton 2016; Durie 2017). Over 20 years ago Walton (2003: 564) issued a challenge that scholars should take the history of tourism ‘seriously’ and asserted that the “burgeoning field of tourism studies has remained essentially present-minded”. For tourism scholars the rich series of published studies by Walton (2003, 2005, 2009b, c, 2013a, b, 2014, 2016, 2017) continuously remind us of the under-development of historical tourism research and relay a message of the need for academics to engage more extensively with the past in tourism research. Walton (2009a: 115) contends all tourism research “needs a sense of historical awareness” and not least because of the fact that “the present cannot be understood without reference to what has gone before”. More recently, Harris (2017: 223) issues a plea for “taking history on tour” and MacKenzie et al. (2020) highlight the value of historical research to enhance tourism and hospitality research. The case for an extended historical agenda for tourism studies is further evidenced by the observations of Timothy (2012: 157) that people “have undertaken travel away from home for millennia as they mobilised from villages and tribal units to hunt, trade C. M. Rogerson (*) · J. M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_7

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and explore” and that “historical accounts highlight the ancient Egyptians and Romans travelling for pleasure and sightseeing to the far corners of their empires”. Research undertaken on coastal resorts in Spain by Cirer-Costa (2012, 2014a, b, 2019), the Balearics by Pons et al. (2014) and on the Barcelona hotel industry by Larrinaga and Vallejo (2021) re-affirms the value of historical analysis for tourism scholarship. In France Nash (1979) chronicles the evolution as Nice as an aristocratic tourist resort. Within the context of England’s first seaside resorts Brodie (2019) investigates the detailed geographical and economic relationship between leisure and commerce. For Austria and Switzerland the theoretical concept of path dependency is applied by Humair et  al. (2017) to explore tourism-led historical processes of regional transformation. As pointed out by Rogerson and Rogerson (2018, 2019) the under-representation of historical perspectives in tourism scholarship is especially noticeable in respect of writings that deal with urban tourism. From the global South one notable exception is Barickman’s (2014) work on tourism and beach-going in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Until the 1980s the amount of scholarly research about tourism and cities was limited (Pasquinelli 2015; Bellini and Pasquinelli 2017). Since the 1990s, however, there has occurred a burst of international research about urban tourism. In North America and Europe this surge of research is associated with the advance of processes of globalization, the associated impact of de-industrialization on cities and of tourism’s important role in ‘reinventing’ them as post-Fordist centres of consumption (Harvey 1989; Law 1993). Several surveys of the ‘state of the art’ of research concerning urban tourism have appeared which highlight the diversity of investigated issues and debates, including of economic restructuring, sustainability, climate change and overtourism (Ashworth and Page 2011; Pasquinelli 2015; Coca-Stefaniak et al. 2016; Bellini and Pasquinelli 2017; Rogerson and Rogerson 2017; Aall and Koens 2019). Importantly, the major focus in much of this scholarship concentrates “on contemporary developments in urban tourism rather than its history” (Bickford-Smith 2009: 1765). This is particularly so in respect of writings which are contributed by tourism geographers. Indeed, Saarinen et al. (2017: 311) stress that “amidst a swelling and rich body of international writings around geographies of urban tourism, planning and development, mainstream debate is almost entirely concentrated upon present-day developments around tourism in cities which bypasses any substantive concern for past or inherited geographies of city tourism”. Arguably though city tourism is not a new phenomenon it represents one of the earliest forms of travel evolving from the first days of civilization following the establishment of cities. Among others Karski (1990), Page and Connell (2006) and the UNWTO (2012) point out that city tourism has existed from the earliest times of civilization and followed the genesis of urban settlements. The emergence of urban centres encouraged people with discretionary means and inclination to tour and experience cities as focal points of national culture, art, music, literature, architecture and design (Cohen and Cohen 2015). Moreover, urban centres as the locations for economic and political power in national territories became established as destinations for travellers arriving for an array of different purposes (Rogerson and

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Rogerson 2017). Historical research on urban tourism is most advanced in the USA as is exemplified by Baum and Mezias (1992) work on the Manhattan hotel economy of New York City, Cocks (2001) account of the growth of urban tourism in American cities at the turn of the twentieth century, and most recently the overview by Souther (2018) on tourism development in US cities since 1800. To a certain extent South Africa parallels the USA in terms of having a well-established literature on contemporary urban tourism and significantly also an emergent body of work which is interrogating past urban tourisms in the country (Rogerson and Visser 2020). Aspects of historical tourism research that have been examined in urban South Africa include inter alia, the making of Cape Town as a tourism destination from the late nineteenth century (Bickford-Smith 2009); the role of liquor and the subsequent evolution of Johannesburg’s hotel industry (C.  M. Rogerson 2011; J. M. Rogerson 2018; Rogerson and Rogerson 2018; C. M. Rogerson 2020); the development of small resort towns and their accommodation services sector (J.  M. Rogerson 2019; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a); and, the implementation and struggles against the racial segregation of beaches across South Africa’s major coastal leisure destinations (Rogerson 2017). In an influential article, the historian Albert Grundlingh (2006) draws our attention to the minimal amount of scholarship about tourism in the apartheid period as well as pointing to the neglect of tourism as a whole by South African historical scholars. The task in this paper is to address one facet of the investigatory void concerning urban tourism during the years of apartheid from 1948 to 1991. Using a range of archival sources an analysis is undertaken of the development of tourism in Johannesburg – South Africa’s ‘city of gold’ – which expanded at a spectacular pace and was transformed rapidly from a mining camp established only in 1886 (Van Onselen 1982). Murray (2011) characterises the city’s development as of a far-flung European outpost on the marginal playing fields of global capitalism. By the late 1930s promotional material targeted at potential international visitors proclaimed loudly the city’s remarkable 50 year evolution from raw mining settlement: A new Johannesburg has arisen. Upward its graceful structural lines mount some 250 feet from pavement level, and its radius is ever extending. Before the march of modernity, the might of money, buildings constructed twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years ago have been swept away, new edifices – mammoths in steel and concrete – soaring in replacement. “To build is the noblest of arts”. To-day this sentiment has full translation into actuality in Johannesburg, whose architecture, spectacular and superb, ranks with that of the great centres of Europe and America (Carlyle-Gall 1937: 36).

This analysis draws upon an archival approach (Power 2018; MacKenzie et al. 2020). Sources include material accessed from the special collections of the National Library of South Africa (Cape Town); the historical papers collections held both at Johannesburg Public Library (Harold Strange Collection) and the University of the Witwatersrand (William Cullen Historical Papers). Use is also made of the business and travel press, local newspapers, promotional publicity material and documents from the collection of South African Railways and Harbours. The discussion builds upon an earlier examination undertaken of the formative years of tourism in Johannesburg beginning in 1920 when the first national tourism

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promotional activities were initiated and closing at the time when the new national government enacted the 1950 Group Areas Act which launched the radical reshaping of the South African tourism economy under the impress of legislation to impose racial segregation (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019, 2020b). It was demonstrated that during these early years for urban tourism development in Johannesburg between 1920 and 1950 two overarching challenges existed in terms of identifying and promoting the city’s tourism assets and establishing a competitive infrastructure for a visitor economy, most significantly in terms of accommodation services. These themes are continued through this analysis which uses a chronological approach and is structured into two major sections. First, the changing visitor economy of Johannesburg is investigated for the period from 1948 to the years of democratic transition. Second, attention turns to unpack the city’s hotel economy and to examine the unique imprint of apartheid legislation upon the provision of accommodation services in South Africa. It is highlighted that in the early apartheid years the accommodation of tourists in Johannesburg was in terms of the emergence of separate hotels for whites and ‘non-Whites’. By the mid-1970s, however, shifts occur towards the desegregation and normalisation of hotel spaces. In an international comparative context the making of racialized tourism spaces in apartheid South Africa exhibits close parallels with the Jim Crow era of segregation in the USA and of the existence of separate whites-only tourism facilities as opposed to those provided for African-Americans (see Foster 1999; Armstead 2005; Algeo 2013; Alderman and Inwood 2014; Alderman 2018; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020b).

7.2  The Visitor Economy and Tourism Trajectories As the apartheid era dawned in South Africa, heralded by the 1948 electoral victory of the National Party, the city fathers of Johannesburg could look back upon a major period of economic achievement and of a breath-taking pace of physical transformation. From its roots as a dusty mining camp Johannesburg had emerged by the 1930s into South Africa’s ‘sunshine city’ built upon the riches of gold and with an economy experiencing considerable growth as well as rapid diversification (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1931). Fears had been expressed in municipal circles even as late as the 1920s that the city might become a ‘ghost town’ following the depletion of its gold mining reserves. By the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, however, these fears had been completely dispelled (C. M. Rogerson 1976). Although by 1946 it was recorded that gold mining still accounted for as much as 23% of total city employment structural shifts in the economy were well-­ advanced. Economic change resulted in Johannesburg consolidating as South Africa’s largest manufacturing centre as well as the geographical focus of national commercial and financial activities (Beall et al. 2002). By 1950 the city could be described without rival as “the industrial and commercial metropolis of Southern Africa” (City of Johannesburg 1951). It was also South Africa’s principal transportation hub and most significantly for the growing volume of domestic and

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international air traffic. In 1952, Jan Smuts Airport, South Africa’s first airport of international standards, was opened at Kempton Park to serve Johannesburg. At the beginning of the apartheid era there is reported a growth in international tourism arrivals to the city and including of business visitors (The Star 29 October 1949). This said, only a very minor contribution was made by the tourism sector to the city’s expanding economy, a situation which reflected tourism’s limited role in the national economic landscape. Throughout the 1950s the focus of South Africa’s new national government was concentrated upon the launch and implementation of its ambitious plans for grand apartheid and racial separation. It must be appreciated that tourism did not appear seriously on the national policy agenda until the 1960s when the country’s first Department of Tourism was established in 1963 (Grundlingh 2006). Notwithstanding its neglect by national government a number of local initiatives were launched by Johannesburg authorities to maximise opportunities for the city as a tourism destination both for domestic as well as for international visitors, for leisure as well as business travellers (Fig. 7.1). The visitor economy of Johannesburg was promoted in particular by the activities of the municipal-funded Johannesburg Publicity Association founded in 1925 (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019). In the early apartheid years this organisation continued to build and extend its ongoing publicity Fig. 7.1 Advertising Johannesburg under apartheid 1959. (Source Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959)

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initiatives  – often undertaken in partnership with South African Railways and Harbours  – for encouraging the further development of tourism in the city. The activities of the Association included operating a visitor bureau as well as producing a number of handbooks and guides for tourists. In its efforts to build the tourism economy the association was challenged by the fact that for many travel writers: “Johannesburg is not a beautiful city” albeit “in its own way – its imposing skyline of skyscrapers silhouetted against a backdrop of white mine dumps  – it has the attractiveness of utilitarian purpose” (Anon. 1952: 19). Further, it was stated that “Johannesburg tries to make up for its lack of natural attractions by making the visitor’s stay as pleasant and diverting as it can” (Anon. 1952: 19). During the 1950s the list of recommended visitor attractions comprised several museums – in particular the city geological museum and the Africana museum – as well as civic buildings such as the City Hall, the Public Library, Art Gallery, the Observatory and city parks including the Johannesburg Zoo (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1948, 1951, 1957). But, in the setting of an industrializing Johannesburg, by the 1960s tourists also were offered the opportunity for factory visits to the city’s more than 40 diamond-­cutting works as well as brewery tours and even a visit to The United Tobacco Company’s cigarette factory (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1964: 14). Travel writers enthused about the fact that Johannesburg “offers all variety of entertainment – the theatre, the ballet, music, art, cinema, music hall” (Anon. 1952: 19). Indeed, city guides accorded considerable focus to the attractions of its night-­ time economy. The 1957 Tourist Map of Johannesburg records as follows: Soon after sunset, when the thoroughfares have been emptied of business-people and shoppers, a great change comes over Johannesburg and the city becomes a blaze of coloured lights spelling out a multitude of messages and attractions. Then it is that the night-life of Johannesburg comes into its own and the cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and dance resorts draw forth a host of gaiety-seekers. The palatial cinemas of Johannesburg enjoy high repute throughout South Africa and, indeed, their architecture, interior decoration and comfort are such as to impress the most seasoned traveller, accustomed to the best anywhere. The varied programmes include the latest overseas releases and, very often, the personal appearance of either local or overseas stage celebrities adds variety to an evening’s entertainment (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1957). In another 1959 booklet produced for the local publicity association the city’s “bright and colourful nightclubs” and overall the “gay night life in Johannesburg” were again profiled (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959: 30). City marketing proclaimed that people “who appreciate good food, good wine and good music have their tastes fully catered for in the Golden City” (Fig. 7.2). In terms of the best season for visiting Johannesburg the Easter period was peak time especially for domestic leisure visitors. It was observed that Easter was when “the weather is invariably marked by a long succession of cloudless and windless days and a holiday atmosphere pervades the city” (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1957). Easter time was marked by the hosting of the annual Witwatersrand Agricultural Show and Industrial Exhibition which was described as

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Fig. 7.2 Johannesburg’s night time economy 1959. (Source Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959)

“the most important and representative exhibition of its kind in the country and draws visitors from all parts of the Union and neighbouring territories” (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1957). In addition, several significant and popular sporting events were organised to synchronize with the Show, including the South African Lawn Tennis Championships. Promotional material makes continual reference to the city’s status as “the seat of the greatest gold-mining industry in the world” (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1949: 6) and even in the late 1950s as “the world centre of gold production” (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959: 5). Visitors were invited to join conducted tours of underground and surface workings of mines with tours on certain days including the pouring of gold. Such trips appealed both to domestic visitors and in particular to groups of international tourists curious about Johannesburg’s extraordinary history of mining-led development. By the mid-1960s, however, with the geographical axis of gold mining operations shifting outside Johannesburg (to the wider Witwatersrand region) a new industrial heritage attraction opened at the mine site which marked the 1886 discovery of gold and where an old stamp battery was erected (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1964: 12). For international tourists in Johannesburg – often stopping over on route to other destinations such as Kruger National Park or Victoria Falls – their stay in the city was brief and often

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enforced as the result of the city’s role as South Africa’s only international air gateway. For such visitors the appeal of Johannesburg was its gold mines and an opportunity to glimpse ‘Native life’ (Agnew 1968). These were combined together from the 1930s through the activity of ‘mine dancing’ which became a major drawcard for visiting international tourists with the first semi-circular purpose built arena established in 1943 (Tracey 1952). The lure of “native dances” was advertised in all promotional material for the city with events held at one or several mines and usually on a Sunday morning. In language clearly targeted at the market of visiting international tourists from Europe or North America it was observed that: Here for a brief while the very soul of aboriginal Africa finds expression, and the spectacle of these native “warriors” prancing, leaping, shouting and singing to the accompaniment of strange music from primitive “kaffir pianos” is one which rarely fails to make a vivid impression upon the onlooker. Some participants affect the distinct trappings of their ancestors but occasionally a pair of shorts or a brightly coloured football shirt adds a bizarre note to the scene and serves as a reminder of the spread of European influence. The dancers usually enter the arena chanting a rhythmic song and then, crouching low, will pass from one side of the square to the other, slinging slowly to a feigned attack. At a sign from the “orchestra” leader, the slow rhythm of the approach changes in a moment into a wild fandango as the “warriors” work themselves up for “battle”. They leap high into the air as they hurl themselves upon their imaginary opponents, stabbing and writhing in frenzied endeavour, until the tension is broken and the panting dancers retire (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1957).

Throughout the 1960s the core visitor attractions for leisure travellers remained those surrounding the city’s gold mine legacy, civic buildings, night-time entertainment and ‘Native’ dancing (Fig. 7.3) Of significance also was hosting special events the most notable that of the annual agricultural show and industrial exhibition. Nevertheless, it is evident that certain other potential tourism products were under consideration at this time. At a symposium held in February 1968 looking at the ‘Johannesburg of Tomorrow’ the President of the Association of South African Travel Agents offered a revealing analysis of ongoing discussions and developments in local tourism which he stated was based upon “information provided to me by the Johannesburg Publicity Association and other sources” (Agnew 1968: 2). This report is of particular interest for disclosing a number of projects under discussion or planned and with the aim to broaden the appeal of the city’s visitor economy. In an initiative designed to enhance the city’s overall tourism competitiveness of significance was the possible introduction of a single line fast transport monorail to connect the airport with the downtown in a manner similar to that recently introduced in Tokyo. Aimed primarily at the domestic leisure tourist were proposals for further special events in the city including a grand prix, a city carnival (Festival of Nations) as well as the building of a ‘mini-city’. The latter would entail the creation of “a fantasy city in miniature depicting every aspect of life in South Africa, not only Johannesburg, providing for various aspects of urban and rural activities including typical buildings, houses, industries, churches, carriage ways, railways, a mine, Bantu township, an airport, a port, shopping centre, a Game Reserve, historical buildings, in fact models of all possible items of interest in the country” (Agnew 1968: 4). Another proposal was to “bring the sea to Johannesburg, which is about

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Fig. 7.3 Native mine dancing in Johannesburg ca. 1964. (Source Johannesburg Publicity Association 1964)

the only thing we lack here and as a boost to the tourism industry” (Agnew 1968: 5). Under consideration was the construction of a wave bath similar to that in Budapest with the proposal that it “be about 50 yards long and at its deepest about 15 feet” (Agnew 1968: 5). The major thinking about diversification of the tourism product base related to expanding international tourism and anchored around the so-termed three main attractions for such visitors to South Africa. These were considered as “game, mines and native life” (Agnew 1968: 2). Around each of these there were developments either actually in progress or proposals under consideration. Concerning wildlife attractions the opening of the Lion Park just outside the city was seen as important with suggestions made also for establishing in the city a Honeysucker Bird Sanctuary, which was a current feature at London Zoo. In terms of Johannesburg’s mining legacy proposals were offered for creating a mining museum linked to a mock-up gold mine which would be built at one of the city’s many disused gold mines and complete with mine headgear. To extend the attractions of ‘Native life’ for visitors to Johannesburg it was suggested “that a small village be constructed where the different Ethnic Groups on a small scale and under proper supervision would live in their traditional huts wearing traditional dress as a tourist attraction” (Agnew 1968: 3). All this said, the caution was added that “we have to be careful here in relation to the dignity of these people” (Agnew 1968: 3).

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Similar sentiments were expressed about the introduction during the 1960s by Johannesburg’s Non-European Affairs Department (NEAD) of the first guided tours of the townships of Soweto in order for visitors to experience “something of the Bantu life of the city” (Johannesburg City Council 1964). At the February 1968 symposium on Johannesburg’s future a representative of the city’s NEAD explained at length about the operation of these tours - the precursor to modern day township tourism - which presented to visitors Soweto life as a showcase of ‘happy living’ by ‘urban Bantu’ as a result of the roll out of apartheid planning (Johannesburg City Council 1964). Quite a number of people have asked me how they go about visiting Soweto and seeing something of the Bantu life in the city. Well, Soweto is quite simple. It is simply a question of phoning my office and booking a seat on the tourist bus which leaves the office at 9.00 a.m. every morning weekdays. We take you on a tour of Soweto for 50 cents. You are given a very nice cup of coffee at the Oppenheimer Tower, where we also have a most attractive modern Bantu art gallery. We have only one bus which seats 22 people and it is a question of finance whether this can be extended. One must remember, however, that Soweto is not a rural village. It is an adjunct to a large industrial centre and the people who live there are your and my employees in the city. From this point of view they are not particularly spectacular in that you do not see women walking round the streets in tribal dress, nor of course, men. During the day, in point of fact, it does present a rather quiet appearance because it is a dormitory town. What we really have to show you is the largest housing scheme in the whole world which can be really monotonous to people interested in this field. There is one point which must be kept in mind. If one is going to expand the number of visitors taken to Soweto, say 4 or 5 times as many again, then we must take into account the reaction of the people who live there (Comment to Agnew 1968). Considerable optimism was aired during the early 1970s about tourism’s potential for further development in Johannesburg. The city’s director of publicity argued that tourism was the ‘new gold mine’ and that “Johannesburg has in tourism a rich and comparatively undeveloped resource” (Rand Daily Mail, 24 August 1971). In particular, the potential for greater regional tourist arrivals from neighbouring African colonies (Rhodesia, Mozambique) was identified. For these tourism markets – and especially for colonial Rhodesia – the local publicity association in 1972 was directing “an image campaign of Johannesburg as an entertainment-filled stop-­ over and value-for-money shopping city” (The Star, 19 October 1972). According to its Publicity Director Johannesburg received nearly a million visits from tourists making it “the major tourist city in southern Africa” (The Star, 19 October 1972). Reasons for travel were recorded for leisure, business, health and to visit friends and relatives making Johannesburg a classic multi-purpose urban tourism destination (cf. Law 1993). Although the full accuracy of the data might be questioned the findings suggest that as much as 38% of visits linked to business rather than pleasure (The Star, 19 October 1972). Whatever the precise figure it confirms other sources that from the 1960s Johannesburg tourism was increasingly linked to business travel (including conferences) because of the city’s strengthening role as economic heart

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of South Africa as well as the wider region of southern Africa (C.  M. Rogerson 2019). By 1974 it was reported that Johannesburg was South Africa’s “No. 1 congress centre” and there was even a serious shortage of conference facilities in the city to meet the burgeoning demand (The Star, 24 June 1974). Buoyed by a seeming flow of good news the confident message of the publicity association for the period 1972–1975 was that Johannesburg was “ready to enter bigtime tourism” (The Star, 25 October 1972) and/or that “the future of Johannesburg’s tourism is wide open”(The Star, 9 November 1973). With the launch of its new visitor centre at the Carlton Centre adjoining the city’s leading downtown hotel (J. M. Rogerson 2020) the Johannesburg Publicity Association continued its work of “producing publicity booklets detailing day-by-day attractions in the city; sightseeing maps; excursion hints; aids for conference planning; maps on walk-­ about tours; audio-visual presentations for conferences and airlines; and a guide to the city’s restaurants, entertainment spots, and accommodation houses” (The Star, 9 November 1973). Visitor surveys suggested that the city’s most popular attractions were now “the shops, the theatres and cinemas, sightseeing tours, the game parks and zoo” (The Star, 19 October 1972). The main complaints about Johannesburg were listed as “the lack of anything to do on Sundays, the inadequacy of bus and taxi services, and the lack of facilities for African tribal dancing” (The Star, 19 October 1972). Given their significance for international tourism it was revealed that in October 1972 discussions were held between city officials and the Chamber of Mines “about improving facilities for mine visits and African tribal dancing” (The Star, 25 October 1972). By the early 1970s there was mounting concern, however, about the presentation of ‘Native life’ in relation to the activity of mine dancing. The inherent ambiguities in such performances were acknowledged. Liberal thinkers within mining houses recognised the contradictions of such performances not only because whites and blacks watched from separate parts of the arena but also because different ethnic groups on the mines were encouraged to dance their own styles separately. Disquiet about mine dancing was not confined only to the mining houses. Awareness grew on the part of certain government officials that “public displays such as tribal dancing arranged specifically for tourists were problematical, and not only because they were often held in ‘white’ areas which were easily accessible to tourists” (Grundlingh 2006: 120). By 1973 certain influential government officials, including the chief ethnologist, were forwarding the view that: “The time that any aspect of Bantu life can be presented as a tourist attraction is in my opinion something of the past. The Bantu themselves object to being put on display like cattle” (cited in Grundlingh 2006: 120). These ambiguities and contradictions of tourism under apartheid were mirrored in the official stance that such dance performances should no longer take place geographically in so-termed ‘white spaces’ of South Africa albeit that they might be permitted (and even encouraged) in the separate spaces of the ethnically demarcated (mainly) rural homelands born out of apartheid spatial engineering (Grundlingh 2006). This said, during 1974 the Johannesburg Publicity Association was in discussions with the South Africa’s Chamber of Mines seeking to persuade it to

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re-introduce mine dancing which had been stopped temporarily because of fuel shortages in the country. The head of the publicity association was reported as follows: “The America travel trade is concerned about the closure of mine dancing to tourists as this was one of the major attractions of the itinerary and will tend to stop people spending time in Johannesburg at weekends” (Rand Daily Mail, 25 March 1974). The usual combination of weekend visitor attractions in ‘dreary Sunday’ Johannesburg was that of mine dancing in the morning and packaged with an afternoon excursion to the Lion Park. With the cessation of mine dancing by 1974 the publicity association was forced to explore alternative weekend attractions in order to keep visitors in Johannesburg including trips to scenic areas outside the city such as the Magaliesberg, Hartbeespoort, the Vaal river and visits to Sterkfontein caves (Rand Daily Mail, 25 March 1974). Despite its best efforts the Johannesburg Publicity Association (JPA) struggled financially as its operations mainly were funded from an allocation from City Council. In 1976 the Annual Budget funding from the City was given as only R29 000, a pitiful amount which underscores the low priority attached by Council to tourism development in Johannesburg at this time. As a consequence it was reported that the JPA “has merely limped along for the past two years” (Financial Mail, 20 February 1976). In 1976 it launched a campaign for additional funding support from the private sector, including the Chamber of Mines (Financial Mail, 20 February 1976). The core aim of the organisation remained that of communicating the city’s attractions and recreational amenities both to residents and visitors alike. In respect of tourists the message was clear: “To make them want to come here. To make them see us as we are – the throbbing heartbeat of the country – a swinging, colourful and progressive city – and not simply as a convenient stopping-off point while in transit” (Financial Mail, 20 February 1976). The organisation launched the inaugural issue of a new fortnightly guide What’s On in Johannesburg as well as announced plans for producing an updated city shopping and tourists guide map, an accommodation guide and information on places of interest, including Soweto. Barely four months after the launch of this campaign for expanded financial support for its activities JPA’s mission for attracting international tourists to Johannesburg was massively undermined by the Soweto uprising which exploded in June 1976. Political unrest in terms of riots and other acts of violence across South Africa severely impacted the prospects for Johannesburg to expand its market for (long haul) international tourists. Despite a devaluation of the South African Rand and the city emerging as one of the world’s cheapest tourist cities the JPA began to refocus its activities around promoting Johannesburg for domestic rather than international visitors (The Citizen, 4 November 1976). The position was adopted by the association’s executive director that “domestic travel should be the cornerstone of successful foreign tourism: the association intends promoting the entire southern Transvaal region by fixing it firmly on the itinerary of local tour operators” (The Citizen, 4 November 1976). In addition to domestic leisure tourism the JPA sought to build upon and further extend the city’s obvious competitive advantages for business tourism, including conference tourism.

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As an outcome of the mounting civil unrest in South Africa precipitated by opposition to apartheid policies the country’s international tourism arrivals fell away radically (Rogerson and Visser 2004). During the 1980s with the declaration of successive states of national emergency at a time when South Africa was an international pariah, suffering from boycotts as well as economic sanctions, long haul leisure tourism to the country was precipitously down. International tourism arrivals only began to recover during the closing years of apartheid and with the first signals of a democratic transition that began in the early 1990s. The limited budget allocation from Council to JPA meant increased reliance on the private sector for supporting its operations. By 1980 the meagre official funding allocation was described as “laughable” and meant that JPA “could only provide a service to tourists who were already coming into the city not market the city for visitors and as a venue for conventions” (The Star, 17 October 1980). During the 1980s the only growth points in Johannesburg’s tourism related to domestic tourism in general and business tourism in particular. Domestic conference tourism became a major focus for the local tourism economy (Appleton 1987; C. M. Rogerson 2019). In addition, alongside the growth of a formal sector of business tourism, by the 1980s the first signs emerged of the appearance from surrounding African countries of streams of informal sector cross-border shopper tourists in Johannesburg (C.  M. Rogerson 2018). Business tourism under apartheid now manifested both a formal and informal dimension, albeit it was only the formal business economy that would be impacted following the implementation of apartheid policies across South African hotels.

7.3  Apartheid and the Johannesburg Hotel Industry At the birth of apartheid Johannesburg’s hotel industry was a mirror of the problems facing South Africa’s hotel industry as a whole, namely that, with only a few exceptions, the standards of accommodation were much lower than those of other countries and far below the expectations of the standards for international tourists. The root causes of this unpromising state of affairs go back to 1928 and the enactment of legislation which essentially subordinated the South African hotel industry to those of liquor interests (C. M. Rogerson 2011). From the late 1920s much of the national hotel industry was built up on properties owned or constructed by liquor interests and leased to hotel keepers. In terms of what one observer calls this ‘ill-considered’ Act under the 1928 legislation the licensees of existing bars in urban areas were required to provide only a minimum of 10 bedrooms in order to secure a lucrative liquor licence (Walker 1977: 9). Arguably, “the conditions that the licensees had to meet were largely physical, with little regard being given to the service aspect, and all new licensees carried the obligation to build an ‘hotel” (Walker 1977: 9). This legislation moulded the character of South African hotels with the major emphasis given to liquor-selling rather than the provision of accommodation services (C.  M. Rogerson 2011). With financial support from the alcohol sector there occurred the acceleration of the hotel industry

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towards liquor provision and sales with only minimal concern for accommodation issues. As a reflection of this national situation, by the 1930s it could be observed most Johannesburg hotels “are in reality nothing but bars” (Norval 1936: 250). This situation persisted with little change into the apartheid period. Beyond the small elite group of city hotels, most notably the Carlton and Langham, the standards of the majority of city hotels were poor as the provision of accommodation services was subordinated to that of dispensing liquor (Crocker 1950). A report produced for the South African Tourist Corporation highlighted a litany of problems (University of Cape Town 1949). Among the issues of concern in relation to hotel standards were the quality of management, basic state of premises, furnishings, service, food and hygiene. In terms of management it was complained that proprietors were not ‘experts’ and many hotel managers seemed more interested in the bar trade than provision of quality accommodation or food services. One observer commented that “so many South African hotels do not take their job seriously” (Gibbs 1949: 17). Concerning accommodation, criticisms were directed at shortages of single rooms, private bathrooms, lavatories and of private rooms with suites. In addition, hotel lounges were seen as too small and often overcrowded by non-­ residents. Severe criticisms surrounded poor service standards and quality of food and catering, issues that were exacerbated by the difficulties that hotels often experienced in obtaining trained staff (Vynne 1947; Walker 1977). Overall, the lack of quality accommodation services was conceded by national government representatives as a critical constraint for tourism development across South Africa (Maggs 1949; University of Cape Town 1949). This challenge, however, needed to be understood against the backdrop that return on capital investment in the hotel sector was low and “that without the liquor side of the business, 90 per cent of the hotels in South Africa could not make ends meet” (Vynne 1947: 15). The 1949 survey on the state of hotels in South Africa reiterated that the standard of hotel services was dismal mainly because the business of furnishing accommodation was far less profitable to hoteliers than that of selling liquor (University of Cape Town 1949). In 1950 a specific report documenting the state of Johannesburg hotels pointed out strong criticisms made by international visitors about the poor services and standards that were provided, including “the insanitary state of public conveniences off the lounges of the hotels” (Sunday Express, 9 April 1950). The challenge of improving the state of Johannesburg hotels was not made easier by the implementation from 1950 of landmark legislation which essentially restricted hotels from accommodating any other than white visitors. According to Maharaj (1997: 135) the Group Areas Act represented “one of the key instruments to enforce the ideology of apartheid”. The Act of 1950 mandated the strict segregation within spatially discrete areas of the four ‘race’ groups (White, Coloured, Asian, African) which were recognised in terms of the Population Registration Act of 1950. As McCarthy (1992: 27) shows within South African urban areas distinct residential and commercial spaces now were demarcated with ownership rights and occupation of property “restricted to members of the race group to which the district has been assigned”. For Africans no ownership rights applied in the space of ‘white’ South Africa and so they were compelled mostly to live as ‘temporary sojourners’

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in dormitory ‘townships’ under the control of the local state with the notion that their permanent homes ostensibly were in the rural Homelands. Enacted only two years after the National Party came to power, for Harris (1999) the Group Areas Act provided apartheid its ideological and material substance. At the core of apartheid planning was that South Africa’s population had to be rigidly divided by law into separate racial groups and social intermingling between these different racial groups had to be prevented in order to preserve ‘racial purity’ (Brookfield 1957; Mesthrie 1993). As shown by South African urban geographers the Act was the major driver for extending racial segregation in the country’s urban areas during the post-1948 period (Simon 1989; Christopher 1994) including the racial separation of hotel spaces. Essentially, under the strictures of the Group Areas legislation, separate hotels were to exist for whites as opposed to ‘non-White’ guests. In 1953 the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act was passed which legalized the racial segregation of facilities with separate (and unequal) facilities for the country’s different racial groups. In combination the Group Areas Act and Reservation of Separate Amenities legislation impacted the nature of hotel development in Johannesburg – as in the rest of South Africa – for most of the apartheid period. The most obvious impact was the appearance of the ‘non-White’ hotel (C. M. Rogerson 2020). As was recorded by the South African Institute of Race Relations by 1958–1959 “several new hotels for Non-White people are being built” (Horrell 1960: 248). The 1959 Johannesburg hotel guide produced by the Johannesburg Publicity Association provided a listing only of those for white visitors, a total of 39 establishments most of which were located in the city’s central downtown area but with a small scatter of establishments in the suburbs (Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959). It is notable that the city’s elite hotels, such as the Langham, often marketed themselves for the business as opposed to the leisure traveller (Fig. 7.4). Indeed, it was revealed that on occasion the Langham fulfilled the special function of hosting discreetly VIP guests from other African countries at the specific request of national government (Keyter 1962). This occurred because of the limited number of ‘non-White’ hotels that were opened in Johannesburg and primarily these were geared for the quality standards of domestic visitors as opposed to the expectations for international dignatories. A special guide for Africans to Johannesburg was issued during the 1960s by the South African Institute of Race Relations and pointed to the limited accommodation options available for ‘non-White’ visitors to the city (Suttner 1967). Beyond the small New Yorker Hotel situated in Kliptown, which was open to all non-Whites, the options related mainly to seeking sleeping places in the dreary men’s and women’s hostels which provided dormitory accommodation in rooms of four, six and eight but with no meals supplied. Only in 1964 with the opening of the Planet Hotel in the Indian Group Area of Fordsburg close to the inner-city of Johannesburg was there available tourist quality standard accommodation in the city’s ‘non-White’ hotels. This hotel had 40 rooms, several with private baths and was situated in a complex with shops, a cinema, travel agency, pharmacy and an oriental gift shop. The Planet was well-patronized by all racial groups defined as ‘non-Whites’ and fully booked at weekends and two-thirds full during the week (The Star, 17 July

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Fig. 7.4 Marketing Johannesburg hotels under apartheid for the business traveller. (Source Johannesburg Publicity Association 1959)

1964). In November 1965, a Coloured-owned hotel, described as ‘spacious’ and ‘airy’ commenced business “in the posh suburb of Bosmont”; this property was “fully licensed to cater for Coloureds and Indians only but in the near future permission may be obtained from the authorities to provide for other non-White groups, including Africans” (Rand Daily Mail, 6 November 1965). Despite these developments concerning ‘non-White’ hotels by the early 1960s the hotel economy of Johannesburg was in a state of deepening crisis (Rogerson and Rogerson 2018). Problems arose from a combination of factors, namely under-­ investment due to low capital returns, and the burden of liquor-domination. The crisis came to a head in the early 1960s when with rising property prices, the city’s most iconic hotel, the Carlton, closed for business and was demolished for the construction of office developments in the booming commercial spaces of the inner city (J. M. Rogerson 2020). It was reported now in 1964 that “business people visiting Johannesburg have nowhere to stay” (Sunday Express, 20 May 1964). Johannesburg’s

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problems in terms of lack of quality standard accommodation facilities were part of the national malaise of the country’s hotel sector. Change began with the sharply critical findings of the national investigation which was conducted by the Hotel Commission in 1964 and sought to realign the hotel industry away from its domination by liquor and instead to enhance the role of accommodation services (Republic of South Africa 1965). The Commission found “a markedly deficient standard of service in most facets of hotel operation” (The Star, 7 December 1964). To redress this situation, a national Hotel Board was established to oversee for the first time the official grading of tourist hotels. Only registered hotels which met minimum standards for grading would be permitted to hold a licence for the sale of liquor. In addition, loans would be made available to the hotel industry with special tax incentives to assist renovation and reconstruction of existing hotels to meet new quality standards. The new Act threatened in particular the raison d ȇtre of many of the city’s long-established small hotels which by offering a few scruffy bedrooms had managed to qualify as a ‘hotel’ under the 1928 legislation. From 1964 no longer could the typical hotel be just a “bar and bottle store with a third-class rooming house attached” (Hodgkiss 1967: 31). Many of Johannesburg’s liquor-focussed old and small hotels went out of business because, in many cases, of the unaffordable costs for upgrading and renovation to meet the new standards for grading. In addition, the legislation precipitated a flurry of announcements about the building of new larger hotels, including dedicated hotels for business travellers to the city (Sunday Times, 10 January 1971). As recorded elsewhere, one of these new hotel constructions was the building of a second Carlton hotel in central Johannesburg – a five star offering that would seek to target the growing market for conferences (J. M. Rogerson 2020). The activities of the Hotel Board were directly responsible for launching a process of the modernization of Johannesburg’s hotel industry and its provision of standards of accommodation and service that could match the expectations of visiting international tourists. The grading system applied equally both to the categories of ‘white’ and ‘non-White’ hotel establishments; by 1970 both The Planet Hotel and The Bosmont hotel had achieved one star grading (Rand Daily Mail, 19 May 1970). One glaring contradiction in the modernization of South Africa’s hotel industry and of seeking closer alignment with international standards surrounded, however, the continuation of apartheid racial segregation. Constraints were imposed on city hotels from accommodating ‘non-White’ guests irrespective of whether these were foreign or local visitors. As noted earlier, certain exceptions had been permitted and mostly at the behest of national government for hosting the entourage of important state visitors. One example was Malawi’s President Banda who was accommodated in the most expensive ‘white’ hotel in Johannesburg because of the lack of any hotel with suitable quality facilities in Pretoria, the country’s capital city and centre of national government (Sunday Express, 22 August 1971). The first significant exception to racial segregation in South African hotels occurred at Johannesburg airport where national government required the building and operation of a multi-racial hotel at which international conferences as well as visitors might be hosted. Under the agreement made between Holiday Inn and the Department of Transport only

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foreign ‘non-Whites’ as bona fide travellers could obtain accommodation at this hotel as no such provisions were offered for local ‘non-Whites’ (Rand Daily Mail, 9 December 1975). In many ways the multi-racial Jan Smuts Airport hotel was “an experiment to meet a need”; the ‘experiment’ that of permitting racial inter-­mingling in South African hotel spaces (Rand Daily Mail, 9 December 1975). In order to accommodate ‘non-White’ travellers, however, other hotels had to seek special authority and permission from the Department of Justice in Pretoria in order to provide them with board and lodging or even casual meals in hotel dining rooms. The tortuous processes of what became popularly styled as ‘Dial Pretoria’ involved applications to be made to the Department of Community Development and Bantu Administration (in Pretoria) by hotel managers for permits to accommodate Black guests in Johannesburg hotels (J. M. Rogerson 2020). The implementation of this often confusing policy process was increasingly challenged by the leading Johannesburg hotels during the 1970s. Pressures for change in national policy mounted with the growing numbers of Black tourists – especially business travellers and conference attendees - that required special permission to be accommodated (C.  M. Rogerson 2019). The policy contradictions were highlighted by several embarrassing incidents such as the refusal (because of lack of prior approval) at The President Hotel for serving lunch to Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, the leader of the KwaZulu homeland, one of the creations of apartheid planners. In 1972 the Hotel Board sought to request government to approve a special list of Black VIPs in order to simplify the “unfortunate and embarrassing formalities” for leading hotels (Rand Daily Mail, 21 August 1972). In 1974, following another high profile and embarrassing incident of hotel apartheid, it was announced that government was now “contemplating significant changes which will simplify and ease the whole procedure in terms of which ‘White’ hotels in South Africa can offer accommodation and service to non-Whites” (The Argus, 22 May 1974). In 1975 further changes were made with permits to be given to certain hotels to open to all races in terms of granting them the status of ‘international’ hotels. As a result of this proposal many of Johannesburg’s leading hotels – particularly those operated by the country’s largest hotel groups – applied in 1975 and 1976 to be granted international status. Major national hotel groups, such as Southern Sun, acknowledged that without international status they might shed customers and market revenue and that ‘international’ status would give them a competitive edge for attracting the growing market of domestic conference tourism (C. M. Rogerson 2019). Successful applicants as licensees of ‘international’ hotels had to provide, however, a distinguishing sign in a conspicuous place on the building to show their special status. The concession of international status was not, however, the end of apartheid restrictions for stringent regulations were imposed on licenses with regard to alcohol consumption, swimming or dancing by Black visitors. It was stipulated international status was granted by the Minister only “subject to certain conditions, inter alia that any form of dancing at the hotels in question should be restricted to persons who were members of the racial group within whose area the hotel was established” (Horrell et al. 1977: 201). In addition, limits were imposed on the share of hotel

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beds that could, at any one time, be offered to Black guests; usually the limit was set between 5% and 15% of total capacity. The policy of racial segregation in hotels was continued into the 1980s (see Johannesburg Publicity Association 1980). By 1986, however, against the backdrop of the hotel sector suffering from one of its most severe declines in the previous 10 years with room occupancies and gross income drastically down national government grudgingly yielded to pressure and repealed section 72 of the Liquor Act. This legislative change meant the end of hotel apartheid and the beginnings of an open door policy for Johannesburg hotels allowing them to admit persons of any race or nationality. The ‘modernized’ hotel industry of Johannesburg had at last cast off the apartheid burden and was enabled to adapt to international norms of the hospitality industry.

7.4  Conclusion This analysis contributes to the small body of extant research studies concerning urban tourism that utilise an historical perspective. It has been argued that historical research on tourism “has usually been shunted into a siding and regarded, at best, as peripheral” (Walton 2012: 49). In urban tourism scholarship on South Africa Walton’s remarks certainly hold true as the vast majority of research investigations exhibit a contemporary focus. Urban tourism under apartheid offers fertile territory for exploring the distinctiveness of past urban tourisms and of changing hotel geographies in South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2018; J. M. Rogerson 2020). In addition, it further offers opportunities for comparative research such as with the segregation era in the USA concerning racialized landscapes of tourism (Armstead 2005; Algeo 2013; Alderman and Inwood 2014; Alderman 2018; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020b). Overall, it is apparent that the implementation of apartheid policies forged an entirely changed policy context for tourism development in Johannesburg as well as for the operations of the city’s hotels. During the years following the Soweto uprising (in particular the decade of the 1980s) planning for the visitor economy and for tourism development of Johannesburg became of minimal significance and impact most especially given the impress of international sanctions and boycotts on apartheid South Africa. A revival of tourism planning and the innovation of a range of new projects for re-building and reinventing the Johannesburg tourism economy for leisure and business tourism as well as for international tourism occurred only in a serious fashion following the demise of apartheid (C.  M. Rogerson 2002, 2003). The subsequent chapter for urban tourism planning that opened in 1994 would become part of broader local development policies and interventions with tourism identified as a strategic economic sector for job creation, urban development and of re-branding initiatives for Johannesburg to be acknowledged as ‘a world city’ (C. M. Rogerson 1996). By 1994 – South Africa’s democratic transition – the ‘modernized’ hotel economy of Johannesburg, now free of its former domination of

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liquor selling as well from the stigmas of apartheid planning, could begin also to play an influential role in the shifting tourism economy of the city in the post-­ apartheid era. Acknowledgements An earlier version of this paper was presented at the University of Johannesburg Research Associates Symposium, Grootbos Lodge, South Africa in October 2019. Comments from participants, especially Dallen Timothy, assisted the revision of this material as well as useful points made by reviewers. Thanks go to the University of Johannesburg for financial support. Valued inputs to the chapter were provided by Teddy, Dawn and Skye Norfolk.

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The Star (Johannesburg newspaper), 17 July 1964; 7 December 1964; 19 October 1972; 25 October 1972; 9 November 1973; 24 June 1974; 17 October 1980. Timothy, D. J. (2012). Historical geographies of tourism. In J. Wilson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of tourism geographies (pp. 157–162). London: Routledge. Towner, J., & Wall, G. (1991). History and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 18, 71–84. Tracey, H. (1952). African dances of the Witwatersrand gold mines. Johannesburg: African Music Society. University of Cape Town. (1949). Report on the economy of the tourist hotel in South Africa. Pretoria: South African Tourist Corporation. UNWTO. (2012). Global report on city tourism- cities 2012 project. Madrid: UNWTO. Van Onselen, C. (1982). Studies in the social and economic history of the Witwatersrand 1886–1914 (Vol. 2 vols). Johannesburg: Ravan. Vynne, L.  D. (1947). We are doing what we can to give you better hotels! The Outspan, 42(1067), 15–17. Walker, G. S. (1977). The history of the South African hotel industry with special reference to the role of the Hotel Board. Dissertation, National Diploma in Hotel Management, The Hotel School, Johannesburg. Walton, J. K. (1998). Blackpool. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Walton, J.  K. (2000). The British seaside: Holidays and resorts in the twentieth century. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Walton, J.  K. (2003). Taking the history of tourism seriously. European History Quarterly, 27, 563–571. Walton, J. K. (2005). Introduction. In J. K. Walton (Ed.), Histories of tourism: Representation, identity and conflict (pp. 1–18). Clevedon: Channel View. Walton, J.  K. (2009a). Welcome to the Journal of Tourism History. Journal of Tourism History, 1, 1–6. Walton, J. K. (2009b). Progress in tourism management: Prospects in tourism history: Evolution, state of play and future developments. Tourism Management, 30, 783–793. Walton, J. K. (2009c). Histories of tourism. In T. Jamal & M. Robinson (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of tourism studies (pp. 115–129). London: SAGE. Walton, J. K. (2011). Tourism and history. Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers. Walton, J. K. (2012). ‘The tourism labour conundrum extended’: Historical perspectives on hospitality workers. Hospitality & Society, 2(1), 49–75. Walton, J. K. (2013a). Responsible tourism before ‘responsible tourism’?: Some historical antecedents of current concerns and conflicts. Acta Turistica, 6(1), 3–16. Walton, J. K. (2013b). Social tourism in Britain: History and prospects. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 5(1), 46–61. Walton, J. K. (2014). Tourism and maritime history. International Journal of Maritime History, 2(1), 110–126. Walton, J. K. (2016). Seaside resorts and international tourism. In E. G. E. Zuelow (Ed.), Tourism beyond the nation: A transnational approach to European tourism history (pp. 33–50). London: Routledge. Walton, J.  K. (2017). Tourism history: People in motion and at rest. Mobility in History, 5(January), 74–85. Wood, J., & Walton, J. K. (Eds.). (2016). The making of a cultural landscape: The English Lake District as tourist destination, 1750–2010. Abingdon: Routledge.

Chapter 8

Student-Centred VFR Travel: Evidence from Johannesburg Jermaine Barnes and Christian M. Rogerson

8.1  Introduction Large cities are multi-purpose tourism destinations including for the mobilities of what is broadly defined as visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel (Law 1993; Stepchenkova et al. 2015; Griffin 2017; Morrison and Coca-Stefaniak 2020). For VFR to exist to any significant extent “there must be a sizeable population that has relationships with people outside of the destination” (Griffin 2016: 1). As urban centres have high population densities and many experience expansion on the basis of attracting new residents, globally major cities are essential foci for VFR travel (Seaton and Palmer 1997; Lockyer and Ryan 2007; Griffin 2016; Miah 2020). Africa is no exception and the flows of VFR travellers represent an important component of urban tourism for many of the continent’s cities (Rogerson and Rogerson 2018, 2021). Among others Backer and King (2017: 191) describe the international phenomenon of VFR travel as “substantial”. For many (if not most) countries VFR is the main (hidden) driver of domestic tourism as well as the largest trip generator for city destinations (Rogerson 2015a; Din 2017; Zátori et al. 2019). Seaton (2017: 455) observes that this situation is unsurprising “since relationships between family, relatives and friends, and visits to or by them, are mainstays of human life for all except the chronically unfortunate, isolated or disaffected”. As a global phenomenon VFR is set for further future growth in a world where families are increasingly geographically dispersed because of migration or for lifestyle considerations and yet seek to retain ongoing emotional and friendship connections (Backer and King 2015; Griffin and Dimanche 2017). Moreover, with the accelerating impacts of climate change and growing question marks surrounding the social acceptability of excessive air travel it is possible that in future “VFR demand will become a much higher J. Barnes · C. M. Rogerson (*) School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_8

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proportion of air travel” (Griffin and Dimanche 2017: 108). Beyond its social significance VFR offers a number of economic benefits for tourism destinations as VFR travel has been shown resilient in the context of economic downturns thus making it significant for local economic development as well as for overcoming the seasonality issues commonly associated with leisure tourism (Backer 2012a; Griffin 2013). Arguably, VFR travel is situated at the crossroads of debates around migration, mobilities and tourism (Palovic et al. 2014; Janta et al. 2015; Rogerson 2017a; Miah 2020). Across the global South one observes accelerating levels of urbanization with city growth often driven either by permanent or oscillatory migration flows occurring between rural and urban areas (Schmidt-Kallert 2009, 2012; Parnell and Oldfield 2014). Further adding to the diversity and expansion of city populations are groups of cross-border or international migrants. Urban places usually represent the core reception points for these permanent or transitory migrant communities which are leading mobile and geographically stretched lives (Balbo 2009; Palovic et al. 2014; Griffin 2017; Griffin and Dimanche 2017). In sub-Saharan Africa many of these international migrants are engaged in a system of ‘translocal livelihoods’ (Steinbrink and Niedenführ 2020). Cities in the global South must be viewed as ‘natural’ VFR destinations as a consequence of their large, growing and diverse populations which foster a demand for visits from friends and relatives. This said, the existing body of research on VFR travel in the urban global South is meagre (Aseidu 2008; Rogerson 2015b; Altmark et al. 2018). The marginal attention given to VFR travel in Southern cities is striking even when set within the wider setting of what Yousuf and Backer (2015) describe as the ‘underwhelming’ volume of international VFR research as a whole. One partial exception is provided by South Africa where Rogerson and Visser (2020: 5) identify VFR travel as an emergent foci for tourism geographers with a burst of recent scholarship around the topic (Rogerson 2015c; Dzikiti and van der Merwe 2017; Rogerson 2017a, 2017b). VFR travel patterns and impacts deserve far greater scholarly scrutiny across the urban global South and especially so in the environment of sub-Saharan Africa which currently records some of the most rapid growth of cities as measured at the global scale (Rogerson 2017a). Indeed, amidst the context of Africa’s ongoing ‘urban revolution’ it is projected that by 2030 over half the continent’s population will be urban residents (Pieterse and Parnell 2014). As shown by Dzikiti and van der Merwe (2017) the expansion of immigrant communities from many parts of sub-Saharan Africa provides a catalyst for international VFR travel flows to large South African cities. In terms of the aggregate spatial flows of VFR travellers the major metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, eThekwini (Durban), Tshwane (Pretoria) and Ekurhuleni head the list of leading destinations for VFR travel as a whole including for both domestic and international movements (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014; Rogerson 2015c, 2017b). Intra-urban spatial differentiation occurs of VFR travel; in the case of metropolitan Johannesburg the largest focus for domestic VFR travel is Soweto (Rogerson and Rogerson 2016). The aim in this chapter is to offer a modest contribution to the limited corpus of academic work on VFR travel and African urban tourism. The focus is on

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student-centred VFR travel in South Africa where there has been a considerable expansion, radical restructuring and change in the country’s structure of tertiary education since democratic transition in 1994 (Jansen 2003; Gregory 2020). During the past decade a noticeable trend in South Africa is towards the ‘massification’ of higher education and the corresponding studentification of parts of several University centres (Donaldson et al. 2014; Ackermann and Visser 2016; Gregory and Rogerson 2019a, 2019b; Visser and Kisting 2019; Gregory 2020). Students and their domestic travel behaviour have been examined in previous South African research studies (Heyns 2010; Slabbert et  al. 2012). Other works explore gap year travel (Harmer and Rogerson 2017a) as well as the development and impacts of local student festivals (Rogerson and Harmer 2015; Harmer and Rogerson 2016, 2017b). International students make an appearance in research relating to backpackers, volunteer tourism as well as language learning in South Africa (Visser 2004; Correia 2011; Rogerson 2011; Rogerson and Slater 2014). This chapter builds upon existing South African VFR studies as well as this small body of research on students. However, it shifts the focus from investigating students as travellers and instead considers them as attractors for VFR travel. In addition, the discussion examines the role and activities of University students as VFR ‘hosts’. The case study is of student-centred VFR travel in Johannesburg, South Africa’s leading city tourism destination (Rogerson and Rogerson 2014, 2016, 2017). Three further sections of material are provided. The first contextualises the South African investigation within international scholarship and debates about VFR travel. The second narrows to review scholarship specifically on student-centred VFR travel. The third section presents the methods and empirical findings from the Johannesburg research which was conducted with a cohort of (mainly) undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg.

8.2  International Research on VFR Travel With VFR travel being the oldest form of travel as well as a major component in contemporary global tourism it is remarkable that it has generated – at least until recently – minimal attention from academic researchers (Backer 2012b; Backer and King 2015; Griffin and Guttentag 2020). Seaton (2017: 455) notes the paradox that VFR travel as a marginalized category by tourism scholars and planners “has always been, as a domain of behaviour, more central to human experience than leisure tourism”. For a 25 year period Yousuf and Backer (2015) conducted a content analysis of available source material and calculated only a ‘disappointing’ tally of 129 outputs. Similarly, in the University of Surrey ‘think tank’ Palovic et al. (2014) confirmed VFR travel to be a hidden group within international tourism and an under-researched theme of tourism studies. Lack of research in general and especially about specific aspects of VFR creates what Munoz (2018: 20) terms “a vicious cycle of ‘VFR illiteracy’ because it is harder to develop new research when basic information about VFR is missing”.

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Overall it is evident that the “neglected status of VFR research compared to its large size and numerous benefits to the tourism industry and local communities is one of the main characteristics of the VFR literature” (Munoz 2018: 18). The closing years of the 2010 decade, however, have seen some upturn of interest in VFR research such that it can be argued now that tourism scholars are starting”to give VFR travel the respect it deserves” (Backer and Morrison 2017: 398). The vast majority of research is anchored on the basis of research concerning ‘Western’ VFR travellers with studies mainly concentrated in the global North (Griffin 2013; Yousuf and Backer 2015). Emerging directions in VFR research include initiatives to further advance understanding of ‘non-Western’ VFR travellers and of the first efforts made to conceptualise about them (Ayazlar 2019; Kashiwagi et al. 2020). Two aspects of VFR literature and recent debates therein provide the broad context for the empirical work which was conducted in Johannesburg. First, is the definition and categorisation of VFR travellers with recognition of the heterogenous character of VFR travel. Second, is the growth of interest in the role of hosts and of the social aspects of the VFR phenomenon.

8.2.1  Definition and Categorisation of VFR Travel Several scholars suggest that the laggard development of VFR literature and research can be explained as a result of under-stating and under-valuing the size of VFR travel (Jackson 1990; Griffin 2016). Its neglect by policy-makers is, in part, also because the segment is just not viewed as ‘sexy’ for marketing purposes as compared for example to that of international leisure tourism (Backer 2012a, 2019). Further, VFR’s lack of popularity is an outcome of several difficulties which are associated with actually defining what is VFR travel (Munoz 2018). Palovic et al. (2014) aver that the concept is unstructured and chaotic. VFR can be considered variously as a trip purpose, a trip activity and an accommodation use (Griffin 2016). It was argued by Backer (2007) that use of trip purpose alone was insufficient to capture the extent of VFR and that it is appropriate therefore to incorporate accommodation use in discussion of visits for pleasure. The definition was advanced that VFR constitutes “a form of travel involving a visit whereby either (or both) the purpose of the trip or the type of accommodation involves visiting friends and/or relatives” (Backer 2007: 369). In a further advance Backer (2012b) proposed a definitional typology that used the two dimensions of ‘purpose of travel’ and ‘form of accommodation’ to define more clearly VFR travellers “but also to distinguish which ones are not” (Munoz 2018: 52). Four visitor categories emerge (Table 8.1). These are as follows: (1) Pure VFRs (PVFRs) which are VFR purpose and stay with friends and relatives; (2) Commercial VFRs (CVFRs) which are VFR purpose and staying in commercial accommodation; (3) Exploiting VFRs (EVFRs) Pleasure purpose but stay with friends or relatives; and, (4) Non VFRs which are Pleasure purpose and stay in commercial accommodation (Backer 2012b). This typology represents a major

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Table 8.1  Backer’s definitional typology

Purpose of visit: VFR Purpose of visit: Non-VFR

Accommodation: Friends and Family PVFRs EVFRs

Accommodation: Commercial CVFRs Non- VFRs

Source Modified after Backer (2010)

conceptual advance for VFR studies (Munoz 2018). In their ‘new’ definition of VFR Munoz et al. (2017) extend Backer’s model with the addition of more components to the matrix and re-cast it as a form of mobility. This new definition builds upon the recognition that VFR is not simply about leisure; rather “there are instead multiple practices within visits that have little to do with tourism such as attending a funeral, child care or visiting an ailing relative” (Munoz et al. 2017: 480). For this reason Backer (2012b) prefers the use of the term ‘VFR travel’ to the descriptor ‘VFR tourism’. Arguably, however, “the element that appears to distinguish VFR travel from non-VFR travel is the existence of a prior personal relationship between visitor and resident” (Munoz et al. 2017: 481). The extended definition offered by Munoz et al. (2017: 477) thus draws from the mobilities paradigm and positions VFR “as a form of mobility influenced by a host that includes face-to-face interaction between a host and visitor who have a pre-existing relationship”. Beyond these conceptual debates around the definition of VFR another “recurring topic in the literature revolves around the heterogeneity of the VFR market” (Griffin 2016: 2). Seaton and Tagg (1995) observed that VFR was not a homogeneous segment with clear differences existing between visits by friends (VFs) as opposed to visits by relatives (VRs). According to Munoz (2018) this observation opened the door for further studies that interrogated differences between VFs and VRs. It was disclosed that VRs substantially outnumber VFs (Backer et al. 2017) that generally VRs undertake more trips than VFs and are more likely to stay longer (Seaton and Tagg 1995). VFs are usually younger than VRs with VFs more likely to be students whilst VRs in higher socio-economic groups. In addition, travel groups vary “with VFs more likely to travel alone and VRs more likely to travel with children and in larger travel parties” (Backer et al. 2017: 57). Most importantly, differences were observed in the activities and expenditure patterns of VFs and VRs. With a predisposition within VFs towards younger groups it was revealed VFs are more likely to spend money on entertainment (including visits to bars and clubs) than VRs who are more likely to spend money on transport, shopping and gifts (Seaton and Tagg 1995; Backer et al. 2017). In New Zealand research Lockyer and Ryan (2007) suggested that age of visitor might be a more important differentiator than whether the status is as ‘friend’ or ‘relative’ because it was observed from work in Hamilton that both VRs and VFs demonstrate certain similar activities. Overall, it was concluded that differences between visiting friends and relatives albeit discernible are filtered by age, gender and other considerations. Empirical research reported from Australia by Backer et al. (2017: 61) concluded that “the VFR segment is not homogeneous, but rather

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contains  – at least  – two sub-segments: people who travel to visit relatives and people who travel to visit friends”.

8.2.2  Social Aspects and the Host Munoz (2018: 19) makes the point that “it is hard to think of a more social segment” than VFR and further goes on to characterise VFR “as a special segment that combines travel with social relationships” (Munoz 2018: 20). The social interactions between travellers visiting friends and relatives and their host constitutes “an important component of understanding VFR travel” (Yousuf and Backer 2017: 435). Unlike other forms of tourism VFR travel requires a direct personal relationship with a host either for the provision of accommodation or for motivating a trip (Griffin 2016). The role of hosts is thus a distinguishing feature of VFR travel and one of compelling interest in international VFR literature (McKercher 1996; Backer 2007; Young et  al. 2007; Shani and Uriely 2012; Capistrano 2013; Griffin 2013, 2014; Yousuf and Backer 2015, 2017; Munoz et al. 2017; Capistrano and Weaver 2018; Ayazlar 2019; Janta and Christou 2019; Griffin and Guttentag 2020). It is revealed hosts are not just providers of accommodation but can assume “an active role in shaping the trips undertaken by VFRs” (Yousuf and Backer 2017: 400). In addition, in terms of their visit to a destination VFR travellers are more likely to accept recommendations from their host rather than rely on local marketing material (Munoz 2018). Hosts assume the role of local guides or destination experience brokers for a destination (Munoz 2018). Urban residents as hosts consume and ‘co-create’ tourism with their guests most especially in terms of the utilization of local tourism space (Choi and Fu 2018). In this manner a distinctive trait of VFR travel as compared to other forms of tourism is that VFR travellers are connected to the local community through the friend or relative they are visiting (Backer and Ritchie 2017). VFR creates a context of leisure where disparate friends and relatives can reconnect with residents who as hosts are obliged to take a leisure perspective on their own locality in a manner that can enhance local attachment and pride (Griffin 2017; Griffin and Dimanche 2017). Several other social dimensions around VFR travel are highlighted by recent scholarship. VFR mobilities can result in positive quality of life benefits both for the VFR traveller as well as the host (Capistrano and Weaver 2018; Backer 2019). Backer and Ritchie (2017: 403) point out that for destinations impacted by natural disasters and crises  – and therefore unattractive options for leisure tourists  – the VFR market can be a basis for destination recovery as these travellers can be “genuinely concerned with the impacted region and can be a source of comfort for the local residents”. In addition, it has been shown in demographic studies of VFR travellers conducted in Australia that “many people who would be classed as socio-­ economically disadvantaged engage in VFR travel” (Backer and King 2017: 191). In South Africa also VFR travel is massively the domain of less affluent Black travellers many of whom are part of split or multi-locational households with both an

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urban and rural ‘home’ (Rogerson 2015c, 2017b). Residents of South Africa’s disadvantaged urban ‘townships’ are important participants in VFR travel movements (Rogerson 2014; Rogerson and Mthombeni 2015). As these low income communities are excluded from other forms of tourism VFR travel therefore assumes a vital social function in South Africa (Rogerson 2017b; Musavengane 2019). Indeed, it becomes significant as “a naturally occurring form of social tourism that has important policy implications” (Backer and Morrison 2017: 396).

8.3  Students and VFR Travel: International Perspectives The role of students as hosts and generators of VFR travel is an emerging sub-theme in VFR scholarship. With a significant expansion of higher education – in particular of international higher education and study abroad programmes – a strong connection is demonstrated between tertiary level education institutions and tourism (Liu 2019). Notable findings are that the University student travel market is heterogenous in motivation and behaviour (Xiao et al. 2015) and that cultural background significantly influences the patterns of travel which are undertaken by international students in host destinations (Lee and King 2016). Aspects of the University travel market and the travel patterns of international students have been explored most especially in those countries with a high percentage of foreign students, such as Australia (Min-En 2006; Hughes et  al. 2015; Xiao et  al. 2015; Munoz 2018). In addition, similar research has been undertaken in a number of Asian destinations including Korea (Song and Bae 2018), Malaysia (Varasteh et al. 2015) and Taiwan (Lee and King 2016). For Europe the mobilities of Erasmus students are shown to represent a significant market particularly for low cost air carriers (Gheorghe et al. 2017). In Estonia short-stay international university students are significant catalysts of VFR travel (Jarvis 2020). Of greatest interest for this study is the finding that international students are not only important in terms of travelling but also can be a vital catalysts as attractors for VFR travel flows (Tran et  al. 2018). Among others the works by Lee and King (2016) and Kashiwagi et al. (2020) show international students are important producers of VFR travel and that VFR travel driven by international students is a distinct niche market. Student-related VFR travel is closely linked to and influenced by the structure and rhythm of the academic year such that the timing of visits is likely “to differ significantly from other types of VFR or general tourism demand patterns” (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007: 466). Shanka and Taylor (2003) focus specifically on the significance of VFR travel associated with graduation ceremonies for international students. Outside of graduations Liu (2019: 17) confirms that “a review of the existing literature indicates that many international students have hosted at least one visit by friends and relatives during and outside their studies”. For Western Australia Taylor et al. (2004) calculated that international tourism arising from visits by friends and family to higher education students represents as much as between 1.0 and 1.7% of total international tourism expenditure.

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Munoz (2018) observes that much less attention has been devoted to understanding the VFR market of domestic as opposed to international students. The first significant investigation is that by Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis (2007) on student-generated VFR travel in Swansea (Wales) in the United Kingdom (UK). This large-scale study revealed a high level of VFR mobilities demonstrating that “the vast majority of students received visits and that the average frequency of visits is fairly high” (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007: 478). The study reported that in the previous year as much as 92.8% students had received at least one visit by a friend or relative. The group of VFs included both friends from home as well as visits from friends from other UK universities. Differences were observable between VFs and VRs. VRs are the more frequent and involve more visitors as well as greater usage of commercial accommodation. The most popular activities undertaken by visitors with hosts were eating out in  local restaurants, shopping, visiting local attractions and in the case of VFs nightclubbing is particularly significant. A second study by Hunter-Jones (2008) – also undertaken in the UK – produced a set of findings from Liverpool that largely were consistent with the earlier study; in particular it highlighted the fact that students can play a pivotal role in influencing VFR activity. The research confirmed also the existence of different travel patterns associated with international as opposed to domestic VFR traffic. Accommodation choice was influenced by the type of relationship (VF or VR) between the host and guest and key activities included visits to the city’s leading tourism attractions (Hunter-Jones 2008). A third investigation conducted by Munoz (2018) at the University of Surrey (at Guildford in southern England) focused on host-visitor relationships. Once again high levels of visitation were observed for student-centred VFR travel. One interesting finding related, however, to the low level of knowledge of students concerning local visitor attractions in the Guildford area.

8.4  S  tudent-Centred VFR Travel: The Johannesburg Case Study 8.4.1  Context and Methods Using a case study approach the South African research investigated the character of domestic student-centred VFR travel with the focus on undergraduate students attending the University of Johannesburg (UJ). This university was founded only in 1 January 2005 as a result of a merger which occurred between the Rand Afrikaans University, the Technikon Witwatersrand and Vista University’s campuses in Soweto and East Rand. Since its establishment there has occurred a major growth in student numbers as well as a significant shift in the racial complexion of the student profile across UJ’s four campuses, three of which would be viewed as geographically part of inner-city Johannesburg, the fourth campus is situated in Soweto. By 2019 the student cohort totalled 50,339 and comprised of 46,141 (84%) South African

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students and 4198 international students; 41,179 undergraduates and 9160 postgraduate students. Of the 2019 cohort of undergraduate students 93% were local; for postgraduate students South Africans comprised 65% of the total. In terms of origin of students recent studies confirm that whilst the largest share are from Gauteng province – where UJ is located – almost 50% are drawn from the surrounding provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal (Van Breda 2017). Overall, since its establishment a major shift has taken place in the make-up of the UJ student body which reflects a rising share of students from what would be described as disadvantaged backgrounds (Motsoeneng 2018). This radical change in composition of the student population is aligned with the University’s commitment to be accessible to students from all income groups and backgrounds such that 60% of its graduates now are the first-generation in households. From a situation in 2005 of having 60% Black (African) students, the racial breakdown of students by 2019 was 88.8% Black, 4.7% White, 3.5% Indian and 2.9% Coloureds. The annual enrolment into UJ first year undergraduate programmes shows that nearly 28% students derive from so-termed quintile 1 and 2 schools which represent the poorest schools in the country (Longueira 2017).1 Accordingly, it is essential to appreciate that in this case study the characteristics of the student population are markedly different in terms of the level of household incomes and capacity for discretionary spending to that which has been previously investigated in research undertaken about university students in the global North (cf. Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007; Hunter-Jones 2008; Munoz 2018). Issues of financial adversity and poverty were demonstrated as ranking among the highest life challenges experienced by UJ students (Van Breda 2017). In order to address financial problems and catalyse the racially skewed composition of the student population in South Africa inherited from apartheid in 1995 the national government introduced the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. NSFAS is geared to provide funds for disadvantaged but deserving students to afford higher education (De Villiers 2017). NSFAS funding is limited to undergraduate students. One signal of the low income levels of the majority of UJ students and their families is that by 2019 21,663 students or 56.3% of all the population of local South African students attending UJ were in the category of either having applied or been approved for NSFAS funding. In terms of the research the study adopted a mixed methods approach with the use of both qualitative focus groups as well as a structured interview survey. Fieldwork was undertaken in March–June 2018 during the period of the first semester of the academic year. Focus groups were conducted with three cohorts of between 8 and 10 students who were living in off-campus student communes, familiar locations for respondents in order for them to be comfortable about sharing their experiences as potential hosts of VFR travel. The results from the focus groups 1  The quintile ranking of schools was introduced in South Africa by national government and acts as a mechanism for reallocating recurrent expenditure from the least poor to the poorest schools in order to improve the overall quality of the education system (Longueira 2017). The lower quintiles are indicative of the highest level of poverty.

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influenced the development of the survey questionnaire which was used subsequently for the collection of quantitative data. The parameters of the study population were all participants who resided in approved university student accommodation both on-­campus residences or off-campus housing. The survey questionnaire was administered to different groups of students in lectures at University of Johannesburg with the permission of course instructors. The criteria for participation in the survey included that participants must be South African, resident normally outside Gauteng province, and having completed the previous year of study at UJ; first year students were excluded from the research.2

8.4.2  Key Findings The demographic profile of survey respondents (Table 8.2) confirms that the survey was representative of the UJ student population as a whole. Of critical importance is the employment status of households. The largest share of participants indicated family breadwinners were in low-paying jobs such as cleaners, teachers, construction, the police, domestic work or nursing; a significant number reported they were from households with unemployed parents/guardians. Indeed, that the largest share of the respondents were from households that would be classed as low-income was evidenced by the fact that they qualified for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) support. It is important to underscore that the NSFAS support has a Table 8.2  Profile of University of Johannesburg survey respondents Category Gender Year of study

Race

Place of residence

Family background – Major source of household income NSFAS bursary holder

Comment 77 male, 84 female No first year students included. Respondents were in second, third or fourth year of study. The majority were senior students in year 3 or 4 of their degree. Not collected. Nevertheless, all 161 respondents would be classed as belonging to racial groups previously disadvantaged under apartheid. In common with profile of UJ students as a whole, the majority of respondents would be classed as Black Africans The most common place of origin was Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal provinces. Out of the total number of students (161) involved in the study, 58 originated from Limpopo and 41 from Kwazulu-Natal. Responses ranged from entry level service orientated to middle class employment. Typical jobs included as domestic worker, teacher, nurse, construction worker, and electrician. Of the 161 respondents 106 claimed to be NSFAS holders (65.8%).

Source Author Survey

 Full details of the research survey, methods and findings are provided by Barnes (2019).

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threshold of a gross combined household annual income of R350 000.3 Only 34% of the sample were above that income threshold and thus not NSFAS supported. Likewise, in the focus groups (which included a total of 24 students) only four (16.7%) were non-NSFAS registered students. These findings underscore the generally low income backgrounds of students at University of Johannesburg. The low income profile of students and their parents impacts substantially patterns and nature of VFR travel in this case study. Indeed, the most striking finding from the survey of University of Johannesburg students was that during the previous academic year only 45% of the sample had received at least one visit from either a friend or relative. The majority of the students – 55% (89 respondents) – received no visits from friends and relatives whilst undertaking their studies in Johannesburg. For the cohort of 106 NSFAS students – those from the lowest income households – only 42% recorded any VFR visits. The core explanation given by two-thirds of surveyed students was ‘lack of finance’ (Barnes 2019). The issues of cost reflect structural factors surrounding the recent downturn in domestic tourism in South Africa which is inseparable from the emasculated state of the economy and associated high levels of unemployment and poverty (Rogerson 2015a, 2015c). Only in a small number of cases was the lack of family visits compensated for by the UJ student having the funds to make a return home visit. The responses of focus group participants as well as expanded comments made by surveyed students emphasized the financial situation of households as a constraint upon the volume of student-centred VFR travel at University of Johannesburg. • “I agree, finance is a problem and the cost of petrol, food, and transport is an issue”. • “I’m from a poor background with a food allowance, I rely on NSFAS”. • “If my family members come visit, they will have to return home because I don’t have any relatives staying around Johannesburg where they can sleepover … So that’s very expensive. I go there and I get to see my whole family, my aunt, dad and mom and my siblings who all want to see me which is more convenient and cost effective”. • “It too expensive for them to continuously visit me here at the university. They say I should rather visit them”. Among the group that recorded VFR visits in the previous academic year in terms of frequency 29% received a visit once a year, 50% two visits a year and only 21% stated they received such visits on three or more occasions. Taken as a whole these results from South Africa stand in stark contrast to those reported from research in the global North. In particular work undertaken in the United Kingdom shows consistently that student-centred VFR travel is a significant phenomenon with the majority of university students receiving VFR visits and with a high average frequency of such visits (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007; Munoz 2018).

 At the time of the survey in March–June 2018 the US Dollar was trading at US $1 = R11.75.

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For the (minority) group of UJ students receiving VFR visits 64% were VRs and only 36% VFs. The category of VRs hosted by students included immediate family, such as parents and siblings, as well as extended household members such as cousins and grandparents. As regards duration of visits the results parallel those recorded in other studies of domestic student VFR travel; for the VFs the length of stay was as follows one night – 4%, two nights (generally a weekend stay) 81%, and three nights or more 15% of respondents. Similar responses were given by VRs and VFs as to the reason for their visit to Johannesburg. The most commonly cited response was family and ‘to spend quality time with the student’. Of note was that the second most frequent response was that the friend or relative was in Johannesburg for another purpose and that the visit with the student was thus an add-on to such visits. Typical responses were: “My relatives came to Johannesburg because of one of my family members fell ill so they came down to see him” and “Yes, I have received a visit from my dad but he came for a meeting for his work and came by to see me while he was here”. Far less significant reasons for both VFs and VRs to travel were to ‘see Johannesburg’, to ‘go shopping’ (usually for clothes) as well as visits for religious or cultural purposes. Although visits by both friends and relatives take place throughout the South African academic year (February – November) the largest share of both VFs and VRs are recorded during the period April to July, which corresponds to the middle of the academic year. In terms of mode of transportation differences emerged between VFs and VRs for their visits to Johannesburg. For VFs all visits were by use of mini-bus taxis or buses whereas for VRs use of family private car was most common albeit many trips also were by the cheaper modes of bus or shared mini-bus taxi (Barnes 2019). Table 8.3 provides the results in terms of accommodation usage for both VRs and VFs. Several points must be noted. First, that in contrast to the national picture that VFR travellers in South Africa mainly stay in non-commercial accommodation (the homes of friends and relatives) the segment of student-generated VFR travel shows a different orientation. The vast majority of visits link to the sector of commercial accommodation services, 89% for VRs and 76% for VFs. Most common is the use of the many inner-city budget guest houses which are situated in the suburbs close to the Auckland Park and Kingsway campuses of UJ.  Second, differences are observable in the accommodation used by VRs as opposed to VFs. Beyond the greater use of commercial accommodation, a segment of VRs stay at the homes of relatives in Johannesburg. Responses from participants provided further detail: “I have family here in Joburg as well, and this is where my family from Limpopo come to stay when they visit me here” and “Some family members from ‘back home’ have Table 8.3  Accommodation for VFR travellers by type (%) Hotel Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast Other Relatives in Johannesburg With Student VRs 26 56 7 12 0 VFs 14 59 3 0 24 Source Author Survey

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moved and currently live here in the city”. For the group of VFs it was disclosed that almost a quarter stay in the student’s own accommodation which is either on campus residence or off campus student communes. Sometimes this stay by friends is in contravention of regulations that do not permit overnight visitors particularly in the case of university residences. The last theme under scrutiny was the activities undertaken and expenditures made in the VFR travel. Research on student-centred VFR travel in the global North points to a potentially important role for university students as hosts to be potential ‘destination ambassadors’ by introducing their visitors to local tourism attractions or leisure experiences. Our findings from the survey at University of Johannesburg examining the activities undertaken both with VFs and VRs suggest otherwise. The record of student VFR travel to the University of Surrey was that visitors having been exposed to local Guildford attractions then might travel to the leisure offerings and experiences of London (Munoz 2018). The South African findings from a less affluent student population were markedly different. Figure 8.1 shows the location of the University campus in relation to several of Johannesburg’s most popular leisure attractions. Visits to Johannesburg’s major leisure attractions and experiences were mentioned by only 25% survey participants as jointly undertaken by student hosts either with VRs or VFs. The most common stated activity was eating out at local restaurants and shopping with visits to the Campus Square shopping centre which is adjacent to the main UJ Kingsway campus. With VRs a significant and distinctive focus was that of grocery shopping in order to supplement the limited purchases that could be secured from student bursaries. Indeed, the three leading

Fig. 8.1  The University of Johannesburg study location and several of the city’s leading leisure attractions for visitors. (Source Authors)

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items of expenditure with VRs were for groceries, restaurants and purchase of take-­ away foods; in addition students stressed that VRs made valued contributions by “giving pocket-money” to supplement their limited financial resources. With VFs similar patterns of activities were recorded but in terms of expenditure as well as restaurants there was higher spending on alcohol.

8.5  Conclusion As argued by Griffin and Dimanche (2017) VFR is an important phenomenon for cities in terms of bringing more people to a destination and with often significant positive economic and social impacts. In tourism planning for destinations in the global South, however, there is seemingly little apparent appreciation of the real and potential significance of VFR travel. What Backer and Morrison (2017: 396) describe as “a belated growth of interest in VFR travel” as yet is not reflected substantially in urban tourism scholarship for the global South. Arguably, whilst Southern cities are major receptors for VFR travel, the VFR phenomenon makes only a rare appearance on the urban tourism research agenda (Rogerson 2017a). This research contributes to the limited international scholarship about students as attractors for VFR travel. In the global North the volume of student linked VFR travel has been observed as significant and there was a high frequency of such visits. The study of VFR travel associated with students at the University of Johannesburg is the first to be undertaken in a context of the global South and a specific setting in which financial adversity is a defining characteristic of the student body. Certain parallel findings were revealed most notably that popular activities for host and visitor were spending time together on everyday entertainment based on eating and drinking in local restaurants (cf Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis 2007). The observed differences between VRs and VFs also resonate with results in the global North (see Munoz 2018). This said, much reduced volumes of student VFR travel were evidenced in this South African study than has been recorded elsewhere. Indeed, the most striking finding is that the majority of students did not receive any VFR travellers in the previous academic year. In a comparative international perspective the results from student-centred VFR travel at University of Johannesburg underline the critical influence of the low incomes of households and of students. This severely constrained the volume, nature of activities as well as VFR expenditures. The main limitation of the study relates to the small sample of students and that it was confined only to the University of Johannesburg. Arguably, a parallel investigation undertaken at other South African universities which have a larger cohort of students from more affluent backgrounds – the obvious case would be University of Cape Town – might yield results much closer to those which have been reported in global North research. This said, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a move away from on-campus to online teaching in South African universities, for the immediate future will severely constrain student-centred VFR travel across South Africa.

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Acknowledgements  The University of Johannesburg provided funding support and inputs were provided by Dawn and Skye Norfolk. Arno Booyzen prepared the map. Useful comments were received from reviewers in terms of restructuring the chapter.

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Varasteh, H., Marzuki, A., & Rasoolimanesh, M. (2015). International students’ travel behaviour in Malaysia. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 26(2), 200–216. Visser, G. (2004). The developmental impacts of backpacker tourism in South Africa. GeoJournal, 60, 283–299. Visser, G., & Kisting, D. (2019). Studentification in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Urbani izziv, 30(Supplement), 158–177. Xiao, U., So, K. K. F., & Wang, Y. (2015). The university student travel market: Motivations and preferences for activities. Tourism Analysis, 20(4), 399–412. Young, C. A., Corsun, D. L., & Baloglu, S. (2007). A taxonomy of hosts visiting friends and relatives. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(2), 497–516. Yousuf, M., & Backer, E. (2015). A content analysis of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel research. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 25, 1–10. Yousuf, M., & Backer, E. (2017). Hosting friends versus hosting relatives: Is blood thicker than water? International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(4), 435–446. Zátori, A., Michalkó, G., Nagy, J. T., Kulcsár, N., & Balizs, D. (2019). The tourist experience of domestic VFR travellers: The case of Hungary. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(12), 1437–1459.

Chapter 9

Small Town Tourism in South Africa Revisited Ronnie Donaldson

9.1  Introduction The decline of South African small towns is a phenomenon noted in academic research as early as the 1980s (Van der Merwe 1982). By the mid-1990s more than half of the 500 small towns in the country were in economic decline (Centre for Development and Enterprise 1996). Some of the most noticeable changes that occurred in the first decade of democracy can be grouped into six types (Nel 2005). First, many once prosperous mining towns such as the coal towns in KwaZulu-­ Natal, collapsed. Second, a significant demise of towns focused on railway and other forms of transport such as De Aar and Touwsriver. Third, a decline in agricultural output in many areas, with a concomitant shift to activities such as game farming significantly reduced reliance on small local centres as points of sale and service supply. Fourth, advances in transport technology and changes in retail patterns facilitated access to more distant regional centres. In so doing displacing the role of small agricultural service centres. Fifth, as a result of the amalgamation of smaller centres under a single municipal authority, many towns were weakened by the loss of local government status. New local authorities were often incapacitated by insufficient finances and incapable personnel. Last, the growth of larger centres, which extended their service fields and diversified their economies, displacing and absorbing the functions of smaller towns in their area. Nonetheless, small towns are not given a high priority on the policy agendas of governments in the global South (Nel 2005). Van Niekerk and Marais (2008) identify several causes of the decline. These include declining demographics as locals out-migrate to large cities, changing lifestyle options and consumer habits; low incomes and rising debt levels; a general decline in education and health services in these small towns; deteriorating R. Donaldson (*) Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_9

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infrastructure; and high family-related and business costs. Furthermore, they noted that decentralisation creates pressure on small towns to be financially viable, provide adequate services and attract skilled people, but, at the same time due to prescriptive intergovernmental relations, laws and policies, small towns struggle to secure funds due to their small tax bases. Much of this still holds true in 2020 as research on small towns in South Africa affirms their vulnerable status (Human et al. 2008; Hoogendoorn and Nel 2019). Many smaller urban centres in South Africa experience ongoing poverty, with few job opportunities either in the formal or informal sector, leading to the outmigration of skilled workers and a dependence on many welfare grants. One promising growth trend is the rise of tourist towns (Rogerson and Visser 2007; Donaldson 2009). Even then, however, Hoogendoorn and Nel (2019: 206) note that while some small towns “are pursuing alternatives such as tourism, others reliant on agriculture and resource extraction are experiencing increasing marginalization”. They note that small towns are depopulating. This makes it even more difficult for small towns to contend with issues such as climate change, weak local governments and economic constraints. However, despite the gloomy predictions of the 1970s and 1990s, not all small South African small towns are in absolute decline (Nel et al. 2011). It has been noted that there was once scant attention paid to small towns in South Africa (Donaldson 2007). The growth of recent academic debates on issues of small town tourism has been remarkable (Donaldson 2018; Kontsiwe and Visser 2019; Rogerson and Rogerson 2019 2020a). With some exceptions, the bulk of scholarly tourism research undertaken in a South African context over the past decade was done by geographers (Rogerson and Visser 2020). several reviews that include tourism scholarship since 2011 illustrate this by identifying specific focus areas in tourism geography (Visser and Hoogendoorn 2011; Rogerson and Visser 2014; Hoogendoorn and Rogerson 2015; Hoogendoorn and Visser 2016; Donaldson 2018; Rogerson and Visser 2020). Against this background, this chapter firstly revisits the growing body of literature on small town tourism in South Africa with a specific focus on second homes, festivals and events, and lastly LED and tourism development. Secondly, the chapter provides a snapshot of three case studies (Sedgefield, Oudsthoorn and Swellendam) to augment our understanding of the impact of the power elite, the issue of branding and the need for proper marketing in small town tourism.

9.2  A  Review of Selected Small Town Tourism Research Themes in South Africa The literature review presented in this section largely draws on Donaldson (2018) who has identified the themes of second homes, festivals, events, LED and tourism development as the most investigated aspects of small town tourism in South Africa. These three will be discussed next.

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9.2.1  Second Homes Over the past 10 years much scholarly work has been produced on second homes (Hoogendoorn and Visser 2010a, b, 2011a, b; Hoogendoorn 2011; Visser and Hoogendoorn 2015). Principally, second home research argues that rising prosperity amongst middle- and higher-income groups (mainly white South Africans), combined with growth in leisure time explains the increased demand for second homes in small-town South Africa. It must be noted though that Hoogendoorn (2011) claims that second homes are not a phenomenon of only the South African elite. The rise of second home ownership in small rural towns is typically linked to a type of migration, namely, visits for holidays and/or weekends. Later, second homes may become retirement homes. Some are, however, acquired as investments. Due to the scenic and attractive localities of some rural small towns, the rise of second homes outside metropolitan and secondary city areas also has an impact on the local environment (Long and Hoogendoorn 2013, 2014), the economy (Hoogendoorn and Visser 2010a, b, 2011a) and the social dimensions and constructions of place (Van Laar et al. 2014). Spatially, the case study towns covered in such research are typically within reach of a metropolitan area, for example Hartbeespoort dam (Baker and Mearns 2012; Long and Hoogendoorn 2013, 2014), Rosendal (Hay and Visser 2014), Franschhoek (Van Laar et al. 2014), Greyton (Donaldson 2007) and Clarens (Hoogendoorn and Visser 2010a), but they also included geographically isolated case studies such as Rhodes (Hoogendoorn et  al. 2009) and Nieu-­ Bethesda (Hoogendoorn and Visser 2010a). Second homes pose a range of challenges to the tourism industry in small towns. In this regard, Visser and Hoogendoorn (2015) have identified some noteworthy prospects for second home research. These include a call for an historical look at the phenomenon, the context of these homes in relation to government services (e.g. water usage and traffic-related issues in peak seasons) and, oddly, a call for national policy on second homes, especially international second homeowners. Furthermore, investigations on issues of the so-called ‘swallows’, the non-residents and their migratory patterns are suggested. Finally, a critique of the neoliberal approach that will concentrate on the nexus between tourism and urban development, and the potentially desirable aspects of second home development, must mainly look at the economic advantages and their role in a post-productive countryside. The way in which second homes impact on the local character of towns (transforming many into ‘ghost towns’ for most parts of the year) can be seen as the biggest planning challenge, especially in those towns that have already been touristified (Donaldson 2009). Lessons learned from their experience can be useful policy pointers for those towns still progressing towards becoming touristified.

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9.2.2  Festivals and Events Donaldson (2018) provides a comprehensive literature review of academic research into festivals and events outside the big cities and metropolitan areas in the country. Cultural festivals or festival tourism have become important tools for tourism promotion in small towns. Local authorities view these events as significant platforms for marketing the tourism assets of small town economies as part of their strategies for local economic development (LED) and growth (Donaldson 2007). Rogerson (2014) views festivals, especially those staged in small towns, as key levers for place-based LED. There have been investigations of motives for attending festivals as well as the experiences and viewpoints of festival attendees (festinos) (Saayman et al. 2012a, b); the socio-demographic characteristics of attendees and their visiting patterns (Saayman and Saayman 2006); and who spends what at the events (Saayman et al. 2011).The economic impacts of festivals and events have been studied on both town and regional scales (Snowball and Antobus 2013; Van Wyk et al. 2013).Market segmentations (Saayman et  al. 2012c) and, the management issues of organising festivals also have come under scrutiny (Saayman et al. 2012a). Festivals as an economic injection are favoured whereas the opinions and attitudes of local residents seem to be taken for granted. In this regard, measuring community perceptions of the impacts of festivals in small towns such as Oudtshoorn and Grahamstown has received scant attention (Viviers and Slabbert 2012). Some research has paid attention to the contribution of the transformational nature of art festivals as a platform for debating the goals and values of society (Snowball and Willis 2006; Snowball and Webb 2008). A single study has investigated the VICE model (visitors, industry, community, and environment) as a crucial success factor in the sustainable development of any tourism destination (Van Niekerk and Coetzee 2011). There are also many regional sports events and usually festivals and sport events are aligned. Inexplicably, research on small town sports events has been limited to only a few studies (Ingle 2008; Marumo et al. 2015). A novel addition to festival tourism studies is the spotlight on the Matric Vac Festival, an annual post-matric rite-of-passage festival, held in November and December. The most popular localities are Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape and Umhlanga Rocks and Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal. According to Rogerson and Harmer (2015) the post-matric festival is somewhat of a post-private school rite of passage for affluent youth (mainly white) and occurs at a small number of coastal destinations. These towns typically provide organized parties, beach entertainment, live music acts and night clubs. That said, cultural festivals cannot be said to be a panacea for all manner of economic woes. Yet, at the same time they should not be written “off as mere ‘pastiche,’ commercialism, or avenue for elitism” (Gibson et al. 2010: 281). Other than promoting tourism, small towns use these events to gain legitimacy and pride, and to entice tourists from neighbouring communities, in the process contributing to community building (Getz 2008). In recent years, festivals have become vital tools for LED in South Africa. Local authorities and communities see these events as important platforms to market the tourism assets of small rural economies, forming part

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of local economic growth and development strategies, although most still have no dedicated tourism event policy. Festivals have become catalysts for image making and attracting visitors. The risk however lies in festivals being seen as “a sort of ‘quick-fix’ solution to image problems” (Quinn 2005: 932). The successful management and growth of festivals in small towns is a challenge. In the context of stakeholders and resource dependency theory, Getz and Page (2016: 593) point out that events must “secure tangible resources and political support to become sustainable, giving up a degree of independence in the process and creating long-term value in the event transaction and offer”. The ability to lure well-heeled visitors to these festivals remains the most formidable challenge.

9.2.3  LED and Tourism Development Until the 1980s, tourism-led LED was largely confined to the place-marketing activities of the traditional sea, sun and sand resorts of North America and Western Europe. Thus, small towns constantly on the hunt search for new activities to replace or supplement traditional economic sectors often settle on promoting tourism, a widely recognised instrument of local economic development (LED) and identified as potential driver for small town economic diversification (Halseth and Meiklejohn 2009; Rogerson 2016). Nel (2005) argues that small towns must respond to the challenge of job losses and crises and take advantage of new growth opportunities by initiating LED. This may have been because LED issues within the context of small towns dominated the small town tourism literature in South Africa prior to 2006 (Donaldson 2007). The attention to LED tourism research has persisted over the past decade (2010s) (Nel et  al. 2007; Nel and Rogerson 2007; Rogerson 2010; Hoogendoorn and Nel 2012; Rogerson and Rogerson 2012 – also see older reviews on LED by Nel 2001; Nel and Rogerson 2005; Rogerson 2006). Exploration of tourism SMMEs in the small town of Parys (Free State) has shown that there are several challenges for tourism enterprises in small towns (Booyens and Visser 2010). As a result, small town SMMEs need to focus on attractions in their development of tourism products and explore specific market segments, such budget tourism and the family market. Building capacity and institutional weaknesses at local government level remains a main challenge for LED and SMME-led tourism developments in small towns. Nel’s (2001: 1015) earlier observation remains relevant, namely that “beyond the four metropoles … little concrete progress has been made to date. Quite clearly the lack of resources, the tenuous fiscal position … and the shortage of skilled staff are all serious impediments to the successful pursuits of LED”. Most small towns lack the capacity to set up functioning LED units and where operational they usually focus on non-tourism-related developments (Nel 2001). Consequently, infrastructure projects which could enhance tourism development are often excluded from existing integrated development plans (IDPs). Small towns also have no standing committees for tourism development. Regarding SMME support from government,

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Nyawo and Mubangizi (2015) contend that although rural small town arts and crafts enterprises have high growth potential this can only happen if municipalities, in collaboration with other stakeholders, effectively support this sector. Rogerson (2020) has found an unimpressive performance of potentially valuable local assets of the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality (more specifically in the coastal town of Coffee Bay) in the Eastern Cape. Institutional and governance shortcomings (among others) as well as widespread corruption, “underpin the observed weaknesses both in the everyday workings of local government in relation to service delivery and infrastructure support as well as its inability to implement plans for local economic development. Well-meaning policies proposed for tourism development are not implemented variously for reasons of funding, lack of local support, lack of entrepreneurialism by the municipality and lack of ability to implement because of capacity issues. Potential state assets which could bolster tourism and local development outcomes are not being realized and in many cases the assets themselves are in a state of deterioration because of neglect” (Rogerson 2020: 47). Rogerson (2013: 21) points to the “need for widespread capacity building for local governments in tourism planning which must include both those local governments which are the leading destinations for tourism visits and those localities which are tourism-dependent local economies.” Similarly, the advantageous synergies between local authorities, value chains, private sector and donor funding are needed to strengthen the LED portfolios of local authorities (Ingle 2014). Regarding small tourism businesses (STBs) in George, Biljohn (2015: 1) found that a “disconnect exists between some support programmes and interventions, and the needs of STBs to access such opportunities” and the study furthermore “points to the need for the development of a programme evaluation model for local government programmes.” In another case study of George in the Western Cape, Lamont and Ferreira (2015) noted the challenges facing the management and development of tourism. They hold that the way in which decision makers conceptualise tourism as a driver of economic development significantly affects management and ultimately policy development and delivery. Generally, local authority officials have a low levela of understanding of tourism and because of the “low budget allocation and the lack of clarity about its nature and interests, [tourism] is currently labelled as the Cinderella of service delivery” (Lamont and Ferreira 2015: 1). It is evident that the duality of the tourism space economy remains intact throughout the country. In the Eastern Cape, for example, stark disparities exist between the relatively more developed but localised and nodal formal, urban-industrial, first economy system, and the relatively large but underdeveloped, poor, informal, rural, subsistence-based agricultural economy of the province (Acheampong 2016). This scenario applies to all the provinces that contain vast areas of former homelands. A case study of the redevelopment of the town of Alicedale has shown how the town revived due to the formation of strong public–private partnerships that concentrated on tourism-based development in collaboration with the local community (Gibb and Nel 2007). A key observation was that development is not just about planning by the private sector and government officials, but a “significant amount of information transfer and much higher levels of community engagement” is also

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required (Gibb and Nel 2007: 83). Attention to community participation in tourism development has been explored by Ramukumba et al. (2011). Their case study of towns and rural areas in the Garden Route found that interested groups participate depending on “power, objectives, and expectations from community participation and these shape their attitudes towards forms of community participation.” (Ramukumba et al. 2011). Multiple opportunities do exist for public procurement to lever state assets in support of the goals of inclusive tourism development in South Africa. The study by Rogerson and Rogerson (2019, 2020a) shows how in the Overstrand Municipality it can be done successfully. The expansion and growth of enterprise development in small towns has been extensively investigated by Toerien and Seaman (2014) as well as a specific focus on tourism (Toerien 2012). The ability to reap the benefits while managing the risks associated with increased pressure by tourism is well illustrated in Clarens, in the Free State. Overcommercialisation impacts negatively on the character of small towns, threatening the town with a loss of popularity as a tranquil and scenery-rich destination (Marais et al. 2012). Similarly, it remains a challenge for small towns to retain the uniqueness of their attractions. In this regard, Ramukumba (2014) investigated the potential economic and developmental impacts in cases where iconic unique attractions exist or disappear, such as the cessation of Outeniqua Choo Choo train service. A neglected theme of tourism development has recently been addressed by J.M. Rogerson (2013a, b, c, 2019). Specifically, she documents the decline in the number of liquor-focused budget hotels in small towns. Two trends were observed. One, small town budget hotels simply close down as a consequence of the broader economic decline of small town South Africa. Two, in small towns undergoing economic revival based on tourism-led development, the quality of local accommodation has been upgraded in the form of local guesthouses and the bed and breakfast establishments. The changing impact of tourism accommodation types in small towns is a cause for concern especially for how small towns will manage to protect their rural charm amidst the rise of peer-to-peer accommodation. The small Western Cape town of Franschhoek, for example, is currently considering an overlay zone to prohibit short-term rentals in certain parts of the town.

9.3  Selected Case Studies Overall, there is scope for more research in South Africa on small town tourism across a range of themes. Three case studies presented in this section briefly touch on relatively underexplored themes of small town research in South Africa (Fig. 9.1). The first case is that of Sedgefield showing the role of the power elite in promoting small town tourism development through the international movement Cittaslow. In the second case the focus is on the branding of a town as a tourism festival town with Oudsthoorn as a case in point. Lastly the issue of tourism marketing is discussed within the context of the Swellendam municipal area.

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Fig. 9.1  The three case study sites in Western Cape province. (Source: Author)

9.3.1  Slow City Status and the Power Elite While transformation in the post-apartheid era has been influenced and shaped by state policies, these are outshined by the “roles of private enterprise and people in shaping spatial change”, otherwise known as the power elite (Harrison and Todes 2015: 148). The majority of successful tourism spaces in South Africa owe their development to entrepreneurs and private developers who saw opportunities for profitable investment (Rogerson 2006). Typically, there are dual opposing narratives concerning life in most small towns in South Africa. The first, an ‘official’ narrative promoted by the local and district municipalities, is one of a town in despair, characterised by poverty and lack of access to resources by the majority population. The second, an ‘unofficial’ narrative usually promoted by an elite group of ‘semigrant’ residents, conveys a romantic description of the town’s ‘peacefulness’ and ‘old world charm’. That two completely different representations can coexist in one place can be explained by Steyn’s (2012) notion of the ‘ignorance contract’. For dominant groups, making sense of the world around them “is not as much about accuracy as about how they would like the world to be, and having the power and resources to impose their desires, drives and will upon the social field and to effect social control” (McEwen and Steyn 2013: 7). That is, the power elite see opportunities rather than despair and have the necessary resources to create their ‘dream town’. In attempting to understand who is responsible for promoting local economic development and issues of growth (through for example town branding, marketing, tourist attractions) one can turn to Molotch’s (1976) thesis of the urban growth

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machine. It is not the intention here to critique how power elites in small towns shape society and spaces through tourism development. Rather, it is to emphasise that human capital is often a decisive factor in regional economic growth, playing a key role in regeneration of small towns (Florida 2002). In addition, there is often a crucial role played by the creative class, usually small local enterprises, in fostering tourism-led developments (Ingle 2010; Irvine et  al. 2016; Drummond and Snowball 2019). There is a newly emerging body of international literature on slow cities and slow food, albeit mainly in the global North. The growth of the slow movement in Sedgefield, a small coastal town in the Garden Route of the Western Cape province, recently accredited as Africa’s first Slow City, is now presented. A slow town is one where the pace of moving forward is reduced and/or weakened to ensure that people do not forget or abandon their traditions, cultures and heritage. The attributes of the slow movement have made it a proven tool for small town development where the conditions are right. The slow city movement is built on various utopian ideologies, the core of which is to ensure a sustainable future for all (Semmens and Freeman 2012; Donaldson 2018). The case study of the Cittaslow of Sedgefield can be aptly conceptualised in Rodgers’ (2009) review of Molotch (1976). According to him, Molotch (1976) “suggests the objective of growth unites otherwise pluralistic interests in relation to a city. The thesis is situated within a broader theory about the commodification of place, where place is understood to be socially and economically valued land. Its key premise is that coalitions of actors and organizations (i.e. growth machines), all sharing an interest in  local growth and its effects on land values, compete with growth machines elsewhere for scarce mobile capital investment, while simultaneously attempting to gain the tacit support of local publics for such urban growth” (Rodgers 2009). Cittaslow is perceived worldwide by case-study towns, planners and community members as a superfluous ‘brand’ that imposes additional, even unnecessary regulations and is an approach that lacks general community support (Semmens and Freeman 2012). Ball (2015: 583) noted that the residents of Cittaslow towns are “often largely unaware of the movement, let alone committed to its goals” and that many of the agendas “do not seem to have obtained grassroots citizen support”. These reviewers consider the organisational structures to be top-down, formed by middle class, yet committed activists. A place branded as a slow city is essentially commodified spaces of capital. Generally, however, “the growth machine thesis suggests widely held local identities and civic pride are tied in various ways to urban growth as an inherent good” (Rodgers 2009). This inherent good is (at least in theory) characterised by the elites as manipulating local pride to promote the former’s particular agenda. In the place-making process (as seen in the Sedgefield Cittaslow case study) the meanings of places and their “associated social, environmental and landscape characteristics become connected with particular social classes. Those place meanings and associated values which represent the interests and preferences of the dominant classes take on great sentimental value within a society. The hegemonic character of this sentiment strongly influences the way places are planned and managed” (Perkins 1989: 62).

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The stakeholder discussions in Sedgefield confirmed the international finding that the slow town movement is a one-person idea. Although there was one main driver in Sedgefield, several of the town’s dedicated individuals worked together to ensure a result. As mentioned earlier, in small towns, the role of a tough, passionate and dedicated local leader or leaders is particularly important for successful LED. Most of the stakeholders in Sedgefield acknowledged that the status gained as a slow town did not enjoy the consensus of the entire community. Community members made it clear that they wanted to be involved in the decisions that affect the town’s local economy, culture and heritage. As one stakeholder put it: “People need to understand that ‘slow town’ incorporates an alternative lifestyle and it means development which is alternative to the mainstream society. Many of the locals feel that it is unnecessary for them to follow this European concept, when they have been “living this type of lifestyle for many years without any European brand been put on the town” (quoted in Donaldson 2018). Thus, the slow town movement is surrounded by a sense of elitism. Many feel the movement is for the privileged upper class, with the underprivileged left uninvolved and ignored. As a result, the movement can create a deep divide within the town, between supporters of the movement and those opposed to it. Some claim that the slow town movement limits the development of other industries in the town. As Sedgefield is now committed to being a slow town, other development opportunities are unexplored and exploited. Sedgefield, like many coastal towns in South Africa relies heavily on tourism. But tourism is primarily seasonal, so the town’s promoters hoped to create an identity that would attract tourists throughout the year. The study found that slow city accreditation did evoke a curiousness which lead to an eagerness to explore the town. Another benefit of accreditation is that Sedgefield’s is the only official slow city in the country. This helps to attract tourists to the town who would usually have visited the larger tourist destinations in the area such as Knysna, Plettenberg Bay or George. As Sedgefield is Africa’s first slow town a niche market has emerged for the marketing of the movement, along with the promotion of local produce within the scope of the slow food movement. The accreditation of Sedgefield made it the slow town headquarters of Africa serving as a powerful marketing tool and creating opportunities for entrepreneurial innovation in order to support LED, poverty reduction programmes and economic welfare. Despite some negative connotations and shortcomings in the approach, the Cittaslow story represents a success story of branding and imaging endeavours in the short term because of elitist community-­driven processes and interests.

9.3.2  Branding and Festivals: Oudsthoorn South Africa hosts a total of more than 1000 small town festivals annually. The work by Saayman and Saayman (2006) has shown that the location and the size of a town are vital determinants of the impact of an event on a host town and its region. Most festivals seldom attract visitors outside of the towns’ catchment areas. The

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exceptions are three main national art festivals, namely, the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in April, the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in July and Aardklop in Potchefstroom during October. Except for Donaldson (2018) has there been limited research into aspects pertaining to branding and place identity through events and festivals in a South African small town context. The branding of festival places and regional destinations can be a more intricate and challenging process than the branding of services and goods. Branding is considered to create added value and meaning to a place (Andersson 2014). In addition, it promotes both tangible and intangible attributes to compete for a share of consumers, tourists, businesses, investments and skilled workers. Place branding differentiates one tourism locality from similar tourism experiences in other towns. It furthermore promotes cultural distinctiveness and uniqueness of experience. In the case of Oudsthoorn creating a brand identity - the major Afrikaans cultural festival town in the country – hosting the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees – will be more sustainable if place identities are affected, represented and/or contested (Donaldson 2018; Donaldson and Duckitt 2020). KKNK contributed to a renewed interest in Oudsthoorn as the former ostrich capital of the world. Capitalising on place marketing using one of the largest national festivals to brand the town as a place for festivals, created an awareness that there is more to Oudsthoorn culturally than just the KKNK. It does however take years to establish a brand and grow a festival. The Klein Karoo Klassique (KKK) festival usually sells-out packages and has established a loyal following, perhaps similar to the KKNK in terms of following. The KKK has been running for 10 years but does not have parallel events running during the long weekend festival period. This is purposeful, as the town wants this event to remain ‘intimate and classy’. According to Donaldson and Duckitt (2020) Oudsthoorn meets six of the geographical perspectives on place branding as postulated by Andersson (2014). Place branding can be considered a “means to create, change, preserve or regain place identities and place images” or can be seen as a “window of opportunity” (in the case of KKK) (Andersson 2014: 143). A second principle relates to a growing urban entrepreneurialism within public administration and urban governance. Local governments or public– private partnerships are commonly the initiators of place branding, albeit a minority of projects are mainly run by private agents (Andersson 2014). Although the local government provides support in terms of policy and regulations to make the festivals possible, the direct control and overall branding of both KKNK and KKK is managed by a local non-profit organization, Kunste Onbeperk. Neither political organisations or local authorities, but rather private companies are creating positive place images. There is a theoretical relationship between branding and geography, i.e. how the concept can be understood in geographical terms. As one of the first national arts festivals, the KKNK has established a powerful brand. Since the establishment of this festival there has been a surge in Afrikaans-orientated arts festivals in the country such as at Bloemfontein, Mbombela, Potchefstroom and Stellenbosch). However, the established KKNK and Oudsthoorn brand provides a meaningful competitive advantage. Competitors find it difficult to duplicate or upstage it. One can also question the uniqueness of all the subsequent festivals.

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Active participation and attendance of festivals are usually geared towards the middle classes. Invariably, such events are promoted among the social elites and the less powerful groups in society are systematically marginalized. The Oudsthoorn festivals are no different. The role of the creative class in making the festivals a success is a key factor in successful branding. Last, place branding is also discussed in the “relationship between products and the place-bound symbolic qualities of a geographic region where a product is produced” (Andersson 2014: 143). In this regard, the case of Oudsthoorn, the town and the brand (KKNK) have become synonymous with one another.

9.3.3  Destination Marketing in Swellendam Greater Swellendam includes seven towns, each a unique destination and identity with its own set of attractions and opportunities for attracting more visitors. Hospitality (accommodation and restaurants) servicing tourists who use Swellendam as a one-night stop to break the journey from Cape Town to the Garden Route, traditionally has defined the local tourism sector in Swellendam. The proportion of overseas versus domestic tourists visiting the local tourism information offices annually is 50/50, with most international tourists visiting between November and March and domestic tourists visiting all year round. Seasonality is marked, with a pronounced dip in the winter months of June to August, and the average length of stay is short, at 1.2 nights (Donaldson 2019). After agriculture and manufacturing tourism is the third largest contributor to employment in the Swellendam municipal area. Tourism has been identified in various Swellendam IDPs as a sector that is negatively affected by a lack of town marketing and branding, equipment and does not fully represent all local stakeholders. There is limited collaboration with the local Tourism Agency, no municipal officer dedicated to tourism, and no tourism strategy. In a recent IDP the weakness of the tourism destination marketing message was noted (Swellendam Municipality 2017). The region was once marketed as the “Cape Trade Route”. From a marketing perspective, it is important to understand aspects of destination image that are held in common with other members of a particular group. This understanding affords the segmentation of markets and facilitates the formulation of marketing strategies. Destination image encompasses both the personal images and the stereotyped images shared by groups, which are the expression of all objective knowledge, impressions, prejudice, imaginations, and emotional thoughts an individual or group might have of a particular place (Cudny 2020). The ill-conceived “Cape Trade Route” indicates that this was not the case for Swellendam. South Africa has no shortage of tourism routes and an area of attention is the potential for linking small towns or rural communities in themed or branded routes (Lourens 2007; Ferreira and Hunter 2017). According to Rogerson (2004), route tourism offers a promising potential vehicle for LED in many small towns and rural areas in South Africa. The rationale behind route development is to group

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products  - such as arts and crafts, wine, built cultural heritage environments  - to provide a diversity of experiences, hence aiming to influence tourist travel patterns. Route development and packaging regional experiences to connect the various towns and communities and ensure a better dispersal of visitors, especially to lesser known areas are crucial. But if it was suitable for Swellendam remains contested. In the context of the above and part of the comprehensive project into the Swellendam Municipality’s Five Year Tourism Strategy a survey was conducted among 384 domestic and 384 international travellers in 2019 (Donaldson 2019). It was revealed that although tourism is among the top three employment creators in the Swellendam region, the area has been experiencing a decline in tourism since 2010. In terms of marketing, it was affirmed in the survey among tourists that the current marketing brand (Cape Trade Route) of Swellendam was unfamiliar, resulting in ineffective advertising campaigns about the destination. Less than 2% of respondents were familiar with the brand name. Furthermore, in terms of marketing, there are misconceptions about whether the region is part of the Garden Route or not and about the significance of the wine industry in the region. Thus, engaging with local tourism industry forums or networks will help the Swellendam Municipality market the town better.

9.4  Conclusion A number of key lessons learned from the three case studies resonate those proposed by the EPA (2015) for small towns. It is important to include building on existing resources  – local people, spatial, environmental and economic assets. Successful socio-economic growth results from engaging many members of the community to plan for the future. Taking advantage of outside funding, even it is small amounts, or using local self-generated funds can kick-start the process, particularly if placed in passionate hands. Creating incentives for redevelopment and encouraging investment in the community, needs to be done within a long-term community development plan. When key-drivers, residents and leaders are committed to a vision it works better than short-term quick fixes and theme-branded approaches. By expanding the brand, through route tourism, for example, cooperation within the community and across the region is necessary and must be encouraged. Lastly, supporting a clean and healthy environment remains important for the overall wellbeing of towns, and essential if tourism is to be an economic driver. Whilst the world is trying to come to terms with the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 lockdowns the tourism, events and hospitality sectors have been amongst the hardest hit (Zenker and Kock 2020). In terms of geographical impact on these sectors South African small towns have been most adversely affected (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020b). Anecdotal evidence has shown that in the wake of the pandemic there may be an increased interest in living in small towns, especially if professionals can work from home going forward. In South African terms, policy recognised that small towns are potential places for economic growth. The draft National

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Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) of 2020 for earmarks a number of development corridors and ‘anchor towns’ for such growth, with plans to support and fund them under a new draft spatial development plan. It is the intention of the NSDF to provide priority support and development funding for 61 South African towns. It furthermore seeks to establish a network of regional development anchors (e.g. Harrismith, Clanwilliam, George), towns in productive rural areas (e.g. Komatipoort, Ladybrand) that fulfill a regional function and encourage their growth. Among the rural development nodes named are large regional towns that already play a significant economic role as well as ‘emerging’ towns (e.g. Tzaneen, Mthatha) in places where access to larger cities and towns is limited. In the aftermath of COVID-19, small town tourism research will find new meaning in terms of the literature focus covered in the chapter, namely on second homes, LED and how towns can market and promote themselves. Zenker and Kock (2020) argue the impact of COVID-19 opens up a range of opportunities to rethink and (re) investigate changes in destination image; change in tourism behaviour; change in resident behaviour; change in the tourism industry; long-term and indirect effects of the pandemic. Acknowledgements  Thanks are due to Jayne Rogerson for involving me in this project as well as Tracey McKay for her extensive editing of an earlier version of the paper.

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Chapter 10

The Role of Tourism in Small Town Cultural and Creative Industries Clustering: The Sarah Baartman District, South Africa Fiona J. Drummond

10.1  Introduction The cultural and creative industries (CCIs) have been internationally recognised as catalysts for economic growth and development. There are various means of achieving culture-led development including the formation of CCIs clusters, urban renewal strategies, spillover effects and cultural and creative tourism. All of these tend to overlap and so work in conjunction to promote socio-economic development. CCIs clustering in particular has frequently been linked to tourism as these two factors often combine and feed off of one another in both urban and rural contexts. CCIs clustering is one model of cultural and creative tourism related development identified by Richards (2011), called the creative spaces model, which refers to the physical manifestation of the relationship between tourism and creativity. In this case, the cluster attracts tourists as it has a lively atmosphere, usually a café culture, and is filled with CCIs businesses like small local designers and fine arts and crafts stores that appeal to tourists (Florida 2002). In turn, tourists increase demand for CCIs goods and services within the cluster which promotes its continued development and success. CCIs clusters in particular have become popular global policy tools in stimulating economic growth and development, as they have been used in urban renewal schemes, act as tourist attractions and are associated with spillover effects (Chapain et al. 2013). Other culture-led development models that are used in urban and rural spaces include creative spectacles, the hosting of events like festivals which attract large numbers of tourists and creative or experience tourism where the purpose of travel is to engage and participate in authentic cultural and creative activities (Pine and Gilmore 2011; Richards 2011). Creative tourism linked to CCIs clusters can be a particularly useful development strategy for small towns and rural areas as it is based on personal interactions with local people and their culture as F. J. Drummond (*) School of Economic Sciences, North West University, Mahikeng, South Africa © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_10

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well as depth of place experiences which underlines the importance of combining creativity with what is characteristic or unique about each place in order to provide authentic and engaging tourist experiences (Richards 2019). In South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, a number of small towns are pursuing culture-led development through tourism strategies relating to a combination of clustering, cultural events and creative tourism. The role of tourism in these small towns was investigated from the supply-side through documenting tourism brochures and websites on the towns, fieldtrips to conduct surveys of the CCIs present in the small towns as well as snowball sampling to identify CCIs. The identified CCIs were categorized into UNESCO domains and analysed using GIS mapping according to whether they had formed clusters, and the nature of the cluster as related to the potential role of tourism in the formation and sustainability of the cluster. This chapter will explore the range of tourism strategies that South African small towns with CCIs clusters in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape are implementing in the pursuit of culture-led local economic development (LED).

10.2  Literature Review The socio-economic developmental potential of the CCIs was widely acknowledged in the global North in the late 1990s, following the mapping studies of Britain’s creative economy in 1998, but the adoption and adaptation of CCIs policy and development strategies has been more recent in the global South (Flew and Cunningham 2010; Cunningham and Swift 2019). Moreover, the interest in the use of the CCIs to promote urban renewal can be traced back to the ‘Cool Britannia’ place branding and urban redevelopment initiatives (Miles 2005). This links urban development with the tendency of CCIs to cluster and cultural tourism. For instance, under the ‘Cool Britannia’ scheme, the Tate Modern (a modern art gallery) was promoted as a cultural flagship institution around which a cultural precinct grew on the south bank of the Thames, which receives large numbers of visitors and has become a key node of creative city life (Miles 2005). This model has been replicated in other centres like Gateshead in Newcastle (Bailey et al. 2004), the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Rope Walks Quarter in Liverpool, and the El Raval district in Barcelona (Miles 2005). In both the global North and South, academic research and policy focus has tended to be concentrated in metropolitan spaces, which are presumed to be more highly developed and have favourable conditions to support the CCIs. These include hard infrastructure like transportation networks and fast broadband connections as well as soft infrastructure or Florida’s “Three T’s” of talent (the creative class), tolerance (a wide range of amenities and acceptance of various lifestyles) and technology (Florida 2002; Landry 2008). South African examples of metropolitan CCIs clustering and cultural tourism being harnessed for urban renewal and development include the Maboneng precinct and the Newtown Cultural Arc in inner-city Johannesburg. Both of these CCIs clusters are mixed use as they contain a wide

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variety of CCIs activities including fashion, fine arts and crafts, live music venues, theatres, museums and galleries which are attractive to locals and tourists alike (Pieterse and Gurney 2012; Gregory 2016). For instance, annual visitor numbers for the Braamfontein node of the Newtown Cultural Arc increased dramatically between 2003 and 2009 and the area has undergone a resurgence (Pieterse and Gurney 2012). In Maboneng, a boutique hotel and backpacker lodge have been converted from old rundown industrial buildings to accommodate the increasing number of tourists to the area (Gregory 2016). However, the bias in research and policy towards metropolitan CCIs and tourism is slowly starting to change. This has mainly been manifested in the global North in countries like the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and several European countries, where the notion of the ‘post-productivist countryside’ has taken hold as production has moved away from agriculture and towards lifestyle consumption, tourism and leisure (Bell and Jayne 2010). The CCIs and cultural tourism have been recognised as key components of the ‘post-productivist countryside’ since some types of CCIs activity may be well suited to rural areas as not all CCIs require high technology inputs, extensive networks or long supply chains (Oakley 2006). For instance, in west Cornwall in the UK, there is a small rural CCIs cluster on the outskirts of the market town of Redruth called Krowji (Harvey et al. 2012). The cluster contains a rich mix of micro-businesses and creative governance organisations which have links that extend far beyond the cluster premises to connect creatives across Cornwall, the UK and globally (Harvey et al. 2012). This shows the vitality of rural CCIs clusters and their potential contributions to economic growth and innovation which has most commonly been the reserve of CCIs clusters in large cities (Harvey et al. 2012; Bain 2016). The mostly rural Western Region of Ireland has experienced strong inward migration of creative workers who are largely attracted by lifestyle factors (White 2010). The in-migration of creative workers stimulated the local economy as it was estimated that there were 4779 creative businesses who directly employed 11,008 people and contributed €270 million to the region’s Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2008 (White 2010). Attracting creative workers based on lifestyle factors thus has the potential to boost economic growth and development in rural regions while preserving the quality of life and sense of place. Increasing physical and virtual connectivity is vital to maintaining the rural place attractiveness (White 2010). In Europe, a study of Lower Silesia in rural Poland found a clear structure of specialisation where craft-based activities occurred outside of the large cities and recommended that rural areas undertake cultural activities that are consistent with the character of the local setting, conditions and traditions (Janc et al. 2020). The village of Jokkmokk in northern Sweden has created a successful tourism industry based on their cultural history as the village was settled by the Sámi people (Brouder 2012). The Sámi people used the area for trade and to host an annual winter market, which has been held in the village since 1605 and has now been transformed into a major cultural tourism attraction (Brouder 2012). There is a concerted effort to preserve the Sámi culture in the village and tourists are invited to engage with this

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heritage at the festival, the Ájtte museum and the frequent exhibitions of local artists’ work (Brouder 2012). The rural community of Prince Edward County, located on Lake Ontario in Canada, has harnessed its creative economy to create a desirable tourist destination, which, in 2004 attracted over 440,000 people who spent an estimated $65.4 million (Stolarick et al. 2010). The CCIs cluster offering includes over 100 independent artists and galleries, craft stores, the Regent Theatre, historic sites and museums, tourism routes and an annual Jazz Festival (Stolarick et al. 2010). On Australia’s New South Wales Far North Coast, a number of music related CCIs clusters have formed in small towns like Lismore, Byron Bay and Ballina (Gibson 2002). The area has garnered a reputation as a place for artists to be ‘discovered’ and as a nursery for alternative and ‘indie’ bands based on the large number of live music venues, recording studios, festivals and acclaimed pub and club circuits (Gibson 2002). The area has become popular with tourists for its festivals and its eclectic night life relating to live music as well as its natural beauty (Gibson 2002). Meanwhile, on the Far South Coast in the small city of Wollongong, the northern suburbs have become creative hubs for both living and working with many CCIs activities and businesses, which in combination with the town’s natural beauty and outdoor activities, have become a popular tourist attraction due to its proximity to Sydney for day trips (Waitt and Gibson 2009). Lastly, creative or experience tourism has sustained a rural area in the Japanese Alps near Lake Suwa where mainly urban Japanese women visit the area to learn traditional silk weaving (Creighton 1995). Many Japanese women find it difficult to travel solely for pleasure and so the silk weaving enterprise offers them a chance to travel to a rural area combined with education and cultural legitimacy as visitors reconnect with traditional Japanese values and places (Creighton 1995). Studies of rural areas in emerging countries and the global South are also beginning to be conducted. In South Africa, a number of cultural festivals are held in rural areas which are supported by the national Department of Sport, Arts and Culture with the aim of promoting socio-economic development through creative spectacles (Bob et al. 2019). One such festival is the Mahika Mahikeng Music and Cultural Festival which celebrates the local Batswana culture and Setswana language in Mahikeng, a secondary city which is the capital of the largely rural North West Province, which was started in 2015 as a government driven local economic development scheme (Nel and Drummond 2019; Drummond et al. 2021). While the festival was largely successful in attracting a local audience who recognised the value of the event, organisational factors such as marketing, the availability of transport and the timing of the event meant that it largely failed to attract a cultural and creative tourist audience and so constrained the potential socio-economic impacts on the town (Drummond et al. 2021). The festival was the latest attempted revival of Mahikeng’s creative economy as Drummond and Drummond (2021) identified a historic ‘Bantustan’ government led CCIs cluster in the town that collapsed due to changing political interests and the dismantling of apartheid institutions in the new democratic South Africa.

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Tourism routes based on arts and culture offer another possible culture-led rural tourism development strategy for South Africa as they are associated with a number of positive local economic development outcomes like connecting rural artists and tourism businesses with domestic and international tourist markets as well as preserving local cultural heritage (Snowball and Courtney 2010; Rogerson and Rogerson 2011). There are examples of successful South African arts and crafts tourism routes like the Midlands Meander and Crocodile Ramble, but Rogerson and Rogerson (2011) warn that they are a marginal policy option as there is no guarantee that a craft route will result in tourism growth or LED, and there are other options to develop rural crafts such as craft hubs and support for trade shows which link rural crafters with markets. Other issues associated with tourism routes are that they take a long time (20–30 years) to mature to the point where they can deliver substantial economic benefits and require significant and continued funding, support and advertising (Snowball and Courtney 2010). In the case of heritage routes like the Liberation Heritage Route in a rural municipality in the Eastern Cape which highlights the role of local leaders and communities in the apartheid struggle, the route preserves local heritage but is not self-financing and mainly consists of small sites of local heritage significance (Snowball and Courtney 2010). Given the difficulties with creating and sustaining heritage tourism routes, the authors recommend that heritage be preserved and protected for its own sake rather than any potential LED or financial benefits (Snowball and Courtney 2010). At a national level, South Africa’s CCIs have been called the country’s “new gold” due to their potential to promote economic growth and create jobs (Mzansi’s Golden Economy Guidelines 2016). This is important as South Africa has been grappling with poor GDP growth (−2% in Q1 in 2020), high unemployment (30% in Q1 in 2020) as well as inequality (Gini coefficient of 0.65 in 2015) and so could benefit greatly from a new economic driver (Statistics South Africa 2020). The latest CCIs mapping study found that in 2018, the CCIs directly contributed 1.7% to the South African economy and grew at an average rate of 2.4% per annum between 2016 and 2018, which is faster than the rest of the economy for this period (South African Cultural Observatory 2020a). Moreover, when all three components of the creative trident – specialists, non-specialists and embedded cultural workers (Higgs and Cunningham 2008)  - are considered, then cultural and creative employment accounted for 7% of total jobs in South Africa in 2017 (South African Cultural Observatory 2020a). However, Shafi et al. (2020) argue that a mere acknowledgement of the potential of the CCIs is not enough to yield the desired developmental outcomes and that a targeted national government stimulus with appropriate cultural policy is required. Issues of economic decline, severe unemployment, poverty and inequality are particularly pertinent in rural South Africa where the main economic mainstays of agriculture, mining and railways have entered a phase of contraction (Nel and Binns 2007; Hoogendoorn and Visser 2016). In an attempt to address these issues, many rural small towns have adopted post-productivist strategies, the most successful of which have relied on the characteristics of the town that make it special rather than the rural hinterland (Toerien and Marais 2012). This relates to sense of place and the

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significance of place as local characteristics and assets; cultural, historical and physical, are given economic value (Halseth and Meiklejohn 2009; Ingle 2013). Accordingly, many small towns are attempting to capitalise on what makes them special by promoting cultural tourism linked to their local characteristics and assets around which CCIs clusters have formed (Hoogendoorn and Nel 2012). It is thus hoped that the CCIs will be part of the solution to the problems that affect small towns, including those in the SBD, in a manner that Florida suggests: attracting the creative class (either permanently or as visitors via tourism) will result in job creation and economic growth as the benefits of the CCIs’ activity would be multiplied throughout the local and/or regional economy (CCIs Spillovers Report 2015). However, there are doubts about the potential success of post-productivism linked to the CCIs and tourism, as it has been argued that, while it may have benefited rural areas in developed countries, it cannot positively impact rural South Africa. This is due to the legacy of apartheid, which manifests itself in inequality and poverty, and still affects a large proportion of the black and coloured populations. Due to the apartheid hangovers of low skill and education levels, the potential of post-productivism to make a difference to these groups is questionable (Irvine et  al. 2016). Inequality and exclusivity issues related to culture-led development have also been critiqued in the global North. Richard Florida inspired creative city policies of liveability have created urban political struggles in a number of US inner-city areas (McCann 2007). For example, in Austin, Texas the creative city agenda swept through the rundown urban core and surrounding neighbourhoods and sought to transform them into attractive places to be for the creative class (McCann 2007). In the process, the needs of long-established poor and ethnic minority communities in these spaces were not adequately accounted for and they were pushed out of the newly gentrified lifestyle areas of the city (McCann 2007). This acts as a warning to South African local governments grappling with inequality and poverty issues that urban or rural renewal schemes based on liveability and attracting the creative class without considering current occupants and their needs could exacerbate existing social issues. Having said this, it is also important to protect creative workers and the spaces that they have made creative as gentrification can also negatively impact creatives. This issue has arisen in Berlin and Hamburg in Germany where creatives protested against further CCIs cluster development and the policies formulated in their name as a camouflage for market-based urban development agendas (Novy and Colomb 2013). There is thus a careful balance that needs to be struck between culture-led development and the commercial exploitation of local cultures and environments. It is often the case that employment linked to tourism is highly seasonal and so small towns with successful tourism industries still grapple with problems of workers receiving unreliable employment and incomes as well as being paid low wages in strenuous working conditions during the peak season (Xuza 2012). Issues related to gentrification have become a common critique of CCIs clusters and popular tourism and second home destinations. In the case of CCIs clustering, the crowding of creative individuals into neighbourhoods with affordable studio space and accommodation often results in their gentrification, which increases rental and property

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prices, thereby driving out the previous occupants and, somewhat ironically, eroding the diversity that the creative class craves (Peck 2005; Pratt 2008). Additionally, in the case of several coastal towns which are popular with tourists and second homeowners, house prices have increased beyond the range that most locals can afford, causing a deepening of structural inequality between the few wealthy permanent and part-time residents and the large marginalised communities (Donaldson 2009). This serves as a warning that simply pursuing culture-led development with an ‘add culture and stir’ approach will not have the desired socio-economic developmental outcomes. Several towns in the Sarah Baartman District in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province have identified and are pursuing culture and creativity as a means of promoting socio-economic development. Drummond and Snowball (2019) proved that CCIs clusters had formed in some of the SBD’s small towns and that it was the individual town’s characteristics which determined whether clusters formed, rather than the physical size. These characteristics included larger proportions of the creative class (defined by education levels); established tourism industries; greater socio-economic development levels; more diverse local economies with a wider range of amenities; better hard infrastructure; and the towns serving an important economic function as service centres for the district (Drummond and Snowball 2019). This chapter will extend Drummond and Snowball’s (2019) work by examining the role of cultural tourism strategies in CCIs clustering within small towns using the SBD as a case study.

10.2.1  The Sarah Baartman District The Sarah Baartman District (SBD) is the largest of the eight Eastern Cape districts, covering 34% of the province but with only 6.8% (approximately 480,000 people) of the provincial population (SBD Municipality 2017). Despite its vast size, it is predominantly rural and sparsely settled as it is primarily agricultural and home to areas of natural conservation. Following the national trend for rural areas, the SBD has been struggling with low economic growth (3.4%), high unemployment (17.8%), low education levels (35% of people over the age of 20 have completed secondary school), poverty and wealth divisions, as well as poor service delivery associated with the contraction of agriculture and the decline of the railways across the district (Statistics South Africa 2016; Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council 2017). However, improvements have been made to standards of living, as 87% of sampled households lived in formal housing and 92% had access to piped water and electricity (Statistics South Africa 2016). With no large urban centres and lower levels of economic growth, conventional theory would suggest that CCIs are not suited to the rural environment of the SBD. However, district level government has identified culture as having a strong regional development potential, and has several initiatives that either directly or indirectly target culture through supporting the arts and tourism based on history,

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festivals, fine arts and crafts and natural heritage (SBD Municipality 2017). This cultural turn is not unjustified as the trade sector which includes retail and tourism, is the second largest GVA contributor to the SBD’s economy at R7 billion or 22% of total GVA (Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council 2017). Consequently, there are a few development schemes already in place that are specifically aimed at the CCIs and cultural tourism. For instance, there are attempts to carry out cultural tourism based LED initiatives on a municipal level such as the development of a citrus agri-tourism route in the Sundays River Valley, the creation of natural fibre clusters and tourism routes across mohair and merino producing municipalities as well as a feasibility study of developing township tourism in Camdeboo (SBD Municipality 2017). There is also a commitment to providing financial support to one major festival in the district every year in order to build and sustain local talent as well as to develop the festival as a tourist attraction (SBD Municipality 2017). Moreover, there are potential spillover effects of nature tourism on the CCIs as the district has three National Parks and one UNESCO world heritage site which are renowned for their natural beauty and game viewing and so are major tourist attractions and policy focus areas for maintenance and upgrading (SBD Municipality 2017). However, the record of local Eastern Cape municipal governments harnessing local assets for tourism development has been unimpressive, with issues of government incapacity and a failure to implement proposed policies as well as difficulties with the tourism assets themselves, which are in a state of deterioration due to neglect (Rogerson 2020). This does not bode well for the SBD.

10.3  The Role of Tourism in Small Town CCI Clustering In order to identify whether CCIs clusters had formed and which CCIs activities constituted the clusters (which tourism strategies would be based on), an audit of CCIs operating within each of the 35 towns in the SBD was conducted in 2017. The type of CCIs activity was categorised according to the UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (2009) which consists of six mutually exclusive domains: Cultural and Natural Heritage, Performance and Celebration, Visual Arts and Crafts, Books and Press, Audio-Visual and Interactive Media, and Design and Creative Services. The UNESCO framework includes more traditional sectors like film, fine art, literature, music and theatre, as well as more commercial sectors like advertising, architecture, graphic design, interior design and landscaping. The UNESCO (2009) definition of CCIs was chosen as it is used in South African cultural policy documents and it allows for international comparisons. However, for the purposes of this study, natural heritage (like the three National Parks and Baviaanskloof UNESCO world heritage site) was excluded from the Cultural and Natural Heritage domain as it is not usually considered as part of the cultural sector in South Africa and is administered under a separate government body.

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The first phase of the 2017 SBD CCIs audit took advantage of the strong link between the CCIs and tourism by conducting internet searches and consulting recent tourist brochures (2015–2017), as many CCIs related tourist activities were highlighted by these platforms. Major tourist websites like Tripadvisor were useful in providing general overviews of tourism activities for the more prominent towns within the district. The CCIs activities highlighted on tourism websites tended to depend on the features of the town. For instance, towns like Addo which is associated with the Addo Elephant National Park, tended to have a focus on natural heritage tourist activities like safaris and hikes and did not highlight the cultural and creative activities. On the other hand, towns with significant cultural heritages and events like Graaff-Reinet and Grahamstown (Makhanda) tended to be featured for their museums, festivals and local visual arts and crafts businesses. However, not all possible tourist activities of interest were highlighted. The brochures and websites generally focused on larger cultural institutions, heritage sites and the most popular businesses. Unless either local government or community initiative had resulted in the production of designated tourist brochures or a website, information on the smaller towns was scant as they were not included on major tourist websites or more general district brochures. However, due to the identification of tourism as a potential new development driver in the SBD, a few of the smaller, less prominent towns and municipalities had developed their own dedicated tourism websites and brochures. For instance, Baviaans Tourism (2017) has set up a detailed tourist website and published two brochures on the small and remote towns of Willowmore, Steytlerville and Reitbron while some individual towns (Grahamstown, Jeffreys Bay, Graaff-­ Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda, Port Alfred, Bathurst, Aberdeen and Somerset East) had independently created comprehensive tourist information websites and/or brochures. The production of tourist brochures and websites is illustrative of the local government and community buy-in to pursuing culture-led development through tourism in accordance with the post-productivist shift. Table 10.1 summarises the Table 10.1  Summary of dedicated tourism brochures and websites for the SBD municipalities collected during the 2017 SBD CCIs audit

Number of dedicated tourism brochures/ websites SBD municipality Baviaans 3 Blue Crane Route 4 Camdeboo 5 Ikwezi 1 Kouga 9 Kou-Kamma 3 Makana 8 Ndlambe 5 Sundays River Valley 3 SBD as a Region 5 Total 46 Source: Author

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number of tourist brochures and websites that were found for each municipality where the municipalities with larger numbers of tourism brochures and websites had more developed tourism industries. The second phase of the audit involved field trips to the towns in order to verify the information gathered under the first phase and to identify additional CCIs businesses through surveying the towns and snowball sampling. Comprehensive town surveys were conducted by physically searching the main streets of each town for CCIs activity and documenting the business or institution’s name, UNESCO domain categorization, location and contact details. Snowball sampling involved asking owners and employees of the surveyed businesses and institutions to recommend similar businesses and places of interest to tourists with prompts to the types of UNESCO domains. Due to the limitations of tourist brochures and websites only covering the most prominent towns and those with a developed tourism strategy as well as tending to highlight cultural institutions and the most popular tourist businesses, the field trips proved to be the most useful method of collecting data as they added the largest number of verifiable CCIs to the database. Table 10.2 shows the number of CCIs by UNESCO domains for the SBD municipalities. The audit revealed that there were 1048 CCIs in operation in the SBD in total and that the most prominent UNESCO domains in the district were Visual Arts and Crafts and Cultural Heritage, which aligns with international studies on rural CCIs (Bell and Jayne 2010; Janc et  al. 2020). These two domains, along with Performance and Celebration, were also the main CCIs related activities highlighted in the tourism brochures and websites. Due to their prominence, it is these three domains around

Table 10.2  Breakdown of the SBD CCIs into UNESCO domains Domains

Municipality Baviaans Blue Crane Route Camdeboo Ikwezi Kouga Kou-Kamma Makana Ndlambe Sundays River Valley SBD Total

Cultural Heritage 32 23

Performance & Celebration 6 2

Visual Arts & Crafts 31 19

Books & Press 3 8

Audio-Visual & Interactive Media 0 0

Design & Creative Services 1 2

58 12 29 6 53 46 4

7 0 13 1 51 9 3

69 8 108 21 75 107 11

11 2 26 4 26 24 9

1 0 3 0 7 1 0

7 1 53 0 21 32 2

263

92

449

113

12

119

Source: Drummond and Snowball (2019)

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Fig. 10.1  Examples of CCIs establishments in the Sarah Baartman District From left to right: Surf art prints in Jeffreys Bay, Bethesda Foundation and Arts Centre which supports township artists in Nieu-Bethesda, kiln fired glass showroom and studio of local artist in Aberdeen, and faeries crossing sign at a restaurant and locally produced arts and crafts store in Bathurst. (Photographs: Author 2017)

which cultural and creative tourism strategies have mainly been developed by the SBD small towns. Figure 10.1 illustrates CCIs establishments in the SBD. Creating physical maps using geographic information systems (GIS) is not often utilised in research on the CCIs but is useful in analysing patterns and relationships by visually representing large and complex datasets (Brennan-Horley et al. 2010). Consequently, the results of the SBD CCIs audit were mapped using ESRI’s ArcGIS.  First, the total number of CCIs per town were mapped using graduated circles where a larger circle represents a larger number of total CCIs (see Fig. 10.2). A cluster was determined to have formed in towns that had over 35 CCIs. This was based on other international and South African CCIs clustering studies where 20 musical venues and retail outlets made up a cluster in the rural towns of Australia’s New South Wales Far North Coast (Gibson 2002) and where 44 CCIs across UNESCO domains constituted the Maboneng precinct in Johannesburg (Gregory 2016). A socio-economic status index was also developed to investigate the relationship between socio-economic development levels and the presence of the CCIs (Drummond and Snowball 2019). A darker shade represents a better socio-­economic performance in Fig.  10.2. There is a general positive relationship between

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Fig. 10.2  Cultural and creative industry clustering and the socio-economic status index. (Source: Drummond and Snowball 2019)

socio-economic status and CCIs clustering. For the purposes of this chapter, a better level of socio-economic development would also be likely to make the place more attractive to tourists and acts as one of the characteristics that determines whether clusters have formed. Second, the UNESCO domain activity in each town was proportionally mapped (see Fig. 10.3). When analysed in conjunction, the two maps show which UNESCO domain activities are prominent in the SBD towns in which CCIs clusters have formed and so provide insights into which CCIs activities contribute most to the formation and sustainability of the CCIs clusters and on which successful tourism strategies are based. While Table  10.2 shows that there are a large number of CCIs present in the SBD, Fig. 10.2 shows that they are not evenly distributed amongst the 35 towns. Drummond and Snowball (2019) concluded that over half of the SBD towns did not have CCIs clusters (under 20 CCIs) and that this was based on their agricultural focus. These towns served as small service centres for the surrounding farming communities, with poor infrastructure and amenities, small populations and small proportions of the creative class (defined by having a Bachelors degree), as well as high levels of poverty. It was determined that towns with over 35 CCIs possess CCIs clusters. This category was further divided into towns with small CCIs clusters (35–56 CCIs) and towns with large CCIs clusters (57–205 CCIs). A third category of towns with CCIs clustering potential (20–34 CCIs) was also identified. When clustering is analysed in conjunction with UNESCO domains in Fig. 10.3, it can be seen that the diversity of CCIs activity increases with cluster size and

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Fig. 10.3  UNESCO domain breakdown in the towns of the SBD. (Source: Drummond and Snowball 2021)

socio-economic development levels. The towns in each category share a number of common characteristics which may influence CCIs cluster formation and sustainability as well as the types of cultural tourism strategies that the towns have pursued. Table 10.3 summarises the cultural and creative tourism strategies and the UNESCO domain activities on which they are based that were found in the SBD small towns and the cluster categories in which they have been used. The following section will explore each category moving from CCIs clustering potential to small and large CCIs clusters and the tourism strategies that they have undertaken based on their assets as captured under the UNESCO domains. In terms of cluster location, the CCIs in small towns were similar to CCIs clusters in large cities as they co-located in distinct bounded geographic areas. In the case of coastal towns, the CCIs tended to locate along the beachfront and extended back by two or three streets. For hinterland towns, the CCIs located around the town centres. For larger towns in the district like Grahamstown, Jeffreys Bay and Port Alfred, smaller nodes also formed in shopping malls which were between 1 and 4 km away from the town centres. Unlike in cities such as Johannesburg, the CCIs were not found to be forming a creative suburbia (Gregory and Rogerson 2018). The geographic location of small town CCIs clusters is interesting as they have formed in the heart of the towns where they are well placed to take advantage of the local and tourism market and help contribute to the “buzz” or atmosphere that makes the place appealing.

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Table 10.3  Cultural and creative tourism strategies used by the SBD small towns Tourism type Heritage and history

Activities UNESCO domain Museums and monuments Cultural heritage Historical buildings and homes Battlefield tourism and tours

Agri-tourism

Farm stays Mohair production and farming Shopping Festivals and fairs Smaller local performance events

Events (creative spectacles)

Creative tourism and artistic populations

Natural and cultural heritage Visual arts and crafts

CCIs cluster Potential CCIs clusters Small CCIs clusters Large CCIs clusters Potential CCIs clusters

Performance and Celebration

Large CCIs clusters Small CCIs clusters Visual arts and crafts Small CCIs Shopping Books and press clusters Studio visits Large CCIs Arts and crafts workshops clusters and courses Retreats Bookshops Gastronomy (pubs)

Source: Author

10.3.1  Towns with CCIs Clustering Potential The three towns in this category are Somerset East, Steytlerville and Willowmore. They are bigger in terms of size and population than the primarily agriculturally focused towns that were determined not to possess CCIs clusters and so should be able to support more businesses in general, including CCIs. In addition to being larger towns, tourism brochures, websites and field research found that these three towns have attempted to build tourism industries which are based on quiet escapes to the country, cultural heritage tourism and agri-tourism through mohair. All three towns have attempted to capitalise on their rich heritages which include their founding, colonial governance (especially in Somerset East), quirks that make them special (especially Steytlerville and Willowmore) as well as battlefield tourism around the South African War (1899–1902) (previously the Anglo-Boer War). A South African War Battlefields Route in the Central Karoo has been proposed which includes Willowmore, Aberdeen and Graaff-Reinet from the SBD (Proos and Hattingh 2020). Being part of a larger heritage route would be beneficial in terms of preserving and upgrading the historic sites, promoting LED in the included towns as well as route organisation, support, funding and advertising. Accordingly, as illustrated by Fig. 10.2, the towns are dominated by tourist related Cultural Heritage and Visual Arts and Crafts. Somerset East, Steytlerville and Willowmore may have potential for future clustering as they have a good foundation of CCIs numbers in the domains which have been well established through tourism from which they can

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build. Having a basis to build from is important as it makes successful development of the CCIs much more likely (Fleischmann et al. 2017). Battlefield tourism is popular in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal around sites of Anglo-­ Zulu conflicts like Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift (Moeller 2005; van der Merwe 2014). A possible cultural tourism LED strategy could be to invest in upgrading and marketing the existing museums and monuments to the wars, soldier grave sites and old gunpowder and storage chambers. Field work found that these sites already attract small numbers of tourists to the area and so there is a base from which to expand. In addition to battlefield tourism, Steytlerville and Willowmore have also attempted to build agri-tourism industries as they have farm stays and tours of Angora goat farms where visitors can interact with the goats and learn about life on the farms and how the wool is processed as well as visiting stores in the town centres which sell locally made mohair fashion, arts and crafts items. In both cases, a tourism route is the main strategy for expanding their creative economy and CCIs cluster. In the potential CCIs clustering category, the CCIs activity present in the three towns is mainly constituted of tourism related Cultural Heritage and Visual Arts and Crafts CCIs. The Baviaans municipality in particular is strongly pursuing culture-­ led development through tourism and if this is done successfully, the potential exists for CCIs clusters to form over time. In this case, the small tourism industries based on their unique assets that have been established in the towns are the main characteristic that differentiates them from the small agricultural towns in which CCIs clusters have not formed.

10.3.2  Towns with Small CCIs Clusters Small town clustering really begins in the 35–56 CCIs category and includes Bathurst, Kenton-On-Sea, Nieu-Bethesda and St. Francis. These towns punch above their weight in terms of CCIs activity for their physical and population sizes. This is especially true for Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda as field work revealed that even though they are small villages with small populations (6369 and 1540 people in Census 2011 respectively), they are renowned artistic towns with relatively large artist populations and are also popular cultural tourism destinations. The high concentration of resident artists means that the two villages are dominated by Visual Arts and Crafts. The SBD CCIs audit found that there are many small studios and galleries which are owned and used by the various visual artists. The artist populations and cultural tourism popularity of Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda have resulted in there being many CCIs that have established in these villages to cater to locals and round out the tourism offering, including businesses in other domains like bookshops and local newspapers as well as several festivals and fairs which are hosted by the villages annually. In a reverse of the normal situation, the audit discovered that there are more businesses in the CCIs sector in these two villages than any other type of industry.

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In the case of Bathurst, there is a cultural heritage element that has proven to be extremely popular with tourists. Bathurst was founded by 1820 Settlers (several parties of British settlers to the Eastern Cape who came to increase the British population in the area) and many of their homes, churches and other buildings remain to this day and have been well preserved. Field research and tourism brochures revealed that visitors to Bathurst are attracted by its Settler past and many come to “find their roots” (Sunshine Coast Tourism n.d.). The village has several Settler homes; churches, including the oldest unaltered church in South Africa (St John’s 1834); Bradshaw Mill, the birthplace of South Africa’s wool industry; and, the oldest licensed pub in the Country, the Pig and Whistle (1832) (Sunshine Coast Tourism n.d.). There is also a keen interest in cemeteries which are not typically considered as tourist attractions or Cultural Heritage CCIs. However, the cemeteries of the Bathurst churches contain many Settler graves and are thus an essential part of many cultural heritage visits to the village. This illustrates the need to consider local context-specific inclusions to CCIs classification systems. Bathurst is renowned for its Settler history which is not only of cultural significance to visitors, but also to the locals as it is an integral part of their sense of place. It should be noted that it is the white Settler history that is highlighted albeit that there have been attempts to be more inclusive as the Bathurst Historical Society has attempted to engage with the local Xhosa community in order to develop and expand the tourist offering and associated economic benefits. Unfortunately, the development of a “Xhosascope” to give representation to the African interactions with the Settlers, indicate important local Xhosa landmarks and history and offer cultural experiences has been placed on hold as the idea has not been met with enthusiasm by local Xhosa community leaders. Field research revealed that Kenton-On-Sea and St. Francis are similar to Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda as they are popular holiday destinations but also have relatively large second home owner communities. Again, the importance of cultural tourism is linked to the CCIs clustering activity in the small towns. A large part of the attraction of these towns to tourists and second homeowners is their natural beauty and artistic characteristics as there are many CCIs related activities available. This includes an element of creative tourism across the four towns as several artists run workshops, longer courses and retreats where visitors can learn new skills and hone existing ones such as stained glass, mosaic, photography, drawing and painting. Expanding creative tourism could be a viable tourism development strategy for the artistic small towns as it capitalises on what makes these places special – their resident artist populations and “quirky” creative environments. According to Pine and Gilmore (2011) the production of goods and services is no longer enough to stimulate economic growth, create jobs or maintain prosperity. Rather, it is staging experiences which has the greatest value adding potential (Pine and Gilmore 2011). Moreover, according to Richards (2019), attracting small numbers of highly motivated and engaged creative tourists seeking authentic local experiences could have more significant economic, social and cultural benefits than trying to attract tourists en masse. The experience economy and creative tourism have become increasingly popular since the 1990s where the backstage of the

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workshop became front stage as simply buying a standardised product was no longer enough for many visitors (Terrio 1999). For example, in Southwest France, the artisanal skills of chocolatiers were put on display to educate and engage with visitors through tastings, lectures, demonstrations and guided tours (Terrio 1999). In rural Japan, craft tourism experiences became a popular tourist attraction amongst urban Japanese women who sought out residential silk weaving workshops to reconnect with a “lost Japan” by doing an activity in an area which is representative of core Japanese values (Creighton 1995). There are thus CCIs clusters that have formed in these four small towns based mainly on the choice of artists to locate in these areas and the cultural and creative tourism that surrounds their activities. Accordingly, there is a demand and supply side aspect to clustering present in these small towns: the relatively large artistic populations supply cultural and creative goods and services while the tourists and second homeowners with greater spending capacity provide the demand to support the CCIs. For these towns, it seems that the local permanent populations, supplemented by large numbers of tourists and second homeowners, are capable of supporting larger numbers of CCIs. There is a developmental interest in continuing to pursue culture-led development through tourism in these towns, but concerns have been raised over the maintenance of sense of place. The expansion of the tourism industry in some small towns, like Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda, threatens to change perceptions of the town at the cost of what makes it distinct, thus losing what makes it attractive to tourists in the first place. This is similar to the concept of ‘overtourism’ as experienced in cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon and Venice where conflicts arise between locals and tourists (Richards 2019).

10.3.3  Towns with Large CCIs Clusters The four towns in the large CCIs clusters category are Graaff-Reinet, Grahamstown, Jeffreys Bay and Port Alfred. These towns are hubs of CCIs activity in the SBD and also happen to be the four largest towns in the district. Consequently, tourism is not as important a factor in CCIs clustering for these towns as it was in the small CCIs cluster category where towns were reliant on tourism to support their clusters. In the case of this category, the clustering that has occurred may be linked more closely to the towns’ physical and population sizes as they act as service centres for the district. Consequently, they have more diverse economies with a wider range of amenities, higher levels of economic growth and socio-economic development, pre-existing infrastructure as well as larger populations and proportions of the creative class to act as consumers of CCIs goods and services. This is further supported by the range of UNESCO domain activity that is found in each of the four towns. Unlike the towns in the small CCIs cluster category, the domain activity in these towns includes more service orientated and commercial CCIs activity which caters to the needs of the larger permanent populations. In the case of large CCIs clusters, the clusters are constituted of more CCIs activity than just that which relates to

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tourists, as the characteristics of the towns mean that they are capable of hosting larger numbers of CCIs across a range of domains. This is not to say that tourism does not factor into the CCIs clusters in these four towns. As shown by Fig. 10.2, the four towns have large proportions of Visual Arts and Crafts which provide shopping and creative tourism experience opportunities for tourists in a similar manner to the towns with small clusters. The towns also host a number of festivals and fairs and boast cultural heritage attractions including museums which link to each town’s characteristics, like surf and shell museums in Jeffreys Bay and Settler history in Grahamstown, as well as historic buildings with distinctive Karoo architecture in the case of Graaff-Reinet. Field work also revealed that Jeffreys Bay and Port Alfred are popular holiday destinations and have relatively large second homeowner communities who are attracted by the natural beauty of the coast and the nature activities on offer as well as the CCIs-related tourism activities mentioned above, so that there is something for everyone. When the large number of tourists and second homeowners is taken in conjunction with the permanent populations, there is sufficient demand for CCIs products which means that the towns are able to support larger numbers of CCIs. Events tourism or the creative spectacle plays an important role in Grahamstown’s CCIs cluster as the town is the host of the National Arts Festival, the largest arts festival in Africa. The 2019 festival is said to have attracted 200,000 visitors, 2000 performers and showcased over 600 events (South African Cultural Observatory 2019). For 14  days every year (barring 2020 when the festival moved online in response to COVID-19), the small university town teems with tourists who have a significant economic impact on the town. It can be argued that the festival has impacted the UNESCO domain activity that is present in Grahamstown’s CCIs cluster as Richards (2011) asserts that creative spectacles shape and are in turn shaped by their environment. Consequently, a node of comparative advantage in Performance and Celebration has established itself in Grahamstown (Drummond and Snowball 2021). The Performance and Celebration node of comparative advantage is not just geared towards the National Arts Festival as it is also supported by the education hub in Grahamstown of several schools and Rhodes University. The SBD CCIs audit found that there are thus performances, classes and a number of smaller festivals and exhibitions that occur throughout the year.

10.3.4  A  re Cultural Tourism Development Strategies Inclusive? The Visual Arts and Crafts domain has been recognised for being more inclusive due to its capacity for creating job opportunities and income for previously disadvantaged and marginalised people, many of whom are women, as it does not require high levels of formal education and training in order to participate (Rogerson 2010). Given the prominence of tourism in the SBD, strategies based on expanding creative

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tourism related to arts and crafts and showcasing work by marginalised artists in the towns could be a successful development initiative. This is exemplified in Bathurst where several people (mainly women) from Nolukhanyo, the adjoining township, are producing and selling fine arts and crafts in the main art stores in the town like The Corner Gallery. These artists would not otherwise have been able to readily access the formal market nor take advantage of the tourism industry to earn an income from their craft. However, this is not always the case as a study of Nieu-Bethesda by Irvine et al. (2016) found that the benefits of a thriving tourism industry had not reached the adjoining township of Pienaarsig. The CCIs cluster in Nieu-Bethesda is based on and promoted by art as Athol Fugard’s popular play “The Road to Mecca” (1984) sparked considerable tourist interest in the village. The play centres on the life and work of resident artist Helen Martins who transformed her home, ‘The Owl House’, with sculptures, mosaics and paintings as a “reflection of her quest to bring wonder, magic and light into her existence” (The Owl House 2018). A CCIs cluster has grown around the Owl House to take advantage of the cultural tourism associated with the play as visitors are attracted by the cultural significance of the town and engage with the many cultural and creative activities on offer such as the Owl House, the Owl House Museum, historic buildings, a fossil museum, festivals, artwork, crafts and the play itself. This cultural tourism and clustering has created employment opportunities, increased local incomes, resulted in local skills development, increased revenue for businesses and improved infrastructure in the village of Nieu-Bethesda (Irvine et al. 2016). These benefits have not been distributed evenly since there is little involvement of the Pienaarsig community in tourism initiatives and decision-making, few people own businesses in the cluster and employment is seasonal (Irvine et al. 2016). Tourism has thus widened the divide between the affluent white population group who have the means and skills to take advantage of the tourism industry, and the poorer black population group who are largely excluded (Irvine et  al. 2016). Plans do exist however, to attempt to spread the benefits to Pienaarsig through the development of ‘township tourism’ (Irvine et al. 2016). Cultural and creative township tourism has the potential to promote more inclusive development by ensuring locals derive direct benefits by increasing income, employment and tourist related businesses within the township, upgrading physical township spaces, expanding the tourism offering and enhancing the authenticity of visitor experiences (Booyens and Rogerson 2019). Though underdeveloped, township tourism in Johannesburg and Cape Town is based on creative participatory experiences, creative spaces, heritage tours and sites as well as creative cultural events (Booyens and Rogerson 2019). There is a basis of arts and crafts production by artists from the townships in a number of small towns within the SBD, including Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda, which could be expanded so that tourists could go to the townships to buy products and engage with creative participatory experience tourism. However, it is not just the Visual Arts and Crafts domain that could benefit from township tourism as there are opportunities related to Performance and Celebration with performances and experiences relating to music, dance, theatre

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and festival offerings. Township tourism is thus an avenue which merits further exploration in the SBD towns with clusters or clustering potential. A concern that is particularly worrisome for South Africa is the possibility of gentrification related to the creative class, tourism and second homes which could widen socio-economic inequality (Donaldson 2009). There are two possible gentrification risks at play in the small towns. Firstly, in-migration of creative workers and the creative class into small towns may displace the original occupants through hikes in property prices of working spaces and accommodation (Peck 2005; Pratt 2008). Though this is mainly a phenomenon associated with cities, it could occur in small towns like Bathurst with a reputation as an artist haven and a creative place to be. Secondly, there is the potential for the artists to be pushed out of the spaces that they have made creative through rising property and rental prices associated with second home and tourist markets (Donaldson 2009). This situation has occurred in several post-industrial cities in the global North where urban renewal schemes have been implemented and also has been a criticism levelled at the Maboneng precinct and Newtown Cultural Arc in Johannesburg (Peck 2005; Pratt 2008; Pieterse and Gurney 2012; Gregory 2016). The experience of the global North and the inner-city clusters in Johannesburg thus acts as a warning to South African rural areas as the picturesque small coastal towns like Port Alfred, Kenton-On-Sea, Jeffreys Bay and St Francis are already popular tourist and second home destinations. The examples of tourism driven CCIs clustering in Bathurst and Nieu-Bethesda as well as several coastal small towns serve to illustrate the potential benefits and pitfalls of pursuing culture-led development through tourism and act as a warning to policy-makers that any LED strategies need to be carefully planned to account for inclusivity. Failure to do so could result in widening socio-economic inequality, exclusivity and gentrification. It also highlights the need to include the community in policy planning and grassroots development initiatives in order to account for the needs of the community at large and attempt to spread the benefits associated with tourism and the CCIs more fairly. With the social objectives in mind, the involvement of local governments in cluster management and development is crucial (Drummond and Drummond 2021). However, a balance between the public and private sectors and the community is vital in allowing for flexibility and innovation in cluster management (Mommaas 2004). This balance of power is especially important given that political aims and objectives are subject to change over time. Local governments could withdraw their support and funding with the result of cluster collapse if the private sector and local community do not engage as occurred in the case of the Mahikeng CCIs cluster (Drummond and Drummond 2021).

10.4  Concluding Remarks For small towns, it seems that tourism plays an important role in the formation and sustainability of CCIs clusters. In each category of CCIs clustering, the small towns have put cultural and creative tourism strategies in place to develop their creative

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economies and thereby attempt to combat issues of poor economic growth rates, unemployment and poverty. In the case of each town, it is their CCIs clusters and the UNESCO domains that constitute them that determine the type of cultural tourism strategy that is used. The towns in each category share a number of CCIs clustering characteristics which means that they have adopted similar tourism strategies. For towns with potential CCIs clusters, tourism strategies include mohair based agri-­ tourism and battlefield tourism, which if successful, could mean that CCIs clusters will form over time. The towns with small clusters already have successful cultural and creative tourism industries based on the arts, cultural heritage and events which stem from their unique assets and consequent CCIs clustering activities. Lastly, the towns with large clusters are not as dependent on tourism to support their CCIs clusters but have developed tourism strategies based on heritage, festivals and arts and crafts. Therefore, it is the CCI clusters that are the basis on which to design appropriate and sustainable cultural and creative tourism activities in the context of small towns. However, the creative economy in rural areas should not be romanticised as there are issues with exclusivity, gentrification and benefit sharing. In order to try to ensure inclusive and sustainable culture-led development, there needs to be a hybrid form of cluster management which includes the public sector, private sector (including artists) and the wider community, and which accounts for the broader social objectives while still targeting economic growth and development. In terms of continued socio-economic development, the reliance on tourism for the small towns’ CCIs clusters prosperity places them in a precarious position. Tourism is a fickle industry and is subject to external shocks like an economic recession or COVID-19 lockdowns. If the tourism industries in the small towns were to experience a downturn, any CCIs clusters that had developed to take advantage of the tourist market would be likely to contract or collapse due to the loss of consumers, thereby leaving the towns with drastically reduced incomes and increased unemployment for both creative workers and support staff. At the time of writing during the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, many CCIs businesses are struggling to stay afloat. An early assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on South African CCIs revealed that the ability of the sector to continue with normal business activities is low. About 45% of respondents reported that they could not continue with any of their normal activity and a further 25% reported that they could continue with only a small amount of their normal business activity (South African Cultural Observatory 2020b). Rogerson and Rogerson (2020a) identified the SBD municipalities as being amongst some of South Africa’s most at risk municipalities from COVID-19 impacts due to their dependence on tourism. The socio-economic development impacts in particular could be devastating if the small towns lose their main tourist markets and fail to adapt to an online mode of conducting business as existing inequalities could be exacerbated during and following the lockdowns as the creative economy tries to recover and adjust to the “new normal”. However, as the lockdown eases and national travel resumes, there is an opportunity to encourage domestic tourism. The “staycation” is being strongly encouraged in New Zealand, one of the first countries to emerge from their COVID-19 lockdown, in order to support their struggling tourism industry (New Zealand Herald 2020).

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South Africa could follow a similar policy as it will be some time before confidence returns to international travel. Small towns could be well suited to a post-lockdown environment as they are likely to have smaller numbers of tourists in general and could capitalise on creative experience tourism with small group interactions. In order for the sector to adjust and recover from COVID-19, there needs to be a clear and well organised policy response towards the tourism sector with strong government support interventions which is not currently in place as the tourism sector is struggling to deal with “chaotic and changing policy regulations” (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020b: 1089). Acknowledgements  Thanks to Professor Jen Snowball for critical comments on an earlier version of this chapter and to the two reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

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Chapter 11

Creative Networks and the Making of Africa’s First UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Christian M. Rogerson and Jayne M. Rogerson

11.1  Introduction Since its popular promotion and increasing adoption by city and international agencies the concept of ‘the creative city’ has galvanized the attention of many scholars (Landry and Bianchini 1995; Landry 2000; Florida 2005; Richards and Wilson 2006, 2007; Foord 2008; Andersson et al. 2011; Richards 2011; Matovic and del Valle 2020; Richards 2020). In recent years Rodrigues and Franco (2020) assert there has been expanded interest in the concept of creative cities both in the academic community and most especially among entities and decision-makers responsible for urban economic growth policies. The concept has taken its place alongside a proliferating typology of other city types such as the historic or cultural city, the innovative or knowledge city, the intelligent or smart city, and the eco- or green city (Evans 2009; Andersson et al. 2011). According to Evans (2017) the creative city represents an evolutionary concept which reflects post-industrial and cultural ‘turns’. For Matovic and del Valle (2020: 35) the creative city is a defence of the notion that “the future of cities depends on human potential and creativity”. Although Pratt (2010: 14) considers the lexicon of creative cities as “loose and often contradictory”, for policy makers it has been powerfully articulated with linkages to economic innovation and urban competitiveness. It is contended that “the creative city is seen to draw on a city’s cultural assets, ‘offer’ and ‘creative essence’” in terms of a suite of creative industries (Evans 2017: 311). Although the concept is viewed as having ‘Anglo-Saxon’ origins the creative city has diffused widely and been eagerly taken up on the development agenda including by many policy makers and cities in the global South (Sternberg 2017; UNESCO 2018). In many respects the rapid international spread of the creative city can be viewed as another example of a ‘travelling’ policy concept (Robinson 2011; Baptista 2013). Richards (2020: 1) C. M. Rogerson (*) · J. M. Rogerson School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. M. Rogerson, J. M. Rogerson (eds.), Urban Tourism in the Global South, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71547-2_11

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points out many cities across the world recently have positioned themselves as ‘creative’ and that “the creative city has become a UNESCO designation”. The objective in this chapter is to examine the emergence of an African creative city and of its membership of a creative network, one of the seven subnetworks of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities which focuses on gastronomy. As food and gastronomy are acknowledged as determinant elements for the sustainable development of urban places the niche of what is variously styled ‘gastronomic’, ‘food’ or ‘culinary’ tourism has generated a substantial international scholarship particularly over the past two decades (Hjalager and Richards 2002; Hall et  al. 2004; Everett and Aitchison 2008; Smith and Xiao 2008; Henderson 2009; Blichfeldt and Therkelsen 2010; Everett and Slocum 2013; Hjalager 2015; Beltrán et al. 2016; Everett 2016; Hall and Gössling 2016; Sormaz et al. 2016; Ooi and Pedersen 2017; Rinaldi 2017; De Jong et al. 2018; Ellis et al. 2018; Privitera et al. 2018; Dixit 2019; Aleffi and Cavicchi 2020; De Albuquerque Meneguel et al. 2019; Di-Clemente and Hernández-Mogollón 2020; Pavlides and Markantonatou 2020; Loi et al. 2021). For some observers the interest in this field has evolved into a new specialized branch of tourism studies and research (Presenza and Del Chiappa 2013; Duarte Alonso et al. 2020). The literature on gastronomic tourism includes several useful contributions relating to the urban global South. Examples are research which explores gastronomy in city destinations of Bolivia (Cruz et  al. 2019), China (Chen and Huang 2016), Colombia (Leal Londoño and Medina 2019; Gálvez et al. 2020; Rodriguez-­ Gutiérrez et al. 2020), Ecuador (Carvache-Franco et al. 2020), India (Chand et al. 2007), Indonesia (Komaladewi et  al. 2019), Malaysia (Khoo and Badarulzaman 2014), Mexico (Castillo-Villar 2020), Peru (Gálvez et  al. 2017), Thailand (Lunchaprasith 2017), and Vietnam (Avieli 2013). Although gastronomic tourism is expanding as a significant niche for the urban tourism economy of South Africa as yet there is only a limited amount of material on this topic in the record of local tourism scholarship (eg. du Rand and Heath 2006; Ferreira and Muller 2013; Naicker and Rogerson 2017; Bhoola 2020; Booyens 2020; Coughlan and Hattingh 2020). Outside South Africa, within tourism research literature for Africa as a whole gastronomic tourism is not a well-represented theme (Rogerson and Rogerson 2011, 2018; Rogerson and Visser 2020; Novelli et al. 2021). This chapter is therefore one of the initial forays into gastronomic tourism in the setting of urban sub-Saharan Africa. The discussion analyses the emergence of Africa’s first ‘city’ to be awarded in 2019 the UNESCO designation of Creative City of Gastronomy. The analysis is structured into three further sections of material. A discussion is presented of the theoretical concept of creative networks and of the development of the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities. The following section turns to a review of work and debates specifically concerning UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy. This leads to an examination of the rise of Overstrand in South Africa, with Hermanus as its hub, to become the first African ‘city’ to join the UNESCO network as a Creative City of Gastronomy. The research blends together UNESCO sources, contemporary documentary material, interviews conducted with key local stakeholders involved either with tourism planning or the practice of gastronomic tourism and archival material extracted from the National Library of South

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Africa (Pretoria and Cape Town depots) on the historical development of tourism in the area,

11.2  Creative Networks and UNESCO The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was first launched in 2004 and in certain respects is akin to the European Capital of Culture initiative which from 1985 was designed as a popular event to showcase annually the cultural offerings of one particular city. The Network aims to strengthen cooperation with and among cities that have acknowledged creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development as regards economic, social, cultural and environmental domains (Gathen 2016; UNESCO 2018; Skogland and Laven 2019). The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development invites the imagination of “more human, more creative cities that can act as a driving force for progress” (UNESCO 2019a: 1). The creative city label is considered a credential that integrates the Network in a dialogue about urban planning and sustainable inclusive development (Guimarães et al. 2020). According to Yalçin and Turan (2018: 135) the Creative Cities Network “provides a competitive advantage for the marketing of tourist destinations”. This is linked to the observation by Namyślak (2014: 2412) that the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is considered a “prestigious network” for cities to belong with membership bringing ‘a quality label’ to enhance a city’s image. It is expected that “by joining the Network cities commit to sharing best practices, developing partnerships that support creativity and cultural industries, strengthening participation in cultural life and integrating culture in urban development plans” (UNESCO 2018: 10). The UNESCO initiative is not, however, generic as it is based upon the particular forms of creativity that a city is identified with (Pratt 2010). The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is composed of seven subnetworks which encompass different disciplines or creative fields, namely crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music (Arcos-Pumarola 2019; UNESCO 2019a; Yu and Sun 2019). It is expected that member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities network will be laboratories of innovative practices and thus “bring a tangible contribution to achieving the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals through policy-­ making and grass-roots projects” (UNESCO 2019b: 2). The core objectives of the Network are to be implemented both at the city and at international level by, inter alia, sharing experiences, knowledge and good practices; pilot projects, partnerships and initiatives that involve the public and private sectors, and civil society; professional and exchange programmes and networks; and, communication and awareness-raising activities (UNESCO 2019a: 10). In a parallel with the European initiative there is a selection process for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network but as a network Pratt (2010: 17) maintains that the process “is more like an elective college”. The call for applications is open on an annual basis to all cities of UNESCO Member States and Associate Members with city bids screened and evaluated by UNESCO-designated experts in the seven

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creative fields. City bids need to highlight local cultural assets in one of the seven creative fields, major initiatives implemented in the previous five year period to support its development and to present “an appropriate medium-term (four year) action plan describing the main initiatives that the city commits to achieving the Network’s objectives using creativity as a driver of sustainable development” (UNESCO 2019c: 7). As a result of the evaluation process a bidding city may be given the designation of a UNESCO Creative City “based on the contents, impact and outreach of its proposed action plan and its potential contribution to the Network’s overall vision and objectives” (UNESCO 2019b: 2). In its composition the UNESCO Network of Creative Cities is formed mainly by large and medium-sized cities such as Barcelona (literature), Chennai (music), Beijing (design), Liverpool (music), Milan (literature), Rome (film), Shanghai (design), Singapore (design), Sydney (film), or Toronto (media arts). This said, the creative city discourse cannot only be about the development of large and dominant cities in international and national urban systems (Brouder 2012; Laven 2016; Drummond and Drummond 2021). In acknowledging this reality the Network also has accepted nominations from smaller cities and settlements especially for the creative fields of crafts and folk art, and gastronomy (Verdini 2020). By 2018, in terms of the seven UNESCO creative fields a total of 14 African cities had been designated variously in the domains of crafts and folk art (Aswan, Cairo, Lubumbashi, Ouagadougou, Porto-Novo, Sokodé, Tétouan, Tunis), design (Cape Town), literature (Durban), media arts (Dakar), and music (Brazzaville, Kinshasa, Praia). A central theoretical underpinning for the establishment of such a creative network is the recognition that in the globalised environment of the twenty-first century cities – like firms – are in competition with each other in seeking to attract new investors as well as visitors and extend the external markets for products they offer through implementing competitive place-based development strategies (Carmagni 2002; Gathen 2016; Rodriguez-Pose and Wilkie 2017). Cities thus “behave like collective actors” interacting with each other in new ways such as through city networks (Carmagni and Capello 2004: 502). Indeed, as cities position themselves as creative places much of the development of the creative industries sector takes place through city networks (Gathen et al. 2020). Arguably, within an era of rapid continued innovation combined with dynamic technological change there can be high costs from pursuing an urban growth strategy which is based solely on internal know-how (Carmagni and Capello 2004). The activity of networking is considered “a process of sharing knowledge and developing partnerships” (Gathen 2016: 2). Usually networks are constituted by cities with similar creative sector profiles in order “to exchange experiences and know-how that can be a source of inspiration for local policies” (Namyślak 2014: 2412). Networks are viewed as fundamental to strengthening competitive advantage and reinforcing cities’ innovative capacity (Gathen 2016). In distinguishing networks from clusters Carmagni and Capello (2004: 497) define networks as “selective and formalized linkages among well-­ defined economic actors and spatial units, transcending proximity relationships and taking place at a trans-territorial level”.

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According to Capello (2000) the ‘theory of the city network paradigm’ maintains that through their participation in networks cities can exploit complementary relationships and synergies by pursuing co-operative behaviour. Moreover, it is argued that network advantage “is a real club good” which is achievable only by those economic actors who are partners in the economic and spatial network and distributed among partners despite the private marginal costs each partner bears to engage in the network (Capello 2000: 1925). As is shown by Rodrigues and Franco (2020) the benefits of networks can contribute to enhancing the economic performance of creative cities. This said Rosi (2014) points out that city networks do not automatically ensure effective cooperative behaviour among members. In the case of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network it is suggested that the tendency has been very strong to use membership within the Creative Cities Network mainly as a branding tool (Rosi 2014). In summary the benefits that cities seek to secure from membership of city networks can be related to economies of scale and synergy effects but also to branding and positive re-imaging of places (Gathen 2016; Gathen et al. 2020).

11.3  UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy It is observed by Xiaomin (2017: 57) that gastronomy “as a cultural and creative activity is deeply rooted in urban communities and everyday life”. Indeed, the creative field of gastronomy has an increasing impress upon the tourism development of urban destinations and viewed as especially attractive for those places that struggle to compete because of their limited natural, heritage or architectural assets (Khoo and Badarulzaman 2014; Privitera et al. 2018; Cruz et al. 2019; Karsavuran and Dirlik 2019; Vazquez-Medina and Medina 2020). Richards (2015) shows gastronomy has shifted from being of peripheral concern to destinations and instead to become one of the prime motivations for tourist visits. Gastronomy, a key element of many urban development plans, is one of the seven creative disciplines covered through the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UNESCO 2018; Gathen et  al. 2020). This is so despite the observation made by Gathen (2016: 19) that gastronomy “is barely mentioned in most of the enumerations of the sectors that belong to the cultural and creative industries”. Likewise, Bütün and Önçel (2019) draw attention to the UNESCO innovation of recognising gastronomy as an overlooked category in earlier classifications made of ‘creative industries’. UNESCO offers a guiding list of characteristics to assist places that seek to become a Creative City of Gastronomy. According to Pearson and Pearson (2016: 168) there are eight significant sets of criteria, viz., • Well-developed gastronomy that is characteristic of the urban centre and/ or region; • Vibrant gastronomy community with numerous traditional restaurants and/ or chefs; • Endogenous (from local environment) ingredients used in traditional cooking;

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• Local know-how, traditional culinary practices, and methods of cooking that have survived industrial/technological advancement; • Traditional food markets and traditional food industry; • Tradition of hosting gastronomic festivals, awards, contests, and other broadly targeted means of recognition; • Respect for the environment and promotion of sustainable local products; and, • Nurturing of public appreciation, promotion of nutrition in educational institutions, and inclusion of biodiversity conservation programmes in cooking school curricula. The work of Xiaomin (2017) provides a further level of detail on UNESCO’s criteria and characteristics for recognition as a City of Gastronomy. This guide extends to 22 dimensions and as many as 66 indicators for potential evaluation. In parallel with the processes as applied in other UNESCO subnetworks candidate cities go through a bidding or application process which is reviewed and considered by an appointed panel of experts. Successful applicant cities are permitted to use the award “as a co-branding activity as part of their promotional activities including use of the UNESCO logo” (Pearson and Pearson 2016: 168). In analysing the practices of successful city applications four key reasons are identified, namely (1) cuisine, tourism and festivals are common features; (2) sustainability is a central vision; (3) the extension of creative value chain is seen as a new frontier; and, (4) important is fostering creativity through a network of local educational institutions and initiatives (Xiaomin 2017). The first designation of a creative city of gastronomy was made in 2005 and notably to an urban destination in the global South. Popayán, a traditional Colombian town renowned for its gastronomic excellence and fusing many elements of traditional Colombian and Spanish cultures, was selected. As Gathen (2016: 33) points out, however, “the city did not have to go through the usual application procedure”. Between 2005 and 2014 only seven cities were successful in their applications. Pearson and Pearson (2016: 173) reflect that the low number of additional designations is related to a combination of factors: “lack of awareness of the award amongst prospective cities; challenging criteria making difficult to attain the award; or inadequate benefits to the city relative to the effort required”. An upturn occurred in the number of successful applications beginning in 2015 when 11 cities were given the designation of UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. A further seven cities were awarded in 2017 and 10 more added to the list in 2019. By 2020 a total of 36 cities had been awarded the UNESCO designation spread across six continents (see Fig. 11.1). Table 11.1 gives a listing of these cities and their year of award. In terms of their geography all gastronomy cities are situated in zones of productive agriculture (Pearson and Pearson 2016). As a whole it is observed that the actual size of city is not a limitation on the ability to be designated with populations that range from almost ten million for Chengdu (China) to only 50,000  in the case of Zahlé (Lebanon). The prime reasons for cities to pursue applications and membership of the Network were revealed by Gathen (2016) as twofold: (1) a desire to increase

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Fig. 11.1  The global geography of UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy, 2020. (Source: Authors) Table 11.1  UNESCO cities of gastronomy by year of designation Year 2005 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015

Cities Popayán, Colombia Chengdu, China; Östersund, Sweden Jeonju, South Korea Zahlé, Lebanon Florianopolis, Brazil; Shunde, China; Tsuruoka, Japan Bergen, Norway; Belem, Brazil, Buenaventura, Colombia; Burgos, Spain; Denia, Spain, Ensenada, Mexico; Gaziantep, Turkey; Parma, Italy, Phuket, Thailand; Rasht, Iran; Tucson, USA 2017 Alba, Italy; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Hatay, Turkey; Macao, China SAR; Panama City, Panama; Paraty, Brazil; San Antonio, USA 2019 Afyonkarasihar, Turkey; Arequipa, Peru, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Bendigo, Australia; Bergamo, Italy; Hyderabad, India; Merida, Mexico; Overstrand (Hermanus), South Africa; Portoviejo, Ecuador; Yangzhou, China.

Cumulative Total 1 3 4 5 8 19

26 36

Source: Authors

their national and international visibility and (2) to be able to exchange relevant knowledge and experiences. In its conception the premise is that “every member can contribute with something different so that the total knowledge within the network can be increased” (Gathen 2016: 41). Networking benefits through knowledge exchange are expected to take place as UNESCO tries to make a certain level of participation mandatory as in the application form candidate cities agree to send at least one representative (often the mayor) to the annual meetings (UNESCO 2019c). Arguably, whilst the network is steered on a political level it is essential that local

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gastronomy enterprises be involved in network activities to the greatest extent possible (Gathen 2016). It is maintained that for designated cities “the level of participation increases with the duration of membership and also with a higher budget” (Gathen 2016: 40). Raised international and national profiles of cities could be leveraged through use of UNESCO in city branding (Barbosa 2016). In addition, further benefits can accrue from making improvement to official city websites (Bütün and Önçel 2019) as well as by maximising opportunities from social networking platforms such as Instagram (Yu and Sun 2019). For all cities the core benefits of Network membership relate to international recognition and new economic opportunities especially from increased numbers of visitors mainly for gastronomic tourism. A secondary benefit is enhancing local residents’ intangible ‘social capital’ and towards building citizen pride (Pearson and Pearson 2016; Gathen et  al. 2020). Pu et  al. (2019) point out that Chengdu (awarded status in 2011), famed for its diverse and spicy Sichuan cuisine, became a popular venue for expos and fairs related to food and beverages. From the experience of Gaziantep in Turkey a destination’s richness in terms of cuisine enhances its attractiveness and gastronomic identity (Doldur 2016; Suna and Alvarez 2019; Yilmaz et al. 2020). Gathen (2016) suggests the benefits of membership of the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Network might be proportionately greater for smaller cities which usually are less well-known that larger urban places. Of current interest is the question as to whether gastronomic cities might be a ‘growth pole’ contributing to a geographical spread of benefits through stimulating linkages and the further development of surrounding agricultural and rural systems (Forleo and Benedetto 2020).

11.4  T  he Making of the Africa’s First Creative City of Gastronomy On 30 October 2019 it was announced by the Director-General of UNESCO that a total of 66 new cities had been given Creative City status. They were recognised as laboratories of ideas and innovative practices and offering a tangible contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Among the ten cities which were designated as a Creative City of Gastronomy was Overstrand in South Africa. The Overstrand became the fifteenth African creative city and the first to be granted the title of Creative City of Gastronomy. This said, like many other of UNESCO’s smaller creative cities, it should be understood Overstrand would not be classed as a ‘city’ within the South African urban settlement hierarchy as indexed by its actual population size and functional status. The Overstrand is the name of a local municipality which was only established in December 2000 as a result of the merger of several smaller local authorities. It is located 120 km south east of Cape Town in Western Cape province. Current estimates (2020) are that the municipality

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has a total population of 100,000 with the largest town being the coastal settlement of Hermanus. Geographically the Overstrand region is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean such that tourism development in this local municipality is part of contemporary planning for the ‘blue economy’ in South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019a). Within the Overstrand Municipality are several tourism destinations including Hermanus, Kleinmond, Betty’s Bay, Stanford and Gansbaai (Fig. 11.2). The task in this section is to trace the changing pathways of tourism development in the area with a specific focus upon Hermanus, the core of the Overstrand tourism economy. Two subsections of material are presented. The first chronicles the historical evolution of the settlement from the early 1900s to the time of South Africa’s democratic transition in 1994. The second moves to contemporary issues and analyses the growth of food or gastronomic tourism as part of the area’s shifting tourism asset base and culminating in the successful bid for designation as UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Fig. 11.2  The Location of Overstrand Local Municipality. (Source: Authors)

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11.4.1  Historical Tourism Development1 For the early 1900s Hermanus could be described as “an insignificant fishing village” (Hunt 2017: 39). The transition to tourism began slowly and initially was associated with the arrival of a few business travellers into the area. The town’s excellent climate accompanied by the construction of a sanatorium in 1897 led also to a steady flow of health tourists (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). With improved access to the town by a rail link from Cape Town to Bot River the potential for a flow of leisure seekers was enhanced. Indeed, tourism promotion of the town was part of wider national resort development initiatives which were stimulated by South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H). Between 1910 (the date of formation of the Union of South Africa) and 1940 this organisation acted as the nation’s sole agency for promoting tourism, settlement and investment into South Africa (Foster 2003). By 1920 Hermanus had made its mark as an emerging tourism destination and was described as “the bright star of the Riviera of South Africa” (Cape Times 1920: 119). The Illustrated South African Hotel Guide for that year recorded that: “The attractions of Hermanus are its magnificent scenery and exceptional fishing, with all the allurements of a season resort” (Cape Times 1920: 119). Further it was stated that the town “is challenging, and seriously challenging, some of the famous seaside resorts of the (Cape) Peninsula” (Cape Times 1920: 121). From being a quiet backwater Hermanus was attracting growing attention for its tourist product base. The guide enthused as follows: “Its future lies clear before it, because it has mountain, rock, sea and sand, and behind all the rich agricultural lands of the South-West. When there has been a storm at sea the breakers are wonderful; there are caverns or caves that challenge description, and there is always peace and quietness, with ever the lolling throb of the great Atlantic breakers on the rocks” (Cape Times 1920: 121). Tourism was boosted by the promotional activities of SAR&H including the introduction of cheap seasonal rail fares for visitors from inland centres such as Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa’s major economic centres (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). Publicity material produced by SAR&H identified Hermanus in the early 1920s as one of the country’s most notable seaside resorts. The following description was given for Hermanus and of its tourism assets: This village is a favourite seaside resort on the north shore of Walker Bay, and is reached by motor bus from Bot River Station on the Caledon railway line, 68 miles from Cape Town. Originally a small village, of late years, it has become one of the most popular seaside resorts of the Cape Province. Here during the summer months visitors from all parts of South Africa congregate for rest and recreation. The air is particularly invigorating, and even on the hottest day there is always a cool breeze from the sea. Hermanus is a somewhat secluded spot and famous for its stately rocks, sandy coves and beautiful picnic places. The sea bathing is most enjoyable owing to the warm temperature of the water, which makes bathing at any time of the day or evening. The place is noted for its rock fishing and the

1  This sub-section builds from Rogerson (2019). For a full history of the development of Hermanus as a tourism resort prior to 1994 see also Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a.

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disciples of Izaak Walton can be seen in large numbers, landing kabel-jaauw, steenbras, and the many other kinds of fish which abound on this coast (South African Railways and Harbours 1924: 15–16).

Further publicity material issued by the SAR&H began to highlight the tourist assets of South Africa for international markets. In a 1934 booklet, however, Hermanus only obtained a brief mention as “noted for big sea fish and record catches. High-class hotels” (South African Railways and Harbours 1934: 3). Three years later in another publication produced for the organisation the town was given much greater attention. It was described as a “holiday resort and centre of world-­ wide fame for its sea fishing” which was “admirably served by excellent hotels” (Carlyle-Gall 1937: 16). Great admiration was expressed about the area’s natural scenic beauty with the commentary suggesting that “the modern holiday maker might well apply the old-time simile to the entire Hermanus region”, namely “a haven between heaven and earth” (Carlyle-Gall 1937: 27). Most attention, however, was given once again to the town’s prowess for sea-angling: Fish, big and small, are present in great numbers here at all seasons of the year. That patience which is proverbially the sine qua non of the “compleat” angler is therefore never taxed at Hermanus which in some places has been known to make men call on the fishmonger on the way home. If you are merely a tyro, you will despite your inexperience, find sport-a-plenty and experts ever ready with friendly advice; but should your object be to add a few more records to your list, then there is no place on the South African coast where you are more likely to effect these hopes (Carlyle-Gall 1937: 26–27).

During the early apartheid years from 1948 Hermanus tourism marketing continued to focus upon the town’s claim as Riviera of the Cape (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949).2 Sea angling, the attractions of sea and beaches, local fynbos and golfing possibilities were all prominent in publicity material. Special focus continued upon the town’s assets for sea-angling. In 1949 it was highlighted as follows; “As a rock-angling centre, Hermanus has a reputation that extends far beyond the Union’s shores, and has indeed been rated as one of the four finest fishing resorts in the world” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949). The town’s sporting attractions also were highlighted in particular the opportunities surrounding “Golf beside the sea goes with a real swing, and little can be more recreative than sending a wood down the bowling green within the sound of the breakers” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949). Further sports possibilities also were raised: “tennis and horse-­ riding add to the bill of sporting fare” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949). A family-oriented seaside resort with a diverse range of offerings for the (exclusively white) domestic traveller: “All members of the family are assured of a delightful time at any season of the year, for Hermanus is whatever one wishes to make it…a haven for those who desire complete rest…a playground for those who find relaxation in outdoor sports” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949). In addition, the guide underscores the area’s natural surroundings: “The attractive scenery of

2  Several of the historical documents issued by the Hermanus Publicity Association are unpaginated. These are available at the Cape Town depot of the National Library of South Africa.

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Hermanus starts at the resort’s very doorstep, and the environs are a natural, reserve for the artist, picture-hunter, hiker and mountaineer” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1949). In 1952 local guides asserted that “Hermanus has grown into one of the leading Seaside resorts of South Africa” and it “enjoys a delightfully equitable climate throughout the year” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1952). By the early 1950s Hermanus was consolidating its status as a popular destination for domestic tourists as well as for the growing numbers of international visitors to South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). For potential international visitors a report issued in 1953 by the South African Tourist Corporation endorsed the multiple tourism assets of the area as follows: Most famous of all fishing spots in South Africa is Hermanus… The sea anglers found this wonderful stretch of coast over fifty years ago and for a time they kept it to themselves. But it had other virtues – bracing climate, immense stretches of beach and excellent bathing. The holiday makers discovered these facts and flocked there in thousands and to-day although Hermanus remains the angler’s paradise, it is also a fashionable resort with large and comfortable hotels and a “season” (South African Tourist Corporation 1953: 4).

Marketing for the town emphasized the destination’s attractions of ‘sea, sun and sand’ and its by-line as ‘The Cape Riviera’ (Fig. 11.3) In 1956 the local publicity association was promoting Hermanus for its “Health-clad mountains, Deep-blue seas, Radiant skies Sun-Kissed Beaches, Zephyr breezes” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 3). Overall “these are some of nature’s ingredients that have made Hermanus famous throughout the length and breadth of the African continent and in countries overseas” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 3). It was stressed that “the visitor will find hotel, sporting and recreational facilities in the good taste that reflect the beauty and charm of their surroundings to make Hermanus the Unique resort of the South”. Finally, it was reiterated that “for health, there is no place like Hermanus” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 3). Beyond its natural beauty and beaches the guide accords much focus to the town’s harbour. In the language of tourist marketing: “Always an aesthetic adventure, the harbour takes on a dream-like beauty under a full moon when the sea turns to liquid gold and the surrounding mountains stand silhouetted against a pale evening sky” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 5). Further, during the day “the old harbour is a favourite haunt of visitors, intent on watching the picturesque fishermen leisurely hauling in their well-stocked boats, to the accompaniment of cries of delight from happy children” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 3). At its core Hermanus remained a leisure destination for families to enjoy (Lee 2019; Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). The view was expressed that the town offered a perfect combination of sea, sand and sun and that for most visitors “a Hermanus holiday means lazing on wide, clean beaches under a friendly sun and acquiring a handsome sun-tan” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1956: 11). By the end of the 1950s Hermanus sought to establish itself as an all year around resort and in particular- once again – flagging the town’s healthy climate. A 1959 publicity pamphlet remarked as follows: “Not a Doctor in South Africa would refrain from encouraging his patients to recuperate at Hermanus’. There’s no truer statement. The fresh sea

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Fig. 11.3  Publicity material for Hermanus in 1950s. (Source: Hermanus Publicity Association 1956 accessed at National Library of South Africa, Cape Town depot)

breezes throughout the year make the ‘champagne air’ an invigorating tonic which soon develops an appetite that the Hotels take pride in serving” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1959). Promotional material into the 1960s continued to spotlight the town’s sea, sun and sand attractions especially for domestic travellers as well as the fact that local angling is “regarded as a fisherman’s dream come true” (Hermanus Publicity Association 1961). For Albertyn (1961: 1) the town was “the mecca of anglers”. A major turning point for the Hermanus tourism economy occurred at the close of the 1980s with the return to Walker Bay of growing numbers of southern right

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whales. This good fortune contributed an enormous boost to the town’s product base as marine tourism became of central importance. The arrival of the whales was path-­ creating in terms of re-shaping the area’s tourism economy (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). Hunt (2017: 60) points out that as early as 1992 “Hermanus laid claim to the title of whale capital of the world”. Whale watching, viewing of dolphins and sea kayaking now allowed Hermanus and surrounding towns to become a leading international ecotourism destination. The launch in 1990 of the annual Hermanus Whale Festival celebrated the new pathway for local tourism. Re-invention of the town’s tourism economy was timely. It occurred at the moment of South Africa’s democratic transition with the consequence that Hermanus benefitted greatly from the post-1994 boom in international tourism arrivals to South Africa. This followed upon decades of debilitating international sanctions and boycotts which essentially closed the country off from the expanding global tourism economy (Rogerson and Visser 2004).

11.4.2  P  ost-1994 Developments, Internationalization and Towards the Creative City Since South Africa’s democratic transition the Overstrand has strengthened further its status as one of South Africa’s leading destination for coastal and marine tourism and as a pleasure resort for domestic and – most especially- for international tourists (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b, b). The post-1994 period witnesses a progressive shift of the Overstrand tourism economy (with Hermanus its centre) towards the international market. In addition, the period since 2000 is characterised by new product innovation, including food and wine, which subsequently coalesces into the movement towards gastronomic tourism. An analysis of the structure of the post-2000 tourism economy of the Overstrand can be obtained through an analysis of the local level data which is extracted from the data base of IHS Global Insight. The available information for 2001–2018 is supplemented by the findings of investigations on the state of the local tourism economy which have been undertaken for the local municipality (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010; Lloyd 2018). The data confirms a major growth and strengthening of the tourism economy of the Overstrand as well as the area’s growing reliance on international tourism arrivals most especially since 2015. Table 11.2 discloses the progressive growth of Overstrand as a tourism destination with the near doubling in the total number of tourist trips recorded for the period 2001 to 2018. It is estimated that 81% of these tourist trips to Overstrand, however, are for a one night stay only (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b). In terms of purpose of visit the Overstrand tourism economy is dominated clearly by leisure trips which account for almost 60% of all tourist trips. Between 2006 and 2015 a relative decline in the numbers of leisure trips is in evidence but this trend is reversed with an increased role for leisure tourism after 2015. Since 2001 it is apparent that

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Table 11.2  Overstrand local municipality: Purpose of trip 2001–2018 Leisure Business VFR Other Total

2001 73,653 9830 34,359 6345 124,187

% 59.3 7.9 27.7 5.1 100

2006 96,515 12,961 46,820 3997 160,292

% 60.2 8.1 29.2 2.5 100

2015 119,292 15,968 75,285 3971 214,517

% 55.6 7.4 35.1 1.9 100

2018 138,601 17,088 78,312 5226 239,227

% 57.9 7.1 32.8 2.2 100

Source: Author calculations from IHS Global Insight data Table 11.3  Overstrand local municipality: Origin of trip 2001–2018 Domestic International Total

2001 99,478 24,709 124,187

% 80.1 19.9 100

2006 126,364 33,928 160,292

% 78.8 21.2 100

2015 167,915 46,602 214,517

% 78.3 21.7 100

2018 177,274 61,953 239,227

% 74.1 25.9 100

Source: Author calculations from IHS Global Insight data

visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism has expanded in significance for the Overstrand with more than double the recorded total by 2018. This said, the proportionate share of VFR travel which is recorded for the Overstrand must be understood as far below that for the average of South Africa as a whole. In the Overstrand tourism economy, business tourism is of minor significance albeit there are a number of initiatives aimed to boost this segment with the establishment of several small conference venues at local hotels and in particular at the upmarket Arabella Golf Estate (Lloyd 2018). Overall, since 2000 it is evident the Overstrand region has continued in its role as one of South Africa’s leading leisure destinations. It is observed notably that during the period 2015–2018 the area expanded in terms of numbers of trips when there was a recorded downturn in the national tourism economy because of the decline in domestic tourism resulting from South Africa’s stagnant economy. Tables 11.3 and 11.4 unpack the data for the Overstrand by origin of visit between domestic and international tourism. Table 11.3 focuses on trips and Table 11.4 on bednights. Table 11.3 shows that in terms of actual trips the Overstrand economy is dominated by domestic tourists which continues the long history of Hermanus as a domestic family tourism resort (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). It is noted, however, that across the period 2001–2018 there is a relative reduction in the overall share of domestic as opposed to international trips from 80.1% in 2001 to 74.1% by 2018. Once again, this decline mirrors what the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (2019: 115) argues is an outcome of South Africa’s emasculated economy “destroying domestic demand”. The majority of Overstrand domestic visitors originate within the Western Cape (58%) province or are from Gauteng (17%) which is South Africa’s economic heart. Unlike the national profile of international tourism arrivals which is dominated by regional tourism from sub-Saharan Africa, the international tourist market for Hermanus is comprised mostly of

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Table 11.4  Overstrand local municipality: Bednights by trip origin 2001–2018 Domestic International Total

2001 568,189 341,586 909,775

% 62.5 37.5 100

2006 834,825 519,280 1,354,105

% 61.7 38.3 100

2015 626,569 603,463 1,230,032

% 50.9 49.1 100

2018 600,122 921,868 1,521,990

% 39.4 60.6 100

Source: Author calculations from IHS Global Insight data

long-haul international travellers. In the research undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2010: 25) it was recorded that the “majority of international visitors come from Europe and the United Kingdom”. The most recent information indicates the area’s leading international source markets are Germany (29%), the United Kingdom (25%) and the United States (6%); the Netherlands and China also are of importance (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020c). The critical significance of international tourism for the local Hermanus economy is starkly evidenced on Table 11.4 which presents bednight data. It is demonstrated that the share of bednights accounted for by international as opposed to domestic tourists is consistently higher than that recorded by trip data. This signals both the longer average stay of international as opposed to domestic visitors as well as the role of VFR travel in bednight data with many domestic tourists not staying in commercial accommodation (Rogerson 2018). By 2015 of the total estimated bednights of 1.23 million almost half were accounted for by international visitors. The collapse of South Africa’s domestic tourism sector is underlined by the dramatic shift which occurs between 2015 and 2018 with international tourists now accounting for over 60% of bednights in the Overstrand. This finding underlines the pivoting of the Overstrand tourism economy increasingly  – and by necessity  – towards the market of international tourists which nationally has recorded modest growth at a time of falling domestic trips (World Bank and International Finance Corporation 2019). The internationalization of the Overstrand tourism economy in part is a function of innovation which has taken place in the local tourism product base. This has diversified Hermanus from a destination with its traditional association of spectacular natural beauty and beaches designed to attract (mainly but not exclusively) the South African domestic traveller (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). Since 2000 the coastal and marine tourism economy has expanded with whale-boat tours, sea kayaking, dolphin-viewing tours and at Gansbaai the development of shark-cage diving, which is a popular ‘bucket-list’ item for many long-haul international tourists particularly coming from Europe and North America (McKay 2020). Other new adventure tourism activities in the Hermanus area include canopy tours, ziplining, parasailing, sand boarding, tubing and quad biking. Hiking trails and cycling pathways are further additions to the area’s tourism products including an ecotourism trail that traverses the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. The regular hosting of a series of festivals and events throughout the year  – including food festivals  – is vital for boosting tourist spending in the Overstrand as well as for attracting day visitors

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especially from metropolitan Cape Town. Township tours – mainly targeted at the international tourist market – are available at Zwelihile township Hermanus. The rise of a sector of food and drink tourism enterprises is of special note during the post-2000 period. In 2018 Trip Advisor listed 96 restaurants and fine dining experience in Hermanus and surrounds. The apex of the food and wine experience is at the upmarket wineries and boutique hotels and country restaurants which cluster in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley and picturesque view sites in Hermanus town. Stanford is another focal point for food tourism with 19 listed restaurants (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b). A critical support for the quality of local restaurants in Hermanus is the Warwick’s Chef Training School (established 1991) which is a leading culinary tourism establishment. The food tourism economy and the quality and creativity of local restaurants is boosted by a range of local producers committed to environmentally responsible and sustainable farming practices and the production of authentic local products of exceptional quality and provenance. Among these are producers of artisanal free-range eggs, cheese, honey, herbs, heirloom tomatoes and the ethical farming of pasture-fed pigs for charcuterie (Gainsborough-­ Waring 2020). Arguably, wine production is central to the food tourism economy of the region. Overstrand is the location for two wine routes – namely the Hermanus wine route (23 wineries) and the Stanford wine route (10 wineries) (see Fig. 11.4). The heart of the Hermanus wine route is in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley which has 15 wine farms

Fig. 11.4  Wine routes in the Overstrand and the location of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. (Source: Authors)

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of which 11 are open to tourists for visits and wine tastings (Stellenbosch University 2017). Although wine production began in the valley in 1975 the ‘route’ has been operating only since 2000 after the establishment and growth of additional wine farms as well as upgrading of the access road. It was as recent as 2004 that the area attained official designation as one of South Africa’s 21 wine districts which makes it one of the country’s youngest wine areas. The Hemel-en-Aarde valley contains some of the South Africa’s most southerly wine estates and rapidly has earned a reputation for producing some of the country’s top-quality and award-winning wines (Stellenbosch University 2017). The terroir of the area provides an ideal environment for the production of complex wines such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The flagship wine producers in the area are the three wine estates of Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson and Creation. By 2018 the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hermanus Wine Route were ranked as the fourth most visited wine route in South Africa with Hemel-en-Aarde gaining accolades as ‘the Pinot Noir capital’ of South Africa (Rogerson and Rogerson 2019b). The potential of this ‘route tourism’ initiative is being realized by several of the farms enjoying up to 60,000 visitors a year (Stellenbosch University 2017). Although the Stanford wine route is less popular than Hermanus it boasts the singular honour of having a Michelen star chef in charge of operations at one local restaurant. The most popular wine estates are those which offer not only wine tastings but also have added restaurants for fine-dining with food and wine pairings. Creation is the wine farm that is highly innovative and industry leader (Meyer and David 2019). It was the first wine farm in the area to produce a Bordeaux-style blend as well as the first with a Grenache vineyard. It has been argued that this estate has also played an instrumental role in the development of wine and food pairings. This has received international recognition from Great Wine Capitals for the innovative wine tourism experiences on offer at Creation (Stellenbosch University 2017). Beyond wine production the Overstrand has also been the focus of innovation in terms of the establishment of three craft breweries with the Birkenhead brewery which opened at Stanford being only the third craft brewery in South Africa (Gadd 2018). The production of craft gin close to Stanford is a further recent addition to the creative food and drink offerings of the Overstrand (Corne 2018). Further underlining the emergence of a cluster of enterprises in the Overstrand which are committed to sustainable development is Grootbos Lodge. The Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is a 1750 hectare reserve located 5  km from Gansbaai. The Reserve offers luxury accommodation in two five-star lodges in an area that is rich and distinctive in floral conservation and marine diversity. As is typical of upmarket lodges in South Africa as a whole one major attraction of Grootbos is its offering of fine cuisine. In many respects, with its location in rare fynbos and milkwood forests, Grootbos is ‘the jewel in the crown’ of ecotourism in the Western Cape. The management at the lodges are committed to and everyday engage in practicing ‘responsible tourism’ particularly in terms of local sourcing of food and other supplies (Rogerson 2013; Dube and Nhamo 2020). Within this context of the growth of food and wine products as a critical element of the innovative tourism attractions of the Overstrand the application bid was made

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in 2019 for UNESCO designation. Instigator and leader of the bid on behalf of the Overstrand was the person who had been responsible for an earlier successful UNESCO application on behalf of Durban to be designated as a Creative City of Literature (Martin 2019; Meyer and David 2019). The proposal for Hermanus to make such a bid for gastronomy importantly had a number of enthusiastic local champions as well as political support from the town’s mayor (Meyer and David 2019; Lloyd 2020). It was disclosed that the bid organiser also had approached and tried to encourage an application from larger municipalities to UNESCO but had received no buy-in from city leaders (Lloyd 2020). The Overstrand application for UNESCO recognition strongly emphasized issues of sustainability and of local farming operating in a sustainable way in terms of field to fork supply chains (Lloyd 2020). The application projected an African destination which was on the rise in terms of culinary heritage. Sustainable development lies at the heart of Hermanus. Starting out as an inhumane whaling station, it has been rebuilt to being renowned as the whale capital of South Africa and to being voted the top land-based, whale-watching destination in the world. Moreover, the city is home to South Africa’s first UNESCO biosphere, the UNESCO Kogelberg Biosphere. It is said to have the most diverse species of flora in the world, and is considered a leading food destination, not because it has top restaurants but because of the authenticity of its ingredients, largely sourced from within an 80 km radius throughout the Overberg. Foraging is what differentiates Hermanus from the big cities. The entire food culture is based on sustainability and protecting the environment – from banning straws and bottled water, to restaurants stopping wrapped sweets and wet wipes.

It was argued that a successful bid by Hermanus would “not only correct the geographic imbalance in this network of UNESCO creative cities, but will also serve as a gastronomic ambassador for South Africa” (Meyer and David 2019: 5). The announcement of the success of the application was celebrated by the local council “as a first in Africa and a big achievement for the Overstrand” (Lloyd 2020). It was considered that the creative city award “would add to the list of activities that make the Overstrand an attractive option for tourists” (Steyn 2019: 1). Among private sector local entrepreneurs the bid’s success was also warmly received as a stimulus for local tourism. For example, the owner of Creation, one of the bid’s major proponents, stated as follows: Gastronomy is all about celebrating our pristine environment and all the exceptional local produce in our area which includes and supports so many dedicated people in our community. This includes our local fishermen, our cheesemakers and producers, our wine estates and winemakers, our wheat farmers and their organic flour mills, our livestock farmers for dairy and meat, our farmers of organic flowers and vegetables, and our charcuterie. And then we have our gelato producers, our beekeepers and honey shops, our local chefs and restauranteurs, our artisans who produce specialities for the Hermanus Country Market, our community garden and food projects, and the Grootbos Nature Reserve. The block chain effect of using local produce has a massive impact on our local economy in a positive and sustainable way (Martin 2019: 2).

Local stakeholders stressed the stimulus of the award for the experiential tourism sector for upgrading further the quality of local restaurants (da Silva 2019a). It was

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acknowledged that visitors to the Overstrand in future “are going to judge the region by the quality and creativity of their restaurants” (da Silva 2019a). Only a week after the UNESCO designation Overstrand tourism announced a programme of events beginning in December 2019 and stretching into 2020 to celebrate award of the Creative City of Gastronomy. These included initiatives for adding creative flair in local markets, a Stanford Culinary Festival, a Kleinmond ceramics festival and a new Overberg Padkos Festival, the latter designed to democratise gastronomy by reaching out to local farm stalls such that “everyone will be given the chance to be part of the gastronomy scene by selling delicious food at farmers’ markets” (da Silva 2019b: 5). These planned events and activities for 2020 were to be in addition to regular food festival events such as the Pinot Noir Celebration which are a regular feature of the local events calendar and included as part of the UNESCO application bid (da Silva 2019b). Other announced or planned activities were for establishing a local food bank in the Overstrand through collection of excess foods for delivery to charities to support those in hunger (Lloyd 2020). Organisers acknowledge that setting up and operating successfully the food bank project is viewed as a social responsibility initiative but it was one of the projects promised in the UNESCO application (da Silva 2019a). In 2020 progress of these planned initiatives linked to Africa’s first Creative City of Gastronomy has been derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Overstrand, one of South Africa’s most tourism-dependent localities, was severely hit by the announcement in March of a National State of Disaster, lockdowns and the close down of international and domestic tourism (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020d, e). New planned events and activities had to be cancelled or re-scheduled as selected virtual events either recorded and livestreamed (Mittner 2020). The area’s most iconic and largest event, the annual Hermanus Whale Festival was cancelled for 2020 with its organisers signalling optimism for hosting such a festival in September 2021 (Fig. 11.5). The wine farms and craft beer and gin producers were also negatively impacted by national government’s decision to impose a total ban on alcohol sales. Since most of the wine farm producers operate their own tasting rooms and restaurants, which rely on both international as well as domestic tourists, the COVID-impacts were exacerbated by their inability now to sell to outside restaurants and retail outlets or to trade from their own in-house facilities (Davie 2020). The dropping of the alcohol ban in August 2020 allowed some semblance of normality to business operations at a time when restrictions on domestic travel for leisure purposes also were eased. Campaigns were launched under the banner ‘We are Open’ during September 2020 seeking to revive domestic tourism in the Overstrand (Steyn 2020). At the time of writing (October 2020) severe restrictions still operated with respect to international travel to South Africa from long haul destinations.

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Fig. 11.5  COVID-19 impacts for Overstrand tourism. (Source: Authors)

11.5  Conclusion Creativity and city networking are increasingly important and linked phenomena in the current global economy (Namyślak 2014; Gathen 2016; Rodrigues and Franco 2020). Among several creative city networks that have emerged over recent years the most prestigious is that of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Essentially this creative network is organised as a community which shares experiences across its member cities (Pratt 2010; UNESCO 2018). Benefits accrue to cities from their membership of the Network albeit of decisive importance is that the extent of these benefits is contingent upon level of participation which itself is related to length of time a city has been engaged with the Network (Gathen 2016). This analysis documented the emergence of the Overstrand as Africa’s first Creative City of Gastronomy as a contribution to literature on gastronomic tourism in the global South. It shows that the area’s tourism product base has evolved and diversified since tourism began in the area in the early twentieth century (Rogerson and Rogerson 2020a). Tourism products related to food and drink began to emerge in the post-2000 period when the Overstrand tourism economy was increasingly orienting towards international tourism markets. Although gastronomy is not the lead attraction for Hermanus the local council showed strategic innovation and foresight in supporting the bid application made to UNESCO. Misfortune in the form of the arrival of COVID-19 pandemic will limit the short-term benefits that might have been anticipated from membership of the UNESCO creative network. The progress (and likely changes) of the Overstrand initiative as Creative City of Gastronomy in the COVID-19 environment merit further research attention by tourism scholars interested in the urban global South.

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Acknowledgements  Thanks are due to Arno Booyzen for the maps and to Rhuleni Sebopetsa (Cape Town depot) and Marian Eksteen (Pretoria depot) of the National Library of South Africa for their assistance in sourcing historical documents. Sanette Ferreira made available unpublished research material to the authors. The comments from two reviewers are appreciated. Dawn and Skye Norfolk are credited for their always valued contributions.

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