Political Tourism a missed opportunity for Local Economic Development (LED) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: A case study of Qunu and Mvezo.

Universally, political tourism has played a significant role in both developing and developed economies. This type of tourism has shown tremendous growth in various countries such as inter alia, Turkey, Russia, Germany, Poland, United States of America, Egypt, India and Pakistan. Such countries are utilising their political tourism opportunities to draw tourism business investment into their countries. The purpose of this study was to examine political tourism as a missed opportunity for Local Economic Development (LED) in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The study also sought to ascertain the tourism development spin-offs. This study adopted both a qualitative and quantitative (Quasi) approach. A questionnaire was utilised to collect data. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in the data collection process. The results of the study demonstrate that the Eastern Cape is still engulfed in the triple challenges of the economy (unemployment, poverty and inequality).The study further shows there is lack of tourism awareness as a local economic driver. Moreover, the study indicates the National Development Plan is not in sync with the economic development priorities of the province. These results form a basis upon which the local authorities, who are the policy makers, can plan for economic development initiatives. This study, recommends that ongoing research is required in the largely under-researched area of political tourism and in the region in question. Furthermore, the study recommends that, the Eastern Cape ‘Legends’ initiative must be approached in conjunction with political tourism to unlock local economic development opportunities