Strategic management of tourism stakeholder relations : Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela

PhD (Business Management), North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2019Strategically developed tourism will ultimately contribute towards the economic prosperity of not only regions or areas but also to the prosperity of a local populace, as well as to the attractiveness of a region or area in its entirety. Sustainable tourism development, particularly in a rural region , is seen as a vehicle for regional development in a developing country as it contributes towards eliminating regional disparities in particular between metropolitan centres and remote areas. Therefore, rural tourism has a major role to play in the rural environment, such as: job creation, farm diversification (tourism activities inside a farm), promotion of local crafts, foods and drinks, destination stewardship, and also community cohesion . Indeed, rural tourism complements a diverse economy and links other sectors (such as agriculture and mining) and preseNes the natural resources and culture of a community. Rural tourism if strategically developed and managed can make a substantial positive contribution towards the prosperity of the rural community. One of the most important tasks during strategy formulation is the management of the interface between the many (often competing) demands of an organisation 's different stakeholders in relation to its strategic goals, and this also applies to the strategic management of tourism. The focus of this study is on the strategic management of tourism stakeholder relations in a rural setting and how it ought to be integrated into the economic, social, cultural, and local structure of a local community, specifically that of the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela (BBK) in the North West province of South Africa. The strategic management of stakeholder relations within a rural tourism development context is very important to enhance the rural collective economy of a region , beautifying the rural appearance, strengthening the rural civilisation construction, increasing the income level of community members, reducing the urban-rural gap, and building a cohesive and harmonious community. The primary objective of the study was to develop a strategic management framework for the community-group as stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable development of tourism, in particular for the rural area. Therefore, the framework was proposed after the collection of data from the respondents about their viewpoints on tourism in the BBK community and the level of importance placed on members of the community-group as stakeholders in the tourism development process. The successful formulation and implementation of a strategic plan at local level require a comprehensive and developmental approach which depends on effective cooperation between the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela Traditional Authority (BBKTA), the local government - (the Moses Kotane Local Municipality (MKLM)), and the community-group. The members of the community-groups' viewpoints on tourism seNed as inputs for the strategic planning and formulation phase and that will contribute in the effective implementation of plans due to the support for tourism activities and programmes. This study analysed the perception of tourism experts on the state of tourism development in the BBK community and the viewpoint of members of the community-group on tourism using a mixed method design. Tourism experts were interviewed and members of the community-group participated in a survey study. The survey was conducted in four villages near the BBKTA's administration offices based in Moruleng. The quantitative data findings revealed that a somewhat low percentage of 39.0% of respondents mentioned that they do benefit from tourism and an overwhelming majority of 61.0% of the respondents stated that the community was not benefitting from tourism. What was very concerning from the result is that the majority of the respondents highlighted that they were not benefiting from tourism in the BBK community. Furthermore, the study indicated that a fairly high percentage of respondents (27 .50%) were unemployed. The qualitative research findings revealed that a lack of stakeholder synergy and collaboration had hindered the effective planning for the sustainable development of rural tourism in the BBK community. In addition, bureaucracy from government has been mentioned as hindering the implementation of formulated strategies. The consultation , involvement and participation of tourism stakeholders in the decision-making phase of the tourism development process will undoubtedly assist in the effective implementation phase of projects without delays and disruptions from disgruntled individuals and parties, in particular the community-group. The data triangulation section clearly highlighted that in some instances there are areas of agreements and divergence in terms of the findings from both the qualitative and the quantitative sets of data. For example, there was a divergence of findings when it came to the current state of tourism development in the BBK community.Doctora