VFR travel and second homes tourism : the missing link?: the case of South Africa

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel and second homes tourism as topics of investigations have seen an upsurge in international research over the past twenty years. However, rarely has the conceptual link between the two issues been explored at any great length. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nexus between VFR travel and second homes tourism with particular reference to the Global South. The case of South Africa provides the empirical context. It is revealed that VFR travel and second homes in South Africa must be understood in terms of two circuits. The first circuit, mainly of affluent whites, mirrors the experiences of the Global North with VFR travel linked to recreational second homes. The second circuit shows the experiences of the Global South where working class residents migrate between first and second homes through circular migration as a consequence of labour migration