Outside the cities : tourism pathways in South Africa’s small towns and rural areas

Abstract: In South Africa the major share of tourism and its benefits flows geographically to metropolitan areas and secondary cities. Across the international experience tourism is recognised as a critical sector for economic development in small towns and rural areas. In common with the international trends tourism is increasingly identified as a potential driver for small town economic diversification as well as for promoting rural development in South Africa. Against this policy backdrop the paper examines the nature of tourism development and flows which are occurring outside of South Africa’s cities. An analysis of data extracted from the Global Insight tourism base provides a macro-view of tourism trends beyond that of South Africa’s metropolitan areas and secondary cities. It is revealed that whereas tourism destinations outside the cities account for 43.5 percent of total tourism trips these areas capture only 31 percent of total tourism spending. Tourism flows outside the cities are strongly dominated by domestic rather than international travellers. In terms of purpose of travel, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism is the most important; small towns and rural areas are destinations for 50 percent of all VFR travel in South Africa. The results of this analysis have implications for tourism-led planning for local development