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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM RESEARCH REPOSITORY​​​​
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Department identifies research as a critical area to advance the development and growth of the tourism sector. Since 2012, the Department has been collaborating with research institutions to conduct tourism research and offer financial support to post-graduate students pursuing tourism studies​ in these institutions. The outputs emanating from the research studies are disseminated through the Tourism Research Seminar/Webinar​ held on an annual basis. In addition this research repository offers a digital ope​n access to research reports, frameworks and models; theses and dissertations, journal articles, and conference papers produced in collaboration with resea​rch institutions.​
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​​​​​ Contact Details​​
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Contact person: Ms Tsakani Baloyi​​
Telephone​: 012 444 6311
Email:TBaloyi@tourism.gov.za
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS

 

 

23382022The COVID-19 pandemic is catalysing changes in consumer demands as well as necessitating a paradigm shift for research on tourist behaviour and decision making. Demand is intensifying for safe spaces where social distancing is possible. The large group movement of people, and therefore the phenomenon of ‘mass tourism’, has been severely compromised as it imposes great health risks with travellers vulnerable to health hazards and points to opportunities in alternative niche forms of tourism. As a result of risk perceptions surrounding COVID-19, the tourism sector is projected to see an expansion in various forms of special interest or ‘niche travel’ which is driven primarily by the confidence of travelling in smaller groups and a less risk-prone environment Arguably in the ‘new normal’ of a post-COVID-19 world consumers re-orient away from mass tourism experiences and instead search out what are termed as ‘niche tourism’ products and experiences. South Africa's diverse landscapes, rich natural and cultural heritage, and traditional knowledge can lay a breeding ground for the promotion of alternative tourism within the country. Indeed, niche tourism can play an ever more vital role in South Africa and is an opportunity to investigate tourism offerings in which smaller-scale, controlled and operated niche products can be established to satisfy the changing demands and needs of consumers. The pandemic further underlines the importance of developing interventions that are targeted to the requirements of specific niches. Research is therefore necessary to inform interventions that should consider the changing supply-demand situations of particular niches during and post COVID-19. Within the competitive world of tourism similarity is the enemy and niche products are a way to escape sameness. This points to the necessity for investigating supply and demand issues around different forms of niche tourism.University of JohannesburgReportTourism Sector Demand and SupplyN4FUYHAX2DSF-245590710-101https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/SeminarDocs/Stimulating%20sector%20demand%20and%20supply%20through%20niche%20tourism%20development-%20the%20case%20of%20rural%20tourism%20in%20selected%20provinces.pdf?csf=1&e=2QnchYPresentation2022/06/20 10:00:07FINAL REPORT STIMULATING SECTOR DEMAND AND SUPPLY THROUGH NICHE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF RURAL TOURISM IN SELECTED PROVINCES ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The COVID-19 54https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/Shared Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspxpdfFalsepdf
23552022The report provides the context of the study, stipulating the aim, objectives and research questions. In relation to the rationale and purpose of the research, the importance of domestic tourism globally and in South Africa specifically is highlighted. Furthermore, domestic tourism’s role in the tourism sector’s recovery post the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is underscored. The theoretical/ conceptual framework that informs the research is the sustainable tourism development approach, embedded in an ecosystem-based operational model, that permits an examination of complex systems and phenomena (such as tourism) that have multi-dimensional aspects and impacts influenced by environmental, political, economic, and social factors.University of KwaZulu-NatalReportRevolutionising Domestic TourismN4FUYHAX2DSF-245590710-102https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/SeminarDocs/UKZN%20Re-examining%20perspective%20on%20recovery%20of%20South%20Africa%27s%20domestic%20Tourism%20ina%20COVID19%20environment.pdf?csf=1&e=h6aOZkPresentation2022/06/24 13:02:55Resilience: the ability/ capacity to adapt to changes as well as recover from or deal with challenges, difficulties and risks Sustainability: is a complex phenomenon of engaging in 40https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/Shared Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspxpdfFalsepdf
23352022Tourism is widely considered to be a viable vector for sustainable socio-economic development on the African continent due to the integrative nature of its value chain (forward and backward linkages with suppliers and service providers), as well as economic multiplier effect (tourism receipts, export products, employment creation, local economic development) (Matiza & Slabbert, 2019). However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced moratorium on international travel, tourism demand is expected to contract by up to 75% in 2020 (Ruiz-Estrada, Park & Lee, 2020). According to the World Tourism Organisation globally tourism contracted with 73% in 2020 and 72% in 2021 (UNWTO, 2022). Arrivals to Africa contracted by 69% in 2020 and 74% in 2021. The result was the same for South Africa where arrivals contracted by 73% in 2020 and 78% in 2021 (UNWTO). The discovery of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, disrupted global travel again in 2021. As a result, a significant proportion of tourism destination countries focused on pivoting from international tourism toward domestic tourism as a strategy to resuscitate the tourism market (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD - 2020). However, in South Africa, the over-reliance on international tourists for many years added pressure to the industry but also a recognition of the importance of domestic tourists that should be the backbone of the industryNorth-West UniversityReportTourism Sector Demand and SupplyN4FUYHAX2DSF-245590710-100https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/SeminarDocs/South%20African%20tourism%20sector%20demand%20and%20supply-towards%20post-COVID-19%20resilience.pdf?csf=1&e=xuzEPHPresentation2022/06/20 10:51:28FINAL REPORT SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM SECTOR DEMAND AND SUPPLYTOWARDS POST- COVID-19 RESILIENCE ABBREVIATIONS GDP Gross Domestic Product SADC Southern African Development 57https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/ResearchRepo/Shared Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspxpdfFalsepdf