Nature and Impacts of Tourism Development Facilities and Activities on the Livelihoods of Communities in Musina Municipality

ABSTRACT

The paper examines the imports of nature and the impacts of tourism development initiatives in Musina Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa. Data was garnered via questionnaire surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews, and physical observations. The study revealed the plentiful nature of tourism potential, manifesting both actual and potential tourism initiatives. However, tourism benefits to the locals were not forthcoming. Musina Municipality is one of the aridest areas in the far north of Limpopo province, South Africa. Rural communities’ poor livelihood conditions are prevalent. Despite its hinterland qualities, it occupies a largely tourism-based segment in the Vhembe District. Matters of tourism and local economic development have become a more widely studied topic in the past years. Nonetheless, few studies have investigated the synergies between various components and forms of tourism services in rural areas to advance the local communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism services
• livelihoods
• sustainability
• local economic development
• community development
• ecotourism

Acknowledgements

My gratitude reaches the editors and anonymous reviewers for their invaluable contribution. I also thank SANSA Earth Observation for having supported this study. Henceforth the ecotourism management, agroforestry, and environmental law credentials from the University of Pretoria (UP) and rural development and conservation biology accomplishments from the University of Venda (UNIVEN) were worthwhile.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declaration of interest

I, the author, Ramaano A.I, declare and confirm that there is no any conflict of interest regarding this research paper.

Author Bio

Azwindini Isaac Ramaano qualified with Bachelor of Environmental Sciences (Benvsc), Conservation biology honors (Bschbo) and Master of Environmental sciences. He is a former Ford foundation fellowship and did course in Environment and Society at the University of Pretoria, epitomozing Environment Analysis, Assessment, and Modelling; environmental paradigms, and environmental law. He has academic knowledge in Human-environment interaction fields that feature topics in Tourism Geography (rural tourism and ecotourism administrations), Conservation Biology, Social Biology, and Rural Development Geography. His contributions are within publications outlets such as Transcations of the Royal Society of South Africa and Local Development & Society (Taylor and Francis Oline), Business and Socio-economic development, Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development (Emerald Publishing Limited). He served reviews for various journals such as Environment, Development and Sustainability (Springer), Heritage and Society (Taylor and Francis Online), Hospitality and Tourism Insights (Emerald Publishing Limited).