Second home owners' perceptions of a polluted environment: the case of Hartbeespoort

Abstract

Second homes tourism has shown that the scenic natural environment influences the location and development of second homes. Little attention has been paid to the potential impact degraded environments can have on second homes tourism and more specifically their owners. The impacts associated with the degraded environment of Hartbeespoort in South Africa include the decline in property values of second homes, their recreational place utility and consequently the place attachment value of the owners. Potential knock-on effects include the undermining of second home tourism, which directly affects the local economy of Hartbeespoort. Knowing the implications of a degraded environment for second home tourism may incite more responsible behaviour by tourists themselves in addition to an improved tourism policy by government and the acknowledgement of the importance of the natural environment across municipal and provincial boundaries.

Keywords:

• second homes
• tourism
• environment
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the authors and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. The authors acknowledge Wendy Job for preparing the map and appreciate the valuable comments and suggestions of the reviewers.