Determining the impact of information on rural livelihoods and sustainable tourism development near protected areas in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

ABSTRACT

It is well known that tourism can bring problems for poor rural people in less developed countries. This paper describes a pilot study of five rural communities in the vicinity of or within a South African protected area, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Within the context of sustainable tourism development and the sustainable livelihoods approach, it explores whether access to information and to education and training has had impacts on the survival of these communities. The information provision role of governing authorities is also investigated regarding the preservation of the site and also for ownership and land claims. The results indicate that lack of access to relevant information can be a prime reason why rural communities cannot break out of the poverty cycle, and they suggest it is imperative to train and educate survivalist communities so that they can mobilise themselves economically, including through local tourism development. The demonstrated significance of lack of information provision, training and education represents a new contribution to the field. The study concludes that, where it is a matter of survival for rural communities, a sustainable livelihoods approach may be more appropriate and attainable than a sustainable tourism development approach.

确定信息对南非夸祖鲁纳塔尔省内保护区附近农村生计和可持续旅游发展的影响

摘要： 试点研究在南非伊斯曼格利索湿地公园保护区内或附近5个农村社区，以可持续旅游发展和可持续生计视角为背景，探索了获取信息及接受教育培训会否对社区生存产生影响，调查了管理当局的角色；结果显示缺乏获取相关信息会成为农村社区无法摆脱贫穷的首要原因，生存主义社区急需教育培训使其能在经济上动员自己，包括发展当地旅游。研究推断，在农村社区有生存问题的地方，可持续生计视角可能会比可持续旅游发展视角更为适用及可实现。

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable tourism development
• livelihoods approach
• rural communities
• information provision

关键词:

• 可持续旅游发展
• 生计方法
• 农村社区；信息提供。

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Felicite A. Fairer-Wessels

Felicité Fairer-Wessels is an associate professor in tourism management in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a PhD in information science and she conducts research concerning the dissemination of information in the areas of community development, ecotourism and heritage sites.