Tourism survey research in sub-Saharan Africa: problems and challenges

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges encountered when conducting tourism-related research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using socio-demographic and infrastructure information as a backdrop, aspects of market research and their attendant challenges are examined. Issues of functional equivalence, conceptual equivalence, and translation equivalence are discussed, together with challenges relating to sampling, data collection, and analysis. The paper highlights some critical issues that need to be addressed when conducting consumer tourism-related surveys, in general, and community tourism-related research, in particular, in SSA countries and concludes with a discussion of the ways in which research and data gathering could be improved. Recommendations are offered in the spirit of encouraging consumer tourism-survey research and data gathering in Africa.

Keywords:

• Africa
• tourism
• survey research
• resources
• methodology
• development

Notes

Bride price – referred to as lobola in Botswana, is the payment made by the bridegroom and his family towards the family of the woman he marries.

For example, South Africa has 11 official languages.