The Role of Sustainable Tourism in Poverty Alleviation in South Africa : a Case Study of the Spier Tourism Initiative
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The University of the Western Cape School of Government Institute for Social Development The Role of Sustainable Tourism in Poverty Alleviation in South Africa: A Case Study of the Spier Tourism Initiative By Godlove Ngek Chifon Student Number: 2707763 Mini-Thesis Submitted to the Institute for Social Development, Faculty of Arts, University of the Western Cape, in partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the for the Master of Arts (MA) Degree in Development Studies. Supervised By Mr Wynand Louw -November 2010- i KEY WORDS: 1. Tourism 2. Sustainable tourism 3. Ecotourism 4. Responsible tourism 5. Pro-Poor Tourism 6. Poverty 7. The poor 8. Poverty reduction strategies 9. Livelihood 10. Development ii DECLARATION I, Chifon Godlove Ngek, hereby declare that this mini-thesis entitled “The role of sustainable tourism in poverty alleviation in South Africa: A case study of Spier tourism initiative” is my own work, that it has not been submitted before for any degree, or examination in any other university or college, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged as complete references. Chifon Godlove Ngek Signed: ............................................................. Date: ................................................................. iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the Almighty God who protected and guided me throughout the study, and to my beloved mother (Sarah Ntul) of blessed memory, who passed away on the 3rd of April 2009 while I was drafting the proposal for this study, to my beloved sister, Chifon Mary Kenji and my entire family in Oku and Bamenda back home in Cameroon, and also to my supervisor Mr Wynand Louw. The thesis is also dedicated to my beloved friend Ndifon Regular Ting. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a thesis is like a race with a coach and several supporters who cheer you up and give you refreshment in the course of the journey. Much as the price is granted to you as an honour, the contribution of the coach and the supporters must never be overlooked. For this reason, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor Mr Wynand Louw for his unstinting guidance and support throughout the writing period of this mini-thesis. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr Felix Lombe who worked tirelessly with me in conceiving the research topic. I also wish to express my appreciation to Mr Njomo Louis for helping me find a place where I could conduct this research. Special thanks also goes to Priscilia Kippie, Letitia Lekay, Barbro Engdahl, Cynthia Zandile and all the lecturers in the Institute for Social Development. Special thanks also go to all the Spier workers who participated in the study, and all the employees of Kibwe Kids and the Khayelitsha Cookies project. Special thanks go to the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst: DAAD) for the scholarship granted to me to conduct this study through, the South African– German Centre for Development Research and Criminal Justice (DRD) at the University of the Western Cape. I am greatly indebted to Professor Pieter Le Roux, Professor John Bardill, and Ina Conradie for nominating me to be a DAAD scholar recipient. I want to also thank all my family members especially my father Mr Chifon Santan, Sister Mary Kenji, Margaret Njie, Anna Ndifon, Emmanuel Wambeng, Pascaline Zirlam and Mbafor Eunice. Sincere thanks are also due to Mr Nubong Gabila Fohtung and Mama Hortensia Ngang for making it possible for me to come and pursue my studies in South Africa. The academic support and guidance of Ngum Julious, Raymond Eyiomen and Samuel Fongwa are highly appreciated too. My exceptional thanks and acknowledgement should go to my pastor Sone Betrand and his wife Enih, and the entire Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI) brethren in Cape Town for their consistent prayers throughout the study. Although all the people and organisations mentioned helped me immeasurably, I retain the monopoly all the errors and omissions. v TABLE OF CONTENTS KEY WORDS: ................................................................ ......................................................................ii DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................ iii DEDICATION ................................................................ ..................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................ .................................................... vi LIST OF DIAGRAMS/FIGURES ...................................................................................................... ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................... x ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the study ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2.1 Brief overview of poverty in South Africa ........................................................................ 4 1.2.2 Brief overview of tourism in South Africa ........................................................................ 6 1.2.3 Brief overview of Spier ...................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Statement of the research problem .......................................................................................... 10 1.4 Goal and objectives of the study ............................................................................................. 11 1.5 Significance of the study .......................................................................................................... 11 1.6 Definitions of key concepts ..................................................................................................... 12 1.6.1 Tourism .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.6.2 Sustainable tourism ........................................................................................................... 13 1.6.3 Ecotourism ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.6.4 Responsible tourism .......................................................................................................... 13 1.6.5 Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) ................................................................................................... 14 1.6.6 Poverty ............................................................................................................................... 15 1.6.7 The poor ............................................................................................................................. 15 1.6.8 Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS)................................................................................... 15 1.6.9 Sustainable livelihood ....................................................................................................... 16 1.6.10 Development ................................................................................................................... 16 1.7 Chapter outline ......................................................................................................................... 17 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................... 19 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation ........................................................................... 19 2.3 Ecotourism ................................................................................................................................ 24 2.4 Pro – Poor tourism.................................................................................................................... 25 2.5 Sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation in South Africa ................................................ 28 2.5.1 Perceptions of poverty in South Africa ........................................................................... 28 2.5.2 The contribution of sustainable tourism in poverty alleviation in South Africa ........... 32 2.6 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................. 35 2.6.1 Tourism and Modernization theory ................................................................................. 35 2.6.2 Tourism and Dependency Theory .................................................................................... 37 2.6.3 The Alternative Development