Faculty of Management Sciences
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Item A framework to facilitate social entrepreneurship as a tool for sustainable tourism economies in Bergville, Okhahlamba Municipality(2024-03) Mabaso, Simiso Lindokuhle; Hlengwa, Dumsile CynthiaThis study investigated the role of social entrepreneurship as a tool in fostering sustainable tourism economies in Bergville – Okhahlamba Municipality. Social entrepreneurship (SE) was founded in the 1970s as a social movement to tackle the matters of social unsustainability and injustice rather than profit maximization. SE is viewed as a reactionary innovative reform, and a revolutionary movement aimed at big structural transformations by substituting one or many large social organizations with people leveraging combined expertise and resources to oppose or overturn what they think is socially unviable, unjust and damaging. SE has been applied to tourism in a number of countries globally. While the primary purpose of tourism businesses is to maximize their financial gains, ever shifting global goals, customer demands and stakeholder pressures force tourism businesses commit to meeting social responsibilities as well. Tourism Social Entrepreneurship (TSE) has been hailed for contributing to the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous communities; enhancement of environmental sustainability; job creation, poverty reduction, and the overall improvement of the quality of life of especially rural communities. In South Africa, tourism development does not seem to have worked in addressing poverty reduction, because poverty reduction has not been placed at the heart of the tourism agenda and propoor tourism. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm mixing both quantitative and qualitative methods to data collection, analysis and interpretation. The sample was composed of 35 tourism operators found in the area of study, as well as a government representative responsible for tourism in the area. Data were collected using a questionnaire composed of both quantitative and qualitative questions, as well an interview conducted with the government representative. The study found that there was a modest adoption of TSE in the area, and a good understanding of the business model and its potential benefits. The study also discovered that there were numerous challenges that TSEs were facing that could be addressed through better coordination of the actor-networks, government support, and determination of operators to continuously improve themselves and the operations of their businesses.Item The challenges of developing small tourism enterprises in townships: case of Umlazi, South Africa(Business Perspectives, 2016) Chili, Nsizwazikhona Simon; Mabaso, Simiso LindokuhleTownship tourism in South Africa has grown in popularity since 1994 and is considered by some researchers to be an appropriate mechanism for stimulating local economic development. Opportunities for the development of black-owned enterprises in South Africa began for the first time when the country integrated into the global tourism economy after many years of international sanctions. The growth of township tourism thus can provide the context for potential economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs to enter the business, an activity that traditionally has been the domain of established white South African entrepreneurs. The main objective of the study is to present findings on the challenges that face a certain group of small tourism enterprises in townships with more attention being specifically paid to Umlazi as the second biggest township in the Southern hemisphere. The main reason for the choice of the study is due to the fact that there is only a limited literature that explores the conditions of small-scale and informal tourism entrepreneurs operating in South Africa’s black townships. The focus falls upon the challenges of developing small tourism entrepreneurs for black owners in the township, especially because, South African tourism industry is highly concentrated and dominated by small elite group of large, mostly locally owned, tourism organizations which drive the tourism economy that unfortunately excludes and sidelines that of the townships.Item The economic impacts of tourism on the local community of Bergville, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa(International Foundation for Research and Development (IFRD), 2015-10) Mabaso, Simiso LindokuhleTourism is playing an increasingly important role in the local and national economy. The outstanding beauty of the northern Drakensberg is a prime tourist attraction in KwaZulu-Natal, attracting a regular flow of tourists throughout the year (Okhahlamba Municipality, 2013). The primary objective of this research is to investigate whether the benefits of tourism that are supposed to be reaped by the local community of Bergville, exist. If so, what are these benefits? There might be people from the local community, who are working within the tourism sector, but what are the types of jobs that they do, their level of job-satisfaction, and the extent to which they are able to earn a living from employment within the tourism sector? Do they have the necessary skills and training to allow them to make a successful career within the tourism sector? The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism (DEAT, 1996), states that with any tourism development in the local communities, local people should be involved in the decision making. They should be trained if they lack the necessary skills required to participate in that development. All these issues are relevant to Bergville as the region has a lot of tourism development, and it is a place that integrates tourism and conservation.Item The economic impact of tourism on the local community of Bergville(2012-08-17) Mabaso, Simiso Lindokuhle; Parker, Kudayja MahommedTourism is playing an increasingly important role in the local national economy. The outstanding beauty of the northern Drakensberg is a prime tourist attraction in KwaZulu-Natal, attracting a regular flow of tourists throughout the year (Drakensberg Tourism, 2007). The primary objective of this research is to investigate whether the benefits of tourism that are supposed to be reaped by the local community of Bergville, exist. If so, what are these benefits? There might be people from the local community, who are working within the tourism sector, but what are the types of jobs that they do, their level of job-satisfaction, and the extent to which they are able to earn a living from employment within the tourism sector? Do they have the necessary skills and training to allow them to make a successful career within sector? The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism (DEAT, 1996), states that with any tourism development in the local communities, local people should be involved in the decision making. They should be trained if they lack the necessary skills required to participate in that development. All these issues are relevant to Bergville as the region has a lot of tourism development, and it is a place that integrates tourism and conservation. The results and conclusions of this study are based on a sample of 307 members of the Bergville local community and 15 local tourism establishments including hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and community tourism organisations. The results suggest that tourism has a greater potential for job creation in the area, that the local community lack the requisite skills and understanding to fully reap the benefits that tourism can bring to their community and that the local tourism authority is not carrying out its mandate to support tourism in Bergville. Policy recommendations include greater collaboration amongst the community, the local tourism authorities and the private sector to promote Bergville as a prime tourism destination in the Drakensberg.