Sustainable Tourism in Southern Africa

Local Communities and Natural Resources in Transition

Edited by Prof. Jarkko Saarinen, Fritz O. Becker, Dr. Haretsebe Manwa, Prof. Deon Wilson

Publication date:

23 June 2009

Publisher

Channel View Publications

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781845411091

Tourism has become a major economic agent and an important social and cultural element in contemporary southern Africa. As such, tourism has a wide range of impacts on environment, economy, cultures, and the everyday life of people. These processes have highlighted the role of sustainability in tourism development.This book represents an accessible examination of the connections between tourism and sustainability in southern Africa. It introduces connections between tourism, sustainability and development with a range of case studies and examples from the region. While the book and the individual chapters are emphasising the key role of tourism in the transition processes of local communities and environments, the social, cultural, economic and political contexts of tourism and communities are also highlighted.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the role tourism plays in the often difficult processes of transition for natural resource dependent communities. A wealth of case studies analyse the socio-spatial contexts that shape the outcomes of tourism development policy in the SADC region. It is a joy to be acquainted with these very specific contexts - and the selection of authors alone needs to be loudly applauded given that we generally hear the Southern African story from researchers located in the 'North'.