The impact of a community based tourism project on poverty alleviation : a case study of the Isithumba Adventure Tourism village.
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Date
2010
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Abstract
The study outlines the impact a community based tourism project has on poverty
alleviation in Isithumba. Isithumba Adventure Tourism village is the case analysed in
this study. This community based tourism project has been developed in KwaZuluNatal,
a place called Isithumba found in KwaXimba Tribal Authority outside Durban.
The rationale behind the study is to determine whether the Isithumba community
based project had a positive impact, negative impact or no impact on the standards of
living of the KwaXimba community. This has been achieved through the use of
interviews conducted by the researcher in terms of which a survey questionnaire was
used to obtain information from the respondents in one hundred households covered
by the study. A supplementary questionnaire was also formulated to obtain
background information from people who were employed in the project and other key
informants.
In this regard, the quantitative study was chosen to express in numerical values and to
analyze what the studied community feels about the project and its impact on their
lives. The study concluded that the project, which was perceived by the community to
bring about positive economic, socio-cultural and environmental impact, has
produced lower results than anticipated. Those who had been directly involved have
witnessed positive impact in the form of job creation, entrepreneurial opportunities
and skills development. However, the rest of the local community did not find the
project beneficial to them. The researcher therefore concluded that community based
tourism projects, if well managed and properly planned, could have positive impact
on the local communities, but in this case, the impact was minimal.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.
Keywords
Heritage tourism--KwaZulu-Natal., Tourism--KwaZulu-Natal., Tourism--Economic aspects--KwaZulu-Natal., Tourism--Social aspects--KwaZulu-Natal., Sustainable tourism--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Social policy.