A comparative study of rural community and ecotourism park managers' perceptions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup : case study of Izibukwana and Makhowe communities as well as Tala and Ezulwini private parks, respectively.
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Date
2010
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Abstract
The staging of sport mega-events such as the Football or FIFA World Cup has drawn much
attention from different countries, as a result they bid to host such events because of the
social, economic and political positive spin-offs associated with them (Swart and Bob, 2004;
Grundling and Steynberg, 2008). Deccio and Baloglu (2002) assert that sport mega-events,
because of their magnitude and size, have the potential of not only impacting upon the host
cities but their impacts can also be felt in the periphery of the host cities. Cornelissen and
Swart (2006) specifically state that the winning of the 2010 FIFA bid presents a challenge to
the South African government on delivering on its promise of improving the lives of all South
Africans through hosting the 2010 event. Rural communities in South Africa remain
marginalised and often impoverished. Deccio and Baloglu (2002) argue that most studies
about sport mega-events focus on the host city’s resident’s perceptions and neglect the
perceptions of the non-host rural communities. This study specifically assesses what rural
communities and Park Managers expect (both the costs and benefits) from the 2010 event and
how they are planning to use the event to their advantage. This is a particularly neglected area
of research in relation to mega-events. Questionnaires were administered to 100 household
respondents in two rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal (Izibukwana which is close to
Durban, one of the semi-final host cities and Makhowe which is approximately 200 km away
from Durban). Telephonic interviews were conducted with the Park Managers (one from Tala
Private Park and another from Ezulwini Private Park, in KwaZulu-Natal). The findings of the
study reveal perceptions of different stakeholder groups (rural communities and Park
managers) about the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup. The results indicates that the socioeconomic
status of the respondents was low because of reasons such as high unemployment
rate, lower level of education, low income level and also lack of basic services. Most of the
community respondents and both Park managers indicated that the 2010 FIFA World Cup
will be the best ever and leave positive legacies for South Africa. However, the Park
managers indicated that they do not think that the 2010 event, since it will be a once-off event,
will have any positive impacts or leave any legacies for their Parks as they are already well
established ecotourism sites. The Park managers also indicated that they are not preparing for
the 2010 event since they already have improved infrastructure such as accommodation areas
that can cater for the visitors who will be coming for the 2010 event. Furthermore, linkages/
partnerships linked to 2010 do not exist and Park managers do not see this happening. The
results also indicate that communities expect direct benefits from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
However, most community respondents indicated that they can mostly benefit directly from
the 2010 event if they can establish a relationship or form partnership with their adjacent
Parks. What also emerges as a critical finding is the linkages with tourism enterprises located
in or in close proximity to the rural communities. It is envisaged that these linkages need to be
strengthened to ensure that socio-economic opportunities related to the hosting of the World
Cup are developed in rural areas.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.
Keywords
Ecotourism--South Africa., Soccer--South Africa--Economic aspects., Theses--Geography.