Exploring peri-urban and rural tourism stakeholders' perceptions of the social impacts of tourism in the Garden route, South Africa

The study determined social impacts of tourism in the Garden route along the profile of stakeholders involved in the various subsectors of the tourism industry. Descriptive method of research was used in this study. Resident attitudes toward tourism and perceptions of its impacts are often diverse with development often generating gains for some and losses for others. Findings revealed that most of the respondents are youth, aged below thirsty-five years of age. Most are spread between those with grade 12 certificate and those with diploma/degrees. Survey responses to tourism development in Garden route indicated that there is consensus amongst the respondents on the social impacts of tourism in the area as most of the respondents agreed with the statements in the questionnaire. The study identified peri-urban and rural community members’ perceptions of social impacts from tourism and a survey of different stakeholders in the various sub-sectors of the tourism industry in the Garden Route area was carried out to assess their perceptions of these impacts. The main reason for the study to be per-urban and rural areas based is because many areas around the Garden route are peri-urban and rural. The Garden route is mostly comprised of small towns surrounded by farming communities and hence the focus on per-urban and rural areas. The study considered only the stakeholders who have been in the industry for at least two years. A 10% of representative sample size (N = 60) was randomly selected from these stakeholders. Therefore, the study was only limited to respondents in the various sub-sectors of the tourism industry who have been in the tourism industry for at least two years. This was done with the expectation that these respondents, due to their involvement in the industry for at least two years, will have a better understating of the impacts of tourism.