Economic costs of the 2012 floods on tourism in the Mopani District Municipality, South Africa

The landfall of Tropical Storm Dando resulted in a severe flood event in the Lowveld region of the Limpopo Province in South Africa from 17 to 19 January 2012, with over 500 mm of rainfall recorded over a 24-hour period. The Mopani District Municipality declared a local state of disaster following these floods. Interviews conducted with 24 lodges and conservation establishments indicate a total direct cost of R58.92 million, ‘costs’ of loss of business of R4.230 million, and an increase in long-term expenses, including insurance, adaptation and mitigation, of R458 600. Due to the low response rate, the economic damage to the tourism sector exceeds that of the 42 farms and 11 local businesses interviewed. Damage ranged from the loss of household contents to the complete destruction of all buildings on the property. The capacity for tourism establishments to recover from the floods depended primarily on the type and value of their insurance. Additional strain was placed on tourism establishments through the damage to roads, poor water supply during the floods, the removal of trees, and a loss of the aesthetic quality of the region. This case study provides a valuable insight into the nature and severity of the impacts of floods on the South African tourism sector, and contributes to projecting impacts of global climate change on tourism in developing countries.