Insight Into Adventure Tourism Employment in South Africa

Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sub-sectors. There are significant implications for employment in adventure tourism due to the specific skills and training required by employees, as well as the high levels of risk associated with many commercial operations. Much research has demonstrated that adventure guides play an important role, both in the satisfaction levels of participant experiences as well as in monitoring and controlling their safety. This paper seeks to highlight the dynamics of adventure tourism employment, using the case of South Africa. It does so by first giving an overview of current trends in adventure tourism employment more broadly. This general insight into adventure tourism employment is supplemented and substantiated by initial findings through research done along the Garden Route of South Africa. It then provides insight into some of the challenges surrounding adventure tourism employment, focusing on skills development and training, industry standardization, issues of socio-economic mobility, seasonality concerns and environmental regulation.