Recent Trends in South African Tourism Geographies

The objective in this chapter is to situate a review of scholarship concerning South African tourism geographies within an international context of developments in tourism geography. Recent research trends observable within South African tourism geography are identified through an analysis of local tourism geography writings for the 5-year period covering 2015–2019. It is argued that during these years there has been a consolidation of several well-established themes in South African tourism geography which had been initiated in the first 20 years after democratic transition. These include research on the changing tourism space economy, urban tourism, responsible tourism, tourism as a driver for local economic development, the shifting sector of accommodation services, and tourism as a potential vehicle for poverty alleviation. New research foci have emerged in recent years including historical studies, innovation, VFR tourism, several emerging niche forms of tourism and the ramifications of climate change.