Second Home Owner Perceptions of Their Environmental Impacts: The Case of Hartbeespoort

Second home tourism studies have found that there are environmental concerns which arise through the development and continued use of a second home. The majority of these studies, however, have been conducted in the Global North, and no research of this kind has yet been conducted in South Africa. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the environmental implications of second home tourism in Hartbeespoort, South Africa, with special reference to the perceptions second home owners hold with regards to their impacts on the environment. The perception held by majority of second home owner respondents is that neither they, nor their households, impact upon the environment. This perception brings the environmental sustainability of second home tourism in South Africa into question.