Stakeholder perspectives on tourism development in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier

Over the past three decades, several transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) have been established, particularly in southern Africa. TFCAs are touted as a strategy for re-establishing traditional migratory routes for wildlife to roam freely across the borders of countries artificially separated by political borders. As a strategy for peaceful coexistence and collaboration among countries in southern Africa, TFCAs are also popularly known as "peace parks". From an economic perspective, TFCAs are viewed as a potentially huge tourism industry that could bring in much-needed revenue for development. This claim seemingly arose without empirical basis and needs to be subjected to scrutiny. This begs the question- in which ways do TFCAs materially give impetus to tourism? Does the establishment of TFCAs improve the space economy of the region, especially tourism and investment trends? This study uses evidence from the Greater Mapungubwe TFCA to argue that the TFCAs brand does not trigger tourism and economic development.