TOURISM EVOLUTION IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA: FROM NATIVE RESERVE TO APARTHEID BANTUSTANS c 1920-1994

Historical research is valuable for understanding the evolutionary pathways of tourism destinations. The aim is to contribute to the historical tourism scholarship of rural destinations in the Global South. The focus is the development pathways of rural tourism in specific areas of South Africa, namely the rural (former) Homelands or Bantustans that were created by apartheid planning. The study uses an archival approach with material sourced from a range of historical documentary sources. The historical specificities of these rural spaces catalysed the appearance of particular forms of rural tourism. The analysis unfolds through three sections of material. First, the earliest period for the development of tourism in the 'Native Reserves' is chronicled. The second section reviews the apartheid project for the making of the Bantustans. Third, the tourism developments occurring in these rural spaces are examined for the apartheid period from 1948 to the early 1990s focussing especially on the phenomenon of casino tourism.