Urban tourism destinations in South Africa: Divergent trajectories 2001-2012

Cities are growing tourism destinations in both developed and developing countries. For policymakers in many cities the promotion of tourism is a vital issue. The phenomenon of urban tourism has emerged as a significant research topic in tourism and urban studies. The South African experience has been one of the most well documented cases in urban tourism in the developing world. Most existing research is focussed on supply-side issues of the establishment of new tourism products in cities or of the impacts of growing urban tourism. This article examines urban tourism from a demand-side perspective and interrogates the performance of South Africa's eight metropolitan areas as tourism destinations over the period 2001-2012.The analysis reveals that the metropolitan areas as a group are expanding in significance as tourism destinations. Divergent pathways or trajectories of development are apparent in terms of unpacking the performance of the eight different areas.