Prospects of using tourism industry to advance community livelihoods in Musina municipality, Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

Musina municipality is one of the driest municipality in the far North of Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is plainly constituted by poor livelihoods of rural communities, as extensively does most rural communities elsewhere. Nevertheless, the Municipality represents some of the most tourism-based areas in the Vhembe district of Limpopo. The matters of tourism, community livelihoods and sustainable development have been increasingly coming to the forefront. Nonetheless, numerous studies fail to properly assume the integral significances and the comprehensive roles of various forms of tourism in community development within many rural areas; such being a special contribution to the academic knowledge from this investigation. This study evaluates “prospects of using tourism industry to advance community livelihoods in Musina municipality, Limpopo South Africa”. In order to adequately comprehend the dynamics of tourism in Musina municipality, data were ultimately gathered through the use questionnaire surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews and field observations. Thus, Microsoft Excel, Spread sheet and Manual sorting of data contributed to both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. The study discovered that there are vast tourism potentials, attributed by poor tourism impacts and benefits on local community’s livelihoods improvement. The implications and contributory factors leading to the actual and potential tourism statuses in Musina municipality were essentially scrutinised. The study resolves that Musina municipality is well endowed with tourism potentials that require a proper tourism strategy to afford the benefits to the locals.