Stakeholder perspectives concerning the progress of South Africa’s urban ecotourism destination

Abstract

South Africa is a leading destination for ecotourism. The establishment of ecotourism projects in South Africa - as is the case with most of the world - has been associated with geographically remote rural spaces located in the peripheral regions of the tourism space economy. This paper directs attention to the progress of an urban ecotourism destination in South Africa, namely Dinokeng in the Tshwane metropolitan area which is centred around the city of Pretoria. Dinokeng is distinguished by the fact that it hosts a Big Five game reserve in a metropolitan area. The research is based on stakeholder interviews conducted with 27 accommodation providers. The present study is original for its subject focus on urban ecotourism and by offering stakeholder perspectives on the emergence, progress and challenges of this ecotourism destination as a vital dimension of tourism change occurring in the Global South.