The impacts of COVID-19 for cities are generating an extensive international scholarship. This study contributes to the literature on the ramifications of urban tourism. The research is an assessment of what might be termed the early stage or ‘first round’ of the impacts of COVID-19. Using the IHS Global Insight local tourism base for South Africa the study analyses COVID-19 impacts during 2020 for the country’s eight metropolitan areas. It reveals the pandemic’s devastating impacts for tourism flows and correspondingly the diminished role of tourism in urban economies. An important finding is that South Africa’s metropolitan areas experienced a greater proportionate decline in tourism than the recorded national rate of decline. The consequence is a reduction during 2020 in the relative share of metropolitan areas in the South African tourism economy. This implies a reversal of established trends towards polarization and increasing city dominance that have been observed over the previous 20 years. The major burden of the collapse of urban tourism has fallen upon the five largest metropolitan areas which have been severely impacted by government regulations to halt the pandemic and resultant changes in consumer preferences for travel.

The tourism industry's substantial reliance on the natural environment continues to raise debates with spatial and temporal aspects. There have been debates around the ethics of using sentient animals as attractions; using nature as a resource to suit tourist requirements; using the environment as a pollutant sink, and using a carbon-centric transportation system as concerns mount on how nature is misused in tourism. As we have grown more aware of the co-dependency of our relationship with nature as a result of the environmental issues posed by human activities, we have to re-evaluate our ethical relationship with nature. However, while a critical review of the application of environmental ethics is crucial to tourism's interaction with nature, there has been a considerable effort of studies done in tourism studies. Tourism is at the crossroads of several important ethical concerns, including good environmental and natural resources management, respect for and empowerment of local populations, the necessity of development and property rights, and the consequences of commodification and globalization. This paper adopted a methodology of the review of the very scarce literature available on ethics and tourism based on Aldo Leopold’s environmental ethics. The review of the available literature leads to a conclusion that very little has been done to include the ethical environmental principles suggested by Aldo Leopold by the tourism industry for its benefits.

Customer loyalty has gained great consideration in recent years. It is crucial for hotel’s success and survival in this competitive market. This research intends to determine the factors contributing to customer loyalty in budget hotel sector in Egypt. This research was investigated by adopting a quantitative research approach. A structured survey was set up involving 33 items to measure customer loyalty and investigated constructs. The outcomes of this study highlighted low level of customer loyalty in budget hotels in Egypt. Four determinants were identified to have major positive impact on customer loyalty respectively: corporate image, price perception, physical environment and switching costs whereas CSR did not have significant effect on customer loyalty. The research implies that budget hotels’ managers should invest in improving the factors that were identified as influential/supportive to attract and retain customers. They should deal with customer loyalty as a strategic target and maintain a long-term relationship with customers to enhance their repurchasing intentions. This research contributes to boost customer loyalty in the context of budget hotel sector. It provides a range of tools and recommendations that will motivate customers’ re-buying behavior and make them more emotionally-tied to small hospitality organizations.

Shifting consumer travel preferences in the COVID-19 environment open potential new opportunities for rural tourism. This paper examines the challenges facing the development of rural tourism in a ‘left behind’ peripheral rural space in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape. 20 detailed qualitative interviews with key tourism stakeholders, mainly tourism businesses, are analysed. The key findings point to the structural constraints and limits on rural tourism in many parts of South Africa from the shortcomings of local government. The core constraints upon maximising local tourism assets surround the performance of local government, its inadequate provision and maintenance of local infrastructure (especially roads) as well as of service delivery issues.

The Covid-19 virus has impacted the tourism sector heavily. The pandemic provided a fertile ground for politicians, development experts and individuals to ‘open’ up and share their emotions. In this article, discourse analysis is used to decipher the politicization of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and its impacts on the tourism Southern African tourism sector. Data is collected from the social media platforms, chiefly, Twitter. The approaches taken by countries that harshly banned travel to the Southern Africa have been described as Afrophobia, anti-scientific and fear and anti-development of the Southern African tourism sector. There is a general agreement among the voices of the participants that the strands of injustice and mistrust still exist among nations and politicians, a situation which is detrimental to tourism development.

Tourism destinations these days focus on tourism development with little marketing attention. This study’s main aim is to assess destination marketing challenges and prospects in the Southern Ethiopian Route. The study employed a descriptive research design with a mixed research approach. Data were collected from tourists, culture/tourism experts, security personnel, road authorities and tourism businesses through questionnaires, interviews and FGD who were approached through convenience and purposive sampling techniques. The study revealed tourists are more impressed by cultural diversity which is a motivating factor, hospitality and natural attractions. Security, accessibility and quality of service are aspects tourists wouldn’t like to recommend. Furthermore, seasonality, cost of media and security threats are the main challenges faced by tourism businesses. Previous image, accessibility and security are challenges faced by DMO. The destination is lagging in marketing activities compared with its immense tourism potential. The study approaches destination marketing in a tourist route context, which makes it unique from previous enquiry attempts. Theoretical and practical implications are also forwarded.

This research aimed to identify urban tourism development challenges in Mahikeng. Using a quantitative research method, a self-administered questionnaire was developed and distributed online. A database consisting of active tourism product suppliers in Mahikeng, obtained from the Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT) was used. Fifty-two completed questionnaires were returned out of 60. To reach the aim of this study, descriptive statistics and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were done, which yielded four factors: provincial-level management challenges, national-level management challenges, municipal-level management challenges, and private sector management challenges. There is a lack of coordination and planning among different departments of government, while the private sector is heavily relying on government support. Through these results, tourism product suppliers in Mahikeng can strive towards self-motivation and form tourism associations. Government can revisit their tourism strategic management objectives to overcome the identified challenges and, in turn, ensure sustainable urban tourism development in Mahikeng.

The study explores the existence of the seemingly latent potential, ability, and willingness of disabled people to participate in tourism education programmes by using the social model of disability. Consequently, unveiling the cause and effective intervention thereof. A qualitative research design enabled in-depth face-to-face interviews and Facebook group discussions collected data from disabled people. This research method allowed the researchers to gain relevant information from the real-life experiences of participants. A difference in opinion was observed between participants already enrolled at education institutions and not enrolled participants. However, all believe they have the potential, ability, and willingness to participate in tourism education programmes. The literature shows tourism education facilities as overlooking biases, stigmatisation and discriminatory practices to disabled people, deeming them unable, incapable and unwilling to study for tourism degrees. While results show effort to accommodate and enrol disabled participants, challenges and struggles remain due to underlying obstacles. Clearly, the social model of disability exposed that if the potential, ability, and willingness of disabled people to participate in tourism education programmes remain invisible to tourism educators, the participation, involvement and thriving of disabled people may continue to be compromised. Therefore, the articles provide steps to enhance inclusion.

This study examines visitors' perception of the impact of climate variability and change on national botanical gardens in Gauteng, South Africa. The study used data from field observations and an online questionnaire that gathered views of 324 botanical garden visitors at Walter Sisulu and Pretoria Botanical Gardens. Data were analysed using QuestionPro Analysis tools. The study found that botanical garden visitors are apprehensive about climate variability and change impacts on picnicking, bird watching, flowering patterns, walking trails and waterfalls viewing experiences, among other activities. More than half of the respondents indicated that climatic patterns play a critical role in their decision to visit the botanical gardens. Most visitors (75%) perceived that weather events induced by climate variability and change threaten botanical gardens, with drought, flooding and extreme storms singled out as some of the most significant climatic threats to botanical gardens. The study recommends that botanical gardens management streamline climate change in their medium to long-term planning to ensure climate resilience and adaptation. This calls for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of climate variability on the recreational experience in botanical gardens.

At the end of 2019, a new crisis emerged in the world - COVID-19 - which literally devastated the tourism industry worldwide. In order to try to minimise the spread of COVID-19, the government implemented a strict national lockdown, but this unfortunately had a negative impact on many sectors within the tourism industry. In the light of this, many scholars argued that technology such as virtual reality (VR), would contribute to the recovery of tourism. This article considers this phenomenon by filling a gap in the literature regarding the role of VR in the tourism industry in the global South by focusing on South Africa. The key question that arises, namely can VR save tourism in South Africa in the wake of COVID-19? To address this question, the study uses three methodological approaches: case studies, a conceptual research method and open-ended interviews. The results from the study showed that VR offers tourism numerous benefits, but at the same time poses a threat to the industry. Despite this, the study concludes that VR cannot save the tourism industry in South Africa currently as it faces certain critical obstacles in this context.