The Contribution of Sustainable Tourism Development in Poverty Alleviation of Local Communities in South Africa

ABSTRACT For more than fifty of the world's poorest countries such as Thailand, Zambia, and Egypt, tourism is ranked first, second or third in terms of their economies, and tourism is the only service industry to show a positive balance of trade with flows from first world countries to developing countries exceeding those in the opposite flow by US 66 million. Yet tourism has only very recently been recogised by some aid donors, some international funding agencies, and some segments of the industry as an appropriate instrument for poverty reduction (WTO, 2000). This article addresses the role of tourism as a development strategy in poverty alleviation, discussing the possible strategic senarios for future tourism in South Africa with special focus on local community involvement.