The impact of tourist spending in South Africa: Spatial implications

In South Africa tourism is regarded as a growth catalyst and a contributor towards the economic upliftment of poorer regions. The magnitude of the impact of tourist spending depends on the extent of leakages from the region, and the ability of the region to create backward and forward linkages. It is argued that the spatial implications of tourism might, inter alia, depend on the relative impacts of domestic versus international tourist spending. Using an input-output model, support was found for the notion that, from a regional development perspective, there should be an emphasis on the development of the domestic tourism market in the short term. As a long-term strategy, investment in transport services and infrastructure to reduce path dependency effects, more inherent in international tourism, is proposed.