South African heritage tourism could uplift rural communities, with a little help: the case of Sekhukhune

Imagine visiting a remote valley surrounded by mountains, hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest city, listening to local people explaining hundreds of years of history to you.

The Tšate Valley, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, is one such place. Housing the Tšate heritage site and home to the Bapedi nation, the area has a rich natural and cultural history.

This is where the Bapedi empire rose in the 15th century and fell to colonisers in the 19th century. The area is still home to two Bapedi royal houses.

Today, the Sekhukhune area, where the valley is located, has a population of 1.17 million people living in several small towns and 740 rural villages. It is situated about 300 kilometres from Johannesburg. About 95% of the population live in rural areas, with about 60% living below the poverty line.

During the apartheid era, when it was known as the “homeland” of Lebowa, Sekhukhune received minimal investment from the apartheid government in infrastructure, education and economic development.

After apartheid ended in 1994, these high levels of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment persisted, because the area is rural and has very little industry. Efforts to improve the region’s economy continue, but progress has been slow due to these deep-rooted issues.

The area also has mineral, agricultural and cultural assets, including heritage sites and archaeological treasures. But very few tourists ever visit.

A study of sustainable community-based heritage tourism was conducted and 373 residents were surveyed from the Sekhukhune District Municipality to find out what tourism support they wanted from government and the private sector, and how communities should be involved.

The majority of residents believed that rural heritage tourism could lead to job creation, reduce poverty, and support local small businesses. It could also revitalise “dying” handicrafts, help with the protection of animals and plants, and create more respect for local cultures.

Residents said the government should market Sekhukhune as a tourist destination and build new amenities for tourists. They also said private tourism companies should form joint ventures with local communities, with shared ownership.

The majority of the Sekhukhune population are young people. My research found that vocational training in tourism could also help dent the high youth unemployment rate. This should be carried out by the government and private sector in partnership with the communities.

Making rural heritage tourism sustainable

In Sekhukhune, heritage tourism is struggling to get off the ground because the infrastructure and facilities are not adequate to support it. Successful tourism ventures need reliable transport systems, digital networks, stable energy sources, clean water supplies, and waste management facilities.

It is also useful for small tourism businesses to have contact with innovation hubs and co-working spaces to help grow their businesses. In Sekhukhune, there is also limited marketing of the area as a tourist destination. This makes it less visible and attractive to potential tourists.

Research has found that to become sustainable, tourism development must be inclusive of the community and benefit the community economically and socially.

But in Sekhukhune, local communities have neither been drawn into tourism nor supported to start tourism ventures, even though they are the custodians of cultural heritage. They could provide experiences for tourists such as presenting oral histories and showcasing the production of traditional crafts, such as bead work and jewellery.

The community could also be drawn into setting up hikes and camps through places like the Leolo mountain range, which runs along the east of Sekhukhune District. This is an untouched wilderness full of unusual rocks and plant species that grow nowhere else.

Community involvement helps balance tourism development with the preservation of cultural and environmental heritage, so that important sites are not damaged. This is partly what makes it sustainable.

What should be done?

Government support: The residents I surveyed said it was the role of the government to look after heritage resources. The government should provide local small businesses with bookkeeping and marketing training and train community members in other tourism jobs.

Marketing: Sekhukhune District is not marketed as a heritage tourism destination. The municipality does not have the funds to run a marketing campaign either nationally or internationally. The Limpopo Tourism Agency in collaboration with Sekhukhune Development Agency should develop and run marketing campaigns that focus on heritage tourism in the district.

Building facilities: Accommodation and amenities should be built in an environmentally sustainable and culturally appropriate way.

Empower rural communities: Local communities must play an active role in driving tourism community projects themselves. They must be part of deciding which projects to set up, rather than being spectators.

Keep money in the community: It is also very important that rural heritage tourism prevent economic leakage. This is when much of the money generated by tourism leaves the area, often going to foreign-owned companies or imported goods and services. Economic leakage limits the economic benefits for the local community.

Sustainable development policies: These must be developed and aim to preserve cultural heritage. They can include strict regulations to protect heritage sites and promote community-based tourism initiatives. Policies should also include providing education and training to locals on heritage conservation.

Address community concerns about negative effects of tourism: The residents I surveyed were concerned about an increase in crime, littering and wastage of water. They also said tourism might lead to a new sex work industry. This would conflict with their cultural practices.

Tourism might also lead to pollution and an influx of diseases. To address these concerns, community leaders, urban planners, law enforcement agencies and local government must work together. This collaboration will also safeguard heritage resources.

Overall, my research has found that community involvement must happen in a harmonious way. A process for participatory decision-making should be introduced from the very start, before any tourism plans are made. This will give communities an active role in shaping tourism development and management.

Madiseng Phori, Tourism Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.