(Vaal University of Technology, 2016-12) Mashapa, Modjadji Matilda; Dr L Menzies; Dr L Menzies
Tourism has become an essential attribute of modern society that has an effect on the
world and its citizens. On the other hand, tourism can also be blamed for an increase
in environmental and social stress. Hence the need for a more sustainable tourism
industry was advocated; thus the birth of alternative forms of tourism such as urban
ecotourism, responsible tourism and community-based tourism. Urban ecotourism has
been identified as a method of sustainable tourism that is expected to subsidise to
both conservation and development in urban areas. This requires input and
cooperation from various stakeholders. One of the most important stakeholders in this
process is the local community. Thus, when there is collaboration with host
communities in urban ecotourism projects, these projects convert to become
community development. These projects such as urban parks are vital assets within
the local community as they assist in addressing a broader range of environmental
and societal issues. However, these instrumental resources are often ignored,
resulting in a loss of potential benefits.