Resumen de Niche tourism policy and planning: the South African experience
Niche tourism is garnering an increasing critical international scholarship. After the 1994 democratic transition tourism appears as a strategic sector in South African economic planning and from 2004 initiatives emerge to promote niche tourism. Within the context of rising international policy discussions around niche tourism, the South African experience is analyzed. Niche tourism has become incorporated into national tourism planning for South Africa in order to contribute towards the goals of increased job creation, decent work, and geographical dispersal. Government is seeking to develop a set of strategic planning initiatives around niche tourism in order to support a competitive tourist destination. The article examines the definition, changing role, and strategic planning for niche tourism within the wider tourism policy environment of postapartheid South Africa. The findings disclose a struggle to define niche tourism sectors and subsequently to implement high-impact strategic policy interventions.
