An Assessment of the Impact of the Tourism Sector on Regional Economic Development in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Daniel Francois Meyer

A chapter in Peripheral Territories, Tourism, and Regional Development from IntechOpen

Abstract: South Africa is facing three main developmental problems, including high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The tourism sector allows for a relatively easy entry into the local market for small businesses and entrepreneurs and has the potential to create jobs and subsequently, income. Tourism development could be utilised as a driver for economic growth and development. The main objective of this research was to assess the impact of the tourism sector on economic growth and development in South Africa, focusing on the Gauteng Province which, is the economic hub of the country and even Africa. The methodology utilised was based on a quantitative design, using secondary time series pooled panel data approach including, all the municipal entities in the region. Annual data from 2000 to 2019 were used to analyse the impact of tourism on economic growth and development. Tourism variables include measurements such as tourism spending and international tourism trips. Results confirm the tourism-growth nexus and the sector allows ease of market entry for small businesses, resulting in employment creation and income for the poor in developing regions if promoted via effective policy implementation, even in regions where tourism is not the leading sector.

Keywords: economic development; economic impact; Gauteng region; South Africa; tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/74936 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ito:pchaps:221438

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.95810

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from IntechOpen
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Slobodan Momcilovic ().