Abstract
South African townships have long attracted visitors and for a variety of reasons. Township tourism was first recognized as a specific form of popular tours that emerged in the post-Apartheid years. These tours took place in the main South Africa cities and its most famous townships, generally followed a standard formula in terms of content and timing. As a locally specific form of tourism, township tours were soon also recognized as part of a larger global trend of a new type tourism in poor urban neighborhoods, from Brazilian favelas to Indian slums. South African experiences also inspired the formation of similar tours in neighboring countries. Township tourism in South Africa also expanded, taking in wider activities, including more overnight stays and different modes of transport. More cities and even towns developed township tours. Township tourism was always based on a number of motivation and cannot be linked to tourist curiosity about poverty alone. In the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that tourism occurs is wide range of poor areas in South Africa, not just in township. This includes inner cities zones as well as rural settlements. The visitor economies of these areas remain broadly under-researched. This article provides an overview of research on tourism in areas of poverty in South Africa.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Booyens, I. (2010). Rethinking township tourism: Towards responsible tourism development in South African townships. Development Southern Africa, 27(2), 273–287.
Booyens, I. (2012). Creative industries, inequality and social development: Developments, impacts and challenges in Cape Town. Urban Forum, 23(1), 43–60.
Booyens, I., & Rogerson, C. M. (2018). Creative tourism: South African township explorations. Tourism Review, 74(2), 256–267.
Burgold, J. (2014). Slumming in the Global North. Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, 6(2), 273–280.
Coutts, C. W., Clairmont, H., Suchanek, K. S. & Nikulina, M. (2018). Not just another giraffe: The collaborative development of a homeless walking tour in Cape Town, South Africa. Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years). Available at: Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all/5257.
Dondolo, L. (2002). The construction of public history and tourism destinations in Cape Town’s townships: A study of routes, sites and heritage. Cape Town: University of the Western Cape.
Echanove, M., & Srivastava, R. (2014). The slum outside elusive Dharavi. London: Strelka Press.
Freire-Medeiros, B. (2013). Touring poverty. New York, NY: Routledge.
Frenzel, F. (2013). Slum tourism in the context of the tourism and poverty (relief) debate. DIE ERDE—Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, 144(2), 117–128.
Frenzel, F. (2014). Slum tourism and urban regeneration: Touring inner Johannesburg. Urban Forum, 25(4), 431–447.
Frenzel, F., Koens, K., Steinbrink, M., & Rogerson, C. M. (2015). Slum tourism state of the art. Tourism Review International, 18(2), 237–252.
Frenzel, F. (2016). Slumming it: The tourist valorization of urban poverty. London: Zed Books.
Frenzel, F. (2017). On the question of using the concept “slum tourism” for urban tourism in Stigmatised Neighbourhoods in Inner City Johannesburg. Urban Forum, 29(1), 51–62.
Gibson, S. (2018). The landscapes and aesthetics of soap opera: Townships, television and tourism. Journal of Africa Cinemas, 10(1–2), 95–110.
Gregory, J. J. (2016). Creative industries and urban regeneration—The Maboneng precinct, Johannesburg. Local Economy, 31(1–2), 158–171.
Hart, D. M. (1988). Political manipulation of urban space: The razing of District Six, Cape Town. Urban Geography, 9(6), 603–628.
Heap, C. (2009). Slumming: Sexual and racial encounters in American Nightlife, 1885-1940. Chicago: University Press.
Hikido, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship in South African township tourism: The impact of interracial social capital. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(14), 580–598.
Hoogendoorn, G., & Giddy, J. K. (2017). “Does it look like a slum?”: Walking tours in the Johannesburg inner city. Urban Forum, 28(3), 315–328.
Hoogendoorn, G., Letsatsi, N., Malleka, T. & Booyens, I. (2019). Tourist and resident perspectives on “slum tourism”: The case of the Vilakazi precinct, Soweto. GeoJournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10016-2.
Koens, K. (2012a). Competition, co-operation and collaboration in township tourism: Experiences studies from South Africa. In F. Frenzel, K. Koens, & M. Steinbrink (Eds.), Slum tourism poverty, power and ethics (pp. 83–100). London: Routledge.
Koens, K. (2012b). Small firms and township tourism in South Africa. Leeds: Leeds Metropolitan University.
Koens, K., & Thomas, R. (2015). Is small beautiful? Understanding the contribution of small businesses in township tourism to economic development. Development Southern Africa, 32(3), 320–332.
Koens, K., & Thomas, R. (2016). “You know that’s a rip-off”: policies and practices surrounding micro-enterprises and poverty alleviation in South African township tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(12), 1641–1654.
Koven, S. (2004). Slumming: Sexual and social politics in Victorian London. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Linke, U. (2012). Mobile imaginaries, portable signs: The global consumption of iconic representations of slum life. Tourism Geographies, 14(2), 294–319.
Mckay, T. J. M. (2013). Leaping into urban adventure: Orlando Bungee, Soweto, South Africa. African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences, 19(Supplement 3), 55–71.
Muldoon, M. (2018). Gazing back: A feminist postcolonial lens on tourism in the townships of South Africa. Available at: Retrieved May 21, 2019 from https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/13410.
Murray, M. J. (2011). City of extremes: The spatial politics of Johannesburg. Durham: Duke University Press Books.
Naicker, S., & Rogerson, J. M. (2017). Urban food markets: A new leisure phenomenon in South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(3), 128–145.
Pezzullo, P. (2007). Toxic Tourism: Rhetorics of Pollution, Travel, and Anvironmental Justice. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
Pirie, G. (2007). Urban tourism in Cape Town. In C. M. Rogerson & G. Visser (Eds.), Urban tourism in the developing world: The South African Experience (pp. 223–244). New Brunswick, NJ.: Transaction Publishers.
Ramchander, P. (2003). Towards the responsible management of socio-cultural impact of township tourism. In P. Burns & M. Novelli (Eds.), Tourism and politics: Global frameworks and local realities (pp. 149–172). London: Elsevier.
Ramchander, P. (2007). Township tourism—blessing or blight?: The case of Soweto in South Africa. In G. Richards (Ed.), Cultural tourism: Global and local perspectives (pp. 39–67). New York: Haworth Press.
Rogerson, C. M. (2004a). Transforming the South African tourism industry: The emerging black-owned bed and breakfast economy. GeoJournal, 60(3), 273–281.
Rogerson, C. M. (2004b). Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism. GeoJournal, 60(1), 249–257.
Rogerson, C. M. (2005). Unpacking tourism SMMEs in South Africa: structure, support needs and policy response. Development Southern Africa, 22(5), 623–642.
Rogerson, C. M. (2006). Creative industries and urban tourism: South African perspectives. Urban Forum, 17(2), 149–166.
Rogerson, C. M. (2008). Shared growth in urban tourism: Evidence from Soweto. South Africa. Urban Forum, 19(4), 395–411.
Rogerson, C. M. (2010). Towards strategic planning for an emerging backpacker tourism destination: The South African experience. In K. Hannam & A. Diekmann (Eds.), Beyond backpacker tourism: Mobilities and experiences (pp. 203–220). Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Rogerson, C. M. (2013). Urban tourism, economic regeneration and inclusion: Evidence from South Africa. Local Economy, 28(2), 188–202.
Rogerson, C. M. (2014). Rethinking slum tourism: Tourism in South Africa’s rural slumlands. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-economic Series, 26, 19–34.
Rogerson, C. M., & Kaplan, L. (2005). Tourism promotion in “difficult areas”: The experience of Johannesburg inner-city. Urban Forum, 16(2–3), 214–243.
Rolfes, M. (2009). Poverty tourism: Theoretical reflections and empirical findings regarding an extraordinary form of tourism. GeoJournal, 75(5), 421–442.
Rolfes, M., Steinbrink, M., & Uhl, C. (2009). Townships as attraction: An empirical study of township tourism in Cape Town. Potsdam: Universitätsverl Potsdam.
Scheyvens, R. (2001). Poverty tourism. Development Bulletin, 55, 18–21.
Steinbrink, M., Frenzel, F., & Koens, K. (2012). Development and globalization of a new trend in tourism. In F. Frenzel, K. Koens, & M. Steinbrink (Eds.), Slum tourism poverty, power and ethics (pp. 1–18). London: Routledge.
Tzanelli, R. (2015). Mobility, Modernity and the Slum: The Real and Virtual Journeys of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge.
Tzanelli, R. (2018). Slum tourism: A review of state-of-the-art scholarship. Tourism Culture & Communication, 18, 149–155.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Frenzel, F. (2020). Touring Poverty in Townships, Inner-City, and Rural South Africa. In: Rogerson, J., Visser, G. (eds) New Directions in South African Tourism Geographies. Geographies of Tourism and Global Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29377-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29377-2_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-29376-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-29377-2
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)