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Small Towns in Context

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Small Town Tourism in South Africa

Part of the book series: The Urban Book Series ((UBS))

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Abstract

Factors why small towns decline are numerous and include declining populations as a product of history and geography; the unstable world commodity market; changes in technology; changing lifestyle options and consumer habits; low incomes and rising debt levels; a general decline in education and health services; national policies and practices regarding competition; deteriorating infrastructure; and high family-related and business costs. A promising trend observed in the South African literature over the past ten years though is the growth of tourist towns. In this introductory chapter, therefore, the main reasoning behind writing a book on small town tourism development is explained.

Rural/small communities are facing a time of transition. They are re-envisioning and repositioning themselves through diversifying their economic base, enhancing quality of life and reinventing themselves for new functions and roles. Issues of retaining and engaging youth, attracting new residents and businesses and maintaining community vitality and identity overarch these efforts. There is awareness that with many traditional resource-based industries in jeopardy, rural communities must look to develop not only new sources of wealth, but a new sense of self (Duxbury & Campbell, 2011: 111).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, the case study of small towns across the USA divided small towns into four groups: (i) Recreation or retirement destinations or adjacent to an abundance of natural assets; (ii) Have historic downtowns or prominent cultural or heritage assets; (iii) Have or are adjacent to a college campus; and (iv) Adjacent to a metropolitan area or an interstate highway (Lambe, 2008).

  2. 2.

    All the research-based chapters in the book are based on qualitative research where interviews were conducted with key role players in the case study towns. For a detailed explanation of the methodologies, see the respective sources referenced in the chapters. Thanks are due to Ruth Massey, Manfred Spocter, Lizette Vermeulen and the postgraduate urban geography students of 2012 and 2014 for selected fieldwork assistance, as well as Pieter de Necker for language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Ronnie Donaldson

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  1. Ronnie Donaldson
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Correspondence to Ronnie Donaldson .

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Donaldson, R. (2018). Small Towns in Context. In: Small Town Tourism in South Africa. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68088-0_1

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