Introduction and Motivation
South Africa may be one of the best travel destination. From being able to experience the outstanding beauty of nature and scenic view all around the country to trying out new exciting activities like hiking on one of wonders of the world, game viewing with the Big 5, whale watching and kayaking with the penguins and seal. Apart from the wonderful nature element, South Africa has a very rich heritage and historic background as well as distinct culture. That is why, my best friend and I decided to experience this country. The main purpose of the trip is to connect ourselves with the beauty of nature and exploring new culture and historical heritage. Apart from that, we would also want to end our summer break with a taste of winter in South Africa during early August as it is the best time for whale watching and game viewing (Head ,T, 2018). In this case, the pull motivation for this trip is to explore the beauty of nature in the country while the push motivation is to relax and get away from the hustle of urban life.
Area History and Customs
South Africa, inhabited by the indigenous people known as the San Bushmen and Khoisan that was not found by the western colonists until 1652. Jan Van Riebeeck, an official of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) set up a station in Table Bay at Cape Town. (“The History of South Africa”, n.d )The colonials are initially interested with initial barter trades with the locals. As the demand of fresh produce went higher, expansion of Dutch settlement occurs that forced the indigenous communities into low-status servants. Slaves from many parts of the world were brought in by ship loads and in 1710 they outnumbered the colonial by three to one (Jonas, 2017).
The British occupied the Cape in 1795 turned it into an international trading empire and industrialized it. British imperialism had brought the understanding of evangelicalism which believed in liberating the slaves and create ‘free’ labour. The movement has guaranteed equal civil rights for ‘people of colour’ and freed them from legal discrimination in 1828. The powerful anti-slavery movement in Britain had effected the proclamation of liberation in South Africa in 1834 that freed the slaves from the owner (“The History of South Africa”, n.d) . However, the slaves who were also called the people of colors remained exploited due to little opportunity in the wage-based economy.
On 31st May 1910, the four British colonies namely Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orang River became independent and unified as Union of South Africa. (Leacock,S , 1910). The government policy of the Union of South Africa was to rule based on segregation concept where rights of citizenship were confined to Whites alone and imposed terrible discrimination and unfairness to the Africans in employment that forced them to be labor and remained powerless in the lowest class of the society. (“The History of South Africa”, n.d)
After the second war, the ideology of apartheid arose which was a more rigorous continuation of segregationist policies. The informal discrimination against coloured people was made into law such that prohibiting interracial sexual activities, enforcing the removal of colored homes from white areas and many more. The government had control over the colored people’s lives. Countering to the white domination, Congress Alliance including African National Congress (ANC) was formed to eliminate the apartheid. In their efforts of protesting, many leaders of the movements were sentenced to life imprisonment including Nelson Mandela, a leader of ANC. Later on, the efforts sparked more resistance movements among the Africans. In response to it, the international community strengthened its support for the anti-apartheid cause. Sanctions and boycotts were instituted, both unilaterally by countries across the world and through the United Nations (UN). (“The History of South Africa”, n.d). In 1994, South Africa held their first democratic election that was won by ANC and Nelson Mandela was sworn in as President. The new government had opened to freedom and embarked on reconstruction of the the country and its institution ever since.
South Africa has a few customs and laws that might be useful for travellers to know before planning to visit the country. South Africa has eleven official languages including English and these languages can be categorized according to tribal groups and in terms of geographical distribution. Though English is dominant language in commerce, media and government, it is not a majority spoken language for the locals in their daily lives. (Sinclair,I. n.d) .Therefore, it would be useful for the travellers to visit the rural areas with a tour guide for an effective communication.
Since South Africa has limited public transport, renting a car might be the best alternative to get around areas away from the city. It must be noted that the road traffic drives on the left side of the road and the rental cars are right-hand drive vehicles differ from the US. Apart from that, an international driver’s permit and national driving license must always be carried by the drivers (“Road Safety Advice for foreigners driving in South Africa”, n.d) .
South Africa imposed strict laws to ban public smoking. Smoking is prohibited everywhere unless at an isolated and enclosed smoking room . Fail to obey these law may result to 35 dollar fine. (Choma, n.d)
Foreigners may apply for a refund of 14% Value Added Tax (VAT) which is included on purchases of most good in South Africa. Tax invoices must be obtained for the purchases to be presented to the VAT Refund Administrator at point of departure. (Mafika,2017)
If travellers intended to visit Al Auwal Mosque , the oldest mosque in South Africa which is situated in Bo Kaap, the travellers must dress modestly to enter. Dressing modestly means men and women should cover as much skin as possible.
Tourist attractions
South Africa is blessed with so many natural attraction such as mountain, seascape, game reserve and national parks. One of the major natural attraction of South Africa is their first national park which is Kruger National Park. It is one of the largest game reserve with 19633 square kilometres that encapsulates the core of African beauty and diverse wildlife. (“Safaris in Kruger National Park”, n.d).Visitors can experience drive and walk around the safaris where wildlife is let to roam freely in their habitat. The tour in this national park features the big five game animals namely lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant and rhinoceros and hundreds of other animal species.
South Africa has a variety of cultural attraction to visit. One of it is Robben Island which stands as a reminder of the huge part of the country’s bitter history of Apartheid and Segregation. This UNESCO World Heritage Site acted as a military base, a home for outcast colony, a mental institution and most famously, a prison (“Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Robben Island”, n.d). It was an isolated prison where the former anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa was held captive. Visitors are able to capture the important history of this country by visiting the historic site including special tour to Mandela’s cell. Apart from that, there are also many townhouses of different tribes that could be visited across the country that captures the every day life of the African and indigenous people where tourist can engage with the local’s culture.
V&A waterfront is an excellent point of attraction for shopping, leisure and live entertainment. The Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre is renowned for its world-class shopping experience in Cape Town. Other than that V&A Food Market also offers wide option of unique artisanal street food that brings together locally produced products and fusion dishes and delights with live music entertainment. (“Non-dairy yoghurt? Fillet for under R100? The V&A Food Market Brings You Cutting-Edge Street Food”, (n.d.)Visitors can immerse in this cultural experience while enjoying the scenic view of the Table Mountain and the quays. There are also many traditional African arts and crafts markets that sells sophisticated beading necklace and solid wood carvings like Greenmarket square, Cape Town and Rosebank Mall craft market in Johannesburg (South Africa Shopping and Nightlife, n.d)
Overview of Tourism Development
The number of tourist arrival to South Africa in 2017 was 16 millions. Apart from a slight decrease in 2015, the number has been on an increasing trend from 2006 to 2017 and is expected to continue in years to come (Statista, n.d) . According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2017, the industry contributes 9% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of South Africa where all direct and indirect benefits of tourism is taken into account. Considering only the direct contribution of tourism towards the GDP, the tourism industry of South Africa made 9.5 billion dollars which constitutes 2.9% of their total GDP in 2017. Tourism also supports 9.5 percent of the total employment in the country (Smith C, 2018).
Contrary to popular belief, the level of infrastructure is reasonably good. South Africa has nine major airports where three of them are international airports. Domestic travels within the country are convenient due to the availability of carriers that operate regular flight schedules. Despite the various geographical landscape of South Africa, the country manage to build good network of roads that connects the cities and rural areas (“South Africa 's Infrastructure, The Facts”, n.d). Good internet access is available in South Africa. However, the development of information technology facilities is mostly limited to urban areas (Mcleod D, 2017). Up to this date, South Africa is facing water crisis due to the drought faced by the country during recent years and their drinking water quality has dropped significantly compared to a decade ago. More than 200 waste water treatment plants in South Africa are reported to be in critical state and are far from the quality standard. (Liefferink , M., 2018). These plants pose detrimental risks of untreated sewage water entering the sources of water. However, the quality of drinking water in most cities in this country still adhere to the standard water quality and are tested regularly by the environmental agencies.
South Africa offers wide range of accommodation to suit every budget and style. From luxury 5 star hotels, small hotels & inns, game lodges, tented safari camps, guest houses, bed & breakfasts and self-catering accommodation can all be found. (“Accomodation in South Africa”, n.d). The number of accommodation spreads out appropriately all over the country which encourage tourist’s stay. South Africa has showed positive annual growth rate in national income contributed by the food and beverage industry. The main contributor to the trend is the increase in take-aways and fast food outlets throughout the country which follows by the contributions of restaurants and café. In terms of entertainment, South Africa offers huge musical festivals such as Cape town International Jazz Festival. South Africa undoubtedly one of the country with most cities having a handful of life music venues that caters for entire range of musical taste reflecting the diversity of the nation. Other than music, the country received international recognition of their theme park experience that incorporates their outstanding nature. (“Entertainment”, n.d)
Tourism industry has impacted the economy of South Africa positively in which The Tourism Direct Gross Domestic Produce shows significant rise from one year to another. Economic growth in this country is also driven by the number of linkages of tourism with other prominent sectors (Rooney ,C., 2016) .However, tourism could affect the economic negatively if the leakage – the money spent outside of the country is not controlled. South Africa shows 11.3% gain of money spent on imported goods from 2016 to 2017 due to multiple constrains (Workman,D, 2018)
The social impact of tourism in South Africa is that most cultural attractions in the tourism has demanded employment for the local people and help alleviate poverty and promote equal distributions of benefits. These cultural attractions also opens up to appreciation and respect of one’s culture. Although, in some cases, development of tourism can cause change of local’s values and identity from staged authenticity and commodification where the destination and cultural events are adapted to suit with the tourist’s expectations.
Since the natural attractions of South Africa is the pull motivations of most leisure travel, tourism significantly contribute to environmental protection and conservation to keep the valuable attraction alive. Numerous non-profit organizations was formed in South Africa to preserve the biological diversity of their flora and fauna in wild life reserves as well as minimizing the pollutions for a sustainable development. However, if the number of visitor activities in natural areas is not control, the tourism can affect the natural functional of both environment and animals live in it.
Currency/ Visa Requirement
The local currency in South African Rand. As on October 2018, the exchange rate is 14.36 South African Rand to 1 USD. However, Rand and USD fluctuates regularly to the extent it could be very extreme (Eavelyn, H, 2017). It is advisable for tourist to check the exchange rates prior to your trip. It should be noted that the bank closes early in South Africa, usually around 330 pm and during noon on Saturday and are closed on Sunday, therefore tourist should plan accordingly. ATM are often unavailable in the rural areas such as the Safaris, therefore tourist should want to consider bringing an extra cash along as credit card may not be accepted.
US citizens who are visiting South Africa for ninety days or less for tourism or business purposes do not need a visa. (Consular: Civic and Immigration Services North Americas, n.d) There is no entry or exit taxes imposed on tourist.