Route Tourism Planning, Local Impacts and Challenges: Stakeholder Perspectives from the Panorama Route, South Africa

Abstract

The growth of applied route tourism initiatives is a worldwide phenomenon. South Africa is a major focus for route tourism planning which is part of broader place-based development initiatives. This paper examines the perceptions of key route tourism stakeholders concerning the planning, local impacts and challenges of the Panorama Route which is located in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. The findings are analysed from 63 qualitative interviews undertaken in 2022 concerning stakeholder perceptions about the planning, workings and impacts of this major route tourism initiative. Stakeholders include government and private sector formal as well as informal businesses. Differences as well as common themes were observed across these stakeholder groups. On many issues government (both provincial and local) was viewed as the ‘problem’ rather than the provider of solutions. Major criticism was pointed at inadequacies of service provision – especially water and electricity – and the poor state of road maintenance. The uneven geographical impacts of the Panorama Route were highlighted. Stakeholder perception research discloses the complexities of route tourism planning.