Document: Local economic development, tourism and land use choices

DBSA, Development Planning Division - Working Paper Series No. 4

Tourism is seen as one of the top sectors to address the challenges of unemployment and poverty in South and Southern Africa. In planning for tourism, appropriate land use choices need to be made. Land use and spatial planning is a local government responsibility in South Africa. This article highlights the importance of land use choices for tourism with reference to the different property development models that exist in the sector. These property development models have varied outcomes for society, local economic development (LED) and the environment. In this regard, it is argued that productive tourism enterprises (such as hotels) are preferable to holiday homes (particularly ‘lifestyle estates’) from a developmental perspective – and that these two property models should not be conflated. LED and Land Use Management (LUM) strategies need to be cognisant of the effect of land use choices on the tourism industry.