Keywords

10.1 Introduction

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) published in 2015 have been a subject of protracted discourse in the tourism industry. This is because the tourism industry relies heavily on the various elements covered under the SDGs (Dube 2020). Tourism features weakly in the indicators suggested by United Nations under SDG 8, 12 and 14. However, researchers have agreed that tourism can be a remedy for achieving all the 17 SDGs suggesting the need for tourism activities to be holistic (Remoaldo 2014; Barros, Biddulph and Scheyvens 2018; Scheyvens and Hughes, 2019). ‘Holistic’ tourism development in this chapter is defined as synergy cooperation among stakeholders in the development of tourism activities that bring benefits to all (Koodsela et al. 2019; Saneinia et al. 2020). The key stakeholder groupings in a tourism destination include the community, government, private sector, non-governmental organisations and tourists. Koodsela et al. (2019) argue that the participation of all stakeholders (including poor and marginalised groupings is critical in achieving holistic tourism development. Carson et al. (2004) reiterates the need for a holistic approach to tourism development and argue that tourism is an industry faced with a challenge of balancing between economic, social and environmental issues. This need for a collaborative approach by all stakeholders if tourism is to be used as a tool for achieving SDGs is further supported by (Hall 2019; Scheyvens and Hughes 2019; Dube 2020). However, the balanced collaboration in planning and implementing tourism development activities is not always evident especially in mountain tourism towns where economic development takes centre stage (Biddulph and Scheyvens 2018; Mutana and Mukwada 2020a, b). Small mountainous towns like Phuthaditjhaba, in South Africa, have limited economic activity due to realities related to their geographical location as well as the historical power arrangements that left communities in these areas with limited access to important forums where decisions are made (Mutana and Mukwada 2018). Tourism is regarded as one of the most important sectors which can contribute to the economic development of these areas (Taru et al. 2014; Mutana and Mukwada 2018; Mutana and Mukwada 2020a, b). However, there is compelling evidence that tourism in Phuthaditjhaba and surrounding areas has been developed in a way that is less inclusive and ignorant of the socio-economic needs as well as the environmental needs of the communities and the environments of this area. The objective of this chapter is to argue for the use of SDGs as indicators of holistic tourism, where tourism development activities that achieve the most diverse indicators for SDGs are prioritised for implementation. The authors use SDG 1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 12 and 13 to demonstrate the interconnectedness of these SDGs when applied to tourism development and hence argue that tourism activities should aim to achieve the highest diversity of indicators of these SDGs.

The thrust of SDG 1 is to reduce poverty in all its forms by 2030 through inclusive consideration of groups of people that are easily left out of developmental discussions. These people include the youths and women. SDG 2 emphasises zero hunger. SDG 5 looks at gender equality, SDG 8 decent work/economic growth, SDG 11 sustainable cities & communities, SDG 12 responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 climate action. The ensuing parts of this chapter shows the links among key SDGs, the current state of affairs in the tourism sector in Phuthaditjhaba and how indicators from SDGs can be used to enhance a balance in the development of tourism products in Phuthaditjhaba.

10.2 Background: Understanding the Nexus Between SDGs and Holistic Tourism

In recent years, authors have acknowledged the interconnectedness of SDGs in relation to tourism development (Hall 2019; Scheyvens and Hughes 2019; Dube 2020). This comes as a result of the realisation that tourism is not just an economic phenomenon but should preferably be understood as a composite human and economic phenomenon (Hall 2019). This notion is not new since Murphy (1985) argued for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to tourism planning at local levels including the community.

10.2.1 Poverty and the Notion of Decent Work in the Tourism Industry

Poverty, hunger and gender inequality can directly influence the decency of work in the tourism and hospitality industry. Poverty is understood differently from different worldviews. However, the World bank define extreme poverty as a state of lack where a person survives on under $1.90 per day (World Bank 2020). Tourism has been mooted as a possible avenue for ending poverty because it is more labour intensive and has less barriers to entry for small enterprises (Dube 2020; Siakwah et al. 2020). However, issues of gender equality and decent work are still glaring in the industry (Bianchi and de Man 2021). There is a general neglect of fair or safe or decent labour issues in the tourism industry (Baum et al. 2016) especially because of high levels of tourism capitalism, whereby the majority of tourism organisations are controlled by private owners, for profit and also governed by laws of supply and demand (Fletcher 2011; Bianchi and de Man 2020). Fletcher (2011) argues that those investing in tourism (including the growing ‘alternative’ tourism subsector) are driven more by their interests in making more profits compared to their need to reduce poverty. These assertions point to the difficulty of reducing poverty through tourism employment which in some cases has entrenched gender inequality and indecent work (ILO 2017). Globally, tourism contributes one in every eleven jobs and the industry also contributes to increased skills and professional development (Mofokeng et al. 2018). Bianchi and de Man (2021) argue that the fact that tourism contributes to improvements on national economies, living standards and poverty reduction, often lack deeper interrogation of the social and political dynamics of labour in the tourism industry. When tourism happens among poor communities, the imperative to earn a wage and the very fact that tourism can provide a job to people with limited alternatives indicate possible disempowerment of the labouring classes and often coexists with exploitative labour regimes within destinations. This leaves local tourism planners with a task to take a closer and passionate look at the nature of tourism employment to unveil whether the relationships between the tourism capital and the labour, is sustainable.

10.2.2 Responsible Consumption During Economic Development Through Tourism

In communities where economic activities are limited, tourism development has often been described as an economic panacea (Visser 2016; Mutana and Mukwada 2020a). The discourse on economic benefits of tourism concentrated on the contribution of tourism towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the destinations which is a principle benchmark of economic growth of a destination (Dube 2020). GDP shapes the understanding of value from an economic activity. However, tourism is a complex phenomenon influenced by multiple interrelated economic, political, cultural and social facts which cause both positive and negative effects in the environment and local communities (Wood et al. 2019). Wood et al. (2019) further argue that tourism can carry invisible burdens for local communities if they concentrate on economic benefits without considering other aspects especially leakage and environmental impacts. Further, in some cases, where a larger fraction of tourism investors come from outside the destination, the economic benefits of tourism are affected by leakages (Siakwah et al. 2020). Leakage is a process of money leaving the local economy and ending up in economies where the investors originate from (Chirenje et al. 2013). This exposes the link between SDG 8 (economic development) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption). The subject of responsible tourism consumption is topical and still under discussion among tourism geographers. In some mountain communities (for example Nepal), tourism has been associated with numerous negative ecological impacts (Nepal and Chipeniuk 2005; Mwalukomo 2008; Nepal 2011). In many cases, governments have ignored the glaring possibilities of negative effects in favour of economic benefits (Visser 2016). It is imperative therefore to weigh the economic benefits of tourism against the social, cultural and environmental impacts associated with tourism and ensure a balance among the factors.

10.3 Methodology

The authors used critical discourse analysis to analyse available literature on the development of tourism in the mountain town of Phuthaditjhaba. There has been an increase in the use of critical discourse analysis in sustainable tourism studies in recent years (Wilson and Hollinshead 2015; Hannam and Knox 2005; Jager et al. 2009; Ardoin et al. 2015). A discourse is defined as a group of statements that represent a language for talking about or a system of representing a language for talking about, or a way of representing knowledge about a specific aspect (Jager et al. 2009). According to Qian et al. (2018) a discourse analysis recognises that language shapes people’s worldviews. The authors decided to use critical discourse analysis in this chapter because they had a passion to critically approach and expose the interconnectedness of SDGs in small town development. Jager et al. 2009 argue for the use of critical discourse analysis in writings where authors seek to make explicit the power relationships which are frequently hidden and believe that this approach help authors to derive results of practical relevance. Further Hannam and Knox (2006:3) that “all texts are produced intertextually in relation to other texts, which are in turn embedded within institutional power relations within which the degree of authority is inherent”. Further, the development of small towns located in poor mountainous destinations have always been a subject of conflicting viewpoints, where the recommended approaches to developing such towns have shown the power struggles and worldviews of the authors (Mutana and Mukwada 2020a, b). However, in this chapter, the authors are passionate to bring out a more nuanced reading of textual data by adding a critical edge to the way Sustainable Development Goals should be achieved through tourism development activities in small mountain towns.

10.3.1 Sources of Data and Document Selection

Authors obtained information on tourism development in Phuthaditjhaba, SDGs and tourism, from peer reviewed academic articles and grey literature from databases like Google Scholar, Taylor and Francis Online, EBSCO, Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, Emerald Insight, Springer and Sage Publications. The search and analysis was limited to literature to which the authors had full access (as provided by the university’s physical and electronic library) and was relevant to the subject under study. This also included publications by key international organisations concerned with Sustainable Development Goals, tourism in small towns and mountain tourism. These are United Nations (UN), United Nations Environmental program (UNEP), World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The search began by keying in key words for example ‘sustainable development goals’ or ‘mountain tourism’, ‘tourism development in small towns’ or holistic tourism’ to isolate the applicable texts from the databases. Each phrase was used to generate different texts. The authors then scanned through the abstracts of the generated papers to check the relevance of the text to determine whether to include them or to leave them out. The use of various keywords ensured the generation of a variety of papers. Once the initial articles were found, authors applied the Pearl Growing Technique (PGT) to identify articles used as references in the articles in order to widen the number of texts to include in the analysis. The PGT was described as the use of characteristics of an authoritative text “pearl”, to obtain more suitable and authoritative material (Mutana and Mukwada 2017). Table 10.1 summarises the criteria used for deciding which texts to include in or exclude from the discourse analysis.

Table 10.1 Criteria for inclusion and exclusion of literature
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Authors used mainly texts published after 1987 (following the publication of the first report on sustainable tourism by the World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED). However, literature on tourism development on Phuthaditjhaba after 2015 (after the pronouncement of the Sustainable Development Goals) made up the bulk of the texts included for analysis. A total of 44 peer reviewed articles; 4 reports and 3 grey literature texts were included in the analysis.

Document Review

The procedure used for critical discourse analysis followed a three-fold manual analysis approach suggested by Fairclough (1993) (analysis of the text, discursive practice and socio-cultural practice). Firstly, (1) texts were analysed by applying content analysis, which exposed the focus of the text. This stage was important for determining the relevance of the text. Authors first graded the texts according to the objective of the study they fitted. Next, analysis arguments are advanced (for example, how can a town achieve holistic tourism? How holistic is tourism in Phuthaditjhaba?) (2) How related is this text with other literature? Is there consistency in the understanding of application of SDGs in mountain town tourism development? At this stage, texts were analysed for themes and patterns. Similar patterns in thought were highlighted in similar colours to show similarity. (3) What issues about SDGs and small mountain town development are left out? This is the stage where the authors sought to illuminate the ‘ruptures’ and the ‘silences’ in literature thereby exposing the gaps. Finally, the authors analysed the socio-cultural setting and asked the following questions concerning the texts; (1) what is the geographical setting? (2) What are the assumptions?

10.4 Research Results

This section presents results of the analysis carried out among texts/literature on tourism in Phuthaditjhaba. There is a general agreement among scholars that tourism in Phuthaditjhaba has potential to reduce poverty. However, the town should improve the positive impact of tourism in the economy of Phuthaditjhaba as well as the community and environment (Visser 2016; Taru and Chingombe 2017; Mutana and Mukwada 2020a, b. There is also general consistency in the observation that there is a lack of data for evaluating possible impacts of tourism projects and activities on the economy, community and environment of Phuthaditjhaba (Mutana and Mukwada 2017; Visser 2019; Taru et al. 2019; Zondo 2016). Paradoxically, authors also agree that Phuthaditjhaba and its surrounding community and environs are fragile, sensitive and are susceptible to long lasting negative impacts if tourism activities are developed and implemented haphazardly (Chingombe and Taru 2016; Visser 2019). The ensuing discussion demonstrates how indicators from SDGs can be used to enhance holistic tourism in line with SDGs 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 12 and 13, emphasising the interconnectedness of these SDGS. Three key issues emerge from literature namely (1) Poverty reduction through tourism and decent work; (2) Tourism industry climate action for a sustainable city and (3) Tourism and economic development and responsible consumption.

10.4.1 Tourism in Phuthaditjhaba

Phuthaditjhaba, also known as Qwaqwa is among the former homelands which were created for the South African population in 1951 under the Bantu Authority Act. There were ten homelands namely: Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Venda, Gazankulu, Kawene, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa and Qwaqwa. Homelands occupied 122.2 million hectares of land, which translated to 13.96% of the total South African land (Nishimwe-Niyimbanira 2020). Piennar and von Fintel (2013) estimates that Qwaqwa homeland occupies about 476 km2 of land, of which 50% is habitable and the rest consists of inhabitable mountains. This reality presents limited possibilities for economic activity especially agriculture. Phuthaditjhaba which is the urban settlement of Qwaqwa is nestled in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains on the border with Lesotho. There is limited tourism activity within the small town itself except a stadium, a few bed and breakfast lodges and a cinema. However, the town is located in close proximity to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Basotho Cultural Village, Lekhalong la Witsie (Witsie’s cave) which is a Provincial Heritage site, Sterkforntein Dam and numerous spot fishing dams. Several hiking trails are used by tourism companies to take travellers into the mountains and to explore the numerous caves found in the mountains. However, (Mutana and Mukwada 2020b), argue that there is limited participation by local communities in these activities. Increased participation of communities in tourism development could lead to a reduction of poverty and achievement of SDGs in Phuthaditjhaba. There is a considerable potential for the local residents of Phuthaditjhaba and the surrounding villages in getting involved in rural ecotourism (Taru et al. 2014), community based tourism and cultural tourism (Mutana and Mukwada 2020b).

10.4.2 Tourism and Poverty Reduction Through Decent Work in Phuthaditjhaba

Currently poverty levels in Phuthaditjhaba have been persistent (Mutana and Mukwada 2018, 2020a; Nishimwe-Niyimbanira 2020). There is high unemployment, high population growth and high levels of poverty (Taru et al. 2014; Zondo 2016; Nishimwe-Niyimbanira 2018). Nishimwe-Niyimbanira (2020) argues that the poverty in Phuthaditjhaba has its roots in the apartheid era where the poor indigenous people faced extreme poverty. The South African government has developed a comprehensive anti-poverty policy in a bid to improve the quality of life among its people. Regardless of these efforts, research in the Phuthaditjhaba area shows that the current tourism activities (before the COVID-19 pandemic) have not significantly benefitted the poor locals (Nishimwe-Niyimbanira 2020; Mutana and Mukwada 2020a). Employment in tourism include locals holding menial roles like waiter/ess, gardeners, cleaners (Mutana and Mukwada 2020b).

Poverty reduction through tourism is possible if deliberate programs are implemented which help the poor local communities to take advantage of the potential tourism resources by or through turning them into tourism products (Mutana and Mukwada 2020b). Taru and Chingombe (2018) advocated for a deliberate move towards rural geo-tourism considering the available geographical and heritage resources available in the area. On the other hand, Mutana and Mukwada (2020a) recommended the adoption of deliberate measures that increase the benefits of tourism towards the poor by creating community field frameworks for the involvement of all community members in tourism planning and implementation. However, one should consider Nishimwe-Niyimbira’s assertion that poverty in Phuthaditjhaba is multi-dimensional and hence calls for a multi-pronged approach to solving it. This is the point where the connection between SDG 1, SDG 2 and SDG 8 should be considered. The development of a society stays incomplete if the situations of those tormented by poverty are not improved. Generally, workers in the tourism industry in Phuthaditjhaba earn between R2500 per month (for managers) and R 1500 (for waiter/esses) (Mutana and Mukwada 2020a). While these wages are above the poverty datum line, they are seasonal roles and workers go for at least six months every year without work (Mutana and Mukwada 2018). This is because tourism traffic in the area is dependent on the mountains where higher tourist arrivals are experienced in summer season compared to the winter season. Some tourism organisations retrench their employees during the low seasons and rehire them in the peak seasons. There are limited alternative work for employees during low season periods resulting in employees enduring the periods of unemployment while they wait for the peak periods. This keeps them in a cycle of poverty. A holistic employment creation through tourism should improve decency of work by providing wages that are available every month of the year and are high enough to improve the quality of life of workers throughout the year. Tourism activities that can run throughout the year may be created to extend the tourism season, for example by creating cultural tourism products that are not dependent on seasonal changes. Cultural tourism activities can also increase the decency of work among rural community members. Performing cultural performances requires limited educational skills, hence would include even the uneducated community members. Further, it will preserve the culture as community members take pride in their culture. However, measures to educate tourists about the need to respect local culture should be put in place to enhance decency. Alternatively, there is need for creation of alternative industries to absorb labour during the tourism low seasons. Decent work may also come in the form of the tourism industry partnering with women and youths to develop community-based tourism venture or innovative agricultural projects for agritourism and to produce food needed by the industry. This will ensure food security (SDG2), reduce poverty (SDG 1) while also providing decent and consistent work for these community members (SDG8).

10.4.3 Tourism and Climate Change

Tourism and climate change are intimately linked (Earth changers 2019). The climate provides the background within which tourism products are designed and enjoyed. The climate also determines the weather that determines the comfort which tourists enjoy during their holidays. However, as the tourism industry grows, the cost of managing and developing sustainable infrastructure will weigh heavily on destinations (Wood et al. 2019). Some of these costs may be associated with disappearance of non-renewable resources, ecosystem degradation and escalating greenhouse gas emissions (GhG). Climate change is increasingly viewed as a current and future cause of hunger and poverty. The tourism industry has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of activities and events through practicing sustainable tourism. In Phuthaditjhaba, the impacts of climate change have been felt through the increase of urban droughts (Mohemed and Mukwada et al. 2020). Available research shows that there is a considerable gap between the recommended environmental sustainability and the tourism industry of Phuthaditjhaba (Mutana and Mukwada et al. 2017; Mohammed and Mukwada et al. 2019). Like many mountain communities in the world, the community of Phuthaditjhaba possesses rich knowledge systems that can be adopted to reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Mountain regions are more vulnerable to climate change (Kohler 2015), yet in Phuthaditjhaba, there is an absence of a solid and structured institution or system for recording and integrating indigenous knowledge on climate change (Mohammed and Mukwada 2019). The tourism industry has not yet shown any appreciation of the need to operate in a climate smart way. There is currently a dearth in literature on tourism, climate action and sustainable cities in Phuthaditjhaba (SDG12; 13). Phuthaditjhaba has the potential of making tourism one of the key industries. Therefore, tourism projects and activities need to be evaluated in terms of their possible impact on climate and the sustainability of the city.

10.4.4 Economic Development Though Tourism and a Quest for Responsible Consumption

The use of tourism for economic development (SDG8) poses a paradox when considered in juxtaposition with the quest for responsible consumption (SDG 12). In Phuthaditjhaba, tourism development is one of the few economic options (Mutana and Mukwada 2017, Taru and Chingombe 2018). However, the tourism business owners and the community have not yet fully appreciated the need for responsible tourism consumption. A possible explanation is the urgent need to deal with poverty and unemployment issues facing the town. Findings from a study carried out by Mutana and Mukwada (2018) show that there are poor waste disposal systems, high energy and water consumption. This is an area of concern considering that Phuthaditjhaba experiences water shortages (Mohammed and Mukwada 2019). There is still room for further developing tourism products by creating cultural, culinary and agritourism products around Phuthaditjhaba. However, this development if pursued would increase pressure on an already stressed system. The interconnection between the need to develop tourism for economic development and the responsible consumption and sustainable cities therefore needs deep consideration. It is imperative for local government to evaluate what fraction of the GDP of Phuthaditjhaba comes from tourism and how much each specific tourism project will contribute to the city’s GDP. Tourism activities that contribute more to the city’s GDP while also benefitting the environment, culture and society should be supported. The implementation of every tourism activity should be guided by bylaws for responsible consumption.

10.5 Discussion

The findings of this paper show that tourism activities in Phuthaditjhaba should be evaluated against the indicators from as many SDGs as they can fulfil. A tourism activity that satisfies as many indictors of SDGs as possible will be recommended for implementation while those that fail to satisfy the SDGs will be revised or remodelled. The mountain city of Phuthaditjhaba, has considerable potential for development through increased and improved tourism activity.

A matrix can be used to evaluate current and new tourism project/activities against the SDGs indicators (Table 10.2). While the matrix does not necessarily cover all the indicators under each of the SDGS, it is an example to be followed by expanding it and including as many indicators under each SDG as are applicable to a tourism development project or activity.

Table 10.2 Holistic tourism project/activity evaluation matrix
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Table 10.2 (the holistic tourism project/activity evaluation matrix) proposed as a tool for evaluating new or existing tourism projects in a fragile environment like Phuthaditjhaba. The tool can be used by either investor (while developing their tourism projects) local government (when evaluating projects for implementation) or by the community on an ongoing basis. The use of this tool therefore helps all the key stakeholders to ensure that tourism projects or activities are designed for fulfilling SDGs.

10.6 Conclusion

As reflected in the results of the analysis, tourism development in Phuthaditjhaba can be holistic if the products are evaluated against SDGS as indicators. The chapter used SDGs 1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 12 and 13 as examples to show how they can be used as indicators for holistic tourism products. The chapter concludes that (1) Phuthaditjhaba can be developed into a thriving tourism city if holistic tourism products are developed; (2) Innovative tourism products that reduce poverty, that increase decency of work, that reduce climate change and that enhance economic development should be promoted because they enhance the sustainability of the city of Phuthaditjhaba.

This chapter recommends that (1) the local government of Phuthaditjhaba develop and mainstream indicators suggested under each SDG to evaluate new and existing of tourism activities or businesses. (2) Current policies on tourism development be reviewed to enhance both backward and forward compliance with SDGs. Tourism businesses and activities that are already in existence may be recommended for modification in line with SDG requirements while new buildings will follow new bylaws that are compliant with SDGs.

Research that measures the tourism contribution to the GDP of the city of Phuthaditjhaba will help in measuring the expected economic development through tourism as well as the anticipated impact on poverty. Further research to develop and test the tool for evaluation of tourism businesses/products against SDGs as indicator is necessary. Interdisciplinary studies are also needed on the possible cooperation between the tourism industry and local communities in the development of new tourism products (cultural, agritourism) including the practicalities of offering them to tourists for poverty reduction.