Has community-based tourism been a useful tool for poverty eradication in Southern African rural destinations?

Woyo, Erisher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0776-6645 and Musavengane, Regis (2023) Has community-based tourism been a useful tool for poverty eradication in Southern African rural destinations? African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 12 (2). pp. 521-534. ISSN 2223-814X

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Abstract

The goal of this study is to assess the progress made so far in the eradication of poverty through the growth of tourism in the rural communities of three Southern African tourist destinations. In doing so, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) to what extent have the countries in Southern Africa improved the livelihoods of the poor through community-based tourism? (2) Are the poor the beneficiaries of the sustainable, inclusive community-based tourism drive in Southern Africa? (3) Is community-based tourism a panacea for the eradication of poverty in rural areas of Southern African? The study uses meta-synthesis to evaluate the extent to which pro-poor tourism approaches are achieving the intended goals using Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe as case studies. Findings shows that empirical studies investigating poverty alleviation and CBT are growing, especially in Botswana and Namibia, and the level of poverty seems to be declined in areas where communitybased tourism thrives.