The Management of Cultural Tourism in the Southern African Development Community Region: Learning from Best Performers

Abstract

Introduction. Tourists are in search of authentic experiences such as unique arts and culture in tourist destinations. Policymakers are now focusing on cultural tourism because of its perceived links to economic advantages inclusive of employment, business opportunities, and income generation. Purpose and methods. Using the examples of Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, and Seychelles, this study critically analyses the measures employed by these five countries to manage cultural tourism to improve their global tourism competitiveness. A comprehensive literature review approach is adopted as a research method to build a sufficient and accurate pool of data to attain reliable findings. Results. The study identified strategies utilized in the selected countries that can be adopted by other regional countries for cultural tourism development. These strategies include establishing cultural exchange programmes, preserving local cultural practices, sensitizing the local community on the importance of cultural tourism, local and international cultural tourism development collaborations, and cultural policy development among others. Conclusions. This study builds a body of knowledge by identifying some cultural tourism management strategies in the Southern African Development Community region. It extends new knowledge by comparing the differences and similarities in adopted strategies in the selected countries to learn about the most common cultural tourism management strategies and unique strategies adopted. Moreover, it provides recommendations that other developing countries in Africa can adopt to improve their cultural tourism management. The study provides directions for future cultural tourism research in the Southern African Development Community region.