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19 March 2019 | Story Dr Cinde Greyling
Dr Mutana and Prof Mukwada
Many people enjoy spending time in the mountainous Drakensberg region. Prof Geofrey Mukwada’s involvement with the UFS Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) sparked an interest in sustainable tourism in the area. Pictured here are Dr Sarudzai Mutana with Prof Mukwada.

Not only is the Qwaqwa Campus situated in a beautiful region – its researchers also contribute to keeping the area pristine. Recent research by Prof Geofrey Mukwada and his PhD student, Dr Sarudzai Mutana, focused on indicators monitoring sustainable tourism development in the Drakensberg region.

Dr Mukwada is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography on the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus. 

Our majestic mountains are fragile

Many people enjoy spending time in the mountainous Drakensberg region – either as adventure seekers exploring the many trails, or just relaxing and reconnecting with nature. Prof Mukwada’s involvement with the UFS Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) sparked an interest in sustainable tourism in the area. “Mountains are fragile but attractive environments which continue to attract tourists,” he said. “Tourism is one of the major business sectors in the Drakensberg region, with promising growth opportunities and proving to be an anchor of green economy in the future – if practiced correctly.” Unfortunately, the issue of monitoring sustainable tourism has not been widely researched in African mountains. 

According to international standards

“We specifically looked at the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), which is an international best-practice framework to help destinations monitor and ensure that tourism is developed in a responsible manner,” Prof Mukwada explained. “South Africa’s Manual for Responsible Tourism was designed according to some of the recommendations of the GSTC. But we found that, while the tourism and hospitality operators in the Drakensberg region appreciates the need to monitor and ensure sustainable tourism in the area, there is limited use of indicators as a tool for monitoring.” 

Forward together

There are competing demands between land-use and development practices and alternatives in the region – unless the focus shifts to sustainable practices, the short-term gains could be followed by dire consequences. “We suggest an integrated monitoring of tourism development, with a pro-poor focus that involves more local community leaders. Going forward, we would like to see the industry adopt the indicators proposed in our study.”

News Archive

Kovsie alumni reunion on the Thames.
2005-07-07

There are only 20 places left for Kovsie Alumni that want to attend the Castle Lager Kovsie Alumni London Reunion! This year’s reunion will be in a class of its own and will be held on the Queen Mary on the Thames River. The reunion will take place next Saturday 16 July and the popular Blou Willem Theron will be the key note speaker. A cantush will also be held. (For those who do not know what that is, the Alumni will sing traditional South African songs and have an incredible time!).





The reunion will start at 18:30 and tickets cost £10. This includes a buffet dinner and access to the Queen Mary nightclub later the evening. Unfortunately, only 150 people can be accommodated on the Queen Mary (130 people have already booked). Therefore, if you know of any Kovsie Alumni in the United Kingdom, contact Anli Bosman at anlibosman@yahoo.com. 

 


 

Dr Ivan van Rooyen (Director: UFS Marketing), Willem van Huyssteen (SAB Regional Marketing Manager) en Jeannette Boshoff-Jansen (UFS Marketing).
 

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