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Maximising the Local Pro-Poor Impacts of Dive Tourism: Sodwana Bay, South Africa

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Abstract

This article examines the local impacts of dive tourism in a South African case study, namely Sodwana Bay in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal province. Using extensive primary research interviews with key tourism stakeholders and local product owners, dive tourism at Sodwana Bay is considered an example of niche tourism in small-town South Africa. It is argued that opportunities exist for extending local pro-poor impacts if several challenges are addressed concerning improved skill levels, the institutional environment and extending local small business opportunities.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Mrs Wendy Job, Cartographic Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, for preparation of the diagrams in this paper.

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  1. School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Jonathan Mograbi & Christian M. Rogerson

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  1. Jonathan Mograbi
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Correspondence to Christian M. Rogerson.

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Mograbi, J., Rogerson, C.M. Maximising the Local Pro-Poor Impacts of Dive Tourism: Sodwana Bay, South Africa. Urban Forum 18, 85–104 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-007-9002-9

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