Resumen de Community tourism awareness campaign: Eden District Municipality, South Africa's Example
Although there is an increasing community understanding of the benefits tourism brings to communities, there are still many who are yet to appreciate the significance of tourism, including policy makers and the general public. Because community support, or lack of it, can have a significant effect on the success or failure of a tourist destination, awareness-raising activities about the significance of tourism play a crucial role in the future development of the industry. Ironically, it is a role that is still not fully appreciated by many in the industry. Tourism is simultaneously portrayed as a destroyer of culture, undermining social norms and economies, degrading social structures, stripping communities of individuality, and as a savior of the poor and disadvantaged, providing opportunities and economic benefits, promoting social exchange, and enhancing livelihoods. Therefore, the study focused on evaluating the accessibility and effectiveness of the different communication mediums that are used by the Eden District Municipality to raise community tourism awareness. The study used surveys because they are commonly used for collecting data within the field of tourism and hospitality. For purposes of this research, a descriptive survey was conducted. The study found that across the different stakeholders in the tourism industry of the Eden District Municipality, there was a significant difference statistically on their views on mediums used to communicate community-based tourism issues, both benefits and costs, and the accessibility of the mediums used as well as the effectiveness of the medium used to communicate the benefits and costs of community-based tourism.
