THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM PROJECTS IN THE THABO MOFUTSANYANA DISTRICT OF THE FREE STATE PROVINCE

Abstract

Community-based tourism (CBT) has been promoted as a way of development whereby the socio-cultural, environmental and economic needs of local communities are met through tourism product offerings. CBT is known to contribute to social and economic survival of the marginalised communities in developing countries and the preservation of natural resources in the affected areas. In developing countries tourism has often been observed as the spin around for small-scale enterprises and job creation, and therefore the uplifting of local community’s standard of living. Where CBT is practiced well there is a potential to provide some exceptional opportunities for communities by offering not only better benefits but also enhancing their contribution in planning and management of tourism in their community. To progress towards sustainability, CBT must contribute to the empowerment of host communities. To achieve this, communities must be allowed to participate in decision-making where important information is needed, with the early stages of empowerment permitting the community to deciding their own development. Community capacity building, as one of the vital factors in CBT success, guarantees the exclusive benefits of tourism to the local community by developing skills, knowledge and entrepreneurial determination to develop into part of the tourism industry, which leads to the reduction of negative impacts. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the sustainability of financial investment in Community-based tourism projects in the Thabo Mofutsanyana municipality. Secondary objectives were set, namely to determine if the projects can sustain themselves after funding support has been terminated, to determine the oversight role played by government on how funding has been utilised and to formulate guidelines on how to increase the sustainability of CBT projects. Two questionnaires were used as a measuring instrument to achieve the goal of the study, and were distributed to the community representatives and the government officials. Data was gathered from the twenty one CBT projects in the study area. The findings of the study indicate that there is an understanding amongst the respondents on how CBT projects should be planned in order to be successful and sustainable. The major challenge in the sustainability of CBT projects in the area is funding for the projects, hence the respondents believe that other donor agencies should be exploited to curb the funding issue. This and other findings are presented and fully discussed in this research study. The study also provides recommendations for the successful and sustainable CBT projects to be practiced.