Abstract:
Tourism has the potential to have a positive impact on economic growth and
development. Tourism should also benefit small towns and rural areas, hence the
increased emphasis on the development of tourism routes. The concept of ‘route
tourism’ refers to an initiative designed to link together a group of tourism activities
and attractions under a unified theme and to promote local tourism (Rogerson,
2007:50).
Most tourism routes are managed by forums that are responsible for managing and
marketing the route. South Africa has a number of prominent tourism routes of which
the Maloti Drakensberg Route (MDR) is among the longest and most well-known. As
a substantial section of the MDR runs through the Free State Province (stretching
from Harrismith to Zastron), much-needed tourists are being brought to smaller Free
State towns. The aim of this investigation was to assess the marketing and
management effectiveness of the Maloti Drakensberg Route Forum (MDRF),
specifically for the Free State section of the MDR. This study incorporated both a qualitative and a quantitative research approach. A
questionnaire was administered to 51 tourists and 27 product owners on the Free
State section of the MDR. The findings indicated that the overall marketing and
management activities of the MDRF were not effective. One of the main
shortcomings was effective communication between the MDRF and the product
owners, which resulted in many management- and marketing-related frustrations.
Other issues raised by both product owners and tourists included inadequate
infrastructure such as roads, signage and rest stops along the MDR.
