Cultural Tourism: Cultural Presentation at the Basotho Cultural Village, Free State, South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is a unique country with a melting pot of miscellaneous cultures. Many of these cultures have been preserved and displayed in the form of cultural villages. To sustain these cultural villages, it is important to invest in a market-based and product-based empirical research. This study therefore, investigates the visitor’s responses to the experience and the cultural presentation at Basotho Cultural Village, Free State, South Africa. The population of the study was domestic and international tourists visiting the village. Data was gathered from 305 tourists by means of a self-administered questionnaire. The results gathered provide the visitor’s demographic profile, the visitor’s experience and the overall satisfaction with the cultural presentation. The village is a drawcard for both local (n = 251) and international tourists (n = 54) who sees the cultural experience at the village as extremely important. The results indicate the high level of satisfaction with the overall experience as (90.2%) of the visitors were satisfied. However, the research also indicates that there are concerns over the service, facilities and staff portrayal of genuine Basotho culture at the village. The study highlights critical aspects of visitor experience at a heritage site for the village management and destination marketing organisations (DMO’s).