Evolving domestic tourism destination preferences post-apartheid

Abstract

Tourism is embedded within societal structures, and imbalances upheld through social structures, like systemic racism, leave symbolic boundaries where certain activities perceivably belong to designated population groups. Further, socio-economic factors impede travel behavior especially in emerging markets. Resultantly, marginalization becomes a barrier to inclusive tourism. Domestic tourism patterns in post-apartheid South Africa were explored to determine whether changes have occurred, and whether these changes are a function of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. Preferences for three different destinations were compared using two nationally representative samples from the 2006 and 2017 South African Social Attitude Survey. Results indicate that, although race and economic status remained significant, ethnicity was the main impacting variable and interactional effects between ethnicity, age, poverty status, and geotype explained most of the variance. While travel habitus and cultural distance influence preferences, the youth market within certain ethnic groups is most likely to transition to new tourism destinations.