Every year, the Grahamstown population almost doubles for 15 days as both local and foreign visitors flock to the streets to share in the experience of the National Arts festival. With revenue averaging at R50 million per annum, the event provides a goldmine of opportunity for local business.
Every year, the Grahamstown population almost doubles for 15 days as both local and foreign visitors flock to the streets to share in the experience of the National Arts festival. With revenue averaging at R50 million per annum, the event provides a goldmine of opportunity for local business.
Despite being a small town, Grahamstown successfully exploits its rich culture and heritage to bring in revenue through tourism. This is pivotal to promoting economic development.
Expanding our view to the global economy we can see that tourism has gained much publicity of late – even being described as a modern-day engine of growth. Thus, developing countries around the globe should take a leaf from Grahamstown’s book and use tourism as a means to grow their economies. Many countries are already reaping the rewards of opening up their economies to foreign visitors.
In South Africa, for example, World Travel and Tourism Council reports show that tourism makes up about 7% of GDP and employment. This figure is expected to climb in years to come as South Africa continues to benefit from its improved global status and attractiveness as a tourist destination in the aftermath of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Similarly, countries such as Mauritius, Thailand and Turkey rely on tourism as one of their pillars of economic growth.
The global increase in tourism has been spurred by its many sustainable benefits.
Like Grahamstown, developing countries do not have much material wealth but are often rich in culture and stunning landscapes. By promoting these aspects, developing nations can attract many tourists and generate plenty of much needed revenue.
Other than the money to be made, added benefits include job creation and improved infrastructure and global status, as well as unity, peace and stability. The overall effect is growth of the economy, which means better living standards for all.
Pessimists may argue that this sounds too good to be true. The reality of the matter is that tourism does have a few downsides. These include possible environmental damage in the interest of profits, as well as inefficient use of resources and poor distribution of tourism gains.
However, if government can step up to the plate with effective policy formulation, the losses can be minimised.
With such promising prospects, I foresee a significant role for tourism in economic growth in years to come – particularly for emerging economies.
