South Africa - Assignment Example

Ecotourism and Sustainable Travel Final Project: South Africa Ecotourism and Sustainable Travel Final Project: SouthAfrica Eco touring has been highly valued by both the travelers and the residents of the countries being travelled. For the residents they earn a lot of income. Due to travelling, many countries have earned a lot of income hence development. As for the tourists their minds open up as they are able to discover beautiful and interesting places (Yamada, 2011). They also get a chance to get exposed to new cultures. One also gets to get learned and educated about the history of different places. One finds life more interesting as he or she gets a break from the past life as well as being introduced to a greater diversity. Curiosity is then stroked as the inner child of a person is awakened because one develops very heavy expectations (Little fair, & Buckley, 2008). Travelling is like starting a new life since new people and food are to be met. Through interaction with new things, the vision and mind broadens and one gets refreshed. One will have beautiful memories which will be interesting to tell other people. ThroughEco tours people are able to appreciate the nature and the glory in it (Cater & Lowman, 1994). With the help of our teacher and the school administration, I and my classmates choose to tour one country in Africa. Out of research we realized that Africa has got a lot of places such as deserts, beaches and wildlife parks. However what attracted us most to Africa is the many cultures found within different communities(Buckley, 1994). We were however faced with dilemma on which country to visit in Africa. The dilemma did not last for long as we were able to come up with a decision of visiting South Africa. Some of us were suggesting that we travel to east African countries which are Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but the majority won by suggesting that we tour to South Africa (Ceballos, 1996). What attracted us to South Africa is the fact that it is the most modernized so far. Despite being modernized, the locals still uphold their cultures and traditions. The mix of unique and beautifullandscapes,wildlife and culture attracted most of us to choosing the country. The country also has got beautiful travelling places such asKruger National Park which is one of the best parks in Africa. From the internet we realized that currently there exist direct flights unlike before. Another factor which we highly put into consideration is the strength of Rand whereby we realized that it was very weak compare do the pound, dollar and euro and therefore it gave one a more purchasing power (Lindsey et al. 2007). The table mountain which is in Cape Town is among the oldest in the world and it has got more than 1500 species of plants. The country has is also said to be among the leading countries in exporting fruits. There are also cod Atlantic currents on the west coast of the cape which makes the ocean cool (Lindsey et al. 2007). Almost everyone in South Africa speaks English and therefore there was no likelihood of language barrier. The country has got incredible bio diversity and it has also got many diverse groups who create very beautiful cultures. The beaches in South Africa are also very beautiful and the country has got fine wine lands. TheCape Town is very beautiful and it is extraordinary which increased the curiosity to tour the country. We became much eager to know the rich historical experience of South Africa. Having light skin, changeof climate might highly affect us and when we inquiredabout the climate there we were informed that it is great(Lindsey et al. 2007). Our touring was to take seven days. By the day of travelling we were well prepared as we had already booked our visa one month to the day of travelling and had packed what we would require during the tour. We made enquiries from the country through email where we were directed on what we would require during the tour such as the type of clothing. We would take adirect fight to the place as we considered it more effective because it is very fast. We would use vehicles to travel as it would convenient to take photos of the interesting sites and animals (Kiss, 2004). There are several lodge providers in the country who include: Jaci’s tree lodge which is very convenient for families because 8 rooms have been built around a very big lead wood tree. This lodge is located near Madikwe game reserve and it is near the border of Botswana. There also exists cape grace hotel which is located in Cape Town. In every room there is a either a view of table mountain or the harbor. There is also a very nice swimmingpool and dining facilities. Phinda private game reserve is also a luxuries lodge and it consists of approximately 5 lodges which are: forest lodge, Vlei lodge, rock lodge among others. Garonga safari camp is also found in South Africa which is a great destination for those on honey moon and it has got tented rooms. Earth lodge, Thonga beach lodge and Diaz 15 house on the beach among others are also examples of luxurious lodges in South Africa(Kiss, 2004). We landed at Cape Town international airport at 2245 hours and we were collected by a bus to the lodge we had booked earlier which was Thonga beach lodge (Maputo land coast, kwaZulu–Natal). The lodge 11 thatch bush sites which are air conditioned and are built on stilts on the sand dunes. It is located in the shores of the IndianOcean and the place is very warm. It is next to the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park which is a world heritage site. The activities at the lodge included snorkeling, diving, turtle tracking during the summer and dining on the beach which was very interesting. The lodge is also near LakeSibaya which is the largest fresh water lake in South Africa and it is part of IsimangalisoWetland Park which is currently recognized as word heritage site(Kiss, 2004). Day one we visited the beach and had fun such as swimming and in the evening we dined at the beach. Day two we visited Cape Townwhereby we visited one of the headquarters office and we were given the history of that town. The town is big and much modernized. In the evening we had a dinner at the beach. Day 3 we visited the cultural house located in Johannesburg where all the traditions were available. The traditional dances, traditional clothing and traditional foods were all offered. Day 4 we visited the wine lands which had beautiful scenes. Day 5 we went to Lake Sibaya and wet land park where we took photos of the beautiful animals and lake. Day six we visited the rural areas and interacted with some of them. From them we got to learn some of their cultures. The last day of touring we invited one of the oldest historians which gave us the history of their country where one of the most famous men in the world Nelson Madera was mentioned. The ecotourism project will be 100% indigenous owned business. The main aim of the venture is to provide both the local residents and the visitors with pleasant recreational and new educational experience (Weaver, 2008). There creation of awareness of the local culture and traditions, as well as the gratefulness of the natural environment. The planned use of land and sea will be according to the rules and regulations of the government(Ceballos, 1996). Description of the ecotourism plan and major areas under study The target will be the working class and the rich and they will be in the age group of 20- 60) thereby we have the chance of using the internet promote the ecotourism since they have access to the internet. Both men and women will be our target. We would wish the learned people to make the largest group of our tourists as they will be able to understand things easier. During the winter season we will expect more visitors and the lodging will be paid on daily bases where the size of room taken will determine the cost. Advertising will be the common method of promotion where the internet, television and radios will be highly used. Guests are going to spend time in our community and experience the beautiful coastal environments as well as experiencing the traditional culture. They will have a bushwalk, have a look at the traditional foods and visit a midden. In addition they will be able to have a look at the art and craft shop, museum and gallery. A sorry ceremony will also be going on and if interested they can attend. Because we will be aiming at a wide coverage, there will be wide use of travel agents. For marketing assistance we will depend on the industry marketing corporation where we will be granted the opportunity to use the tourist planning website (Page et al., 2001). On day two the visit to Cape Town city was will be conducted by the white shark ecotourism. On day three the visit to the cultural house will be conducted by the great white shark ecotourism. On day 4 visits to the wine lands will be guided by afrivisista tours Stellenbosch South Africa. On day 5 the visit to Lake Sibaya and Wet Land Park would be conducted by two staff of the wet land park. On day 6 the visit to the rural areas will be conducted by Thonga beach lodge. On day seven the old historian takes the day by narrating the history of South Africa. The man is chosen from one of the government institutions in South Africa. References Buckley, R. (1994). A framework for ecotourism.Annals of tourism research, 21(3), 661-665. Cater, E., & Lowman, G. (1994). Ecotourism: A sustainable option?.John Wiley & Sons. Ceballos-Lascurain, H. (1996). Tourism, ecotourism, and protected areas: The state of nature-based tourism around the world and guidelines for its development. Iucn. Honey, M. (1999). Ecotourism and sustainable development: Who owns paradise?.Island Press.Scheyvens, R. (1999). Ecotourism and the empowerment of local communities.Tourism management, 20(2), 245-249. Kiss, A. (2004). Is community-based ecotourism a good use of biodiversity conservation funds?.Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 19(5), 232-237. Lindsey, P. A., Alexander, R., Mills, M. G. L., Romanach, S., &Woodroffe, R. (2007). Wildlife viewing preferences of visitors to protected areas in South Africa: implications for the role of ecotourism in conservation. Journal of Ecotourism, 6(1), 19-33. Littlefair, C., & Buckley, R. (2008). Interpretation reduces ecological impacts of visitors to world heritage site. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 37(5), 338-341. Page, S. J., Dowling, R. K., & Page, S. J. (2001).Ecotourism. Pearson Education Limited. Weaver, D. B. (2008).Ecotourism. http://au. wiley. com/WileyCDA/. Yamada, N. (2011). Why tour guiding is important for ecotourism: Enhancing guiding quality with the ecotourism promotion policy in Japan. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 16(2), 139-152. Read More