The Geography of Heritage in South Africa

Abstract

Heritage tourism scholarship is a growing domain of research in South Africa and with contributions from a range of different academic disciplines, including geography. Heritage tourism was identified early in post-apartheid planning as an important niche for tourism promotion and diversification of product mix, as well as offering unexploited potential for local and regional tourism development. The geography of heritage assets in South Africa is an important, albeit neglected, research topic. This chapter analyses the geography and organisation of heritage assets in South Africa and shows its uneven potential for local and provincial economic development.