Peet Van der Merwe

Impact of off-road vehicles (ORVs) on ghost crabs of sandy beaches with traffic restrictions: a case study of Sodwana Bay, South Africa.

Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are popular in coastal recreation, although they have negative impacts on sandy shores. In South Africa, ORVs are banned from most coastal areas, while some areas are designated for restricted ORV use, providing an opportunity to assess whether ORV traffic restrictions translate into biological returns. In Sodwana Bay, the impact of ORVs on ghost crab populations was investigated. During Easter 2012, ghost crab burrows were counted on beach sections open and closed to traffic. Burrow density in the Impact section was less than a third that of the Reference section, and by the end of the study burrow size in the Impact section was half that of the Reference section. ORV traffic caused a shift in burrow distribution to the Lower beach. However, differences in burrow densities between sections were 14 times smaller than differences obtained at a time when ORV use in Sodwana Bay was not controlled. While confirming the well-established detrimental effects of ORV use on sandy beach ecosystems, results demonstrated that traffic restrictions on beaches measurably minimize impacts to the fauna, thus translating into clear-cut biological returns.

The economic impact of hunting in the Northern Cape province.

We here estimate the economic impact of hunting (both biltong and trophy) on South Africas Northern Cape province economy. This study used the input-output (social accounting matrix) and multiplier analyses to evaluate the economic impact of hunting in the regional economy of the Northern Cape province. Data on biltong hunting were derived from a national survey conducted in 2007 and data on trophy hunting were derived from the Professional Hunting Association of South Africa (PHASA). The results indicated that the direct economic impact of hunting in the Northern Cape province economy, resulting from increased expenditure, exceeded R696.1 million for 2007. This direct impact resulted in a total economic impact in the order of R774.3 million, and consequently, in a multiplier effect of 1.11. With regard to employment, it was estimated that some 9072 jobs plus those of the employees directly involved might be dependent on hunting in the province, thereby supporting the notion that this is a viable and important sector of the tourism industry.

Influence of infrastructure development on the vegetation community structure of coastal dunes: Jeffreys Bay, South Africa

Coastal dunes are increasingly at risk due to pressures deriving from global climate change, sea level rise, recreation and development. The consequences of the “coastal squeeze” in which dunes are placed, such as erosion and the loss of critical ecosystem services, are usually followed by expensive restoration and protection measures, many of which are unsuccessful. Due to the poor understanding and acknowledgement of the key attributes of coastal dunes in decision making processes, it is essential to provide scientific data on the impacts of human interference on coastal dunes so as to inform executives and guide them towards a sustainable management of the coastal zone. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of five different levels of infrastructure development on the vegetation community structure of coastal dunes in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. The effects of infrastructure development on dune vegetation were quantified by measuring the richness, diversity, cover, height and composition of plant species. With an increase in infrastructure development a significant decrease in dune width, average species richness and height of the plants occurred, accompanied by a shift in plant community composition. The foredunes that were backed immediately by infrastructure presented significantly greater species richness, diversity, cover and height compared with the foredunes abutted by primary dunes. This study demonstrated that coastal dunes are environments which are sensitive to varying levels of human impact. Informed and comprehensive management planning of these environments is therefore imperative for the restoration and maintenance of remnant dunes and for the conservation of undeveloped coastal dunes.

Tourism Students’ Knowledge and Tenets Towards Ecotourism

During the last decades, youth and student travellers aged 15 to 30 have become an important part of the international tourism market. However, global ecotourism trends found that ecotourists are mainly middle-aged to elderly. Based on this, the present research is aimed at investigating, on the basis of ecotourism key tenets detected from a number of studies aimed at analyzing contemporary ecotourism definitions, the knowledge of issues, attitudes and intentions towards ecotourism among a sample of young people. The total sample was drawn from university students from different countries, totalling 613 respondents. The research revealed that for the majority of respondents surveyed their knowledge of ecotourism remains scarce, although some differences were found by country of residence. It is therefore important to develop ecotourism courses where the core differences among ecotourism, nature-based tourism and mass tourism are emphasized to a greater extent. Finally, one cannot expect students to understand a certain study field if they have not had any practical experience: ecotourism events and workshops beside fieldtrips should then be promoted.

Utility of Users Data and Their Support for Differential Beach Management in South Africa

The ecosystem services provided by sandy beaches are increasingly recognised and valued globally. Nevertheless, sandy beaches remain under threat from the overexploitation and degradation of these services, mostly attributable to human pressures. Management challenges for sandy beaches include taking into account their diversity and their inherent aspects, from environmental to social. In developing countries, in particular, lack of resources exacerbates these challenges. Therefore, low-cost strategies focused on interventions with spatial priority and aimed at cooperative governance, while addressing the diversity of sandy beaches, are favoured. The inclusion of social drivers, a prescription designed to contribute to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), appears to fit this role by means of actions engaging stakeholders. In this context, users data are receiving more attention with an eye to designing and implementing management strategies for different sandy beaches. Recreational ones, in particular, are under pressure, including development and direct use by visitors, and their functions can be easily jeopardised through homogeneous, partial or blanket management. This paper discusses the utility of users data so as to assist differential management of recreational sandy beaches in South Africa. This country was selected as a case study given that it is developing rapidly and its long coastline is dominated by sandy beaches, many of which are valued and exploited for recreation and tourism. The data under investigation concern sandy beach visitors or beachgoers. These data, collected through self-administered questionnaire surveys, included socio-demographic profiles, travel motivations, beach selection criteria and an evaluation of the state of the beach. Twelve recreational sandy beaches with different urbanisation levels were selected for fieldwork. Between April 2013 and April 2014, 1200 questionnaire surveys were distributed to the beachgoers; 953 of these were completed and returned. There was a notable variability in the profile and perceptions of the beachgoers according to urbanisation and geographic location of the beaches. Such variability supported the case for differential and ad hoc management of recreational sandy beaches. In addition, some users’ views matched with actual scenarios encountered on the beaches under study, confirming the validity of users data in assisting sandy beach management. Implications for the findings of this study are discussed and span actions based on users’ priorities, regulations and interventions to better educate users on the functionality of sandy beaches and the importance of conservation.

Understanding accommodation preferences of visitors to the Kruger National Park

Accommodation plays such an important role in the tourist’s experience that one would imagine that many studies concerning this topic have been conducted. However, surprisingly, very few studies have focused on this subject despite the growth in both demand and supply. This gap or lack of research led to the present exploratory study that addressed the question: ‘What are visitors’ accommodation preferences when they select accommodation in the Kruger National Park?’ Based on a visitor survey in the Northern region of the Park during December 2015 where 294 fully completed questionnaires were administered, respondents were segmented based on their accommodation preferences (self-service, serviced and safari). Three distinct segments were identified, Self-service seekers, Servicescape seekers and Self-safari seekers. These segments differ regarding their socio-demographic characteristics and especially regarding the factors they regard as important when selecting accommodation and campsites. This was the first time that the accommodation preferences of visitors to the flagship national park in South Africa have been analysed. The results demonstrated that while visitors to the Kruger National Park appear homogeneous regarding their demographic profile, they differ significantly when it comes to accommodation needs and preferences. The findings from the research are valuable to park management, especially when developing and expanding accommodation options in the park as it shows the preferences of each distinct market. This research furthermore contributes to the current literature regarding ecotourism and ecotourists’ accommodation preferences.

The Perceived Value of a Scuba Diving Experience

ABSTRACT Schoeman, K.; Van der Merwe, P., and Slabbert, E., 2016. The perceived value of a scuba diving experience. Tourists today are more value conscious, which creates challenges for tourism products to keep up with what tourists want and how they perceive certain experiences. Perceived tourism value can be seen as the value that tourists experience and can be defined from separate perspectives, such as money, quality, benefits, and social aspects. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceived value of a scuba diving experience. A survey was conducted at Sodwana Bay, where 402 divers participated by means of stratified sampling. The factor analysis revealed five values, namely perceived emotional value, perceived risk value, perceived functional value, perceived social value, and perceived epistemic value. This insight can assist role players in the marine environment to adapt their scuba diving product where needed and can also assist in the improvement of diver satisfaction, the diving experience, and marketing initiatives.