The South African Tourism Planning Toolkit - Department of Tourism

guidelines to ensure that visitor impacts are monitored and the quality of the asset isadequately maintained and protected, often leading to environmental degradation.Research confirms that at the local government level there is a lack of a coherent framework toguide tourism planning for the use and protection of natural assets.A structured approach to managing tourism impacts on natural assets under the jurisdiction oflocal, district and metropolitan municipalities is needed and this need will only increase overtime.4.4.3 Benefits of Using this ToolboxThe benefits of managing natural assets sustainably include: At the national interest level, natural asset-targeted tourism impact managementapproaches will help South Africa maintain its competitive edge in “green tourism”; At a central governance level such approaches will help South Africa fulfil bothinternational and national obligations and strategies; and At the industry operational level such approaches will help ensure that the South Africatourism industry remains profitable and can expand in a sustainable manner.At the local government level such approaches will:1. Assist councils in meeting quadruple-bottom-line (environment, social, economic,cultural) reporting objectives2. Assist councils in meeting the sustainable development requirements as stipulated inthe White Paper on Local Government (1998)3. Reduce the likelihood of litigation, costly remediation and other reactive measures thattie up valuable council resources4. Send pro-active leadership and guidance signals from local government to the varioustourism sector groups in South Africa5. Provide a sharper focus for councils in the management of both tourism andrecreational activities in their districts and regions4.4.4 ResourcesResearch into natural assets and their management by local government internationally, therehas been much research into social aspects of natural asset management, e.g. mattersassociated with visitor carrying capacity and crowding, at particular sites or natural attractions.There has also been considerable research, including work done in South Africa, into specificvisitor/natural asset interactions, e.g. tourism impacts on whales and dolphins. However, thereis relatively little research, both qualitative and quantitative, on how natural assets are managedor ought to be managed in local government contexts.A survey of local authorities throughout South Africa is required in order to ascertain howcouncils manage the natural assets over which they have jurisdiction. In addition, moreresearch on the management of natural assets in South Africa is required, along with thedevelopment of guidelines for such things as “outstanding landscapes” which visitors clearlyassociate with the quality of their tourism experience.There are several options to develop relatively practical Decision Making Guidelines for localauthorities.35