HISTORICAL SPECIAL INTEREST TOURISM: THE EVOLUTION OF MOUNTAINEERING IN SOUTH AFRICA
Scholarship on special interest tourism has burgeoned since the 1980s. Although this expanding research interest is relatively new, the phenomenon of special interest tourism is not of recent origin as many of its forms, such as mountaineering, exhibit a long historical record. Most research on...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Editura Universitatii din Oradea
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Revista Română de Geografie Politică |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://rrgp.uoradea.ro/art/2024-1/rrgp.261101-373.pdf |
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| Summary: | Scholarship on special interest tourism has burgeoned since
the 1980s. Although this expanding research interest is relatively new,
the phenomenon of special interest tourism is not of recent origin as
many of its forms, such as mountaineering, exhibit a long historical
record. Most research on special interest tourism concentrates on
contemporary issues. The objective is to present a historical perspective
on special interest tourism. Using archival sources an analysis is
undertaken of the evolution of mountaineering in South Africa as a
recreational sport and incipient form of special interest tourism. Cape
Town’s Table Mountain and the Drakensberg mountains provide the
geographical focus of discussion. The results demonstrate that during
the 1920s and 1930s tourism promoters in South Africa acknowledged
the potential of special interest mountaineers to contribute to tourism
growth. The documented experience of early mountaineering in South
Africa provides an example of racism in recreation by showing that the
country’s recreational practices became constructed around politicallyimposed racial hierarchies. |
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| ISSN: | 1582-7763 2065-1619 |