Nature Based Tourism and its Implications: A Case Study of Blyde River Canyon in South Africa

Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the travelling business or pleasure, the practices and theory of touring,
business attraction, accommodation, entertaining tourists and businesses of operating certain
tours. This report is based upon nature based tourism and its importance in the growth of tourism
industry (Benckendorff, Xiang and Sheldon, 2019). Nature based tourism is determined as any
kind of tourism which relies upon certain experiences in relation to natural beauty, attractions
and it consists of adventure tourism, wildlife tourism, nature threats, extractive tourism and
ecotourism. It is recognised as a significant part of the industry of tourism and it has shown
growth in recent years. It also covers analysation and evaluation of implications to achieve
sustainability drawn from case study. Further, it covers various kinds of impacts of nature based
tourism such as environmental, economical and social impacts. At the end, it covers economic
implications for the economic sustainability.
DISCUSSION
Nature based tourism is responsible in making people travel to natural areas that helps in
conserving environment and in improving local people's welfare. This kind of tourism is
dependent upon a destination's natural attraction and beauty. It incudes stargazing, hiking,
fishing, visiting parks, hunting and photography.
South Africa
South Africa is a southernmost sovereign state of Africa and it is famous for its
overwhelming diversity and natural beauty. It is 25th world's largest country by the land area and
it covers 471,443 Sq Km area. It is famous for its wildlife adventures and natural beauty which
helped in increasing visitors in this place (A country guide to South Africa, 2019). South Africa is
bordered by Atlantic Ocean on east and south which has enhanced the beauty of this destination.
This place is famous for its beautiful natural places such as Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi
(Kalahari) Transfrontier Park,The Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, and so on. As per South
Africa's statistics, around 3.5 million visitors had been passed through country's ports in the year
2017. The topmost countries that has large tourists number who visits this place are UK,
Netherlands, USA, France and Germany.
Blyde River Canyon
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Blyde River Canyon is the beautiful natural landmark which is situated in South Africa
and and it is recognised as among the largest canyons in the whole world. This destination forms
Drakensberg escarpment's northern part and is situated in Mpumalanga. It is situated in Blyde
River Canyon Nature Reserve which has 25 kilometres length and its depth is 150 metres. By its
natural beauty, it is attracting thousands of international visitors to visit this place (Blyde River
Canyon, 2019). This place is unique in its own manner and is famous for continuously flowing
and high quality water.
Different impacts of Blyde River Canyon Tourism
There are various impact of this beautiful destination of South Africa such as social,
economical, environmental, political and so on. It has both positive as well as negative impact
upon its external environment. Its implication upon various factors can be seen as follows-
Economic Implications- This destination helps South Africa in developing and growing
its overall economy as it attracts thousands of visitors all over the world to come and visit this
beautiful place (Bohn, 2019). It is considered as the third large canyon in world and it helps in
attracting around 900000 visitors every year. It helps in increasing the number of tourists in this
place which increases the financial stability of South Africa. Moreover its water is used for
irrigation purposes which is also enhancing the economic stability of South Africa. This
destination is also popular for its mining activities which is generating high amount of revenue
for South Africa.
Environmental Implications- It has negative environmental implication upon South
Africa as its biodiversity is threatening in some of the areas. It is happening because if
applications that are made for prospecting silver and gold farms which is adjoining park and one
farm which is inside the boundaries of park and this park borders Blyde River Canyon Park. It is
important for government of South Africa to take certain a actions in order to reduce the negative
implications of mining upon environment (Mining Activities Threaten Sensitive Areas In The
Blyde River Canyon, 2019).
Cultural Implications- This destination promotes the culture and heritage of South
Africa and is considered as one of the best example of cultural routes and cultural landscapes
which had developed within implementation of World Heritage Convention that considers that
20th century is a history now (Palmer and Andrews, 2019). This helps the visitors to know the
heritage and culture of South Africa which makes them even more excited about this place.
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