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AN ECOTOURISM MODEL FOR SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS
46 ABSTRACT
Ecotourism products form the core of South Africa's tourism industry with almost 80% of all tourism products depending on nature and wildlife. South African National Parks are a key role-player in providing nature-based experiences. From analysing the current literature on ecotourism management strategies used by South African National Parks it was found that no model exists for the development and management of ecotourism in South Africa National Parks. Therefore the primary objective of this study is to develop an ecotourism model for South African National Parks. An explorative research approach was followed with the aim of determining the perceptions of both the demand side (visitors to South Africa National Parks) and the supply side (managers of South African National Parks) on the subject of ecotourism. Six factors were identified from the exploratory factor analysis: product development; local community involvement; environmentally friendly practices; ethics; food and activities; policies. These six factors, together with the literature studied were used to develop an ecotourism model for South Africa National Parks.
KEYWORDS Ecotourism, National parks, Sustainable tourism, Policies, Model