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T ourism Pro m ot ion in D i ff icu l t A reas :

T h e E x p e r ie n c e o f

Joha nn esburg Inn er-city

Christian M Rogerson and Lucy Kaplan

I N T R O D U C T I O N

I n c o m m o n w i t h m a n y i n t e rn a t i o n a l c i ti e s, t o u r is m h a s b e e n i d e n t i fi e d a s p o -

t en t i a l l y one o f t he m os t i m por t an t s ec t o r a l d ri ve rs f o r t he eco nom i c regene r a -

t ion of Johannesbu rg , Af r ica s asp i ran t wo r ld c las s c i ty (Rogerson , 2004a , 2004b ,

2005) . O ve r t he pas t decade , s i gn i f i can t s pa t i a l s h i f t s have occu r r ed i n t he

J o h a n n e s b u rg t o u r is m e c o n o m y w i t h th e e m e r g e n c e o f a g r o u p o f n e w t o u r is m

spaces to surpa ss the t r ad i t ion a l o r o ld tour i sm spaces of the c ity. Du r ing the

1970s and 1980s the m a j o r s pa t i a l f ocus f o r t ou r i s m ac t i v i ty i n J ohannes b u r g

w as t he i nne r - ci ty , w h i ch enc om pas s ed a c l u s te r o f h i g h g r ade h o t e l s , r e s tau r an t s

and r e t a i l i ng compl exes s e r v i ng a m i x t u r e o f bo t h bu s i nes s and l e is u r e tou r is ts .

A s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f th e d e c e n t r a l i s a t io n o f o f f ic e s a n d r e t a i l i n g in

J ohannes bu r g , r i si ng c r i me a nd phy s i ca l decay , t he i nne r - c i t y t ou r i s m ec on om y

w en t i n t o a s p i r a l o f dec l i ne t ha t w as s ym bo l i s ed m os t d r am a t i ca l ly i n the 1990s

b y t h e m o t h b a l l i n g o f t o u r i sm a c c o m m o d a t i o n a n d s u b s e q u en t c l o su r e o f t h e

c i t y s f l a g s h i p C a r l to n H o t e l ( R o g e r s o n , 2 0 0 2 ) . C u r r e n tl y , th e i n n e r - c i t y o f

J ohann es bu r g f i t s w e ll the cha r ac t e r i s ti c s o f w ha t i s de f i ned a s a d i f f i cu l t a r ea

f o r t ou r i s m deve l opm en t . D i f f i cu l t a r ea s a r e v i ew ed a s t hos e t ha t have on l y a

s ma l l t ou r i s m bas e i n t e r ms o f r ece ip t s , a rea s w h i ch m i gh t be r ega r ded a s uns u i t -

a b le f o r t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t b e c a u s e o f p o o r i m a g e ; a nd , i n n e e d o f

inf ras t ruc tura l imp rovem ent ( see Buck ley and Wi t t, 1985 , 1989; Hop e an d Klem m ,

2001) .

T he a i m i n t h i s pape r i s t o p r e s en t t he r e s u l ts o f a r ecen t ana l y s i s o f t he chang -

i ng po t en t i a l o f t ou r i s m i n J oh annes bu r g i nne r -c i ty . I t w i l l be a r gued t ha t t he

i nne r - c i ty o f J ohannes bu r g , a l be i t po t en t i a l l y a d i f f i cu l t a r ea f o r tou r i s m deve l -

opm en t , does have a nu m ber o f pos i t ive a ss e t s t ha t c an be h a r nes s ed t o p r ov i de

t he bas i s f o r t he r ev i va l o f t ou r is m ac t iv i ty , m or e e s pec i a l l y a s pa r t o f w i de r s e ts

o f o n g o i n g i n i t ia t i v e s f o r e c o n o m i c a n d p h y s i c a l r e g e n e r a t i o n ( C i t y o f

Urban Forum Vol. 16 Nos. 2-3 April-September 2005.

214

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T o u r is m P r o m o t i o n i n D i f fi c ul t A r e a s 2 1 5

Johan nesbu rg , 2004) . Thi s a r t i c l e i s o rgani sed in to four unev en sec t ions of d i s-

cuss ion .

First, as context, the internationa l record of promo ting tourism in inner-cities, in

part icular l inked to w ider objectives and programmes of ec onom ic regeneration,

is surveyed.

Second, a review is und ertak en o f w ider strategic initiatives for growing tourism

in Johannesburg and o f specific initiatives around inner-city regeneration.

Third, an historical analysis is presented of shif ts in the tourism econo m y o f in-

ner-c ity Johannesburg over the last 15 years.

F ou r , a d etailed profi le is give n of the current s tate o f tourism in Johannesburg

inner-city. Th is analysis draw s up on a review o f existing docum entation and im -

portantly from the findings of focused interviews that were conducted during

2004 w ith key stakeholders and tourism product owners co ncerning tourism de-

velopmen ts in the inner-city.

I N N E R C I T Y T O U R I S M : T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E C O R D

T our i s m i n c i t ie s and t ou r i s m p r om ot i on o f i nne r - c it i e s i s no t a ne w p hen om -

e n o n ( H o f f m a n

e t a L ,

2003) . I n s eek i ng t o p r omo t e t ou r i s m i n t he i nne r - c i t y o f

J o h a n n e s b u r g o n e c a n l e a r n fr o m t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f m a n y o t h e r c i t i e s - - m a i n l y i n

W e s te r n E u ro p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a - - w h i c h h a v e s o u g h t t o u n d e r ta k e s i m i l a r

t ypes o f t ou r i sm deve l opm en t . In pa r t icu l a r, the expe r i ence o f J ohan nes bu r g f i nds

c l o se p a r a l le l s w i t h t he p r o m o t i o n o f u r b a n t o u r is m a s p a r t o f p r o g r a m m e s t o

m ee t w i de r ob j ec t i ve s o f econ om i c and phys i ca l r egene r a t ion (L aw , 1991, 1992,

1993 , 1996 ). F o r C h ang and H uang ( 2004 : 22 6 - 22 7 ) t he r e - emer gence o f t he

c i t y a s a t ou r i s t l u r e is exp l a i ned a s pa r t o f a w i de r s ea chang e i n con s um er

dem and a t a g l oba l l eve l w i t h e s ca l a t ing demand s by t ou r is t s f o r u r ban s i gh t s

and her i t age c i t ies .

T o u r i s m a s a T o ol f o r U r b a n R e g e n e r a t i o n

A s a r e s u l t o f g l oba l economi c r e s t r uc t u r i ng and t he dec l i ne o f t r ad i t i ona l

m anuf ac t u r i ng ac t iv i t ie s i n ma ny c i t i e s o f t he dev e l oped w or ld , m any u r ban gov -

e r nm en t s have t u r ned t o t ou r i s m as one e l em en t o f s t ra t egi e s f o r econ om i c r e -

g e n e r a t i o n , r e s t r u c t u r i n g a n d l o c a l e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t ( L a w , 1 9 9 6 ;

Beauregard , 1998; C oles , 2003) . F or Ho yle (2001) , u rba n tour i sm i s s e t to be a

m ajo r 21 s t cen tu ry indus t ry .

I n u n d e r s t a n d i n g th e p h e n o m e n o n o f u r b a n t o u r is m , F a g e n c e ( 2 0 04 ) a r g ue s

t h a t it m u s t b e a c k n o w l e d g e d a s t h e o u t c o m e o f c o m p l e x , i n t e r lo c k i n g d e c i s io n s

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2 1 6 U R B A N F O R U M

m a d e b y t h e i n v e s t m e n t a n d d e v e l o p m e n t ' in d u s t r y ' , p u b l ic a g e n c i e s a n d g o v -

e r n m e n t s o f v a r i o u s k i n d s a n d a t d i f fe r e n t l e v e ls . D e - i n d u s t r i a l i s a ti o n a n d g l o b a l

e c o n o m i c re s t ru c t u ri n g p r o v i d e d t h e i m p e t u s f o r f o r m e r m a n u f a c t u r i n g c i ti e s to

r e - c o n s t ru c t a n d r e - in v e n t th e m s e l v e s a s c e n t r es o f c o n s u m p t i o n ( J u dd , 1 99 5 ;

I o a n n i d e s , 2 0 0 3 ) . A s S c o t t ( 2 0 0 4 : 4 6 3 ) e m p h a s i s e s , a c r o s s u r b a n W e s t e r n E u -

r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a , t h e c u l tu r a l - p r o d u c t s i n d u s t r ie s , i n c l u d i n g t o u r i sm , a r e

s i g n i f i c a n t l y o n t h e r i se o f l at e a n d t h e y a r e n o t a b l y v i s i b l e as d r i v e r s o f l o c a l

e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . I n a d d it io n , th e n o t i o n o f t h e c it y as s p e c t a c le h a s b e e n

h a r n e s s e d f o r p u r p o s e s o f lo c a l d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h m a n y u r b a n a r ea s s e e k i n g to

r e v i v e t h e i r f o r tu n e s b y p r e s e n t i n g t h e m s e l v e s a s o f f e r in g a s p e c t a c u l a r c o n s u m p -

t iv e e x p e r i e n c e (C r e w e , 1 9 9 1; G a r c ia , 2 0 0 4 ) .

F o r c it ie s c o n f r o n t e d b y t h e c h a l l e n g e s o f th e s e r v i c e e c o n o m y a n d i n f o r m a -

t i o n a g e , t o u r i s m p r o v i d e s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e - p o s it i o n th e m s e l v e s a n d r e - d e -

f i n e t h e i r e s s e n t i a l f u n c t io n s ( K i n g , 2 0 0 4 ) . S e v e r a l p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s a r e a s s o c i a t e d

w i t h t o u r i s m - b a s e d r e g e n e r a ti o n . T h e s e i n c lu d e :

Ec ono m ic benefi ts .

There are a ran ge o f direct and indirect effects, such as jo b creation and

other wider econom ic benefits, the profits of which, it is ho pe d, w ill encourag e further

investment leading to a virtuous cycle of grow th (Law , 1991: 50).

Improved image:

Loca lities that are externally perceived as important and interesting visitor

destinations (as a resu lt of marke ting and tourism-led physical and en vironme ntal improv e-

men ts) tend to be significantly better placed to a ttract new businesses and industries as well

as an appropriate wo rkforce (Karski, 1990 : 15). The enhan cem ent o f image is often a criti-

cal b enefit for tourism-led regeneration (Bradley

et al . ,

2002; Han

et a l.,

2003; Chang and

Hua ng, 2004).

Improved quality o f l ife fo r residents:

Tou rism based regeneration also includes improv e-

me nts and be tter access for local residents to new leisure facilities. In association with this

trend, as the tempo o f visitor flow s is increased, residents may gain civic pride that m ight

have a further knock -on effect for environm ental improve me nts (Law, 1996).

T h e e s s e n ti a l b a s is o f t o u r i s m - l e d e c o n o m i c re g e n e r a t i o n i s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t

a n d p r o m o t i o n o f n e w o r e n h a n c e d t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s o r a t tr a c ti o n s i n c it ie s ( H o y l e ,

2 0 0 1 ; P e a r c e , 2 0 0 1 ) . B a s e d u p o n t h e e x i s t i n g i n t e r n a t io n a l e x p e r i e n c e , at l e a st

e i g h t d i f f e r e n t to u r i s m - l e d a p p r o a c h e s t o w a r d s a t t a i n in g g o a l s o f u r b a n

rev i t a l i s a t i on a re r ec og n i se d ( s ee Law, 1993 ; P age , 1995 ; S w arb roo ke , 1999 , 2000) .

T h e s e s t ra t e g ie s a r e s u m m a r i s e d i n T a bl e 1. I t m u s t b e n o t e d th a t t h e p a r ti c u l a r

s t ra t e g y o r m i x o f s t r a te g i e s f o r a n y i n d i v i d u a l c i ty i s c l e a r l y i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e

c h a r a c t e r o f i ts s p e c i f i c t o u r i s m r e s o u r c e s t h a t c a n b e h a r n e s s e d f o r t o u r i s m m a r -

k e t i n g a n d p r o m o t i o n .

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T o u r i sm P r o m o t i o n i n ' D i ff i cu l t A r e a s 2 1 7

T a b l e 1

T o u r i s m L e d A p p r o a c h e s t o U r b a n R e g e n e r a t i o n

Vis i tor -a t t rac t ions : new ph ysica l attractions, such as waterfront developments,

new museums or casinos are used to attract tourists.

Cul tura l a t t rac t ions : expanding and using cultural attractions, such as the arts,

theatre or music in order to attract visitors.

E v e n t s : creating new festivals or attracting 'me ga-e ven ts' such as m ajor

festivals and sports events.

L e i s u r e s h o p p i n g : developing new shopp ing-retailing com plexes.

P r o m o t i n g t h e C i t y a s a h o s t v en ue .

attracting local and international fairs,

conferences and exhibitions.

Night l i f e : improving n ightlife in order to attract particularly youn ger tourists for

clubbing as part of creating a 24-hour city.

I n d u s t r i a l a t t r a c ti o n s :

redeveloping industrial attractions and related retail

outlets.

L o c a l f o o d a n d d r in k. promoting distinctive local cuisine

Source: Based upon Swarbrooke (1999, 2000)

L e i s u r e t o u r i s m i s t h e m o s t c o m m o n f o c u s f o r t o u r is m s t ra t eg i e s th a t l in k t o

economic regene ra t i on , pa r t i cu l a r l y o f i nne r -c i t i e s (Law, 2000) . In some c i t i e s

t h e e s s e n ti a l fo c u s h a s b e e n u p o n e n t e r t a in m e n t - b a s e d r e g e n e r a t i o n t h r o u g h c a -

s i n o s o r s p o r t s w i t h t h e U S c i t y o f D e t ro i t a c l a ss i c e x a m p l e ( Mc C a r t h y , 2 0 0 2 ) .

C u l tu r a l h e ri ta g e m a n a g e m e n t h a s b e e n a n i m p o r t a n t a s p ec t o f p r o m o t i n g n e w

i n n e r - c i t y t o u r i s m i n A s i a n c i ti e s su c h a s S i n g a p o r e ( C h a n g , 2 0 0 0 ) a n d H o n g

K o n g ( M c K e r c h er

e t a L ,

2 0 0 5 ) . T h e E n g l i s h c i ti e s o f Ma n c h e s t e r a n d L i v e r p o o l

p r o v i d e g o o d e x a m p l e s o f th e l i n k a g e s t h a t a re f o r g e d b e tw e e n t h e m a k i n g o f

' t o u r i s m c i t i e s ' a n d o f i n n e r - c i t y r e g e n e r a ti o n . I n t h e c a s e o f M a n c h e s t e r t h e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w s p o rt s f a c il it ie s , a n e w C h i n a t o w n d e v e l o p m e n t a n d G a y

V i l l a g e , a s w e l l as t h e e n c o u r a g e m e n t o f e n t e r t a in m e n t ( c lu b s ) a s p a r t o f a 2 4

h o u r c i t y p o l i c y h a v e a l l c o n t r i b u t e d to t o u r i s m a n d l e i s u r e -l e d r e g e n e r a t i o n

(Law, 2000; Hughes , 2003) . In L ive rpool , a r t s and cu l t u ra l p roduc t s t o a t t r ac t

t o u r i s m h a v e b e e n t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r i n n e r - c i ty r e g e n e r a ti o n i n i t ia t iv e s (C o u c h

a n d F a rr , 2 0 0 0 ). T h e g r o w t h o f t o u r i s m i n H a r l e m i n i n n e r - c i ty N e w Y o r k is a

f u r t h e r e x a m p l e o f to u r i s m t h a t is l i n k e d to i n n e r - c i ty r e g e n e r a t io n ( H o f f m a n ,

2 0 0 0 ) . T h e a s s e t s o f H a r l e m f o r t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t h a v e b e e n i t s 'c u l t u r a l

c a p i t a l ' a s a f o c u s o f A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n h i s t o r y a n d c u l tu r e a s w e l l as t h e a r e a 's

e n t e r t a i n m e n t a t tr a c ti o n s a n d s p e c ia l s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r j a z z ( H o f f m a n , 2 0 0 3 ) .

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2 1 8 U R B A N F O R U M

F o r m a n y c i ti es , t h e f o c u s w i th i n u r b a n t o u r is m p r o m o t i o n h a s b e e n t o c a p i ta l -

i se u p o n t h e ir p o te n t ia l f o r b u s i n e s s t r a ve l a n d t o u r is m ( S w a r b r o o k e a n d H o m e r ,

2 0 0 1 ) . T h e E n g l i s h c i t y o f B i r m i n g h a m p r o v i d e s , p e r h a p s , t h e b e s t e x a m p l e o f

u r b a n r e g e n e r a t io n t h a t i s l in k e d t o t a r g e te d p r o m o t i o n o f b u s i n e s s t o u r i s m a n d

o f th e m e e t i n g s t o u r i s m m a r k e t . I n t h e c a s e o f B i r m i n g h a m t h e k e y b a s i s f o r

s e ll in g t h e c i t y f o r c o n f e r e n c e t o u r is m w a s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n A m e r i c a n s ty l e

c o n v e n t i o n c e n t r e t o c o m p l e m e n t t h e c i t y ' s e x i s t i n g N a t i o n a l E x h i b i t i o n C e n t r e

( B r a d l e y

e t a l . ,

2 0 0 2 ) . A s n o t e d b y o n e o b s e r v e r , B i r m i n g h a m h a s n o w , a r g u -

a b l y e c l i p s e d L o n d o n a s t h e U K ' s t o p b u s i n e s s t o u r i s m e v e n t d e s t i n a t i o n

( S w a r b r o o k e , 1 9 9 9: 1 7 6) . A n o t h e r g o o d e x a m p l e o f i n n e r -c i ty t o u r is m t h a t h a s

b e e n b o o s t e d b y b u s in e s s t ra v e l is A d e l a i d e , S o u t h A u s t r a l ia w h e r e o n c e a g a i n

t h e b u i ld i n g o f a n e w c o n v e n t io n c e n t r e h a s b e e n c r it ic a l . F in a l ly , u s i n g e x a m p l e s

f r o m C a n a d a a n d A u s t r a l ia , H a l l ( 2 0 0 2 ) d r a w s a t t e n ti o n t o t h e p o t e n t ia l f o r b u s i -

n e s s t r a v e l in r e l a t i o n t o t h e f u n c t i o n o f n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l c it y.

I n v e s t m e n t i n S e c o n d a r y o r 'S o f t E l e m e n t s

I t i s c l e a r f r o m a c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f e x p e r i e n c e o f to u r i s m i n E u r o p e a n i n n e r -

c it ie s t h a t s u c c e s s fu l u r b a n t o u r i s m i s n o t g u a r a n t e e d m e r e l y b y t h e p o s s e s s io n o f

a g o o d s e t o f to u r i s m r e s o u r c e s o r a s s e t s ( P e a r c e , 1 9 9 8 ; R u s s o a n d V a n d e r B o r g ,

2 0 0 2 ) . R a t h e r , t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t r e q u i r e s a l s o t h a t a t t e n t i o n b e a c c o r d e d t o

a d d r e s s i n g t h e i n ta n g i b le s o f ' v i s i t o r - f r i e n d l i n e s s ' a n d t o a n u m b e r o f b a s i c c o n -

d i t io n s r e g a r d i n g t h e q u a l i t y o f h o s p i t a l i t y in c l u d i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h t h e

p u b l i c , th e ' a t m o s p h e r e ' o f t h e p l a c e , a c c e s s ib i l it y o f t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s , a n d s a f e t y

i s s u e s ( L a w , 1 9 9 6 ; R u s s o a n d V a n d e r B o r g , 2 0 0 2 ) .

I n s u r v e y i n g a r a n g e o f i n t e r n a ti o n a l c a s e s t u d i e s o f c i ti e s t h a t h a v e v a r i o u s l y

s o u g h t t o l in k t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f i n n e r -c i ty t o u r i s m t o is s u e s o f e c o n o m i c a n d

p h y s i c a l r e g e n e ra t io n , a n i m p o r t a n t o b s e r v a t i o n c a n b e m a d e a b o u t th e i m p o r -

t a n c e o f g e o g r a p h i c a n d c o n c e p t u a l c l u s te r i n g . A s h a s b e e n a r g u e d , s u c c e s s f u l

i n n e r- c it y to u r i s m i n W e s t er n E u r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a h a s b e e n a n c h o r e d u p o n

a n a p p r o p r i a t e b l e n d o f t w o s e t s o f t o u r i s m r e s o u r c e s . F i rs t , a r e th e p r i m a r y e l e -

m e n t s , w h i c h a r e t h o se t h a t a t tr a c t p e o p l e a n d c o n s is t v a r io u s l y o f m u s e u m s , a r t

g a l l e r i e s , c o n c e r t h a l l s , e n t e r t a i n m e n t , h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g s , a n d s p e c i a l e v e n t s

( J a n s e n - V e r b e k e , 1 9 8 5 , 1 9 8 6 ) . S e c o n d a r y e l e m e n t s t h a t e n h a n c e t h e s e a t t r a c -

t io n s o r a s s i s t i n t h e p r o c e s s o f a t t r a c ti n g t o u r is t s i n c lu d e s h o p p i n g , a c c o m m o d a -

t i on and res t au ran t f ac i l i t i e s (Law, 1992 , 1996) .

M o s t s u c c e s s f u l u r b a n t o u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t s h a v e s e e n t h e s p a t i a l c l u s t e r i n g

o f t h e s e p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y r e s o u r c e s i n t o t o u r i s m d i s tr ic t s. I n d e e d , a c o m -

m o n a p p r o a c h t o w a r d s t o u r is m - l e d e c o n o m i c r e g e n e r a t i o n h a s b e e n t h r o u g h t h e

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Tour i sm Pro m ot ion i n Di jf icu lt Are as 21 9

p l a n n i n g o f t o u r i s m p r e c i n c t s , w h i c h r e p r e se n t c o n c e n t r a ti o n s o r c lu s t er s o f

t o u r i s t -r e l a t e d l a n d u s e s , a c t iv i ti e s a n d v i s it a t io n w i t h i n f a i r ly d e f i n a b l e b o u n d -

a r i es (P earce , 1998 ; Ha y l l a r an d Gr i f f i n , 2005) . Tour i sm p rec inc t s gene ra l l y ev ince

a d i st in c t iv e c h a r a c t e r b y v i r t u e o f t h e i r m i x t u r e o f l a n d u s e s , s u c h a s r e s t a u r a n t s ,

a t t ra c t i o n s a n d n i g h t li f e , t h e i r p h y s i c a l a n d a r c h i te c t u r a l f a b r i c o r c o n n e c t i o n s t o

pa r t i cu l a r cu l t u ra l o r e t hn i c g rou ps w i th in c it ie s ( J ansen -V erbeke , 1986 ; C o nfo r t i ,

1996) .

The c rea t i on o f t ou r i sm d i s tr i c ts o r c lu s t e r s has s evera l advan t ag es (S co t t , 2004) .

T h e s e c l u s t e r s c a n b e b a s e d a r o u n d b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t i e s , e n t e r t a i n m e n t d i s t r i c t s ,

m u s e u m s , c u l t u ra l d i s tr i c ts o r q u a r t e r s. C l u s t e r s a ll o w t h e u s e o f s h a r e d i n f r a -

s t r u c tu r e , p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a n d a c c e s s r o a d s a n d l e a d t o g r e a t e r v i s ib i l it y o f t o u r -

i s m r e s o u r c e s o r p r o d u c ts . M o r e o v e r, t h e p h y s ic a l p r o x i m i t y o f a n u m b e r o f t o u r is m

p r o d u c t s p r o v i d e s v i s it o r s w i t h a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e n g a g e i n m u l t ip l e a c t iv i ti e s i n

a s h o r t p e r i o d o f t i m e ( L a w , 2 0 0 0 ) . I n c a s e s o f c i ti e s w h e r e t h e r e d o e s n o t o c c u r

a n u m b e r o f a tt r a c ti o n s w i t h i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y , th e m o s t a p p r o p r i a t e s t r a t e g y i s

t h a t o f r o u t in g . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e m e d r o u t e s t o a tt r a c t v i s i to r s a n d t o u r is t s

i s a m e a n s to m a k e d i s p e r s e d f a c i l it ie s a p p e a r a s a c l u s t e r w i t h t h e e x p l ic i t

i n te n t io n o f d r a w i n g m o r e v i si to r s a s a r e s u lt o f t h e se t h e m e d r o u t e s ( V a n A a l s t

a n d B o o g a a r t s , 2 0 0 2 ) .

T H E J O H N N E S B U R G P L N N I N G C O N T E X T

A t o n e l ev e l, t h e p r o m o t i o n o f to u r i s m a s p a r t o f th e r e g e n e r a t i o n o f i n n e r - c it y

J o h a n n e s b u r g m u s t b e p a r t o f w i d e r s t ra t e g ic p l a n n i n g f o r th e g r o w t h o f to u r i s m

i n J o h a n n e s b u r g a s a w h o l e ( R o g e r s o n , 2 0 0 4 b ) . I n a d d i ti o n , p l a n n i n g f o r t o u r i s m

i n t h e i n n e r - c i t y m u s t b e l o c a t e d w i t h i n a n d l i n k e d t o o t h e r o n g o i n g s t r a t e g i c

i n it ia t iv e s r e l a t i n g t o t h e e c o n o m i c a n d p h y s i c a l r e g e n e r a t i o n o f th e i n n e r - c i t y

( F i g u r e 1 ). T h e w i d e r s t r a te g i c p l a n n i n g i n t e r v e n t i o n s t h a t i m p a c t u p o n t o u r i s m

i n i n n e r - c i t y J o h a n n e s b u r g a r e d i s c u s s e d h e r e .

J o b u r g 2 0 3 0

T h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t c i t y d e v e l o p m e n t f r a m e w o r k f o r J o h a n n e s b u r g i s t h a t

p r o v i d e d b y t h e i m p o r t a n t J o b u r g 2 0 3 0 d o c u m e n t w h i c h w a s i ss u e d b y t h e c it y s

C o r p o r a t e P l a n n i n g U n i t ( G J M C , 2 0 0 2 ) . B y 2 0 3 0 t h e c o re g o a l s a r e t o e le v a te

J o h a n n e s b u r g i n to t h e r a n k s o f w o r l d c it ie s w i t h a s tr o n g ly o u t w a r d - o r i e n te d

e c o n o m y , s p e c i a li s e d i n t h e s e r v i c e s e c to r , a n d e x h i b i ti n g s t r o n g e c o n o m i c g r o w t h

t h a t d e l i v e r s i n c r e a s i n g s t a n d a r d s o f l i v in g a n d q u a l i t y o f li f e t o a l l t h e c i t y s

i n h a b i ta n t s . O f c e n t r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e s t ra t e g i c p l a n n i n g p r o p o s e d f o r t h e

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22 URBAN FORUM

F i g u r e 1 : L o c a t i o n o f th e I n n e r C i ty A r e a o f J o h a n n e s b u r g

c i t y i s t he e ndo r s e me n t o f t a r ge t ed o r s e l ec t e d s e c to r a l i n t e r ve n t ions t ha t w ou l d

be m a de by t he c i t y a u tho r i t ie s i n o r de r t o e nha n c e e c onom i e s o f loc a l i s a t i on

( R oge r s on , 2005 ) . T he a na l y s i s i de n t i f i e s t he h i gh - s k i l l a nd k now l e dge - ba s e d

f i na nc i a l a nd bus i ne s s s e r v i c e s s e c t o r as t ha t s e c t o r w h i c h r a nke d m os t s t r ong l y

on t he ba s i s o f r e l a ti ve a t tr a c ti ve ne s s a nd c om pe t i ti ve ne s s fo r a u gm e n t i ng t he

f u tu r e e c ono m i c de ve l opm e n t o f J oha nne s bu rg . N e ve r t he l es s , w ha t i s s i gn i f i c a n t

a l so i s t ha t t ou r i s m w a s i de n t i f i e d a m ong t he s ma l l g r oup o f o t he r t a r ge te d s e c -

tor s (Roge rson , 2004 a ) .

I t w a s a r gue d t ha t t he c it y ' s t ou r i s m i ndus t r y a nd e c on om y i s s ubs t a n t ia l l y

la rge in abso lu te and re la t ive te rms , and exhib i t s suf f i c ien t g rowth po ten t i a l tha t

i t is a n i m por t a n t s e c t o r fo r t he ove r a ll e c onom y o f t he c i t y . O ve r a l l, t ou r i s m

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Tourism Prom otion in Difficult Areas 221

was v iewed as a sec tor tha t can becom e a more im por tan t p layer in the Ci ty ' s

econ om y (GJM C, 2001: 72) and thus wa s selected for target ing.

The Johannesburg Inner-c i ty Regenerat ion S t ra tegy Bus iness P lan

The Johannesburg Inner -Ci ty Regenera tion St ra tegy Bus iness P lan 2 004 -2007

was pub l i shed by the C i ty of Johannesburg in M arch 2004. The im por tance of

th i s Bus iness P lan i s tha t i t se rves to synchronise the e f fort s of a l l ag en c ie s - -

local , provincial and nat ional government , the pr ivate sector , NGOs and civi l

soc ie ty- -u nde r the leadersh ip of the Ci ty of Johannesburg for the ac t ive regen-

erat ion o f the inner-ci ty. Th e B usiness Plan captures a l l the ong oing m ajor inner-

c i ty deve lopm ent in i tia t ives seeking to encourage imp roved coordina t ion of

ef fort s and m obi l i sa t ion o f resources , be t te r ins t itu t iona l mana gem ent and iden-

t i f icat ion o f areas for a t tent ion (City o f Johannesb urg, 2004a: 3).

The k ey e lem ents f rom the Inner -Ci ty Regenera tion St ra tegy bus iness p lan

and Bus iness P lan tha t impact upon the deve lopm ent of an Inner -c i ty Tour i sm

Strategy are twofold. First , the strategic im po rtanc e o f the inn er-c ity as an eco-

nom ic asse t to the w ider p lanning goa l of deve loping Johannesburg as a wor ld-

class A fr ican ci ty is highl igh ted. Second, a f ive-p i l lar s t ra tegy (Figure 2 ) is a t the

heart o f this s trategic framew ork and seeks to raise and sustain private invest-

m ent (Ci ty o f Johannesburg , 2004a).

The f i rs t p i l l a r seeks to address the problem o f s inkholes tha t a re de f ined as

ei ther propert ies that are s lumm ed, abandoned, overcrowded, poorly m aintain ed

or use d for i l legal or unsu i table purpo ses (City of Johanne sburg, 2004a) . Th e

Figure 2: The Five Pil lars of the Johann esburg Inner-City Regen eration

Strategy Source: City of Johan nesbu rg, 2004a: 10)

Address

sinkholes

Intensive

urban

management

Mainta in /

Upgrade

infra

structure

Ripple pond

investments

Support

economic

sectors

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U R B A N F O R U M

s e c o n d p i ll a r i s t h a t o f i n te n s iv e u r b a n m a n a g e m e n t w h i c h i n v o lv e s f o c u s i n g

e f f o r ts to e n s u r e e f f e c ti v e b y - la w e n f o r c e m e n t , m a n a g e m e n t o f i n fo r m a l t r a d i n g ,

r e g u l a r o r i m p r o v e d d e l iv e r y o f s e r v ic e s a n d u t i li ti es a n d m a i n t e n a n c e o f th e

p u b l ic r e a l m . P r iv a t e e x a m p l e s o f s u c h in t en s iv e u r b a n m a n a g e m e n t a r e s e e n a s

t h e C i t y I m p r o v e m e n t D i s t r i c t s a n d C C T V s u r v e i l l a n c e p r o g r a m m e s w h e r e a s

p u b l i c - s e c t o r i n it ia t iv e s i n c l u d e t h e w o r k o f t h e I n n e r - c i t y T a s k F o r c e ( C i t y o f

J o h a n n e s b u r g , 2 0 0 4 a ) .

T h e t h ir d p i l la r i s p r i m a r i l y a f u n c t i o n o f t h e c i t y 's u t il i ty c o m p a n i e s a n d c o n -

c e r n s t h e m a i n t e n a n c e a n d i m p r o v e m e n t o f s e r v i c e d e l iv e r y in f r a s tr u c t u re , in -

c l u d i n g r o a d s , s t r e e t s i g n s a n d r o b o t s 1, w a t e r , s a n i ta t i o n a n d p o w e r n e t w o r k s a n d

w a s t e c o ll e c t io n p o i n t s . T h e f o u r t h p i l l a r i s t h e p r o m o t i o n o f s o - t e r m e d r i p p l e

p o n d in v e s t m e n t s w h i c h a r e d e f 'm e d a s c a t a l y t ic , c o n c e r t e d i n v e s t m e n t s i n p r o p -

e r t y t h a t c r e a t e c o n f i d e n c e f o r f u r t h e r i n v e s t m e n t i n a d j a c e n t a r e a s . T h e e x -

a m p l e s o f s u c h r i p p le p o n d i n v e s t m e n t s w o u l d b e e i t h e r p r i v a t e s e c t o r o r p u b li c

s e c t o r l e d i n it ia t iv e s s u c h a s th e B r a a m f o n t e i n R e g e n e r a t i o n , C o n s t i t u t io n H i l l o r

t h e N e w t o w n C u l t u r a l P r e c i n c t . T h e f i n a l p i l l a r r e l a t e s t o t a r g e t e d s u p p o r t f o r

s e l e c t e c o n o m i c s e c t o r s o f a c t i v i ty t h a t a r e o f c u r r e n t o r p o t e n t i a l i m p o r t a n c e t o

t h e g r o s s g e o g r a p h i c p r o d u c t o f t h e in n e r - c i ty ( C i t y o f Jo h a n n e s b u r g , 2 0 0 4 a ) .

E x a m p l e s o f t h e se i n it ia t iv e s w o u l d e n c o m p a s s T h e B u s i n e s s P l a c e , w h i c h s u p -

p o r t s y o u t h e n t r e p r e n e u r s a n d t h e n u r t u r i n g o f t h e i n n e r - c i ty F a s h i o n D i s t r ic t

( R o g e r s o n , 2 0 0 4 c ) .

The Joha nnesb urg Tour i sm S t ra t egy

I n 2 00 1 t h e c i ty p r e p a r e d a T o u r i s m S t r a te g y , w h i c h c u r r e n t l y ( J a n u a r y 2 0 0 5 )

i s i n a p r o c e s s o f u p d a t i n g ( G J M C , 2 0 0 1 ) . I t i s m a d e c l e a r in i n te r v i e w s c o n -

d u c t e d i n th i s r e s e a r c h , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e p r o c e s s o f u p d a t i n g a n d r e v i s io n w i l l

n o t c h a n g e i n a n y w a y th e k e y c o n c l u s i o n s f r o m t h e 2 0 0 1 a n a l y s is o r a f fe c t t h e

s t ra t e g i c d i re c t i o n s i d e n t i f ie d i n t h e 2 0 0 1 S t r a t e g y ( S a u n d e r s , 2 0 0 4 ) .

T h e T o u r i sm S t r a t e g y r e c o g n i se s t h a t J o h a n n e s b u r g d o e s n o t p o s s e s s a c o m -

p e t i ti v e a d v a n t a g e f o r th e p r o m o t i o n o f l e i su r e t o u r i sm . I n d e e d , in t e r m s o f S o u t h

A f r i c a ' s n in e p r o v i n c e s, G a u t e n g i s ra n k e d l a s t in t e r m s o f l e is u r e t o u r i s m b u t

s i g n i f i c a n t l y f i r s t a s a d e s t i n a t io n f o r b u s i n e s s t r a v e ll e r s. O f t h e s e b u s i n e s s t o u r -

i s ts , 6 6 p e r c e n t s p e n t a t l e a s t t w o n i g h t s i n J o h a n n e s b u r g w i th 8 9 p e r c e n t c o m i n g

t o t h e c i t y o n g e n e r a l b u s i n e s s a n d t h e r e m a i n i n g 1 1 p e r c e n t f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f

a t t e n d i n g a c o n f e r e n c e o r e x h i b it io n . T h e T o u r i s m S t r a t e g y i d e n t i f ie s t w o m a j o r

g r o w t h a r e a s a s d r iv e r s f o r J o h a n n e s b u r g ' s f u tu r e to u r i s m e c o n o m y b a s e d u p o n

a n a n a l y s i s o f t h e c i t y 's c o m p e t i ti v e a d v a n t a g e . T h e f i r s t o f th e s e i s t h e g e n e r a l

a r e a o f b u s i n e s s t o u r i s m w i t h a s p e c ia l f o c u s o n t h e M I C E s e c t o r o f m e e t i n g s ,

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T o u r i sm P r o m o t i o n i n ' D i ff ic u l t A r e a s 2 2 3

incentives, c onfe rence s an d exhibi t ions (Rogerso n, 2004b). R egiona l tourism and

the s t rengthening of Johannesburg ' s ro l e as a major shopping hub for sub-Sa-

haran A fr i ca represent the second pol i cy focus .

In term s o f overal l suppo rt for tourism from the m etropol i tan level o f govern-

m ent , the ci ty ' s tourism developm ent s t ra tegy ident i f ies a set of imp ortant devel -

o p m e n t i n t e r v e n t i o n s ( G J M C , 2 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 2 ) . I t i s r e c o g n i s e d t h a t t h e k e y

contr ibut ion the Counci l ca n di rect ly m ake to tourism in Johan nesbu rg i s to un-

de rtake ac t ivi ties that increase the flow o f tourists in the city. Three p otential

areas for intervent ion a nd sup port are noted. Fi rs t, to increase agg regate dem and

through m arket ing and other c i ty promo t ional init ia tives in order to increase vis i -

tor arr ivals . In term s o f re tai l tourism, the m arket ing o f the ci ty i s to be intensi-

f ied prior to planned pro mo t ional re tai l tourism w eeks.

An other cr i t ical e lemen t o f this c i ty m arket ing fo r tourism is to be focu ssed on

the s t rategy of ' land ing the big on e ' as regards large international con ferences. In

this respect , i t i s estimated that a conference such as the W orld Sum m it on Su s-

t a inable D evelopment genera tes in a s ing le f ive-day per iod as m uch va lue as

three mon ths o f average MIC E and g enera l bus iness tour ism in Johannesbu rg

(Vil joen, 2004). Second, to address issues raised as barriers to visi tat ion, the

mo st impor tan t i s known to concern i ssues o f c r ime an d safe ty of touri s ts in

Johannesburg (Ferre i ra and Harmse , 2000) . By address ing c r ime, the Counci l

wo uld be indi rect ly assis t ing tourism developm ent in the ci ty .

Finally, the role o f infrast ructure developm ent i s cr it ical in part icular for M IC E

and c ross-bo rder retai l tourism. Few faci l i ty gaps are seen current ly as o f urgen t

need in t e rms of the c i ty ' s s trength for MIC E tour i sm o ther than i ssues o f upgrad-

ing. In retail tourism, however, pro posals hav e been m ade for designat ing a po-

tent ia l re tai l hub tha t wo uld concent rate the goo ds an d services mo st frequen t ly

sought ou t b y Afr i can c ross-border shoppers .

T h e G a u t e n g T o u r i sm A u t h o r i t y s T o u r is m M a r k e t i n g P l a n 2 0 0 1 - 2 0 0 6

As wi th the ci ty ' s tourism st rategy, the provincial tourism market ing plan of

Gau teng for 200 1-06 seeks to re inforce met ropol it an Johannesburg ' s com pet i-

t ive base as an econom ic hub wi th wo rld class business infrast ructure and facil i-

t ies (G auten g Tourism Authori ty, 2003). Th e plan focu ses part icularly on grow ing

the domest i c bus iness ma rke t , in ter a l ia , by add ing value to the overal l busines s

experience b y focusing on st rategies and init ia t ives aime d at extending leng th of

stay, mot ivat ing the consumpt ion of diverse products , inf luencing percept ions

(part icularly o f Johan nesburg ) an d developing st rategic partnerships w i th de-

m a nd gene ra t o r s (K PM G , 2001 : 6 ).

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4 URBAN FOR UM

I n l in e w i t h th e C i ty ' s f o c u s o n m a x i m i s i n g t h e i m p a c t s o f r e g io n a l t o u r i s m

f l o w s , t h e G T A s e e s t h a t t h e A f r i c a n b u s i n e s s m a r k e t i s a l u c r a ti v e o n e a n d

r e p r e s e n t s t h e c o r e b a s e to b u i l d u p o n i n r e la t i o n t o t h e s t re n g t h o f e x i s t i n g

t ra v e l p a t t e rn s a n d p r o d u c t c o n s u m p t i o n ( K P M G , 20 0 1 : 8) .

I t i s s i g n i fi c a n t th a t G T A m a r k e t i n g r e c o g n i se s t h a t t h e g r o w t h o f t h e M I C E

m a r k e t is a s t r a te g i c p r i o r it y f o r c r e a t in g b o t h i n t e r n a ti o n a l a n d d o m e s t i c a w a r e -

n e s s , p o s i t i o n i n g t h e c i t y ( J o h a n n e s b u r g ) a s t h e p r e f e r r e d m e e t i n g s d e s t i n a t i o n

s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e p r o v i n c i a l t o u r i s m p r o d u c t a n d c r e a t i n g s t r a te g i c lo c a l , p r o v i n -

c i a l a n d n a t io n a l m a r k e t a n d p r o d u c t l i n k a g e s ( K P M G , 2 0 0 1 : 1 4 ). I t i s w i t h i n

t h is c o n t e x t o f w i d e r t o u r is m p l a n n i n g f o r G a u t e n g a n d f o r J o h a n n e s b u r g i n p a r-

t ic u l a r, t h a t a to u r i s m p r o m o t i o n s t r a t e g y f o r th e i n n e r - c i t y m u s t b e s it u a te d .

T H E H I S T O R I C A L D E C L I N E A N D C H A N G I N G F A C E O F T O U R I S M

I N J O H A N N E S B U R G I N N E R C I T Y

U n t il th e e a r l y 1 9 9 0 s J o h a n n e s b u r g i n n e r - c it y w a s o n e o f t h e m a j o r f o c a l p o i n t s

f o r t o u r i s m e n t e r p r i s e s w i t h i n t h e G J M A ( R o g e r s o n , 2 0 0 2 ) . H i s t o r ic a l ly , th e in -

n e r - c i t y d e v e l o p e d a s a c l u s t e r f o r b u s i n e s s t o u r i s m , a s w e l l a s f o r sp e c i a l is t s h o p -

p i n g a n d e n t e r ta i n m e n t a c t iv i ti e s. O f p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e w a s th e g r o u p o f h o t e l,

r e t a i l a n d t r a v e l - r e l a t e d e n t e r p r i s e s t h a t c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e C B D , p a r t i c u l a r l y

a r o u n d t h e C a r l t o n H o t e l ( F i g u r e 1 ) . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e B e r e a a n d H i l l b r o w a r e a s

t r a d it io n a l ly a l s o f u n c t i o n e d a s i m p o r t a n t z o n e s f o r a c c o m m o d a t i o n a n d t o u r i s m

e n t e r t a i n m e n t .

O v e r th e p a s t 15 y e a r s t h e in n e r - c i ty t o u r is m e c o n o m y w e a k e n e d a n d h a s b e e n

o v e r t a k e n b y th e m o m e n t u m o f n e w e r d e c e n t r a li s e d t o u r i s m n o d e s i n t h e n o rt h -

e r n p a r t s o f G r e a t e r J o h a n n e s b u r g ( F i g u r e 1 ). L o c a l it ie s s u c h a s S a n d t o n , R o s e b a n k

a n d F o u r w a y s a r e th e c i ty 's ' n e w t o u r is m s p a c e s ' , w h i c h h a v e b e n e f i t e d f r o m t h e

g r o w t h t a k i n g p l a c e i n th e o v e r a ll to u r i s m e c o n o m y o f J o h a n n e s b u r g ( R o g e r s o n ,

2 0 0 4 b ) . T h e w e a k e n i n g o f th e c l u s t e r is l in k e d t o t h e e x o d u s o f o f f i c e a n d r e t a i l

a c t iv i ti e s to d e c e n t r a l i s e d p r o p e r t y n o d e s , s u c h a s S a n d t o n a n d R o s e b a n k

( R o g e r s o n , 1 9 9 5 ), a n d a c c e l e r a t e d b y a n a s s o c i a t e d r i s e in le v e l s o f c r im e a n d

v i o l e n c e i n t h e i n n e r - c i t y , w h i c h h a s n e g a t i v e l y i m p a c t e d u p o n t o u r i s m . B y t h e

e a r l y 1 9 9 0 s d e m a n d f o r f o u r o r f i v e - s ta r h o t e l a c c o m m o d a t i o n i n J o h a n n e s b u r g

i n n e r - c i t y w a s c o l l a p s i n g a s t h e f o c u s f o r in t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t s a n d t h e b u s i n e s s

t o u r i s m e c o n o m y g r a v i t a t e d s p a t i a l l y f r o m t h e i n n e r - c i t y t o R o s e b a n k a n d i n -

c r e a s i n g l y to w a r d s S a n d t o n ( R o g e r s o n , 2 0 0 2 ) . I n a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f t o u r i s t s ' p e r -

c e p t io n a n d r is k o f c ri m e i n S o u t h A f r i c a , it w a s c o n c l u d e d t h a t m o s t f o r e i g n

v i s it o r s s ta y a w a y f r o m C e n t r a l J o h a n n e s b u r g b e c a u s e i t s c r i m e r e p u t a t i o n s c a r e s

p e o p l e ( F e r r e i r a a n d H a r m s e , 2 0 0 0 : 8 4 ) . I n d e e d , i t w a s r e c o r d e d t h a t i n 1 99 5 th e

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T o u r is m P r o m o t i o n i n ' D i f f i c u h A r e a s 2 2 5

occupancy l eve l s a t t he C a r l t on had f a l l en t o 35 pe r cen t ( a s compar ed t o t he

S and t on S un w h i ch w as ope r a t i ng a t occu panc y leve l s o f 80 pe r cen t o r be t t e r)

a n d i t i s o n l y o n c e t h e S a n d t o n S u n h a s n o v a c a n c i e s l e f t t h a t p e o p l e b o o k i n to

t he C a r l t on ( H un t e r e t a L , 1995: 132).

T h e d e c l in e a n d c h a n g i n g n a t u re o f t h e t o u r is m e c o n o m y o f t h e i n n e r - c it y c a n

be a t t r ibu ted to severa l f ac tor s . F i rs t , i s the in f lu enc e of o f f i c e and re ta i l in g

decen t r a l is a t i on and t he exodus f r om t he i nn e r - c i t y o f s uch ac t i v i ti e s t o S and t on

and R o s eban k ( R oge r s on , 1995 ). I n t he 1995 J ohannes bu r g I nne r - C i t y S t r a teg i c

F r amew or k ana l y s i s i t w as obs e r ved t ha t t he w i des p r ead pe r cep t i on t ha t t he

i nne r - c i t y ho t e l s a re l oca t ed i n an ' un s a f e ' en v i r onm en t and t ha t once a pe r s on

has check ed i n t o one o f t he s e ho t e l s he / s he bas i ca l l y beco m es a p r i s one r w i t h i n

t ha t bu i ld i ng , to a l a rge ex t en t accoun t s f o r t he poo r pe r f o r m ance o f t he s e ho t e l s

( H un t e r e t aL , 1 9 9 5 : 1 3 1 ) . I nd e e d, a c o m p a r i so n o f o c c u p a n c y l e v e ls o f i n n e r-

c i t y J ohannes b u r g ho t e l s w i t h t hos e ou t s ide t he c i t y d i s c lo s ed s t a r k d i f f e rences

i n o c c u p a n c y ( H u n t e r e t a l . , 1995) . A n o t he r s i gna l o f t he dem i s e o f t he t ou r i s m

e c o n o m y o f t h e i n n e r -c i ty w a s r e l o c a ti o n fr o m t h e re o f m a n y r e st a ur a n ts t o n e w e r

decen t r a l i s ed r e t a il i ng a r ea s ( H un t e r e t a l . , 1995: 135).

S i nce the ea r l y 1990s the r e has been a s t r ong t ende ncy am ongs t m an y s ma l l e r

and o l de r ho t e ls i n J ohannes bu r g i nne r - c i t y t o change t he i r em phas i s f r om b e i ng

es t ab li s hmen t s o f fe r i ng p r edom i nan t l y acco m m oda t i on to becom i ng l i quo r -dom i -

n a t e d e s ta b l is h m e n t s. A n o t h e r e l e m e n t o f r e ad j u s tm e n t h a s b e e n t h e v o l u n t a r y

dow ngr ad i ng o f s eve r a l e s t ab l i s hmen t s i n o r de r t o enhance occupancy l eve l s .

T h e l a c k o f in v e s t m e n t i n n e w t o u r is m p r o d u c t s a n d t h e d i s i n v e st m e n t f ro m t h e

C B D o f l e a d i n g h o t e l c h a i n s h a v e b e e n f u r th e r m a n i f e s t a ti o n s o f t h e s p ir a l o f

dec l i ne . I n 1993 t he do w n gr ad i ng t ook p l ace o f t he f i ve - s t a r J ohanne s bu r g S u n

I n t e r na t i ona l ( bu i l t on l y i n 1986) t o a t h r ee - s ta r H o l i day I nn G ar d en C our t a s a n

adjus tm ent in r esponse to the sh i f t ing inner -c i ty tour i sm m arke t (M langeni , 1997).

M os t i mpor t an t ly , t he dem i s e o f the J ohanne s bu r g i nne r - c i ty t ou r i s m c l u s t e r i s

m ar ke d by t he p r og r e s s i ve ly r undo w n a nd s ubs equen t c l o s u r e du r i ng A pr i l 1998

o f the c i ty 's p res t ig ious and form er f ive- sta r Car l ton Hote l , an i c on o f Johannesburg

(Shevel , 1998) .

A s ea r l y a s t he m i d - 1 99 0s i t w as ev i den t t ha t c e r t a in i mpor t an t change s w er e

occu r r i ng i n t he na t u r e o f v i s i t o r f l ow s and pa t t e r n s o f t ou r i s m i n t o J oha nnes bu r g

inner -c ity . F i r st , i t was ob served in 1995 tha t wh ereas in the pas t m os t o f the

ho t e l s ca t e r ed a l mos t s o l e l y fo r the w h i t e s ec t o r o f t he dom es t i c and i n t e r na t i ona l

m arke t , there has b een a sub s tan t i a l sh i f t away f rom th i s t rend , par t i cu la r ly for

t hos e ho t e ls l oca t ed i n t he i nne r - c i ty ( H un t e r e t a l . , 1995: 132) . The nature of

t h i s s h i ft w as ex p l a i ned t hus : H o t e l m anag e r s i n t he c i t y r epo r t tha t i n s o f a r a s a

dom es t i c t rend ex i s ted yea r s ago f o r w h i te s t o com e t o t he c i t y cen tr e ove r w eek -

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2 2 6 U R B A N F O R U M

ends e i the r for soc ia l r ea sons , sho pp ing or to a t t end spor t ing or o the r event s , th i s

t r e nd ha s t o a l a r ge e x t e n t be e n t a ke n ove r by t he A f r i c a n s e c to r o f t he popu l a t i on

w h i c h ha s the f ina nc i a l m e a ns to do s o ( H un t e r

e t a l .

1995: 133).

T he i nne r - c i t y t ou r i s m e c o nom y ha s w i t ne s s e d t he r e p l a c e me n t o f l ei s u r e t ou r-

i s m w i t h M I C E t ou ri s m. I n pa r t ic u l a r, t he re ha s b e e n a r e po s i t ion i ng tow a r ds

a t tr a c ti ng t he M I C E m a r ke t f o r pa r t i c u l a rl y t hos e ho t e l s s i t ua te d on t he bo r de r s

o f t he C B D . I ndee d , t he se a r c h fo r n i c h e s i n bus i ne s s t ou r i s m w a s r e f l e ct e d i n

t h e D e v o n s h i r e H o t e l e s t a b l i s h i n g i t s e l f a s a b u s i n e s s / c o r p o r a t e h o t e l , th e

Pa r k t on i a n a t tr a c ti ng a l a rge p r opo r t i on o f pe op l e f r om t he de ve l o pm e n t i ndus -

t r y a nd the ( f o rme r ) K a r os J oha nne s b u r ge r s e c u r ing a l l t he bus i ne s s w h i c h

s t e ms f r om t he tr a de un i ons inc l ud i ng bus i ne s s lunc he s a nd c on f e r e nc e s ( H un t e r

e t a L

1995: 133) . I t should be no ted tha t in a contex t o f the r ap id gro wth o f the

M ICE sector o f bus iness touri sm, the CBD was poor ly pos i t ioned in t e rms o f com-

pe t i ng f o r t h i s g r ow i ng ma r ke t , no t l e a s t due t o t he l i mi t e d r a nge o f s ma l l sc a le

conference fac i l it ies ha t were recorded as opera ting there (Hunter e t a l . 1995:138) .

F i na ll y , a no t he r i mp or t a n t s h i f t t ha t w a s i nc r e a s i ng l y i n e v i de nc e c on -

c e r ns t he a ppe a r a nc e a n d s ubs t a n ti a l g r ow t h i n t he 1990s o f f l ow s o f re g i ona l

t ou r is t s, a nd e s pe c i a l ly o f c r o s s -bo r de r s hoppe r s f r om o t he r pa r ts o f s ub - Sa ha r a n

A f r i c a ( R oge r s on , 2004d) . T he s t re a m o f r e g iona l tou r i s ts f r om o t he r c oun t r i e s i n

sub-S aha ran Af r ica was f i r s t no t i ced in the ea r ly 1990s . In 1992 i t was o bse rve d

t ha t: A v i s i t t o J oha nne s bu r g ' s bus a n d l ong - d i s t a nc e m i n i - bus te r mi nus e s i nd i -

c a t e t he h i gh l e ve ls o f bus i ne s s w h i c h r e s i de n t s o f ne i ghb our i ng s t a te s b r i ng t o

J oha nne s bu r g a s t r a ve ll e rs c r a m i n huge qua n t i t ie s o f c ons u m e r a nd e l e c t r i ca l

goo ds ( C i t y o f J oha nne s bu r g , 199 2 : 11 ) .

O v e r a l l, t h e r e f o re , t h e p r e c ip i t a te d e c l i n e o f th e t o u r i s m e c o n o m y o f

J oha nne s bu r g i nne r - c it y w a s pa r t o f b r oa de r p r oc e s s e s o f s pa ti a l c ha nge t a k i ng

p l a c e a c r os s t he c it y. T he d r a ma t i c w e a ke n i n g o f t h i s ' o l d ' t ou r i s m s pa c e o f

J oha nne s bu r g w a s m a n i f e s t in a s i t ua t ion o f unde r - inve s t me n t in t he e x i s t i ng

t ou r i s m p l a n t , l a c k o f i nve s t m e n t in ne w t ou r i s m p r oduc ts , d i s inve s t me n t s tr at e-

g i e s by l e a d i ng ho t e l c ha i n s , t he dow ngr a d i ng o f s ome e s t a b l i s hme n t s a nd t he

c l o s u re o r m o t hb a l l i ng o f o t he r s. A l l t he s e s h i ft s w e r e oc c u r r i ng a ga i n s t the ba c k -

d r op o f , a nd l i nke d i n s e pa r a b l y to , s e ve ra l f unda m e n t a l s h i ft s i n t he c ha r a c t e r o f

tour i s m f lows in to the inne r -c ity .

T H E C U R R E N T S TA TE O F JO H A N N E S B U R G I N N E R - C I T Y S

T O U R IS M E C O N O M Y

T he d i s c us s i on tum s now t o e xa m i ne i n g r e a t e r de ta i l t he p r e s e n t s ta te o f the

t ou r i s m e c on om y o f J oha nn e s bu r g ' s inne r -c it y . T he a na l y s is he re i s d r aw n f r om

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Tourism Pro m otio n in Di ff icult Area s ' 22 7

t he resu l ts o f in t e rv iews tha t were conducted wi th tour i sm p roduct owners a nd

s takeholders dur ing the per iod M arch-Apr i l 2004. Other re levant docum entary

source material supplements these f indings. The research on tourism in the in-

ner-ci ty soug ht to invest igate the fol lowing them es, in ter al ia , current t rends in

t e rms of the na ture of tour ism f lows, the purpose of tour ism and or ig ins of tour-

i st s; and, opportuni t ies and const raints on the ne w tourism econ om y of the in-

ner-city.

T h e S i ze a n d P r o f i l e o f th e J o h a n n e s b u r g T o u r is m M a r k e t

A ccurate s ta ti s tics on vis i tor a t tract ions, tourism flows into Johan nesbu rg a nd

o f the im por tance of tour i sm to the urba n eco nom y are d i f f i cu lt to ob ta in . For the

purp oses o f this s tudy, s ta t is t ics have been draw n from two sources. Fi rs t , a set of

unpubl ished research wo rks colla ted on be ha l f o f the Johannesburg Tourism Com -

pa ny a nd reported in an interview b y the ch ief executive off icer (Vi ljoen, 2004).

Second, i s base l ine research con ducted in 2002 for the Ci ty Depar tm ent o f M ar-

ket ing and Tourism (H aley Sha rpe S outhern Africa, 2003).

Ac cord ing to the Johannesburg Tour i sm Co mp any to ta l annual v i s ito r num -

bers to (G reater) Johanne sburg a re est imated as 6 .2 mi l l ion (Vi ljoen, 2004). This

number i s broken down as fol lows: 3 mi l l ion domest ic touris t s , 2 mi l l ion re-

gional tourist s or vis itors from sub-S ahara n Africa, and 1.2 mi ll ion, internat ional

touris t s from long-haul dest inat ions, mainly in Western Europe. Other key fea-

tures of the Johannesburg tour i sm economy are tha t average tour i sm spend i s

calculated at R1300 per t r ip to Johannesburg. The highest est imated spend i s

from internat ional vis i tors , a value of R2400 per t r ip . By cont rast , the average

spend by domest i c tour is t s v is i ti ng Johannesburg f rom other par t s o f South Af-

r i ca is es t imated as R5 00-70 0, and i s lower because the major i ty of touri s ts a re

stayin g w ith friends o r relat ives. N o rel iable est im ates ca n be gleaned, how ever,

on pa t t e rns of spending in Johannesburg b y the l arge group o f c ross-border shop-

pers (Viljoen, 2004). Finally, S outh A frican Tourism s recen t Do me st ic Tourism

Gro wth S t rategy 2004--2007 st resses that 60 percent o f a l l dom est ic tourism in

South Afr ica is int ra-provincial, m ean ing that the m ajori ty o f dom est ic t ravel in

Gauteng i s genera ted f rom wi th in Gauteng (Rule

e t aL ,

2004; South Afr i can

Tourism, 2004).

Gauteng h as a h igher percentage of bus iness tour is t s (bo th in t erna t iona l and

dom est ic) than the rest o f South Africa an d a lower percentage o f le i sure touris ts .

A noth er importan t point , for the purp oses o f this study, is the high num ber o f

one-day t r ips to Central Gauteng. According to the nat ional Domest ic Tourism

Surv ey 11 perce nt o f the est imated 55 mi l l ion one-day t r ips und ertaken in South

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2 2 8 U R B A N F O R U M

A f r i ca du r i ng 2000 / 2001 w er e t o C en t r a l G au t eng , w h i ch app r ox i ma t e s t o nea r l y

6 m i l l i o n o n e - d a y t ri p s p e r a n n u m R u l e

et a l.

2001) .

O ve r a l l , t h i s ava i l ab le da ta unde r l i ne s t he s ec t o ra l i mpo r t ance o f t ou r i s m as a

con t r i bu t o r t o t he e cono m y o f con t emp or a r y J ohannesbu r g . F u r t he rmor e , i t s e rves

to r e inforce the s ign i f i can ce o f s t ra teg ic in i t ia t ives tha t a re se t to p rom ote tour -

i s m i n t he c i t y a s p a rt o f w i d e r e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e s i n t h e c i t y

R oge r s on , 2004a , 2005 ) .

M a j o r M a r k e t S e g m e n t s o f I n n e r c i ty T o u r is m

T he cu r r en t t r ends i n t e r ms o f t ou r i s m i n t he i nne r - c i ty ar e d i s c l o s ed by t he

i n t e r v i ew s w h i ch w er e c ondu c t ed w i t h n i ne ho t e l s ope r a ti ng i n the i nn e r - c i ty and

one ded i ca t ed con f e r ence cen t re F i gu re 3 ). T hes e f i nd i ng s a r e s umm ar i s ed i n

Table 2 .

T he i n t e r v iew s m ake c l ea r t ha t the r e i s cu r r en t l y l it t le o r no i n t e r na t i ona l mar -

ke t f o r t he h o t e l s and con f e r enc e cen t r e s w i t h i n t he i nne r- c it y . I n ad d i t ion , t he r e

i s li t tl e o r no l e i s u r e m ar ke t w he t he r in t e r na t i ona l o r dom es t ic ) f o r ove r n i gh t

s tays w i t h i n t he i nne r- c it y . T h i s i s ev i dence d by t he ex t r eme l y l ow w eeken d oc -

cupa ncy r a t e s a s r epo r t ed b y t he va r i ous ho t e ls .

T h e m a i n m a r k e t f o r h o te l s w i t h i n t h e i n n e r - c i ty i s m a d e u p b y v i s i to r s f ro m

ne i gh bou r i ng A f r i ca n coun t r ie s and by t he do me s t i c M I C E ma r ke t , i.e ., domes t i c

t rave l le r s w h o a r e i n J oha nnes bu r g f o r m ee t i ngs , t ra i n i ng cou r se s o r con f e r ences .

I n b r oad t e r ms t hos e ho t e ls w i t h i n the C B D , s uch a s t he K w aD uk uza E go l i and

t he J ohan nes bu r ge r , re l y m a i n l y o n r eg i ona l t ou r i st s w h i l e t hos e s i tua t ed i n t he

B r a a m f o n t e i n a n d P a r k t o w n a re a s t h e D e v o n s h i re , t he S u n n y s i d e a n d t h e

P a r k t o n ia n ) re l y m a i n l y o n t h e d o m e s t ic M I C E m a r k e t . T h e m a j o r m a r k e t s f o r

dom es t ic con f e r ences and m ee t i ngs w i t h i n the i nne r - c i ty a r e gove r nm en t - - m a i n l y

p r ov i nc i a l bu t a l s o na t i o na l - - a nd l a rge co r po r a t e s , such a s A B S A , S t andar d ,

K P M G and L i be r t y w hos e ma j o r o f f i ce s a r e s i tua t ed in o r a r ound t he J ohannes bu r g

i nne r- c it y . O ne i nd i ca t i on o f t he s ize o f the gove r nm en t - r e l a ted M I C E m ar ke t i s

t ha t the 2003 bu dge t f o r G au t eng P r ov i nc i a l gove r nm en t spend i ng on m ee t i ngs

and con f e r ences w as e s t i ma t ed a t R 70 m i l l i on C he t ty , 2004 ) .

T he r eg i ona l t ou r is m m ar ke t f o r i nne r - c i t y ho t e l s i s m a i n l y m ade up o f bus i-

nes s t ou r i st s bo t h f o r M I C E and i nd i v i dua l bus i nes s ) and , t o a l e s s e r ex t en t,

c ross -border shoppers . Never the les s , there i s som e ev ide nce f rom in te rv iew s w i th

s takeholder s to su gges t tha t the inn er -c i ty i s los ing i ts appea l fo r the h ighe r spend-

i n g g r o u p o f c r o s s - b o r d e r s h o p p e r s w h o a r e g r a v i t a t i n g t o w a r d s c e r t a i n

d e c e n t ra l is e d s h o p p i n g n o d e s , i n c l u d in g W o o d m e a d , E a s t R a n d M a l l a n d C r o w n

M i nes . N eve r t he l e ss , f o r l a rge num ber s o f i nd i v i dua l l ow er budge t c r o s s -bo r de r

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T o u r i sm P r o m o t i o n i n D i f fi c u lt A r e a s 2 2 9

Table 2

K e y F in d in g s f r o m I n n e r c i ty A c c o m m o d a t io n a n d C o n fe r e n c e Pr o v id e r s

T o u r i s m P r o d u c t N a t u r e o f T o u r i s m O r i g i n o f T o u r i s t s C o m m e n t s

Devon sh i re H o te l 95 percen t M ICE Tour i sm, 95 percen t i s Sou th N o bus iness f rom hea l th

main ly conferences fo r Afr ican . tou r ism, l e isu re o r

un ions and cross -border shoppers .

Gove rnmen t . Occupan cies a re lowes t

a t weekends .

K w a D u k u z a Eg o l i H o t e l

and Conference Cen t re

P re d o m i n an t ly M IC E

Tour i sm to a t tend

conferences bu t a l so a

s ign i fican t f low o f

cross -border shopp ing

tourists.

Larges t f lows are Reg ional M onth end i s bus ies t fo r

tou r is t s f rom

neighbour ing Afr ican

s ta tes and dom es t ic

Sou th African vis i tors

fo r conferences . Very

few in te rna t iona l

tourists.

regional touris ts

invo lved wi th c ross -

border shopp ing .

M alawi i s a no tab le

source fo r c ross -border

shoppers .

Johaunesburger Ho te l

M os t v i s ito rs a re c ross -

b o rd e r s h o p p e r s o r

M ICE tour i s t s

at tending conferences .

Tw o-th irds o f v i s ito rs a re

regional touris ts from

neighbour ing Afr ican

states . South Africans

a re m a j o r f lo w o f

business tou ris ts .

Occupancies a re s t ronges t

a t mon th end inc lud ing

f low o f loca l v i s ito rs .

Mar i s ton Hote l

M ain ly Res iden tia l u se

wi th on ly a sm al l

n u m b e r o f d a y

rooms .

Al l domes t ic Sou th

African.

Converted to res idential

use fo r Techn ikon

students rather than

tourists.

O rc h i d ea H o t e l

M IC E To u r i sm fo r

conferences .

M ajo r ity o f v i s ito rs a re

Sou th Afr ican a l though

there a re a smal l f low

of reg ional tou r i s t s

f rom A fr ica .

S t ronges t occupancies a re

a t mon th end . In

addit ion to

conferences , the ho te l

i s u sed fo r func t ions

such as wedd ings and

mat r ic dances .

Park ton ian Hote l

8 5 -9 0 p e rc e n t i s M IC E

Tour i sm main ly fo r

conferences . R es t i s

Leisu re Tour i sm.

M o s t c o n fe re n c e s a r e

fo r Un ions , Govern -

men t o r Corpomtes in

the su r round ing area .

80 percen t a re Sou th

Afr ican . Nex t in

significance are

reg ional Afr ican

visitors.

The conference tou r i sm

is overwhelming ly

Sou th Afr ican w i th

regional touris ts and

internat ional v is i tors

main ly fo r spor ts o r

cul tural events .

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230 URBAN FORUM

Table

2 Continued)

K e y F in d in g s f r om I n n e r c i ty A c c o m m o d a t io n a n d C o n fe r e n c e Pr o v id e r s

T o u r i s m P r o d u c t N a t u r e o f T o u r i s m O r i g i n o f T o u r is t s C o m m e n t s

Pyram id Conference Al l ac t iv ity i s M ICE 99 percen t o f v is i to rs a re

Centre Tour ism in te rms of day South Afr ican

conferences as n o

acco mmo d a t io n s

available. M ost

business i s f rom

corporates , espec ially

banks, and f rom

provincia l government .

In four years o f opera t ions ,

m ost business i s

corporate training

meet ings or budget ing

meet ings .

Sp f in g b o k Ho ml

Vast m ajor ity 80-90

percen t) of visi tors are

cross-border shoppers

wi th occasional

busine ss tourists

a t tend ing con ferences .

Vast major i ty o f v is i to rs

are reg ional Afr ican

tour ists especia l ly f rom

Zamb ia , Z imb ab we an d

Botswana.

N o n e

Sunnyside Park Hote l Al l ac t iv i ty i s MIC E and

Business Tour ism.Th e

m ajority is l inked to

conferences or

ind iv idual business

travellers ofcorporates,

NG Os or Univers i ties

in the locali ty.

80 percen t is S outh

Afr ican , 20 percen t

regional tourists

business) from A frica.

D espite i ts location, there

are a lmost no heal th

tourists. Leisu re

tourism is vir tually nil .

Troyevi l le Hote l

M ost v is i to rs a re res iden ts

work ing in South

Afr ica on sh or t -te rm

co n t rac t s o f two week s

o r m o r e .

80-90 percen t o f v is ito rs

are P or tuguese speakers

f ro m M o zamb iq u e o r

Por tugal . 10 percen t o f

visi tors are S outh

African.

A lthough this is a tourist

hotel , i t is functionin g

effectively as a

residential hotel .

S o u r c e : A u t h o r s u r v e y

s h o p p e r s , t h e C B D z o n e o f t h e i n n e r - c i t y r e t a i n s i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e L i e b e r m a n n ,

2004 .

T h e b u s i n e s s o f h e a l t h t o u r i s m i s w e a k i n t h e i n n e r - c i t y a n d s e e m i n g l y i s c o m -

p r i s e d m a i n l y o f l o w b u d g e t h e a l t h t o u r i s t s f r o m n e i g h b o u r i n g A f r i c a n s t a t e s

M e l v i l l , 2 0 0 4 ) . T h e m o r e l u c r a t i v e e l e m e n t o f h e a l t h t o u r i s m - - i n v o l v i n g h i g h

v a l u e i n t e m a t i o n a l h e a l t h v i s i t o r s s e e k i n g e l e c t i v e s u r g e r y - - t a k e s p l a c e o u t s i d e

o f t h e i n n e r - c i t y . C u r r e n t l y , i t i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e 3 0 0 l o w b u d g e t i n t e r n a -

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T o u r i sm P r o m o t i o n i n D i f f ic u l t A r e a s 2 3 1

F i g u r e 3: L o c a t i o n o f I n n e r c it y A c c o m m o d a t i o n a n d C o n f e r e n c e P r o v i d e r s

G U T E N G P R O V I N C E ~ F - - '- I O [ . _ l ~ I ~ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 123 t ~ |

H E D Q U R T E R S

I ~ D f -1 [ ] r l D [ ] D . D C A R L T O N [ ]

C F~

u , , ~ , , , , ~ _ ~ , / r n r ' n r ' n n n D l ~ 7 ' A r c N r m = O r T q

[ -i i -l r i - i r ~ l r . i i ~ - ~ l l - - i i - . l l - l E :: 31 :: ~ - i i -~ r / / i / / i . . . . . . . . o r - - i t ~

S T N D R D B N K

l -' I t D ~ II - I I - - 1 I - I ~ Q O O I - - I Z l

I

r ~ r '7 r 7 i f O E

H E D Q U R T E R S B S B N K

]

F 1

I 7 / I I 1 17 ~ c :a c a c= = H E A D Q U A R T E R S [ ] E l

I P

I I / / \ C J N n F R ; N O

I

V E N U E C E N T R E

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3 URBAN FORUM

t i o n a l h e a l t h t o u r i s t s p e r m o n t h v i s i t i n g t h e i n n e r - c i t y o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 0 0

v i s i to r s p e r a n n u m ( M e l v i ll , 2 0 0 4 ) . F o r i m p a c t s u p o n J o h a n n e s b u r g i n n e r - c i t y a

p o t e n t i a l l y m o r e p r o m i s i n g e l e m e n t o f h e a l t h t o u r i s m i s d o m e s t ic h e a l t h t o u r-

i s m , w h i c h i s c o n c e n t r a t e d u p o n t h e h o s p i t a l n o d e a r o u n d M i lp a r k , a l b e i t li tt le

c o n c r e t e i n f o r m a t i o n e x i s ts a s t o t h e v o l u m e a n d e x t e n t o f s u c h d o m e s t i c h e a l t h

tour i sm.

O v e r a l l , in t e r m s o f t h e s u p p l y o f MI C E t o u r i s m p r o d u c t s i t i s e v id e n t t h a t

w h i l s t t h e r e ar e s u f f i c i e n t n u m b e r o f sm a l l c o n f e r e n c e v e n u e s , a c c o m m o d a t i n g

u p t o 2 0 0 p e o p l e i n t h e i n n e r - c i t y , c u r r e n t l y t h e r e i s a r e c o g n i s e d s h o r t a g e o f

d e d i c a te d c o n f er e n c e v e n u e s t h a t c a n h a n d l e f r o m 2 0 0 - 3 0 0 p e o p l e a n d u p w a r d s .

F o r e x a m p l e , i n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h a re p r e s e n t at iv e o f G a u t e n g P r o v i n c i a l G o v -

e r n m e n t , i t w a s m a d e c l e a r t h a t w h e r e a s v e n u e s a t th e P y r a m i d , th e P a r k t o n i a n

a n d S u n n y s i d e c o u l d a c c o m m o d a t e m u c h o f th e n e e d s o f th e P r o v i n ce , a t p r e s e n t

w i t h i n C e n t r a l J o h a n n e s b u r g t h e r e e x i s t n o l a rg e v e n u e s t h a t a re s e e n a s a d e q u a t e

f o r m e e t i n g s o f 2 0 0 p e r s o n s o r m o r e ( C h e t ty , 2 0 0 4 ).

O n e p o t e n t ia l s o u r c e f o r a c o n f e r e n c e v e n u e i n th e i n n e r - c i t y i s a t t h e C a r l to n

H o t e l . B u i l t i n 1 97 3 b y a c o n s o r t iu m , o f lo c a l a n d U S - b a s e d d e v e l o p er s , th e

C a r l t o n C e n t r e w a s p u r c h a s e d i n 1 9 9 9 b y T r a n s n e t, S o u t h A f r i c a s l a r g e s t g o v -

e r n m e n t - o w n e d t r a n s p o r t co m p a n y . T h e i n i ti a l f o c u s o f T r a n s n e t w a s u p o n o f f i c e

d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e o f f i c e t o w e r i s v i r t u a l l y f il le d , w i t h T r a n s n e t i t s e l f o c c u p y i n g

6 0 p e r c e n t o f o f f ic e s p a c e . T r a n s n e t a r e n o w c o n s i d e r i n g o p t i o n s f o r r e ta i l a n d

hote l deve lopm ent . In 2004 , ( a t le a s t ) two con sor t i a deve loped se r ious p ropo sa l s

f o r r e - o p e n i n g t h e C a r l t o n H o t e l , w h i c h w a s c l o s e d d o w n i n th e l a t e 1 9 9 0 s b e f o r e

the com plex w as so ld t o T ransne t . At l e a s t one o f t he se r i ous b idde rs w ant s a re-

o p e n e d C a r l t o n t o b e a f o c u s f o r b u s i n e s s t o u r is m a n d e s p e c i a l l y f o r MI C E t o ur -

i sm . I t h a s b e e n p r o p o s e d t h a t a r e - d e v e lo p e d C a r l to n b e l i n k e d to t h e K w a D t t k u z a

E g o l i H o t e l , w h i c h r e - o p e n e d a f t e r b e i n g m o t h b a l l e d f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , a s t h e

c o r e a x i s o f a p r o p o s e d i n n e r - c i t y c o n f e r e n c e p r e c i n c t. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f su c h

a p r e c i n c t w o u l d n e c e s s i t at e c o n s i d e r ab l e a t t e n t io n u p o n u p g r a d i n g t h e s u r r o u n d s

i n o r d e r to p r o v i d e a c o h e r e n t p r e c i n c t ( O c h r e C o m m u n i c a t io n s , 2 0 0 4 ) .

A n o t h e r p o t e n t i a l in n e r - c i t y b a s e f o r c o n f e r e n c e a n d e v e n ts d e v e l o p m e n t c e n -

t r e s o n t h e T u r b i n e H a l l a n d T r a n s p o r t H o u s e r e d e v e l o p m e n t s i n N e w t o w n , b o t h

o f w h i c h c a n e n h a n c e t h e c o m p e t i ti v e s t r e n g t h o f t h e i n n e r - c i ty as a b a s e f o r

M I C E t o u r is m . B o t h o f t h e s e v e n u e s a r e f e a tu r e d s t r o n g l y in th e B u s i n e s s P l a n

f o r th e G r e a t e r N e w t o w n C u l t u r a l Q u a r t e r a s k e y p r o j e c t s to a t t ra c t a d a y t im e

vi s i t i ng publ i c . In add i t i on , bo th spaces a re un de r i nv es t i ga t i on a s poss ib l e ven-

ues fo r l a rge confe rences and even t s and , in t he ca se o f Turb ine H a l l , t he re i s an

a d d i t io n a l p r o p o s a l t o l i n k it t o a n e w b o u t i q u e h o t e l p l a n n e d f o r N e w t o w n ( O c h r e

C o m m u n i c a t i o n s , 2 0 0 4 ) .

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Tour ism Prom ot ion in Di f f i cu lt Ar ea s 233

A s s tr e ss ed above , J ohannes bu r g , a s t he m os t v i s i t ed pa r t o f G au t eng , i s p r i-

m ar i l y pos i t i one d a s a bus i nes s des t ina t ion . T h i s f ocus on b us i nes s t ou r i s m t o t he

exc l us i on o f l e i su r e t ou r is m, h i s t o r i ca l l y has h ad m or e t o do w i t h J ohanne s bu r g ' s

p o s i t io n a s t h e e c o n o m i c c a p it a l o f S o u t h A f r i c a th a n o n a n y c o n s c i o u s to u r i s m

m ark e t ing or b ran ding s tr a tegy . It is a rgued , however , tha t there i s a g rea t dea l o f

po t en t i a l t o f o l l ow a du a l s t r a tegy f o r t ou r i s m d eve l op m en t in t he i nne r- c it y , one

t ha t r ecogn i s e s the i mpo r t ance o f g r ow i ng t he l e i s u r e t ou r i s m m ar ke t i n t andem

w i t h t he bus i nes s t ou r i s m mar ke t , mor e e s pec i a l l y i n t he w ake o f t he ac t ua l and

p l a n n e d d e v e l o p m e n t o f n ew , a n d e n h a n c e m e n t o f e x i s ti n g , c u lt u ra l a n d h i s to r i -

ca l v i s i to r a t t r ac t ions in the inner -c ity . Th e inne r -c i ty con ta ins severa l tour i sm

as s e ts i n t e r ms o f h i s t o r ic an d a r ch i t ec t u r a l l andm ar ks t ha t a r e ke y a t t r ac ti ons f o r

anyon e w i s h i ng t o u nde r s t and J ohanne s bu r g h i st o r y . I n add i t i on , the r e i s a h i gh

con cen t ra t ion o f cu l tu ra l a t t rac t ions , par t i cu la r ly in the N ew tow n area (Di r suwei t ,

1999; Ro gerson , 2002) .

A c co r d i ng t o S ou t h A f r i can T our i s m r e s ea rch , cu l t u r a l and he r i t age t ou r i s m i s

t he t h i r d l a r ges t a t tr ac t ion f o r i n t e r na t i ona l tou r i st s v i s i t i ng S ou t h A f r i ca ( M o n i -

t o r, 2004 ). C u l t u r e and h i s t o r y a r e r anked j u s t be h i nd c l i ma t e and s cen i c bea u t y

as m o t i va to r s f o r v i s i t ing t he coun t ry , w i t h 22 pe r cen t o f a i r t r ave ll e r s and 44

pe r cen t o f l and t r ave ll e rs no t i ng cu l t u r e and h e r i tage a s an i m por t an t r ea s on f o r

t rave l . In addi t ion , fo r dom es t i c tour is t s , v i s i t ing museu m s , a r t ga l l e r i es and v i s -

i t ing P a r l i ame n t w er e am ongs t t he t en m os t popu l a r ac t iv i t ie s (R u l e e t aL, 2001;

O c h r e C o m m u n i c a t io n s , 2 0 0 4 ).

T h e m a j o r i t y o f t o u r o p e r a t o r s o p e r a t i n g i n G a u t e n g o f f e r a to u r o f

J ohanne s bu r g ' s i nne r - c i ty a s an op t i on f o r i n t e m a t i ona l v i s it o r s. T h i s i s e i t he r

pack aged a s a t ou r o f it s ow n o r a s an ad d - on t o a S ow e t o tou r. I n t e r v i ew s con -

duc ted w i th a se lec t io n o f these op era tor s ( see Table 3) ind ica te tha t, whi le the

t ou r o f t he i nne r - c i t y i s popu l a r, i t i s a l m os t exc l u s i ve l y a d r i v i ng tou r w i t h t he

m a j o r i t y o f ope r a t o r s e l ec t i ng no t t o s top a t an y o f the va r i ous a t t rac t i ons o r s i te s.

The th ree p laces where op era tor s do som et imes s top inc lude the top o f the Car l ton ,

G eor ge H ar r i s on P a r k ( now c l o s ed ) and, le s s o f t en , M us eum A f r i ca i n N ew t ow n .

I n t e r v i e w s c o n d u c t e d w i t h s e v e r a l l e i s u r e - r e l a t e d p r o d u c t o w n e r s i n

J ohannes bu r g i nne r - c i t y2 d i s c l o s e t ha t t he m a j o r i t y o f cu r r en t v i s i to r s t o t he s e

f ac i li t ie s ar e day - t r ippe r s f r om a r ound G au t eng . O f t he s e, t he m a j o r i t y o f v i s i t o rs

a r e s choo l g roups . I t is ev i den t tha t t he mus eu m s and ga l l e ri e s i n t he i nne r - c i t y

a r e no t c u r r en t l y a tt r ac ti ng s i gn i f i can t num ber s o f i n t e r na t iona l o r dom es t i c t ou r-

i st s, no r a r e t hey a t tr ac t ing s i gn i f i can t num ber s o f l oca l day - t r ippe r s o t he r t han

s choo l g r oups . T hes e f i nd i ngs s hou l d be l oo ked a t i n re l a t i on t o a S ou t h A f r i can

T our i s m r e s ea r ch s t udy w h i c h d i s c l o s ed tha t w h i l s t 22 pe r cen t o f tou r i st s a r r iv -

i ng by a i r and 44 pe r cen t a r r i v i ng by l and a re i n t e r e s t ed i n S ou t h A f r i ca ' s cu l -

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34 URBAN FORUM

Table 3

I n n e r c i ty T o u r I t in e r a r ie s : I n B o u n d Op e r a to r s

Interface Travel and Tours Inner-city included in a longer Anglo-Boer War

Battlefields tour: Pick-up from airport, Constitution

Hill, Braamfontein Cemetery, Pretoria (to two other

forts), the Staatsmodel school, and Melrose House.

Overnight in a B&B in Pretoria. Other days in

Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Springbok Atlas

Lords Travel and Tours

Thompsons Tours

Welcome Tours

Johannesburg City Tour: pick-up Sandton or Rosebank

hotel, Mandela's house in Houghton, Monroe Drive,

St Johns, down Louis Botha into Hillbrow, drive past

the Fort, past the Civic Centre, top of the Carlton

Centre, drive past old buildings on Commissioner

Street, Rissik Street, to Diagonal Street, past the big

mining houses. I f the clients are not going to Gold

Reef City, go to the mineshaft at the Standard Bank

Head Office. Then, Muti shop under the Rissik

Street bridge, past George Harrison Park to Museum

Africa. Offering a new full-day tour: Rise to

Freedom Tour (Soweto and Apartheid Museum in a

full day) which will include a drive through the

inner-city and stop-off at Constitution Hill.

Johannesburg City Tour ( the mining camp which grew

into Africa's dynamic and vibrant city of gold ):

City drive, a visit to a traditional African healers'

market, a drive through the suburbs of Parktown and

then up to the top of the Carlton Centre. Sometimes

the guides take people to the Gauteng Legislature or

Museum Africa.

Johannesburg City Tour: Pick-up from any hotel in

Sandton, drive past the Stock Exchange, the mining

houses, George Harrison Park, through Bosmont,

past the universities and then back to the hotel. Stop

at Museum Africa on request. The tour aims to give

an overview of the different living standards in the

city

Offers a drive-through orientation of the CBD on the

way to Soweto. No stops included.

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Tourism Pro mo tion in Di ff icult Area s 23 5

T a b l e 3 Continued)

I n n e r c i t y T o u r I t i n e r a r i e s : I n B o u n d O p e r a t o r s

Fh ulofelo Tours Present tour of Johannesburg (Museum Africa, W orld

of Beer, A rt Gallery, Anglo-Boer war sites, pa st

Gandhi Square).

Gold Re ef Guides Offer a half-day tour of Johannesburg combined with a

ha lf day tour of e i ther Sow eto, Gold R eef Ci ty,

Rhino Lion Park, the Cradle of Humankind (CH) or,

the Cheetah Sanctuary.

This tour: pickup in Sandton or Rosebank, through the

suburbs and then to CH. Drive through CBD

(architecture, the Stock Exchange, the m ining

houses), the Art Gallery, M ai-M ai Village, and

Faraday. End at the C arlton or the W estcliff for

drinks and snacks. Museum Africa migh t be

included depending on the group.

Source: Author Survey

ture , po l i ti c a l h i s t o ry and he r i t age , l e s s t han 2 0 pe rce n t o f t he se cu l t u ra l t our i s ts

ac tua l l y v i s i t ed an a r t ga l le ry , m use um or cu l t u ra l s i te dur ing t he i r s t ay i n Ga uteng

( O c h r e C o m m u n i c a t i o n s , 2 0 0 4 ) . T h i s g a p b e t w e e n e x p r e s s e d i n t e r e s t a n d a c t u a l

v i s i t a t i on can be exp l a ined due t o bo th a pe rce ived l ack of a t t r ac t i ve , exc i t i ng ,

v a l u e - f o r - m o n e y c u l tu r a l a n d h e r i ta g e a t t r a ct io n s a n d b r o a d e r p r o b l e m s s u c h a s a

l a c k o f t ra n s p o r t, a l a c k o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d th e a b s e n c e o f c u l t u r a l q u a r t e r s o r

a Cent ra l Tour i sm Di s t r i c t t ha t m akes Joh anne sburg ' s he r i t age access ib l e fo r i n -

te rna t iona l tour i s t s .

O v e r a l l, t h e k e y c o n s t r ai n t s r e l a ti n g t o l e i s u r e t o u r i s m i n t h e i n n e r - c i t y c a n b e

s u m m a r i s e d u n d e r t h r e e h e a d i n g s . T h e f i r s t r e l a te s t o t h e l a c k o f q u a l i t y le i s u re

p r o d u c t s i n th e i n n e r- c it y . T h e s e c o n d r e l a te s t o a s e r i es o f i n e f f i c i e n c i e s in

Joh anne sburg ' s ope ra t i on a s a tour i sm c it y . The t h i rd re l a te s t o i ne f f i c i en t mar -

k e t i n g a n d p a c k a g i n g o f w h a t e x i s t s f o r l e i s u r e t o u r i s t s . T h e s e c o n s t r a i n t s o n

l e is u r e t o u r i s m i n i n n e r - c i t y J o h a n n e s b u r g a r e f u r t h e r e l u c i d a t e d b e lo w .

T h e l a c k o f q u a l i t y le i s u r e p r o d u c t s i n te r m s o f h e r i ta g e a n d c u l tu r e i s th e f i r s t

m a j o r c o n s t r a i n t . A c o m p a r i s o n b e t w e e n e x p e c t a t i o n s b e f o r e c o m i n g t o S o u t h

A f r i c a a n d a c t u a l e x p e r ie n c e o n c e i n S o u t h A f r i c a s h o w s t h a t i n te r n a t i o n a l v i s i -

t o rs a r e c o n s i s te n t l y i m p r e s s e d b y t h e s c e n i c b e a u t y o f t h e c o u n t r y w h e r e a s t h e i r

e x p e c t a t io n s a b o u t e x p e r i e n c i n g c u l t u re a n d t h e c o u n t r y a f t e r p o l it ic a l c h a n g e

a r e e i th e r j u s t m e t o r f a ll s h o r t o f e x p e c t a t io n s ( Mo n i t o r , 2 0 0 4 ) . T h i s f i n d i n g i s

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236 URBAN FORU M

r eco r de d i n s u r veys o f s a ti s fac t i on a s und e r t aken du r i ng 2004 w i t h i n t e r na t i ona l

v i s i t o r s t o S o u t h A f r i ca . S u r vey ed t ou r is t s r a t ed cu l t u r a l a s pec t s l ow a s com-

pa r ed t o o t he r a s pec ts ( s uch a s s c ene r y o r w i l d l i fe ) o f t he i r v i s i t t o S ou t h A f r i ca .

M or eove r , l ow s a t i sf ac t ion r a ti ngs a r e r eco r ded a l s o f o r op po r t un i t y to i n t e r ac t

w i t h l oca l peop l e an d t o t a s t e l oca l cu i s ine . F u r t her , amo ngs t E u r opean v i s i to r s

t o S ou t h A f r i ca , one o f t he i r m a j o r exp r e s s ed d i s appo i n t m en t s s u rr ounds t he

coun t r y s du l l c i t ie s ( M on i t o r , 2004 ) .

Tou r opera tor s in te rv iewe d as par t o f th i s r esearch ind ica ted tha t, h i s to r ica l ly ,

t hey have no t conduc t ed cu l t u r a l / he r i t age t ou r s o f J ohannes bu r g a s t hey have

neve r f e l t tha t t he c i t y has eno ugh qua l i t y a t tr ac t ions to w ar r an t pack ag i ng i n t o a

ha l f o r f u l l day tou r . N eve r t he le s s , the v i ew w as exp r e s s ed t ha t w i t h t he e s t ab li s h -

m en t o f new a t t rac t i ons i n G r ea t e r J ohannes bu r g s uch a s C on s t i tu t i on H i l l , t he

A p a r t h e i d M u s e u m a n d t h e H e c t o r P e t e rs o n M u s e u m i n S o w e to , th e y c o u l d b e -

g i n t o packag e he r i t age - bas ed t ou r s o f J ohannes bu r g . A n o t he r po t en t i a l m ar ke t

f o r h e r i ta g e t o u r s i s d a y - v i s i to r s , e s p e c i a l l y th e m a r k e t o f f e r e d b y l o c a l

J ohannes bu r g re s iden t s . D ur i ng 2002 a s u r vey w as conduc t ed w i t h J ohann es bu r g

r e s i den t s l i v i ng and w or k i ng i n t he i nne r - c i t y and R os ebank a r ea s a s t o t he i r

u s age o f t he c i t y s he r i t age and c u l t u r a l i n f ra s t ruc t u r e (O chr e C om m uni ca t i ons ,

2 0 0 4 ). T h e s u r v e y d i sc l o s e d t h a t 8 6 p e r c e n t o f r e s p o n d e n t s d i d n o t m a k e a n y u s e

o f the s e a t t rac t i ons f o r a nu m b