​TOPIC:  AN EMERGING DOMESTIC MARKET SEGMENT PERSPECTIVE

Tourism is an economic growth engine with a particular focus at regional level, but its national impact remains important. At a regional level, tourism is presented as an essential tool for development and economic growth, believed to be one of the mechanisms used to avoid economic stagnation. Understanding competitiveness in tourism at a regional level is important for policy makers and a major challenge for professionals in providing evidence to inform decision-making. The overall aim of this study is to develop a model that would assess provincial competitiveness and apply the model to selected provinces in South Africa. The study was conducted from an emerging domestic market viewpoint, based on selected sub-segments. The study is based on the premise that factors and indicators that are relevant to different regions must be identified, both those that are relevant for any destination, as well as those that are specific to particular destinations.