TOWNSHIP TOURISM
CULTURAL IMMERSION OR POVERTY TOUTING?
Ever wanted to know how the “other” side of the world lived? You know… the ones who struggle to make ends meet. The ones who can barely put food on the table. The ones media says “this is the real Africa”. While Trevor Noah can joke about it in his “Son of Patricia” show, he did shed some light on what it could feel like taking a tour of the local townships.
the real question is, what is ethical and responsible when dealing with tours or experiences of this nature? Is it giving humanity a glimpse into the lives of the poor? To draw compassion and support for the injustices they face? Or are we in actual fact abusing poverty for our own pleasure? Sure, you can say township tourism plays a vital role in highlighting tourism attractions with a focus on culture and heritage in areas not adequately explored. But is it right?
What is interesting to note is just how many different shapes and forms township tourism has across the world. Also known as slum or ghetto tourism, this trend began in London in the 19th century as a way for the wealthy to explore life in the impoverished areas. The term slum tourism may act as an over-encompassing one, but it can’t help but hold negative connotations and can lead to generalisations that do not fit in all contexts.
Not only may the term be unable to fully accommodate the great differences between “township areas” around the world, it also suggests these townships are homogenous entities. Of course this is not the case. While nearly all areas that are visited under the name of township tourism include people living in shacks, other parts of these areas often are indistinguishable from other (richer) suburbs that would never be represented as townships.
They became popular in Brazil, India and South Africa, where they are packaged as authentic, interactive and educational in nature. Culture is the dominant attraction of township tourism.
In different countries, other terms have become more common to better describe the localised forms of township tourism. The most famous terms are of course favela tourism in Brazil and dharavi in India. In addition, a more appropriate term for townships in Egypt would be “Ashwa’iyyatt”, which may lead to the term Ash
wa’iyyatt tourism.
Despite the perceptions of townships, their effects on the local economy is significant. Through the growing tourism sector, townships have become more accessible and opportunities have opened for the people living in those communities.
For decades, there has been a stigma around townships and perhaps if township tours are organised in a safe and informative way, it can help to overcome stereotypes of township life.
This is an important segment of the tourism landscape that requires a renewed approach with vigor and innovation to encourage direct participation of historically disadvantaged communities.
Tour operators frequently bus in visitors and stop at local craft shops or experience a braai at a popular tavern, and disappointingly, when tour companies change the focus of their visits to another area, township residents and craft shops sit without income. To prevent this from happening, it will require the development of tourism nodes and attractions beyond the traditional routes.
Inclusive and ethical growth requires an innovative approach that expands into new segments of the tourism landscape. The potential of stimulating local economies through developing township tourism as a means to evolve cultural experiences. In order to make township tourism benefit the community and industry, the National Department of Tourism must make available significantly more training, resources and marketing, whereas Local Government should lead the expansion of more products as part of its local economic development (LED) mandate.
If local governments were to seriously consider investing in this form of tourism, there would need to be a switch in focus from visitor numbers to visitor revenue, much more community engagement with tourism as the focus, and to ensure that the tourism sector has the appropriate skills to meet the needs of future visitors. Considering that homestays and township trips offer an economic opportunity for areas that are not adequately explored – and more importantly, develop economic opportunities for often-neglected communities – there is consideration that the aforementioned programme would advance township tourism prospects, given its vital role in the development of job creation while providing for unique cultural experiences and social cohesion. Township tourism provides economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs to enter the ground tour operating business. Even in Cape Town, South Africa, which lacks the historical significance of Soweto, about 25 percent of foreign visitors take time out from the stunning scenery and beaches to trawl the dusty streets of the wind-swept Cape Flats.
Cape Town's tourist office estimates that nearly 320,000 foreign visitors went on a township tour last year; more than 80 percent of its 250 licensed tour operators offer such "cultural experiences".
South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa said, “Khayelitsha is a gem that is required by tourists and we as tourism are boosting that through finding a way where we can demonstrate collaboration between government departments, private sectors and the community because it happens in the community and participation creates job opportunities in the tourism sector.”
Tourists are often taken to township areas on superficial journeys and in most cases there is very limited interaction between them and the local residents. Authenticity is therefore easily compromised. There is a constant struggle between market viability and authentic representations of local cultures and tourists are regularly taken on pseudo-trips that do not re-enact past or present realities.
There is a latent demand for culture-led, experience-based township tourism product development to create more opportunities for entrepreneurship and local economic development.