Residents’ perceptions on the socio-cultural impacts of tourism and recreation activities on the Golden Mile of Durban

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the Residents perceptions on the socio-cultural impacts of tourism and recreation activities on the Golden Mile of Durban. This study is underpinned by Adaptive Level theory. Adaptation is the process of change by which individuals and communities become better suited to surroundings and circumstances. The AL theory holds that people and organizations can return to baseline level of operation following a destabilizing event and are able to meet standards of personal independence and social responsibilities. One of the objectives was to determine residents’ mechanisms of coping with bustling activities in the place that they call home. It is for this reason that the Adaptive Level theory was used to cement this study. The aim of the study was to determine the socio-cultural impacts of mass tourism and recreation activities on the residents of the Golden Mile of Durban. It was guided by research objectives, aiming to establish nature of tourism, verify socio-cultural visitor factors, establish feelings and attitudes of residents, to determine residents coping and resilience mechanism and lastly to make recommendations for strategies to enhance residents’ socio-cultural resilience. The study took form of a mixed method due to the nature of the research topic and due to the research questions, the study aimed to answer. A questionnaire is a tool that was used to collect data from the residents of the Mile. A total of 101 residents participated in the study. The results of the study suggested that residents or communities living in places where tourism and recreation activities take place suffer from the negative impacts associated with those activities taking place in the vicinity of their place. The study also revealed that residents have developed certain strategies that they use to cope with all the negative impact that suffer from. Tourism planners, local municipalities, together with communities can ensure that negative impacts are minimized, with positive impacts maximized when working together.