- Title
- Strategies to improve coastal and marine tourism sustainability in the Nelson Mandela Bay coastal region
- Creator
- Mbangeni, Mihlali
- Subject
- Tourism -- Environmental aspects -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Sustainability -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2025-04
- Date
- 2025-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/73003
- Identifier
- vital:79323
- Description
- Coastal and marine tourism (CMT) is a rapidly growing subsector of tourism. CMT is a form of tourism that occurs in coastal areas and marine environments. This form of tourism has benefited the coastal and marine environments contributing economically to coastal regions globally. However, in developing regions such as the Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, pollution, particularly plastics and waste from ships, is an environmental challenge. Thus, the need for managing and planning sustainability in coastal and marine tourism. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the current sustainability strategies used by Nelson Mandela Bay coastal region stakeholders. The interpretivist paradigm enabled a qualitative research approach. Thus, 8 semi-structured interviews were conducted through purposive sampling. Participants were from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Tourism directorate, top managers of coastal and marine tourism businesses, and ocean economy-related non-profit organisation operators. Thematic analysis was employed using Atlas.ti software and narratives presented the results of the study. The study found current strategies used to ensure sustainability and how the municipality promotes sustainability. CMT businesses practise sustainability and NPO have practical initiatives in place. The challenges identified by the participants were stakeholders not having the same intentions towards sustainability, lack of local community literacy, lack of stakeholder inclusion leading to a lack of collaboration as well as lack of sustainability visible initiatives and regulation. Measures used to mitigate these challenges were, empowering decision makers and local communities by conducting workshops, creatively communicating the importance of sustainability while encouraging more collaboration among stakeholders. Introducing sustainability to children and encourage recycling and separation of waste. Recommendations made were to raise educational awareness, encourage participation through incentives for coastal clean-up and NMB to have a tourism and sustainability office. Provide fresh and updated information on websites as well as local communities should be empowered with knowledge and the skills. Future research should use a comparative analysis with a similar study in a coastal region. It could also look at incorporating a longitudinal study design that could assist and assess the long-term impact of the recommended strategies on sustainability in the area.
- Description
- Thesis (MPhil) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, School of Economics, Development and Tourism, 2025
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (203 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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- Downloads: 1
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NMU School for Economics, Development and Tourism
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MBANGENI, M.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |