Sustainable Tourism and Community Development in Africa
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 June 2023) | Viewed by 615
Special Issue Editors
Interests: natural area tourism; sustainable tourism; marine tourism
Interests: social impacts of tourism; tourism marketing and branding; travel behaviour
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The tourism industry is a significant economic and social driver in Africa, creating numerous benefits to communities. These benefits range between additional income and employment, improved public infrastructure, facilities and services, new investments, and increased possibilities for entrepreneurship and more exposure and access to international business environments and contacts (Saarinen et al., 2009). For tourism in Africa to be successful, the practice of sound sustainable principles, such as community involvement (social equity), environmental responsibility (environmental conservation) and economic efficiency is important, but the application of these principles has been slow. Besides the existing challenges of sustainable tourism development, COVID-19 has had a negative impact on tourism globally and even more so in Africa. In light of the current status of the industry in Africa, the effect of COVID-19 and the slow uptake of sustainable tourism practices the question arises: How we can improve the future of tourism in Africa to be more sustainable?
Sustainable tourism involves visiting a place as a tourist and attempting to make only a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy for future generations. Sustainability is a broad concept that encapsulates various efforts, such as renewable energy and community development projects. Sustainable tourism promotes community pride, increases job opportunities for local communities, protects the environment, and develops the local area and people. However, how do we put this into action in Africa such that it has a long-lasting effect (Natalie Aber, Africa Travel Centre, 2021)?
Therefore, this is a call to academics to submit research addressing sustainability in tourism within the African context. Contributions are expected from, but are not limited to, the following areas:
- Sustainable tourism in natural areas;
- Sustainable event tourism;
- Sustainable marine tourism;
- Sustainable cultural tourism;
- Small town tourism;
- Community development and tourism;
- Tourism and communities in Africa;
- Economic impact and job creation;
- Marketing tourism products in Africa;
- Human-wildlife impacts and sustainability;
- Empowerment of communities in Africa through tourism;
- Post COVID-19 sustainable development;
- Impacts of COVID-19 on sustainable development in Africa.
Prof. Dr. Peet Van Der Merwe
Prof. Dr. Elmarie Slabbert
Dr. Lelokwane Lockie Mokgalo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sustainable development
- communities
- tourism
- community development
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
