5 Tourism Review International, Vol. 15, pp. 5–20 1544-2721/11 $60.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/154427211X13139345020093 Copyright © 2011 Cognizant Comm. Corp. www.cognizantcommunication.com CURRENT PATHS IN SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM RESEARCH GUSTAV VISSER* and GIJSBERT HOOGENDOORN† *Department of Geography, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa †School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa The African continent is not well represented in international tourism scholarship. Nevertheless, tourism is afforded considerable policy importance in the region, not least South Africa, Africa’s leading tourism destination. The number of investigatory voices interrogating the nexus of tourism and development in South Africa is small relative to other continents, but expanding. This article provides a review of the existing research paths and proposes new directions for scholarship focused on the South African tourism system. Key words: South Africa; Tourism research; Research paths; Development Address correspondence to Gustav Visser, Department of Geography, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa. Tel: ++27 51 401 3762; Fax: ++27 51 401 3816; E-mail: visserge.sci@ufs.ac.za Introduction Tourism has become a global industry with in- creasing impacts on regional and local develop- ment. In many regions and countries in the Global South, tourism promotion is increasingly perceived as a strategy by which to attract foreign direct in- vestment and create employment. In addition, tour- ism is also seen as a route by which the United Na- tions Millennium Project’s various development goals and targets can be attained (Saarinen, Becker, Manwa, & Wilson, 2009). Similarly, tourism as a developmental agent has received significant prominence in South African policy discourse re- cently, perhaps even more forcefully than in the past 15 years. For the first time, the South African premier, President Jacob Zuma, specifically high- lighted the tourism industry in his 2011 State of the Nation Address. Whereas tourism was somewhat of an afterthought in the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) program (C. M. Rogerson & Visser, 2004a), it is as some analysts suggest, “encouraging to see that the expectations which were formulated in the New Economic Growth Path are continuing with the Tourism sector high- lighted as a priority” (Saunders, 2011). It is with good reason that tourism development should feature in such an important national ad- dress. Two decades ago, given South Africa’s apartheid policy, tourism on both the international and domestic fronts was not a viable development strategy. However, since the democratic transition