presented at CIRS2016

1. +
Learning by Travelling: what do tourists learn
while visiting South African Townships?
Dr. Isabella Rega, Bournemouth Universiy
irega@bournemouth.ac.uk

3. +
Activities and Local Actors
n Tour guide (local)
n Performance artists and craft workers
n Attractions: nurseries, day care centres, churches, local
enterprises
n Accommodations
n Catering businesses

4. +
Slum Tourism: a growing phenomenon

5. +
Slum Tourism: facts
over 1 million slum tourists per year
2-3 hours long guided tours
80% in townships in South Africa and in favelas in
Brazil (mature destinations)
Frenzel et al 2015

6. +
Slum Tourism: tensions and themes to
explore
Rich owned industry – local based industry (AND NGOs)
Outside – inside the slum actors (power relationships) and mobility
Ethics: poverty as an attraction?
Gentrification
Tourists as co-creators of the destination
Residents perspectives
Frenzel et al 2015

7. +
Slum Tourism: Advantages and
Disadvantages
n Host side (Inversini et al 2015, Franzel et al 2015)
n Economic
n Exposure to other cultures
n Challenge stereotypes and isolation
n Pride
n Symbolic Attention to slum issues

8. +
Slum Tourism: Advantages and
Disadvantages
n Guest side
n Challenge the vision of the world and stereotypes
n Disadvantaged:
n How the area is toured and represented
n Lack of involvement of local residents

9. +
Learning and Tourism
Learning throughout the lifespan occurs in diverse contexts
and travel presents a unique learning environment enabling
both unplanned and planned opportunities. (Falk and
Dierking 2000)

10. +
Research Questions
(I) What do tourists learn from touring into slums?
(II) What do tourists value and discover about local
communities while travelling in slums?

11. +
Sample: reviews gathering process

12. +
Sample: reviews filtering
Before filtering After filtering
Cape Town 1561 955
Durban 99 68
Johannesburg 2994 2434
Port Elizabeth 58 44
Pretoria 9 1
South Africa 5038 3502

13. +
Sample: reviews, authors and pictures

14. +
Variables
n Country
n City
n Slum
n Category – Attractions,
Lodgings, Restaurants
n Rating (of the review)
n Through Mobile
n Date
n Level of contribution
n Age
n Gender
n Nationality
n Continent
n Style

15. +
Sample: demographics
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
undefined
18-24
25-34
35-49
50-64
65+

16. +
Sample: demographics
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Female
Male
undefined

17. +
Sample: demographics
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Africa
Asia
Australia/ Oceania
Europe
North America
South America
undefined

18. +
Data Analysis
n Similarity Analysis
n Cluster Analysis
n Correspondence Analysis

19. +
graph_simi_1

24. +
Conclusions
n The importance of the mediators, fellen tours vs
uthando
n Peculiarities of locations – Cape Town vs
Johannesbourg
n Touring poverty is at the core but the touristic
experience embraces several others cultural and
historical aspects

25. +
Next steps: perspectives and methodologies
n Analyse the pictures
n Look at demographics and variables
n Look at specific learning theories:
n Experiential learning (Kolb)
n Transformative Learning (Mezirow)

26. +
Next steps: Comparative Research
Before Filtering After Filtering
Reviews Pictures Reviews Pictures
Varanasi 27 9 1 0
New Delhi 494 298 362 251
Navi Mumbai 8 13 0 0
Mumbai (Bombay) 2744 757 2026 341
Kolkata (Calcutta) 51 20 0 0
Jaipur 27 7 0 0
Chennai (Madras) 68 41 0 0
Bengaluru (Bangalore) 73 36 5 0
India 3547 1181 2394 592
Cape Town 1561 752 955 358
Durban 99 52 68 21
Johannesburg 2994 1207 2434 676
Port Elizabeth 58 18 44 13
Pretoria 9 9 1 0
South Africa 5038 2038 3502 1068
Angra dos Reis 1 0 0 0
Arraial do Cabo 1 0 0 0
Belo Horizonte 4 0 0 0
Rio de Janeiro 4087 2161 2308 734
Salvador 26 15 3 0
Sao Paulo 26 17 1 2
Brazil 4145 2193 2312 736
Total 12730 5412 8208 2396

27. +
Next Steps: Intervention
Feedback to local communities to improve
community based touristic enterprises through
capacity building

28. +
Funding Agency and People
British Academy Grant
Isabella Rega, Bournemouth University, UK
Mauro Sarrica, Università la Sapienza, Italy
Alessandro Inversini, Bournemouth University, UK
RA: Tiago Nery and Darta Drabovica