Browsing by Author "Ndlovu, Joram"

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    Branding a destination in a political crisis: Re-learning, re-thinking and re-aligning strategies.
    (NUST, Department of English Communication., 2009) Ndlovu, Joram; Nyakunu, Elias; Heath, Ernie T.
    Contested election results or coups de dat have triggered political violence that has swept across a number of African countries, negatively affecting their tourism destinations. Thus, a political crisis can cause a significant disaster since it has the potential of impacting negatively the smooth operations of the tourism industry. This paper discusses the prospects of branding destinations and the opportunities thereof. Destination branding literature reveals that every destination should include crisis management strategies in its tourism planning processes, management activities and destination marketing programmes. The paper concurs that destination branding should be married with crisis management strategies in order to turn a crisis into a profitable opportunity. However, in the prevailing fragile, economic and political conditions the traditional notion of positioning a destination is no longer effective. Destination Marketing Organisations need to position their destinations in such a way that, despite uncertain conditions, they can exploit the scarce windows of opportunities. The paper proposes that in this ever increasing non-linear world, it is only the non-linear strategies that can create new tourism wealth. The paper concludes that though destination branding is an essential tool for positioning a destination, in order to be effective, Destination Marketing Organisations need to re-learn the destination strategy process, re-align their strategies and decisions.
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    Re-defining the rural space in the Kuiseb Delta: Examining the potential tourism benefits for the Topnaars in Namibia
    (Academic Journals, 2011-12-01) Ndlovu, Joram; Nyakunu, Elias; Kavita, Erling
    The purpose of the study was to redefine the rural space and explore the potential tourism benefits for the Topnaars in the Kuiseb Delta. Kuiseb Delta has unparalleled archeological/historical sites of which 235 have been well researched. The historical sites are being threatened by unauthorized tourism and recreational activities. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism proclaimed community concessions recently which hold out hope for the Topnaar and other communities’ future to benefit from tourism. Topnaars are marginalized and are increasingly dispersing into adjacent towns or mines. The study utilised a naturalistic inquiry which is based on an illuminative approach. This involved the use of focus group interviews with participants in the tourism industry and a key informant technique with the Topnaar community. The method followed was important as it enabled the researchers to understand the principles underpinning potential community benefits and the industry’s role in tourism development in the Kuiseb Delta. The study unearthed that the proposed tourism activities are ideally located and offer unique tourism opportunities for the Topnaars. The proposed tourism products appeals to a growing market segment and could be marketed through binding market agreements with chosen partners. In addition, the project could be viable and could be operated at marginal cash. The study recommends the granting of a concession to the Topnaar community, the proclamation of the area as a ‘conservation area’ in terms of the ‘heritage act’, development of a management plan and an environmental impact assessment, attracting private sector partnership and providing of appropriate training for tour guides. The study further recommends continued archeological survey and documentation of additional cultural/archeological sites.