ABSTRACT
‘Township tourism’, also known as ‘slum tourism’, has gained momentum throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. It involves tourists travelling to marginalised urban spaces to learn from and experience the way of life and cultures of the local people. This chapter explores how environmental risks have undermined the potential and opportunity to successfully pursue tourism growth in the township. It examines literature on some potential environmental risks in Alexandra before engaging in the methodology and then presenting results related to environmental risks and their impact on tourism development. The lack of proper social services affecting tourism development has also led to local residents losing hope that the governing party will improve environmental conditions. This has resulted in local residents protesting and further compromising tourism development in the area, such as potentially destroying tourism initiatives in places such as the Alexandra Heritage Centre, which provides an informative history of Alexandra and great views of the township.
