ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the South African tourism sector and its location in the global system. It focuses on the key growth and policy trends that have characterised the sector since 1994 and the various obstacles the sector had faced. The chapter sketches the background to South Africa's post-apartheid tourism development and reviews central policy objectives. Post-apartheid governance has primarily been concerned with addressing some of the stark socio-political and socio-economic impacts of apartheid legislation and planning. The South African sector has without question experienced rapid growth over the past decade. The most important developments have occurred in its international sector, although domestic tourism has also seen significant expansion. The Southern African region also impacts on the country's tourism sector in another way, through collective tourism regulation within Southern African Development Community (SADC), the regional intergovernmental organisation. Over the five-year period between 1993 and 1998, foreign arrivals from United States and Netherlands have consistently shown the greatest increase.
