Community perceptions of tourism development in rural areas of Tsatsane, Lesotho

Abstract

This study investigated community perceptions of tourism development impacts in rural areas. The investigation was conducted using a qualitative research method to understand the relationship between tourism development and community perceptions. The investigation was conducted to help understand community perception regarding access to and involvement in tourism development projects and business opportunities associated with projects in the Tsatsane community in Lesotho. To achieve the research objective, a semi-structured questionnaire was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data using a purposive sampling method. For the quantitative data, a self-administered questionnaire was utilized and face-to-face for the qualitative. Respondents were members of the Tsatsane community, leaders and tourism stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Responses received were analysed using the Thematic analysis to organize identified themes emerging from the responses. Similar themes were grouped to enable data analysis following the export of data from Atlas ti.8 to improve understanding of respondents’ perceptions of tourism development in the Tsatsane community. The study concludes that there is a statistically significant relationship between tourism development projects, participation and business interest in females and youth compared to males and the elderly. The study recommended that there should be other hospitality facilities alternatives to accommodate both international and domestic tourists and home stay facilities in Tsatsane should be well developed to better standards to generate improved economic benefits. The pricing of home stays should also be taken into consideration; if the services improve the pricing should also increase. The tourism sector should link with other supporting sectors such as transport and marketing because tourism as an industry needs other industries to grow and the government of Lesotho through relevant ministries should take part in the development and growth of the tourism sector in Tsatsane.