Abstract:
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of tourism development in Thulamela Municipality with specific reference to Mphaphuli Nature Reserve and Phiphidi Waterfalls. It was found out that the two tourist areas had great potential for tourism growth. In this study tourism was considered as an industry that had positive impacts on the quality of life a nation, province and the host community. Tourism was seen as an industry that provided employment opportunities, increased incomes and spread development. Three benefits of tourism development were mentioned in this study. The economic benefits such as employment, income etc was found to be real since there were people who were employed in these tourist areas whose quality of life changed because of tourism development. The other benefit was the environmental benefit which resulted into the conservation of nature. The social benefit of tourism development was shown to be a manner in which tourism effects changes in collective and individual value systems, behavior patterns, community structures, lifestyle and the quality of life. For the success of this study, the researcher had to decide on the research design and methodology to be employed in the study. The researcher decided on the target population from which a stratified random sampling was used to get the respondents. The research design employed in this study was the qualitative one. The research methods used to collect data were the observation and interviews. A form on which to record the field notes during observation was designed. Three types of interview questionnaires were prepared to collect data. The collected data was then analyzed. From the data collected through observation and interview, the researcher started with data analysis process. It was found that tourism development, if well fostered, can lead to economic, environmental and social benefits. There were people that were employed in these tourist areas and this improved their quality of life. Several recommendations about the critical issues raised during the study were made
