Abstract:
The Middle Olifant Sub-Basin is one of the water stressed basins in South Africa, and
competition for water among the population is one of the biggest challenges faced in the
area. With the little water that the area has, it has to meet the demand for water use
among small rural users, urban users, mines, industries, large-scale agriculture,
forestry, and eco-tourism. The dissertation aims to identify the factors that determine the
demand for water recreation in the Middle Olifant Sub-Basin, and to evaluate the
relationship between the number of trips and the costs to the recreation site.
One recreation site was selected for the study. Simple random sampling was used to
select 48 respondents from the study site. Data was collected from 48 respondents
using a structured questionnaire. The data analysis using Descriptive Statistics and
Multiple Linear Regression showed that there are factors that determine the demand for
water recreation.
According to the results obtained from the Multiple Linear Regressions, water level in
Loskop Dam and the race of the respondents are positively significant t, while fuel cost,
type of transport, increase in water and the number of days stayed at the site were
negatively significant. It was also found that most of the people who participate in water
recreation at the site are white people. The demand curve from the Travel Cost Model
also indicated that people who pay less for water recreation visit the site more often as
compared to those who pay higher costs. This is confirmed by the law of demand, which
states that; the higher the price of a given product at a time the lower the quantity
demanded.
The above findings give an indication that the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
should consider issues around water recreation when distributing water and its
resources. Eco- tourism too, has to make sure that it provides information about the
importance of water recreation in order to attract more people and to stimulate growth of
the Tourism sector. Furthermore the study highlights that the water recreation policy in South Africa should also be effective in order to encourage more developments in water
recreation.
