To browse Academia. The famous township has developed as a strong destination, dominating the competition from other key township destinations, with a rich political and cultural history. Primary attractions such as Soweto become key in accessing important markets to achieve growth but for sustainability, product diversification becomes essential in order to increase the geographic spread of the benefits that tourism can bring.
In contrast to the successes of tourism development in Soweto, other areas such as Hillbrow are struggling to compete at the same level. The inner city residential neighbourhood of Hillbrow was in its heyday, a popular entertainment magnet of book shops, clubs, restaurants and coffee bars.
Several years later and in present day, the area is reputed as crime-ridden, suffering a variety of social ills and generally unfavourable to visit. Crime can be a debilitating factor in the development of tourism, where even the perception of its existence can make it particularly difficult to achieve economic growth.
However, it is not all bleak for Hillbrow. The area offers up a melting pot of African cultures, creating opportunity to enable unity, cultural tolerance and understanding and a more diversified product base for the urban rejuvenation efforts of the city of Johannesburg.
This paper explores the challenges in developing Hillbrow as a tourist destination in light of existing dominant primary attractions with key stakeholder interviews, including tour operators, local business owners and the Johannesburg tourism authority, in order to understand the challenges faced by such stakeholders and the perception of the potential for further tourism development and planning.
