New Framework Maps How Rural Tourism Should Grow, Stage by Stage

A new study published in SN Social Sciences argues that rural tourism in South Africa has often been promoted as a remedy for struggling agrarian economies without a clear roadmap for how the transformation should happen. Penitence Ndebele of Walter Sisulu University proposes a conceptual framework that divides rural tourism development into three stages: planning (pre-development), implementation, and management. Built from analysis of 31 peer-reviewed articles from 2021 to 2025, selected from an initial 11,000+ records via Web of Science and a PRISMA-based process, the model draws on R. W. Butler’s tourism area life cycle concept while starting before any tourists arrive. It stresses feasibility analysis, community consultation, and accounting for seasonality.