Enhancing Infrastructure for Tourism Development: Challenges and Prospects in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20070164

Malakhiwe Jaftav¹, Jeremiah Madzimure², and Thandukwazi Richman Ncube³ (Department of Business Management, MANCOSA College, Durban, South Africa¹, Department of Finance and Information Management, Durban University of Technology, South Africa², and Department of Finance and Information Management, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics
Durban University of Technology, South Africa³)

This research article investigates the complex challenges associated with improving infrastructure to boost the tourism sector within the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Municipality in South Africa. Despite tourism’s recognised role in economic growth and job creation, KSD faces significant infrastructure deficits including poor road conditions, inconsistent water and electricity supply, and inadequate communication networks. Employing a quantitative explanatory research design, data were collected from 60 stakeholders including tourism managers, accommodation owners, and municipal officials through structured questionnaires. Findings reveal that while stakeholders deem infrastructure critical for tourism success, statistical analysis did not establish a direct correlation between existing infrastructure quality and tourism growth, suggesting that other intervening factors may be influential. Nonetheless, challenges such as unemployment, limited capital investment, and weak sector competition were strongly linked to infrastructural inadequacies. The study concludes with recommendations emphasising increased budget allocations, quality assurance, continuous maintenance, and strengthened governance to foster infrastructure development aligned with tourism growth. Future research is encouraged to explore additional socio-economic and political factors influencing tourism performance in the region.