BUSINESS TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA: GROWTH AND UNEVEN GEOGRAPHICAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Progress made in international business tourism scholarship largely has overlooked the spatial or geographical dimensions of business travel. The novel contribution of this article is to investigate the national performance of business tourism in South Africa between 2002 and 2024 and unpack the major geographical contours of business tourism. The leading business tourism destinations as well as those least visited business spaces are identified in an analysis of 213 local municipalities in South Africa. Key findings show that a major post-pandemic recovery has occurred of business travel in South Africa. In terms of geography, the results confirm that business tourism is spatially concentrated or polarized with business tourism dominating in the large metropolitan areas which host the bulk of the country’s private sector commercial activity. Further, there is a strong performance of several business destinations associated with political and government activities, most importantly capital city functions at national and provincial level. The local level of business tourism is revealed as distinctive and influenced by an area’s economic base. Case studies can illuminate the differentiated character of business tourism across levels in the national settlement system from major metropolitan centres, secondary centres and small towns.