Drought challenges for nature tourism in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in the eastern region of South Africa

Abstract

The Lowveld of South Africa, a savanna biome region economically dominated by nature tourism, has experienced a prolonged dry period beginning in approximately 2015. Despite emerging literature on climate and tourism in southern Africa, the challenges to tourism in the region as a result of the drought remain under explored. This paper quantifies the extent of the reduction in precipitation during this period to determine its status as a meteorological drought through the calculation of the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). The impacts of the dry period on nature tourism within the Sabi Sands Game Reserve are then explored by means of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. A composite timeline of the perceived severity of the dry period is produced. Key impacts and associated adaptation strategies are explored, along with the perceptions of stakeholders towards potential future drought events and climate change generally for nature tourism. Stakeholders are found to be highly knowledgeable regarding the climate of the region, as well as the nature and severity of the drought event. Although the overall impact on tourism is found to be lower than expected, this study concludes that droughts may pose a significant threat to the sector in the long term.