“…Over the last five years, one of the most vibrant themes in South African tourism research relates to what has been termed 'pro-poor tourism' which is anchored on maximising the potential and increasing the net benefits of tourism development for the poor (Visser and Rogerson, 2004). Currently, South Africa is both a leader and laboratory for the development of pro-poor tourism in the South (Ashley and Ntshona, 2002;Ashley and Roe, 2002;Mahony and van Zyl, 2002;Spenceley and Seif, 2003;Roe et al, 2004). It is significant, however, that the prime focus of existing pro-poor tourism scholarship has been in rural areas and upon South Africa's traditional nature-based attractions.…”