WITH the tourism sector accounting for more than 10% of the provincial economy, rural communities have started to realise that their natural surroundings could be used as a source of income and a tourist attraction.
This can be done in the comfort of their own homes, with little or no start-up capital, in the form of what has been termed home stay accommodation.
Home stay accommodation is provided in a private family home with the owner living in the house or on the property. The guests share the public areas with the host family – who expose them to the national and cultural heritage while sharing with them a traditional way of life. Traditional food is served to the guests.
A perfect example of how home stay projects can evolve is Kwam’ eMakana in Grahamstown, a project that saw the home stay initiative evolving from an idea into reality.
One hundred women were shown how to start and manage their rural bed and breakfast facilities by being taught the skills with which to draw tourism to the rural areas and townships.
However, not all of these establishments meet the required quality standards to host guests. The long term plan of the Eastern Cape Tourism Board is to eventually get these home stays to a level where they can be converted into guest houses – enabling them to be graded by 2010.
Community-based travel is the largest untapped market for both domestic and international visitors to the Eastern Cape and the rest of South Africa. It offers unrivalled potential for tourism growth, while providing small businesses with jobs, conserving local cultural and natural heritage.
The ECTB is collating a database of tourism establishments in the EC to include the informal accommodation sector – under which home stays fall – to ensure there is sound information for
