ABSTRACT
South Africa’s transition from a pariah state to a consolidating democracy, reinte - grated into the global community of nations, has been tremendously beneficial to the country’s burgeoning tourism industry. Prior to 1994, South Africa’s tourism sector was domestically orientated, constrained by international boycotts, hostile media framing and a negative destination image. Since 1994, the changing domestic socio-political situation as well as shifts in global geopolitics, advances in transport and technology and changes in the global economy have increased international travel overall, and to South Africa in particular. Consequently, South Africa has invested heavily in developing a tourism strategy that encompasses domestic, regional and international tourism (Rogerson 2011a) and the promotion of a positive destination image through specific public relations campaigns, interactions with the media and hosting of a series of spotlight or ‘mega’ events (see Avraham 2003; Ferreira 2011).
