From crayons to canvas: the enlightenment of children at an arts festival.

From crayons to paintings: Arts festivals and the promotion of children's art "Every child is an artist, but the problem is how to stay an artist when we grow up - Pablo Picasso". Art forms part of cultural history and education (Hetland & Winner, 2001), but also has valuable meaning for young people (Giddens, 1991) by expressing themselves about things they reflect on themselves and the world in which they live (Dobbs, 1998.) It is also a form of communication of how visual arts are seen as language and the how the artists opinions, feelings of expressing their ideas is brought to the fore. Bowen et al. (2013) state that although recent trends reduce exposure to art, it may be primarily due to the curtailment of school-based art programs. The latter proposes that children should be exposed to art by visiting museums, art galleries and cultural institutions and that it is important to teach them how to interpret and create visual arts messages at an early age (National Art Education, 2016). Only a small percentage of parents take their children to these types of institutions as artificial exposure and learn to experience art. While tourism research is increasing, including the perspectives of children, the voices of young preschool children are still lacking. Due to the government's constraints on funding for the arts, this has led to the rise of arts festivals. The private sector has also entered the market strongly, although not everyone can afford to do so. Festivals are just one platform whereby artists can promote their art, including singing, dance, visual arts and theatre. One such festival is Aardklop National Arts Festival, which has been held in South Africa since 1998. In 2016, Aardklop created an art safari to expose visual arts to young children between the ages of 6 and 13 years. The aim of this study was thus to determine the exposure that children find in art and whether they have learned something about visual arts either formally or as a leisure activity. A qualitative, experimental method of data collection was used to gather information from participating children, through a semi-structured interview before and after the art safari

Sport and leisure behaviour of fitness club participants.

The aim of the study upon which this paper is based was two-fold: firstly, to determine what motivates individuals to join a fitness club, and secondly, to determine their sport and leisure behaviours. This is done in an industry that is growing but in which very little research has been conducted in the past from a South African perspective. A quantitative research approach was followed. Data collection took place at Virgin Active clubs in Gauteng, South Africa. A probability sampling, namely random sampling, was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed among Virgin Active members at three different fitness clubs. In total, 474 usable questionnaires were obtained, after which three factor analyses were conducted. For the first-factor analysis (reasons for exercising or being a member of a fitness club), five factors were identified; for the second-factor analysis (type of sport participating in), four factors were identified; and for the third-factor analysis (leisure time participation), three factors were identified. The research firstly revealed that the primary motives for being a member of a fitness club are for health reasons, part of my lifestyle, and to improve my quality of life. Secondary motives are interaction and being sociable, as well as being goal orientated. The second finding of the research is that traditional sport codes such as rugby, tennis, netball, and soccer remain the most popular sports to participate in. Lastly, the research proposes the CAP (creative, active and passive) leisure typology needs to be tested in future research in this field. This is the first time that these aspects (motives, sport and leisure behaviour) have been tested at fitness clubs in South Africa

Travel motivations: a comparative assessment of Zimbabwe’s major international source markets.

Extant literature on travel motivations, especially from a comparative perspective, has largely been constructed in the context of European and American destinations. Little has been documented on destinations elsewhere. The study therefore sought to investigate and compare the motivations of international tourists to Zimbabwe from the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Using the quantitative approach, data were collected from 267 respondents and analysed both at item level and factor level. Exploratory Factor Analysis of the 19 motivation variables yielded five factors: ‘novelty and knowledge enhancement’, ‘escape’ and ‘nature experience’ emerged as the major motivation factors, while egoism and social interaction were least important. The study revealed that tourist motivations vary between nations. ‘Novelty and knowledge enhancement’ was an overarching motivation across the three nations. However, this factor scored higher for tourists from the USA compared to South Africa and the UK. Tourists from the UK placed a higher value on the ‘Nature experience’ and ‘escape’ motivations. South African tourists had no distinct motivations, although at item level ‘to rest and relax’ featured among the country’s top five motivations. Likewise, some sociodemographic and trip characteristics varied between nations. It is recommended that Zimbabwe should take cognisance of the key motivations, including inimitable attributes of tourists from different source markets, and develop customised products and marketing messages. Furthermore, network marketing, taking advantage of the high numbers of repeat visits, can be used to circumvent image related challenges bedevilling the country

Travel motivations of domestic tourists: The case of Zimbabwe.

The quantity of research on domestic tourism for destinations in Africa is significantly lower than that on international tourism. The paper sought to investigate the motivations of domestic tourists in Zimbabwe with a view to gain greater insights on the needs of the domestic market. Five motivation factors were identified using a survey method. Data was analysed by means of descriptive statistics and Exploratory Factor Analysis. Novelty, nature seeking and escape and relaxation emerged as the major motivation factors which stimulate domestic tourists to engage in tourism, while prestige and socialisation were the least motivation factors. Identification of the motivations is useful in the design and production of tailormade tourism products and services which can effectively meet the needs of tourists thereby creating optimal satisfaction levels. The priority given to the novelty motivation by domestic tourists partially implies that most Zimbabweans are alienated from their own tourist attractions. There is a need to develop strategies to encourage more local people to participate in tourism. Product development and marketing messages should place more emphasis on novelty, nature seeking needs including opportunities for escape and relaxation to induce more domestic demand for tourism goods and services among Zimbabweans

Determining the impact of green management policies on hotel performance: A manager’s perspective.

This paper examines the possibility of a link between green management policies and hotel performance in two Sub-Saharan developing countries from the manager’s perspective. The impact of green management policies on hotel performance has raised ongoing debates in which no conclusive positions have been arrived at. Green management policies, regulations, and goals in hotels are to some extent formulated in response to genuine environmental concerns of stakeholders who include (internal stakeholders) customers, employees, shareholders, owners, suppliers, and (external stakeholders) academics, government agencies and competitors (Weng et al., 2015:4997). The research design used to carry out this study was a multiple case study based on its appropriateness to assist the researcher to determine the impact of green managemnt policies on the performance of hotels. This study was carried out on the assumption that managers in hotels have an understanding of the views of the stakeholders as they exert pressure on the hotel to formulate policies to become green. Qualitative research was employed in order to gain a rich understanding of the impact of green management policies on hotel performance. Interviews were carried out on three star hotels. Content analysis was performed to process the data which were displayed in tables accompanied with some descriptive narrative. The interviews revealed that in most hotels green management policies are unavailable, suggesting that there is a lack of awareness, yet green initiatives are being implemented in the hotels, mainly to save resources and for cost reduction. The study revealed that only a few managers in the hotels that were studied have formulated green management policies. Some of the performance factors that emerged from the study include cost reduction, employee edification, and business competitiveness. This study determined the impact of green management policies on hotel performance from the perspective of the manager in the countries that were studied. The study made a distinct contribution to the literature by identifying the perceptions of hotel managers with regard to the implementation of green management policies

A paradigm shift in the provision of recreation in the North West Province of South Africa.

Recreation professionals in the 21st century are faced with one of the most challenging tasks, to be innovative in the provision of recreation services to communities. The modern day requires recreation professionals to anticipate and effect changes rather than to wait and react to change as a result of the demand for recreation services from the communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of utilising new ways of delivering recreation services to communities by local governments in the North West Province in South Africa. A mixed-methods research design using a questionnaire and focus groups was used on 20 targeted personnel who are responsible for managing recreation at local government level in the Province. Frequencies and phi coefficients were calculated for the quantitative data, while for qualitative data patterns were established thematically. The results show that 75% of the local governments are located in rural settings whilst 25% are found in urban areas with limited resources. Most respondents (70%) indicated that they do not provide programmes for human services that go beyond traditional recreation activities. A large proportion (65%) of local governments indicated that they do not use staff resources to coach citizens until they can provide their own leadership. About 35% of local governments indicated that they do not justify budgets in terms of social need and programme results. The results indicate that local governments do not adapt to new ways of responding to community needs with regard to recreation. The study recommends that if a new approach to recreation is accepted (emerging paradigm) not only can communities help to implement programmes that should satisfy their needs, but service providers will be able to afford and incorporate emerging activities. Local governments should be at the forefront in designing and implementing effective recreation programmes in consultation with communities, and also liaising with the relevant departments in provincial government

Segmentation by age of triathletes participating in Ironman South Africa

Abstract Triathlon organisers should focus on segmenting participants according to different age groups. Age was found to be a significant factor in commitment, motivational and loyalty levels in reviewed research material. The purpose of this research is therefore to categorise triathletes participating in the only Ironman event held on the African continent, the Ironman South Africa, based on their age. Ironman South Africa will resultantly gain continued participation from different age groups of triathletes and sustain the event in a competitive sport tourism industry. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed during the 2013 registration for Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa where 425 questionnaires were administered. Respondents were divided into four age categories and labelled according to their level of experience in the sport: <= 30 years (Young triathletes), 31-40 years (Adept triathletes), 41-50 years (Mature triathletes) and 51+ years (Senior triathletes). These four clusters differ significantly statistically and practically, in terms of their spending behaviour, their sport participation behaviour and their motives for competing. The results showed that age, as a segmentation variable, is a successful way to categorise triathletes, as different age groups typify distinctive segments, each with different sport and spending behaviour and participation motives. In addition to sustaining Ironman South Africa, these findings can be used to expand the event in the future as well as the sport in general

A visitor perspective of conservation management at a South African national park and world heritage site

Abstract MNP is of international cultural and ecological importance as it has been inscribed as a world heritage site and a transfrontier conservation area (TFCA). Conservation is seen as the primary pillar of management for any national park in South Africa, however, the perceptions of visitors in terms of conservation at such sites is often overlooked. For this reason the primary goal of this paper is to determine whether there are any gaps in the effective management of conservation at MNP. The results presented in this paper form part of a larger integrated tourism research project which took place at MNP during 2013. This study incorporated various aspects related to effective tourism management at a national park and world heritage sites including hospitality, human resources, marketing and conservation, the latter aspect will be the core focus of this paper. This paper is structured in four main parts. The paper will commence with a literature overview of protected area management with a focus on the pillars of park management. The second part of the paper will detail the methodology utilised followed by the data and methodology. The paper will conclude with a discussion and conclusion