Safeguarding township tourism in South Africa from counterfeit consumable products through consumer- oriented technological solutions
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure
Abstract
Tourism is a fragmented industry made up of numerous businesses engaged in the economic activity of providing products and services to meet tourist demands. The hospitality sector is one of the key drivers of the tourism industry, with an integral component of this sector being food and beverage. Recent reports of counterfeit consumable products in South Africa from immigrant shops, and thebreakout violence that ensued, have the potential to negatively impact upon township tourism as this is where the majority of the reports arose from. Local food is considered to be a tourism resource that destinations can harness and utilise as a unique selling point to market a region. However, when the quality of the food is, or is believed to be substandard, the effects are damaging to a destination and has the potential of curbing future tourism growth. That notwithstanding, anti-counterfeit measures as well as food verification tools have largely been designed and geared towards manufacturers, producers and suppliers, leaving consumers with the singular option of believing the product packaging. This research asserts the use of technological advances such as quick response codes as consumer-oriented tools with the aim of empowering consumers to be active participants against the illicit trade of counterfeit goods.
Description
Keywords
Township tourism, Food tourism, Food fraud, Spaza goods, Counterfeit goods, South Africa