NEWS DIGEST
communities, while a quarter contribute to schools and public projects. In addition, game farms and lodges create jobs for trackers, service staff, cooks and artisans, providing opportunities in rural areas that offer few alternatives. It is from this knowledge that hunters derive their belief in improving conditions and infrastructure. Indeed, other research has suggested that banning hunting tourism can lead to job losses and an increase in poaching. However, there is less evidence to support hunters’ claims that the revenue they bring in supports sustainable wildlife management and opinion is divided over whether biodiversity conservation can work in tandem with the hunting industry. Hunting tourism in South Africa offers valuable insights into the debate between conservation and rural development, the study concludes. However, it calls for more research into its impact on the ground and in particular the views of those rural communities impacted the most. EB “Game farms and lodges create jobs for trackers, service staff, cooks and artisans, providing opportunities in rural areas that offer few alternatives”
STUDY HIGHLIGHTS COMPLEXITY OF HUNTING INDUSTRY’S IMPACT IN SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa’s controversial hunting industry. It found that hunters believe they are shaping the economy, growing infrastructures and changing social dynamics. However, whether local communities share this perception remains an open question. What’s clear is that the industry is big business, driven largely by tourists from the US. International hunters stay on game farms and reserves for far longer than their South African counterparts and invest up to four times more per visit, according to the NWU study. This doesn’t just impact tourism mechanisms around them but also the wider community. For example, nearly a third of international hunters donate the meat from their kills to local
SCHOOL NWU Business School North-West University COUNTRY South Africa
he prevailing narrative about hunters in the Western world is that of the “bad guys”, but the
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hunters themselves tend to see things differently, particularly in relation to their community impact. A recent study by North-West University’s (NWU) Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society (TREES) sought to further understand
Business Impact • ISSUE 3 • 2025 7
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