By: Nontobeko Moimane 25 May 2022

Senior lecturer in Tourism Management: Dr Elizna Burger; Dr Dewald Venter and Dr Veronique Labuschagne

Three senior lecturers from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT)’s Tourism Department have collaborated to publish a special edition on Niche Tourism in the African Journal of Hospitality Tourism and Leisure.

VUT offers a programme in Advanced Diploma in Tourism Management and is the only one in the country which specializes in Niche Tourism. According to Dr Dewald Venter, a senior lecturer in Tourism Management, Niche Tourism refers to specialized small segments within the tourism marketplace which usually display persevered growth.

“As such, we thought it most efficient to approach a journal and request a special edition to bolster and centralize academic research articles which focuses on niche tourism in Africa. The aim was to help us gain experience in logistical and administrative tasks associated with editing a special edition of a journal and providing case studies for use in our Niche Tourism subject,” explain Dr Venter.

In this regard, Dr Venter together with two fellow Tourism Management colleagues involved in developing the Niche Tourism curriculum namely:  Dr Elizna Burger (Senior Lecturer- Tourism Management), and Dr Veronique Labuschagne (Senior Lecturer- Tourism Management), collaborated to   form the editorial team.

Dr Venter says being part of the editorial team equipped him with a range of different skills to better himself, including greater appreciation for journals’ ability to manage and coordinate authors’ article submissions, reviewers’ responses, final preparation, and publication. He added that up-to-date communication and administration with the journal and article authors are paramount to running a smooth journal edition overall.

Said Dr Burger:  “it was challenging to administer and track the progress of all the submissions but proved to be a great learning curve.  Reviewing the articles was quite informative of the different Niche Tourism segments. It has broadened my knowledge.”

“The wide variety of Niche Tourism subjects was an interesting read and broadened my perception of the concept,” said Dr Labuschagne.

The special edition delivered ten direct niche tourism articles. Two were submitted by first-time solo authors, Ms Antje Jansen Van Vuuren and Mrs Laurika Hattingh from the Department of Tourism and Integrated Communication. Four further articles were reviewed and deferred for general publication in the African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (AJHTL).

The e-book may be accessed through the following link https://www.ajhtl.com/2022.html  for Volume 11 First Special Edition (SE 1) -2022.

About the African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure (AJHTL)

The AJHTL is an accredited international academic journal focusing on interdisciplinary research which makes a clear contribution, theoretically or methodologically, to the body of knowledge relating to all aspects of tourism and hospitality within the Pan African context.  The AJHTL publishes around six issues per year and special issues as required.