by GST Staff 3 pillars shaping Africa’s next hospitality chapter THE CONVERSATION AROUND African hospitality has shifted. For years, the continent was framed in terms of “untapped potential”; today, that potential is translating into sustained, undeniable growth. The industry has moved beyond recovery and into a phase of sophisticated expansion that is reshaping the global […]
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World Tourism in Geo-Political Chains?
By Selwyn Roup, GST Contributor Location, location, location… and never before has Southern Africa stood astride the Indo-Atlantic straits of East to West and North to South as in the past nine months. The good news is that in 2025 South Africa welcomed 10.5 million tourists, topping pre-Covid numbers. The ebb and flow of power […]
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Let the earth speak to the visitor: GST concept for sustainable tourism
by Niël du Toit, CEO of Go Sustainable Tourism (GST) Using Cape Town – the Fairest Cape – as gateway, travel South Africa by Kontrei (Region). This refers to using Kontrei glasses when looking at South Africa as it shows itself via the brittle outer layer at the Earth’s surface. South Africa’s amazing geographic diversity […]
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Land reform in South Africa: how new landholders could prosper from wildlife and not just farming
By Hayley Clements, Senior Researcher, African Wildlife Economy Institute and Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University; Alta De Vos, Associate Professor, Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University; Matthew Child, PhD candidate, University of Pretoria; Siviwe Shwababa, Associate Researcher, Rhodes University. First published on January 7, 2026 by The Conversation South Africa has a thriving wildlife […]
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Making Ends Meet: Part 1 – Agri-Tourism
By Leon Hugo, University of Pretoria & Jean Hugo, Tshwane University of Technology The pressing environmental crisis is well-documented and widely recognized (Hugo, M.L. & Hugo, J.O., 2024). A significant global concern is food security, particularly in the context of a rapidly increasing world population. The advent of geoengineering in agriculture has led to a […]
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South African tourism faces a sustainability tipping point as eco-fatigue takes hold
PRESS RELEASE – Cape Town Travellers want to make sustainable choices, but eco-fatigue and skepticism are changing that conversation, says Dr Niel du Toit, CEO of Go Sustainable Tourism. Here he explores why trust is the new currency of tourism and what industry players must do if they want to avoid falling off the map. […]
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Luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies – new study of Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda
by Pritish Behuria – Reader in Politics, Governance and Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. This article was published in The Conversation on 28 October 2025 How successful is luxury tourism in Africa? What happens if it fails to produce higher tourism revenues: can it be reversed? And does it depend on what kind […]
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South African heritage tourism could uplift rural communities – the case of Sekhukhune
by Madiseng Phori, Tourism Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology This article was first published in The Conversation Imagine visiting a remote valley surrounded by mountains, hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest city, listening to local people explaining hundreds of years of history to you. The Tšate Valley, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, is one […]
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Redefining Sustainability in Hospitality
By Mark van Eyssen, GST Assessor Authentic Sustainability, Proven by Science In a world where sustainability is no longer optional but essential, Go Sustainable Tourism (GST) provides accommodation providers with more than just a certification, it offers credibility, integrity and measurable value. Founded and developed under the leadership of Dr. Niël du Toit, GST is […]
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Why your holiday flight is still not being powered by sustainable aviation fuel
By Salman Ahmad: Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of the West of Scotland – this article was first published in theconversation.com As you wait in the departure lounge for your flight this summer, you may notice your aeroplane being pumped full of fuel ahead of takeoff. And then you may start to […]
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