Postgraduate students from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng and Potchefstroom campuses impressed again at the 10th International Student Conference in Tourism Research (ISCONTOUR) that took place on 15 and16 May 2023 at the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria.
The NWU walked away with the Best Paper award for the fourth time, and also won second place in the Best Paper category this year.
The ISCONTOUR provides a platform for students and graduates to present their research, and facilitates knowledge transfer and networking among attendees from academia, industry and government.
It focuses on sustainable development in tourism research and is specifically designed for master’s and PhD students in the tourism and leisure management field.
Dr Babalwa Mgxekwa-Qumba won the Best Paper award for her paper titled “What constitutes an authentic visitor experience at Liberation Cultural Heritage Sites in South Africa: The perspectives of visitors and heritage officials”.
It explores how visitors' perception of authenticity aligns with the views of heritage officials, and identifies key factors that contribute to creating authentic visitor experiences.
The study provides a comprehensive understanding of authenticity by considering both the supply side (heritage officials) and the demand side (visitors) of cultural heritage tourism. Her promoters are Prof Martinette Kruger and Prof Marco Scholtz.
Thokozile Selepe won second place in the Best Paper category with her paper “Visitor perspectives on the accessibility of Vilakazi Street township tourism product: Covid-19 pandemic and beyond”.
This paper from her masters’ dissertation highlights factors such as access to infrastructure, limited movements, and signage that impact the accessibility of Vilakazi Street, with differences observed between domestic and international visitors. The results have implications for visitors, businesses, tourism management, and residents of Vilakazi Street. Her supervisor is Dr Ncedo Ntloko.
‘‘Winning the Best Paper award at an international student conference provides the NWU and the tourism postgraduate programme with invaluable exposure, showcasing its academic excellence and research capabilities to a global audience,’’ says Prof Elmarie Slabbert from Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society.
Dr Babalwa Mgxekwa-Qumba won the Best Paper award.
Thokozile Selepe won second place in the Best Paper category.
