TOURISM CONSTRAINTS OF UMLAZI TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS ...

Emanating from the findings of this study, the group came to the conclusion thatamongst other things, taking a holiday in the context of late twentieth centurytourism, is not a luxury but a social need (Glyptus, 1989).The tourism industry, therefore, affects us in many ways. It is beneficial not onlybecause of its economic value, but also because ofthe valuable role it plays in thesocial well-being of individuals and communities by, amongst other things,improving their quality of life and standard of living, promoting nationalunderstanding and peace and being ofeducational value.2.3 IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND STANDARD OFLIVINGTourism has an important role to play in communities where there is a heightenedconcern about the quality oflife and potential social instability. This concern couldbe directed to the whole community or sometimes to specific groups in thecommunity.As early as 1975, the Department ofthe Environment in London wrote in its WhitePaper that the social stresses in many young people are enormous, especially in bigcities. The White Paper indicated that the stresses must be tackled before theyresult in costly crises (Glyptus, 1989).The South African situation is not much different from the situation described above.Young people in South Africa (about 50 percent of the population) facetremendous stress. Higher education is expensive; there are few new jobs availableand a sense ofsocial alienation is growing.South Africa is also still characterisedIQ"