Tourism development dilemmas in Musina Municipality: evidence from the Big Tree Nature Reserve and neighboring entities, Vhembe district, South Africa

Purpose - This study assesses tourism development dilemmas about the Big Tree Nature Reserve (BNTR) with its neighboring tourism entities in Musina Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa. Design/methodology/approach - Data were obtained by interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and physical observation. Tacitly pertinent literature review propped and augmented the adopted approach. Findings - The examination exposed many hurdles correlated with tourism efforts around the BNTR and its adjoining tourism entities. The gains of tourism were not drawn into by the local communities within and around the study area. The determinants adding to the poor state of tourism professions got portrayed by the conclusions of the study. Therefore, there was an inherent necessity for a turnaround efficient tourism management to promote tourism initiatives to bolster local communities in the region. Originality/value - Musina Municipality constitutes a remote region in the north of Limpopo province, South Africa. Poor rural livelihoods are analogous to many rural districts within the continent. Despite all these, it substantially incorporates an essentially tourism-based area within the Vhembe district of Limpopo province.