APY3704
Assignment 1 Semester 1 2026
Unique number:
Due Date: 13 March 2026
This document includes:
Helpful answers and guidelines
Detailed explanations and/ or calculations
References
Connect with the tutor on
+27 81 278 3372
, Introduction
Tourism is often understood today as travelling for leisure, relaxation or
entertainment. However, when tourism is examined from a historical perspective, it
refers more broadly to human movement across regions for trade, exploration, social
interaction and cultural exchange. In Africa, travelling existed long before the modern
tourism industry developed. African societies travelled for trade, religious purposes,
migration and communication between communities. These early movements can be
understood as the foundations of tourism because they involved mobility, encounters
with new environments and interaction with different societies. Over time, historical
processes such as colonialism, European exploration and economic development
changed the meaning and structure of tourism in Africa. Tourism gradually evolved
from traditional African travel practices into a formal industry linked to global travel
networks. The development of tourism in Africa can therefore be understood through
three main historical phases: the pre colonial period, the colonial period and the post
independence era. Each of these periods shaped how tourism in Africa developed
and how the continent is experienced by tourists today.
Pre colonial travel and early African mobility
Long before European explorers arrived in Africa, African societies travelled widely
across the continent and beyond. Travel during the pre colonial period was mainly
linked to trade, migration, diplomacy and cultural exchange rather than leisure.
Communities moved across regions to trade goods such as gold, salt, ivory and
textiles. Large trade networks connected North Africa, West Africa and East Africa to
regions in the Middle East and Asia. Caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert
connected powerful African empires such as Ghana, Mali and Songhai with North
African and Mediterranean markets. These movements brought travellers into
contact with new cultures, landscapes and communities.
Travel in Africa also occurred through religious journeys and social visits between
families and communities. Pilgrimages to religious sites and journeys to visit relatives
were common. These movements can be compared to what is today known as
visiting friends and relatives tourism. Burns explains that tourism should not only
refer to expensive leisure travel but also include everyday forms of travel that involve
movement and interaction between people and places (Burns 2000).
© Study Shack 2026. All rights Reserved +27 81 278 3372
Assignment 1 Semester 1 2026
Unique number:
Due Date: 13 March 2026
This document includes:
Helpful answers and guidelines
Detailed explanations and/ or calculations
References
Connect with the tutor on
+27 81 278 3372
, Introduction
Tourism is often understood today as travelling for leisure, relaxation or
entertainment. However, when tourism is examined from a historical perspective, it
refers more broadly to human movement across regions for trade, exploration, social
interaction and cultural exchange. In Africa, travelling existed long before the modern
tourism industry developed. African societies travelled for trade, religious purposes,
migration and communication between communities. These early movements can be
understood as the foundations of tourism because they involved mobility, encounters
with new environments and interaction with different societies. Over time, historical
processes such as colonialism, European exploration and economic development
changed the meaning and structure of tourism in Africa. Tourism gradually evolved
from traditional African travel practices into a formal industry linked to global travel
networks. The development of tourism in Africa can therefore be understood through
three main historical phases: the pre colonial period, the colonial period and the post
independence era. Each of these periods shaped how tourism in Africa developed
and how the continent is experienced by tourists today.
Pre colonial travel and early African mobility
Long before European explorers arrived in Africa, African societies travelled widely
across the continent and beyond. Travel during the pre colonial period was mainly
linked to trade, migration, diplomacy and cultural exchange rather than leisure.
Communities moved across regions to trade goods such as gold, salt, ivory and
textiles. Large trade networks connected North Africa, West Africa and East Africa to
regions in the Middle East and Asia. Caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert
connected powerful African empires such as Ghana, Mali and Songhai with North
African and Mediterranean markets. These movements brought travellers into
contact with new cultures, landscapes and communities.
Travel in Africa also occurred through religious journeys and social visits between
families and communities. Pilgrimages to religious sites and journeys to visit relatives
were common. These movements can be compared to what is today known as
visiting friends and relatives tourism. Burns explains that tourism should not only
refer to expensive leisure travel but also include everyday forms of travel that involve
movement and interaction between people and places (Burns 2000).
© Study Shack 2026. All rights Reserved +27 81 278 3372
