Paper Title
Common Denominators for Successful Route Tourism Development: A Southern African Perspective

Abstract
Tourism and the development thereof are essential in improving the economic sustainability of local areas. This is especially applicable to Southern Africa – which has large open spaces and numerous rural communities. As there is a persisting need for the development of rural areas, the main aim of this investigation is to propose common denominators for successful route tourism development in the study areas. The lessons learned can be valuable for similar challenges in other areas. It is proposed that for successful routetourismdevelopment, the study emphasised that buy-in and support should be coerced from the public and private sectors, respectively. There is little cooperation between stakeholders, which hinders the developmental opportunities of the two regions. Furthermore, should a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) be established for both areas to market and develop tourism activities. Keywords - Namibia, South Africa, route tourism, Drakensberg