Addressing human rights risks in South Africa’s tourism industry
Growing legal requirements – particularly Germany’s Supply Chain Act – have placed new obligations on European tour operators to understand human rights risks in their supply chains. South Africa represents a significant destination for German and European travellers, making it a priority for operators navigating these regulations.
On 22 October 2025, Fair Trade Tourism, SATSA, and the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism (in partnership with Africa’s Eden) unpacked the findings from an 11-day tourism impact assessment conducted across Cape Town, Johannesburg, and the Greater Kruger area in January 2025.
“Despite South Africa’s constitution containing some of the strongest labour and equality laws, overall unemployment and wage gaps persist across the country,” shared Katharina Stechl, Programme Manager at Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism, which acts as an open multi-stakeholder network to support tourism businesses on their way to respecting human rights.
Watch the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/8To4nbq96NI?si=Gx5VcTnJxhqjP-HD
She explained that, during the assessment, two research teams spoke with various stakeholders working in South Africa’s tourism industry – from DMCs and accommodation managers, to housekeeping and restaurant staff, as well as drivers, guides, rangers and civil society organisations – to understand human rights risks from the perspective of people experiencing them daily instead of from policy documents. “We wanted to make sure that it’s not patronising,” said Stechl. “The goal was always to listen and not to dictate solutions.”
Four key challenges emerged:
- Job creation and upskilling, with a particular focus on youth:
- Workers’ rights in general;
- Children’s rights, with emphasis on child labour and sexual exploitation; as well as
- Fair pricing and contract design in the supply chain.
On-the-ground insights to industry guidance
The assessment’s results were compiled into a report, with actionable suggestions the tourism industry and stakeholders can use to address these challenges within their own businesses. Each chapter addresses a key issue area, then provides overall risk factors in the South African context, connected legal requirements, practical challenges, possible measures, good practice examples, and further resources.
The assessment examined how pricing pressure cascades through the supply chain. When international tour operators demand lower prices from DMCs and local suppliers, those businesses may struggle to maintain standards or provide fair wages. “The price negotiation that seems routine in a European office has direct consequences for working conditions in South African properties,” Stechl said.
Findings around workers’ rights also revealed challenges that often stemmed from misaligned expectations rather than deliberate exploitation. Long working hours for guides and drivers often resulted from unaware itinerary planning and guest – like the guide joining guests for dinner, keeping the guide from family time or adequate sleep.
“Talking to the guests and explaining why the guide cannot stay for dinner could already be a suitable action step,” Stechl points out, emphasising that, sometimes, solutions don’t require policy changes or additional expenditure, just clearer education and communication about boundaries.
She added that several follow-up initiatives have been put in place as part of the assessment, including an online workshop with local partners and DMCs around “Worker welfare and itinerary planning” in January 2026 that will address this very issue.
The youth employment challenge proved particularly complex, Stechl noted. Tourism businesses reported strong motivation to train local youth, but expressed frustration when newly qualified staff left for other employers. The investment in training isn’t translating into stable employment pipelines, creating a cycle that discourages further investment.
The Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism will also host a webinar discussing “Fair supply chains and just transitions” in January 2026.
Read the full report and find out more, here: https://www.humanrights-in-tourism.net/report-tourism-impact-assessment-south-africa
A free, online learning hub for the tourism industry
One of the follow-up initiatives of the assessment was the creation of a central tourism training repository, and Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) was contracted by the Roundtable to research, compile, and host this resource. “The idea was not to create something new, but to bring together and amplify the many excellent existing materials already available in South Africa — from local training programs and NGO resources to webinars and practical tools,” Stechl explained, adding that these are often difficult to find, especially for smaller tourism businesses and individuals seeking to enter or grow within the industry.
“Everything is selected for accessibility, focusing exclusively on free materials to remove barriers of cost, location, and awareness,” shared Grace Stead, General Manager at Fair Trade Tourism, which aims to advance responsible and sustainable business practices in the tourism industry.
Organised into clear categories to help users navigate the breadth of content, visitors can explore resources by topics such as fair work, staff well-being, human resources, management, skills development, tourism, and the environment. Each resource includes a detailed description, estimated time commitment, type (webinar, course, PDF guideline, or other document), and the original source. Users can also search by tags to quickly locate resources on specific areas of interest.
The hub also links directly to external digital learning platforms, enabling users to explore additional modules and content in depth. FTT continues to curate and update the repository, welcoming contributions of course materials or relevant resources from industry partners.
“The aim is to make practical, credible knowledge freely available to everyone in the tourism sector, whether you’re a large operator or just starting your career,” explained Stead.
Check out the repository here: https://www.fairtradetourism.org/resources/
By combining evidence-based findings with accessible, actionable resources, the assessment and digital hub together offer a roadmap for tourism businesses to strengthen human rights practices, improve operations, and build resilient, ethical partnerships.
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