Residents’ Perceptions of the Socio-economic Benefits of Restaurants in the Township

With the emerging change and rapid development within the tourism industry, we have seen the rise of a number of restaurants in the townships of South Africa. Residents are now moving away from franchise restaurants or restaurants located in the city and more towards authentic restaurants within the township which provide a local experience. This has been largely due to a change of perception in the township regarding township-based tourism establishments and the understanding of socio-economic benefits associated with the existence of these establishments. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the residents’ perception of the socio-economic benefits of restaurants in the township. This study focused on a qualitative approach. A non-probability technique was selected to ensure convenience sampling of residents within the Langa township, in Cape Town, South Africa. The semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted October 2019, and the data collected has been analysed through descriptive analysis which outlined the socio-economic benefits that emerged in the research. The results from this study outlined the importance of restaurants in townships and the significance in tourism development within township. The results further outline the socio-economic benefits of the restaurants in townships, thus contributing to the knowledge of research in tourism, and especially within the South African context.