The purpose of this book is to explore the relationship between tourism in a variety of African contexts, from all points (north, south, east and west) and the emergent consideration of sustainability as an indicator and goal within the employment domain. Arguably, employment has been grossly neglected within the widening discussion about sustainable tourism (Baum, 2018; Baum et al., 2016). Most narratives
relating to sustainability address one or more of its key pillars—the environmental,
economic and social (Boström, 2012; Foladori, 2005)—although it is evident that it
is the latter, within which key dimensions of work and employment fall (Littig &
Grießler, 2005), that has received the least attention in the academic literature. In the
words of Longoni and Cagliano (2015: 218), ‘social sustainability refers to actively
supporting the preservation and creation of skills as well as the capabilities of future
generations, promoting health and supporting equal and democratic treatments that
allow for good quality of life both inside and outside of the company context’. Widening discourse about sustainable development has impacted upon the geographies of tourism, not least with respect to employment (Pascariu & Tiganasu, 2014) and now challenges both the quality and durability of tourism-induced employment creation.
Such debate is particularly pertinent in an African context. Brouder (2017) offers the
critical lens of evolutionary economic geography as a means of assessing the potential of a socially sustainable path to tourism development as a means to overcome some of the sector’s historical failings. His analysis speaks clearly to the challenges posed by tourism employment creation, particularly in the Global South.