State Sponsored Tourism Attractions as a Vehicle for Economic Growth: The Case for Sustainable Tourism Performance in Lesotho.

The tourism industry has developed remarkably since the Second World War to turn

out to be the world’s major economic activity. Moreover, tourism has become one of

the greatest vital pushers for economic development in numerous countries. Most

literature highlights that tourism carries the growth of economies of numerous

countries. Tourism does not only contribute to the positive stimulation of the

economy, but it also generates employment and revenue. Lesotho is rich in tourist

attractions ranging from skiing, hiking, fly fishing, rock painting, rock art, bird

watching, dinosaur bone fossils, and many more, but few research studies highlight

the plight of Lesotho’s tourism attractions. Therefore, this study investigated why

Lesotho’s attractions are not attracting a significantly incremental number of tourist

arrivals on a year-to-year basis, and whether the state has the ability to mobilise

more international visitors to its tourist attractions and ensure tourism-driven

economic growth. For this study, convenience sampling was used to gather data by

interviewing 30 participants in each of the 11 villages of the Qacha’s Nek district, one

of the 10 districts of Lesotho. Each of the interviewees was helped to fill in a

questionnaire that the researcher analysed and drew conclusions on whether the

Lesotho possess the potential to have more inbound arrivals to its attractions and if

government could play a significant role towards boosting the economy through

tourism. The results highlighted that Lesotho has the potential to attract a

significantly high number of inbound tourist arrivals owing to the nation’s rich cultural

diversity and unique scenery, but the state and relevant authorities should address

issues of concern such as vandalism and lack of security at attraction sites, poor

roads, lack of signage on roads, and the deterioration of tourist attractions. The study

recommends that for Lesotho’s attractions to experience increased international

visitor arrivals, issues such as security, accessibility, accommodation, and upgrading

of infrastructure should be addressed.