| Summary: | Drive tourism is cited to become a major part of the road map to recover the South African tourism industry in the post-Covid era. Even before the pandemic, the South African tourism industry was subjected to serious setbacks. The implementation of stricter visa requirements to curtail child trafficking had the unintended effect
of an R886m loss in direct tourism spending. Xenophobic attacks and political turmoil also contributed to an ailing tourism industry. As the tourism industry started to recover at the beginning of 2020, the Covid pandemic caused economic havoc worldwide. The industry was hit hard by the lockdowns and shed more than 300 000 jobs in South Africa during this time. As the world vaccinated and started to adjust to living with the virus, a recovery plan for the South African tourism industry is urgently needed. A worldwide trend suggests that countries are jump-starting their tourism industries by focusing on the regeneration of their domestic tourism markets. While social distancing is still recommended, drive tourism has become the ideal vehicle of recovery that will enable
tourists to travel freely and safely. In order to properly implement drive tourism as a dynamo of economic activity, this study aims to conduct a systematic literature review on international and domestic drive tourism research. Making use of a conceptual research design, this study further aims (1) to understand the focus of drive tourism
research on an international level; (2) to identify studies on drive tourism already undertaken in South Africa; and (3) to identify the research gaps in drive tourism studies in South Africa. Establishing a theoretical framework of existing knowledge will reveal the extent of the lack of research in drive tourism and hopefully create a better understanding of the significant opportunities in the South African drive tourism market.
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