Hotel histories of apartheid South Africa: the emergence and expansion of the Southern Sun Hotel Group c. 1960–1983

Christian M. Rogerson; Jayne M. Rogerson

Published : 2023-01-24

Vol. 39 No. 3 (2022)

Hotel histories of apartheid South Africa: the emergence and expansion of the Southern Sun Hotel Group c. 1960–1983

Christian M. Rogerson

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1306-8867

Jayne M. Rogerson

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3494-1311

Abstract

Although hotels are at the heart of the international tourism economy, research on hotels constitutes only a minor theme in tourism scholarship. This article addresses the essential present-mindedness of tourism studies. More specifically, through archival documentary sources, it seeks to analyse the emergence and expansion of one leading hotel group, Southern Sun Hotels, in the context of the changing and challenging business environment for tourism development of apartheid South Africa. The reference period for this investigation marks the growing isolation of South Africa in the international community and the beginnings of boycotts and sanctions. The article represents a contribution to scholarship on hotel histories and to the growing literature devoted to the impact of sanctions on the tourism industry and tourism businesses. It is argued that the rise and expansion of Southern Sun hotels was facilitated by the business environment, which was fostered by the apartheid state in the context of South Africa’s growing international isolation and the onset of sanctions. Following Southern Sun’s initial expansion in leisure and business hotels an important new chapter opened with the apartheid policy of Bantustan development and the opening of casino-resorts by Southern Sun.

Keywords:

hotel histories, apartheid South Africa, sanctions, Southern Sun Hotels, casino resorts

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Logistic Makoni, Christian M. Rogerson , Business tourism in an African city: Evidence from Harare, Zimbabwe , Studia Periegetica: Vol. 43 No. 3 (2023): Tourism & Hospitality Issues in Africa vol. 2
Banele Mhlabane, Siyabulela Nyikana, Christian M. Rogerson, Route Tourism Planning, Local Impacts and Challenges: Stakeholder Perspectives from the Panorama Route, South Africa , Studia Periegetica: Vol. 43 No. 3 (2023): Tourism & Hospitality Issues in Africa vol. 2
Keagan J.E. Collins, Christian M. Rogerson, Jayne Rogerson, The Evolution of the Craft Beer Industry in the Global South: The Experience of South Africa , Studia Periegetica: Vol. 44 No. 4 (2023)
Ngoni C. Shereni, Christian M. Rogerson, Sustainability Practices in the Hospitality Sector of Zimbabwe: a Spatial View , Studia Periegetica: Vol. 43 No. 3 (2023): Tourism & Hospitality Issues in Africa vol. 2
Christian M. Rogerson, Jayne M. Rogerson, The first round impacts of COVID-19 for rural tourism in South Africa , Studia Periegetica: Vol. 37 No. 1 (2022)

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Rogerson, C. M., & Rogerson , J. M. (2023). Hotel histories of apartheid South Africa: the emergence and expansion of the Southern Sun Hotel Group c. 1960–1983. Studia Periegetica, 39(3), 39–58. Retrieved from https://journals.wsb.poznan.pl/index.php/sp/article/view/355

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Biko, S. (1987). I write what I like: A selection of his writings. Heinemann

Bowie, D. (2016). Pure diffusion? The great English hotel charges debate in The Times, 1853. Business History, 58(2), 159-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2015.1039521

Bowie, D. (2018). Innovation and 19th century hotel industry evolution. Tourism Management, 64, 314-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.09.005

Butler, R.W. (2015). The evolution of tourism and tourism research. Tourism Recreation Research, 40(1), 16-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1007632

Butler, R. & Russell, R. A. (Eds.) (2010). Giants of Tourism. CABI

Caras, D. (2007) Managing accommodation for tourists. In R. George (Ed.), Managing Tourism in South Africa (pp. 103-120). Oxford University Press

Christopher, A.J. (1994). The pattern of diplomatic sanctions against South Africa 1948-1994. GeoJournal, 34, 439-446

Cirer-Costa, J.C. (2012). The beginnings of tourism in Majorca 1937-1914. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(4), 1779-1796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2012.06.004

Drummond, J., Rogerson, C. M. & Drummond, F. (2022). Adventure tourism in the apartheid era: Skydiving in Mafikeng-Mmabatho. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 11, 578-594. https://doi.org/10.46222/ajhtl.19770720.244

Eeden, J. van (2007). Gendered tourism space: A South African perspective. In A. Pritchard, N. Morgan, I. Ateljevic, & C. Harris (Eds.), Tourism and gender: Essays in embodiment, sensuality and experience (pp. 182-206). CAB International

Fernàndez-Paradas, M. & Larrinaga, C. (2021). The hotel industry in Spain during the first half of the twentieth century, 1900-1959. Business History, https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.20211977922

Financial Mail (Weekly Business Press, Johannesburg) 21 May 1965, 30 July, 1976

Frankel, P. (2001). An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and Its Massacre. Yale University Press

Ghaderi, Z., Soltani, S., Henderson, J., & Zareei, A. (2019). Sanctions, the 2015 agreement and Iran’s tourism industry. In S. Seyfi & C. M. Hall (Eds.), Tourism in Iran: Challenges, development and Issues (pp. 55-65). Routledge

Grundlingh, A. (2006). Revisiting the ‘old’ South Africa: Excursions into South Africa’s tourism history under apartheid, 1948-1990. South African Historical Journal, 56, 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02582470609464967

Haines, R.J. & Tomaselli, K. G. (1992). Toward a political economy of the South African film industry in the 1980s. In C. R. Lehman & R. M. Moore (Eds.), Multinational Culture: Social Impacts of a Global Economy (pp. 155-166). Praeger

Hall, C.M. & Seyfi, S. (2021). Tourism and sanctions. In P. A. van Bergeijk (Ed.), Research Handbook on Economic Sanctions (pp. 351-368). Edward Elgar

Hodgkiss, D. (1967). No bar to success: A Business Efficiency survey of the hotel trade. Business Efficiency: South Africa’s Management Journal, 23, 31-33

James, K.J. (2018a). Histories, Meanings and Representations of the Modern Hotel. Channel View

James, K.J. (2018b). Tourism histories. In C. Cooper, S. Volo, W. C. Gartner & N. Scott (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Tourism Management (pp. 68-85). SAGE

James, K.J. (2020). Hotel history. In I. S. Yeoman & U. McMahon-Beattie (Eds.), The Future Past of Tourism: Historical Perspectives and Future Evolutions. Channel View

James, K.J., Sandoval-Strausz, A. K., Maudlin, D., Peleggi, M., Humair, C. & Berger, M. W. (2017). The hotel in history: Evolving perspectives. Journal of Tourism History, 9(1), 92-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2017.1343784

Larrinaga, C. & Vallejo, R. (2021). The origins and creation of the tourist hotel industry in Spain from the end of the 19th century to 1936: Barcelona as a case study. Tourism Management, 82, 104203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104203

Li, F. & Zhang, G. (2021). Border resident perceptions of sanctions and tourism: A case study of North Korea. Tourism Management Perspectives, 38, 100821. https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=ELS&contentID=S2211973621000349&orderBeanReset=true

Lissoni, A. & Ally, S. (2018). Bantustan states. African Historical Review, 50(1-2), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2019.1596405

Lodge, T. (2011). Sharpeville: An Apartheid Massacre and Its Consequences. Oxford University Press

MacKenzie, N.G. & Gannon, M. J. (2019). Exploring the antecedents of sustainable tourism development. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(6), 2411-2427. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2018-0384

MacKenzie, N.G., Pittaki, Z., & Wong, N. (2020). Historical approaches for hospitality and tourism research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(4), 1469-1485. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2019-0273

Maylam, P. (2010). A tragic turning-point: Remembering Sharpeville fifty years on. Lecture given at Faculty of Humanities, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 23 March 2010 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre

McNeill, D. & McNamara, K. (2009). Hotels as civic landmarks, hotels as assets: The case of Sydney’s Hilton. Australian Geographer, 40(3), 369-386. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049180903127796

McNeill, D. & McNamara, K. (2012). The life and death of great hotels: A building biography of Sydney’s ‘The Australia’. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 37(NS), 149-163. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2011.00445.x

Nasson, B. (2012). Sharp-nosed at Sharpeville. South African Journal of Science, 108 (1/2), Article #1035

Nickson, D. (1997). “Colorful stories” or historical insight? – a review of the auto/biographies of Charles Forte, Conrad Hilton, J.W. Marriott and Kemmons Wilson. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 21(1), 179-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/109634809702100112

Norval, A.J. (1936). The Tourist Industry: A National and International Survey. Sir Isaac Pitman

Phillips, L. (2017). History of South Africa’s Bantustans, Oxford Research Encyclopedias, African History (online) https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.80

Pirie, G.H. (2022). Tourism histories in Africa. In E. Zuelow & K. James (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Tourism and Travel History (pp. C24.P1-C24.N94). Oxford University Press

Rand Daily Mail (Johannesburg newspaper), 2 June 1964

Republic of South Africa (1964). Report of the commission of enquiry into the hotel industry. Pretoria: Government Printer, RP 76/1964

Rogerson, C.M. (1990). Sun International: The making of a South African tourism multinational. GeoJournal, 22, 345‑354

Rogerson, C.M. (2011). From liquor to leisure: The changing South African hotel industry 1928-1968. Urban Forum, 22(4), 379-394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-011-9126-9

Rogerson, C.M. (2019). Business tourism under apartheid: The historical development of South Africa’s conference industry. Urbani izziv, 30 (Supplement), 82-95

Rogerson, C.M. (2020). Apartheid hotels: The Rise and Fall of the ‘non-White’ hotel in South Africa. In J.M. Rogerson & G. Visser (Eds.), New Directions in South African Tourism Geographies (pp. 33-54) Springer International

Rogerson, C.M. (2022). Applying an historical approach to innovation and tourism: The ‘international hotel’ in apartheid South Africa. In I. Booyens & P. Brouder (Eds.), Handbook of Innovation for Sustainable Tourism (pp. 274-291). Edward Elgar

Rogerson, C.M. & Rogerson, J. M. (2018). The evolution of hotels in Johannesburg 1890-1948: A case of historical urban tourism. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 23(3), 738-747. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.23310-324

Rogerson, C.M. & Rogerson, J. M. (2020). Racialized landscapes of tourism: From Jim Crow USA to apartheid South Africa. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-Economic Series, 48, 7-21

Rogerson, C.M. & Rogerson, J. M. (2022). Historical turning points in tourism: The establishment of the Hotel Board in South Africa. Tourism Review International, 26(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.3727/154427221X16245632411917

Rogerson, C.M. & Visser, G. (Eds.) (2004). Tourism and Development Issues in Contemporary South Africa. Africa Institute of South Africa

Rogerson, J.M. (2018). The early development of hotels in Johannesburg ca. 1928-1963. African Journal of Hospitality Tourism and Leisure, 7(4), 1-16

Rogerson, J.M. (2019). The evolution of accommodation services in a coastal town: Hermanus, South Africa. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 8(5) 1-16

Rogerson, J.M. (2020). Johannesburg’s iconic hotels: The life and death of the two Carltons. In J. M. Rogerson & G. Visser (Eds.), New Directions in South African Tourism Geographies (pp. 55-74). Springer International

Saarinen, J., Rogerson, C. M., & Hall, C. M. (2017). Geographies of tourism development and planning. Tourism Geographies, 19(3), 307-317

Sarmento, J. & Linehan, D. (2019). The colonial hotel: Spacing violence at the Grande Hotel, Beira, Mozambique. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 37(2), 267-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775818800719

Saunders, C. & Barben, T. (2007). The history of tourism. In R. George (Ed.), Managing Tourism in South Africa (pp. 25-31). Oxford University Press

Seyfi, S. & Hall, C. M. (2019a). Tourism, Sanctions and Boycotts. Routledge

Seyfi, S. & Hall, C. M. (2019b). International sanctions, tourism destinations and resistive economy. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 11(1), 159-169

Seyfi, S. & Hall, C. M. (2020a). Sanctions and tourism: Effects, complexities and research. Tourism Geographies, 22(4-5), 749-767. https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2018.1482305

Seyfi, S. & Hall, C. M. (2020b). Sanctions and tourism: Conceptualization and implications for destination marketing and management. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 15, 100381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2019.100381

Seyfi, S., Hall, C. M., & Vo-Thanh, T. (2022a). Tourism, peace and sustainability in sanctions-ridden destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(2-3), 372-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1818764

Seyfi, S., Hall, C. M. & Vo-Thanh, T. (2022b). The gendered effects of statecraft on women in tourism: Economic sanctions, women’s disempowerment and sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(7), 1736-1753. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1850749

Sunday Express (Johannesburg newspaper), 30 November 1971

The Star (Johannesburg newspaper), 7 December 1964

Stevens, S. (2016). Boycotts and sanctions against South Africa: An International History, 1946-1970 (PhD dissertation). Columbia University

Timothy, D. & Teye, V. (2009). Tourism and the Lodging Sector. Butterworth-Heinemann

Tlale, P. (1964). Sanctions against apartheid. The African Communist, 16, 35-59

Tucker, B. (1986). The international expansion of an enterprise of the semi-periphery: South African Breweries Limited. In M. Taylor & N. Thrift (Eds.), Multinationals and the Restructuring of the World Economy (pp. 86-104). Croom Helm

Union of South Africa (1956). Report of the commission of enquiry into the local liquor licensing board and tied-house systems. Pretoria: Government Printer, UG 22/1956

United Nations Centre Against Apartheid (1970). “Native reserves” in South Africa. New York: United Nations Department of Political and Security Council Affairs, Notes and Documents

University of Cape Town (1949). Report on the Economy of the Tourist Hotel in South Africa. Pretoria: South African Tourist Corporation

Van den Merwe, N. S. (2017). Gambling in the Bophuthatswana Sun: Sun City and the political economy of a Bantustan casino: 1965-1994 (MA Dissertation). University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Van Wyk, D. (2013). The social history of three Western Cape thermal mineral springs resorts and their influence on the development of the health and wellness tourism industry in South Africa (MA History dissertation). Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Vereeniging Town Council (1969). Industrial Vereeniging on the Vaal. Vereeniging: Town Council

Walton, J.K. (2009a). Welcome to the Journal of Tourism History. Journal of Tourism History, 1, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/17551820902739034

Walton, J.K. (2009b). Histories of tourism. In T. Jamal & M. Robinson (Eds.), The SAGE of Tourism Studies (pp 115-129). SAGE

Walton, J.K. (2009c). Progress in tourism management: Prospects in tourism history: evolution, state of play and future developments. Tourism Management, 30, 783-793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.05.010

Walton, J.K. (2011). Tourism and History. Goodfellow Publishers

Walton, J.K. (2013). Responsible tourism before ‘responsible tourism’? Some historical antecedents of current concerns and conflicts. Acta Turistica, 6(1), 3-16

Walton, J.K. (2017). Tourism history: People in motion and at rest. Mobility in History, 5 (January), 74-85. https://doi.org/10.3167/mih.2014.050108

Welch, A.W. (2005). An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and its Massacre and The Assassin: A story of race and rage in the land of apartheid. African Studies Review, 48(1), 174-176. https://doi.org/10.1353/arw.2005.0046

Woods, R.H. (1991). Hospitality’s history: Who wrote what about when. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 32(2), 89-94. https://doi.org/10.1177/001088049103200226

Yilmaz, A., Yetgin, D., & Kozak, N. (2017). A hotel in Anatolia in the last period of the Ottoman Empire: Hotel Tadia (1892-1922). Tourism Management Perspectives, 26, 118-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.08.002

Christian M. Rogerson

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1306-8867

Affiliation:

University of Johannesburg (South Africa), School of Tourism & Hospitality Poland

Jayne M. Rogerson

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3494-1311

Affiliation:

University of Johannesburg (South Africa), School of Tourism & Hospitality South Africa