The Daily Dispatch’s construction of criminal attacks on tourists in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The Eastern Cape ranks among South Africa’s top tourism destinations. The province offers attractive landscapes, untamed Wild Coast beaches and pristine surfing spots. Millions of domestic and international tourists visit Eastern Cape annually. Tourism is Eastern Cape’s nerve centre generating revenue for its economy and thousands of jobs for locals. However, Eastern Cape has witnessed a surge in criminal attacks against tourists. This threatens its destination image with disastrous ramifications for its economy and a society reliant on tourism for survival. Extant scholarship examines how foreign media have reported on crime in South Africa, especially towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which the country hosted. Literature examining how the domestic press has mediated crime in tourism is scarce. Through this qualitative case study, we attend this lacuna by examining how Daily Dispatch constructed attacks on tourists in Eastern Cape and the implications on destination image. Data gathered through digital archival research were subjected to a framing analysis. Findings reveal that whereas Daily Dispatch depicted the attacks as a threat to Eastern Cape’s provincial economy and flagged poor policing, it primed grassroot anti-crime mechanisms inclusive of community neighbourhood watch as among a cocktail of measures guaranteeing safety for tourists. Such contextualised editorialization enabled Daily Dispatch to deftly mediate a sensitive subject intersecting tourism, crime and journalism.