The potential significance of geographic information systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) in sustainable tourism and decent community involvement in African-rural neighborhoods

Abstract

Purpose

This study looked at the potential applications of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) for inclusive community development and participation, sustainable tourism, and rural community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in sub-Saharan Africa and other rural areas worldwide.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate resource management systems for rural tourism and the environment in Africa and abroad. The study makes use of reviews of relevant literature and documents, and while linking applications for sustainable tourism and local community empowerment with CBNRM and GIS, vital content was manually analyzed.

Findings

The study shows a potential affinity between agricultural and tourism businesses that GIS in line with the CBNRM conception can strengthen. In many rural and underdeveloped regions of the continent, this highlights the need for a credible and varied tourism strategy to develop and empower the relevant communities.

Originality/value

Most agricultural communities in Africa are located in low-income regions. Such areas are rich in natural wildlife and have popular tourist destinations. A mix of regional community development initiatives can be built using GIS, sustainable tourism, CBNRM, and community-based tourism (CBT).

Citation

Ramaano, A.I. (2024), "The potential significance of geographic information systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) in sustainable tourism and decent community involvement in African-rural neighborhoods", Journal of Electronic Business & Digital Economics, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 341-362. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEBDE-03-2024-0006

1. Introduction

There are numerous examples in Carver (1995) and McAdam (1999), where a geographic information system (GIS) was used to make a significant addition to the design and development of tourism. On a “wilderness continuum map” that revealed areas designated as wilderness in the UK, Carver (1995), among many others, came to the fore in the report. Hence, effect analysis and simulation are becoming increasingly important in the growth of the tourism industry (McAdam, 1994). According to Tasoulas, Varras, Tsirogiannis, and Myriounis (2013), GIS was used in a variety of specializations, including forestry, urban planning, geography, and environmental considerations. The previous inference is in line with their assertion. Admittedly, this is more apparent in public urban development than in traditional tourist administration and its services or products or in digital policy regulations. Therefore, such a component alludes to its impending recent turnabout. The key to successful tourism is practical planning and growth, which can be enhanced by using GIS (Pijanowski et al., 2014). Consequently, the GIS commands a crucial role in the administration and control of tourism (Wei, 2012; Ramaano, 2021a). According to Chaudhuri and Ray (2015), one of the well-known information technology (ICT) instruments for capturing, storing, recovering, operating, mapping, and examining spatial and non-spatial geographical data in digital form is geographic information systems (GIS). Consequently, it is more consistent with Fagerholm, Oteros-Rozas, and Raymond (2016), who considered the relationships between ecosystem services, land use, and well-being in an agroforestry setting running public participation GIS (PPGIS) as the most negligent elements of beneficial agricultural products. PPGIS, with geographic technology teaching and collaboration as its core subject, professes for the empowerment of marginalized residents who have limited input in the public medium, per the paradox of African rural environments. Digital maps, satellite images, sketch maps, and other spatial and visual tools are used and provided to increase geographic involvement and knowledge on a social level. The wealth in developing tourism in a region is a natural and sociocultural resource, requiring well-defined planning for tourism to flourish; as a result, various geographical systems can be crucial (Rahayuningsih, Muntasib, & Prasetyo, 2016). There is to date insufficient research that endorses the essence and usage of varied and integrated GISs, such as quantum GIS (QGIS), remote sensing (RS), and participatory geographic information systems (PGISs), in rural tourism management and holistic management of rural natural resources to enhance tourism development, integrated livelihoods, and sustainability imperatives in many marginalized African neighborhoods. Hence, it’s the gist of the current investigation to bridge the stipulated academic knowledge gap and contribute to scholarly literature. Akin to urban and countrified neighborhoods in developed nations, rural African communities can rely on the benefits of open-sourcing Quantum GIS (QGIS) utilities to combat poverty, improve a variety of entrepreneurial outputs, and improve their socioeconomic and environmental circumstances. Jovanović and Njegus (2016) emphasized the importance of planning, marketing research, and retailing for any tourism company and claimed that GIS plays a crucial role in fulfilling these requirements. The implementation of appropriate policies and empowerment strategies can enable impoverished African nations to endure within these proposed commitments (Ramaano, 2021b, 2022a, b). Albuquerquea, Costa, and Martins (2018) assert that GIS facilitates a more dependable decision-making process by inviting legislators and directors involved in the expansion of tourism and utilizing a combination of tourism knowledge. These are useful techniques for improving businesses that deal with location merchandising.

GISs like ArcGIS, Quantum GIS, Participatory GIS, and RS were thought to have a possible role in examining environmental conditions, assessing the sites for anticipated and planned developments, defining conflicting issues, and modeling affinities (Mundia & Aniya, 2005). In light of this, systematic examination of the ecological consequences requires adequate data and is frequently hampered by its dearth (Greene, Devillers, Luther, & Eddy, 2011), as are techniques and methods for data integration, image processing, and study (Singh, 2015). For instance, they are significant in social-economic, environmental, and engineering considerations in hydropower initiatives (Rojanamon, Chaisomphob, & Bureekul, 2009). GIS has since emerged as a crucial response to these concerns and obligations (Church, 2002; Fagerholm et al., 2016; Korkovelos et al., 2018). Thus, they have a significant impact on the tracking and management of regional disparities and civil unrest in sub-Saharan Africa (Østby, Nordås, & Rød, 2009). According to Xie, You, Wielgosz, and Ringler (2014) as well as Lottering, Mafongoya, and Lottering (2021), GIS is essential for constructing smallholder irrigation systems and analyzing the impacts of drought on small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Review of broad literature

2.1 Sustainability efforts, community-orientated tourism, and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) activities

Within African remote societies, the administration of lands and natural resources is covered by CBNRM, and in rural areas, it can be a vital element of community-based tourism (CBT) and sustainability efforts. Thus, within its rationales and paradigms, and to ensure that the financial benefits of tourism remain in society, CBT also requires local communities to fully own and monitor tourist satisfaction. CBNRM holds the potential to offer solutions to some of the puzzles found in the common areas. It denotes the rights of communities to resources, successful cultivation, a reliable supply of food, and the creation of jobs and small businesses (DEAT, 2003). As a result, it promotes equality, variety, and inclusion as its central themes. As a result, it is similar in some respects to the fundamental components of some types of geographic information systems, such as participatory geographic information systems (PGIS). Similar to CBNRM, the last emphasizes collaborative efforts to oversee community resources, especially in remote, marginalized societies (Stone & Nyaupane, 2014). Thus, according to the International Institute for Environment (2006), PGIS and CBNRM supplement each other in resource management, community participation, and livelihoods. It is compatible with case studies on land use stewardship and San groups' identity from Botswana and Namibia (DeGeorges & Reilly, 2009; Basupi, Quinn, & Dougill, 2017). Taylor (2012) and Hartley (2018) defined public leadership as centered around actions and decisions about the public sphere or public domain, which is on par with the resolution and community empowerment values of CBNRM and PGIS; consequently, politics, both official and informal, mantle and ingrain it. To achieve this, conflict and competition remain at the heart of it. Therefore, along with the principles of CBNRM and unified GIS, PGIS platforms can engender inclusive community development and empowerment while nailing disputes and promoting sustainability. The need for integrated, web-based heritage management tools in South Africa was emphasized by Smuts, Mlungwana, and Wiltshire (2016) to enhance cultural heritage management (CHM) and sustainable development. It is compatible with various GIS and remote sensing utilities. As a result, Mango, Çolak, and Li (2021) expressed a similar belief that a Web-based Geographic Information System (WGIS) prototype with vigilant and interactive maps is essential for managing and facilitating Tanzanian tourist welfare. Many people in southern Africa depend on and survive on natural resources. Thus, this story’s main argument is that GIS benefits horticulture and agriculture. Consequently, for projects involving community-based tourism (Ramaano, 2021a, d), providing a secondary and supplemental form of income in numerous rural communities across the continent. To improve the socioeconomic standing of the locals and purchase farm equipment. Agritourism and ecological tourism can collaborate to this end. Due to this, more opportunities for public leadership and varied local entrepreneurship can open up. The aforementioned is comparable to Rogerson’s (2016) study of tourism routes in rural and small towns in South Africa. Prosperous community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) can increase sustainability and produce a wide range of income, including, without question, agroforestry, ecotourism, and agricultural tourism (Ramaano, 2021a, b, c, d; 2022b). In turn, it stimulates community growth while addressing the problems caused by climate change. Therefore, tourism and hospitality-related programs focusing on women’s empowerment, such as selling traditional goods like baskets, brooms, artwork, and ceramics, among other items derived from local resources and biodiversity, are crucial for empowering rural, impoverished, and disenfranchised African societies and, furthermore, essential for comparison with other agricultural communities around the world. This is consonant with the assertion made by Nassani, Aldakhil, Abro, Islam, and Zaman (2019), who acknowledge that the tourism industry is vital to reducing gender discrepancies. From this point on, granting women access to partake in economic activities enables them to get opportunities with pride (UNWTO, 2010; Ramaano, 2008).

2.2 The management and monitoring values of GIS and RS in tourism and agriculture

Given the inherent geographical nature of agriculture and the substantial financial stakes, it is not unexpected that agriculture is a prime candidate for GIS use. In order to gather spatially distributed data, carry out spatial analysis and decision-making, and implement variable rate care, a number of similar site-specific farming techniques make use of GIS and other technologies such as remote sensing instruments, global positioning systems, receivers, and continuous yield sensors (Usery, Pocknee, & Boydell, 1995; Wilson, 1999). Agricultural resources are integral for both rural livelihood systems, national and international economic products, as well as agritourism enterprises. According to Longmatey, Amoako-Atta, and Prah (2004), tourism is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings for Ghana and the West African countries. They also contend that the poor development of tourism in these regions is hampered by the absence of a formal and proper spatial database of tourism attractions and facilities, a problem that can be greatly mitigated by better application of GIS-oriented policy and related platforms. Therefore, Magige, Jepkosgei, and Onywere (2020) strongly advise using GIS and remote sensing applications to map the conditions related to tourism and biodiversity conservation in Africa and their political economy and political ecology, including the enhancement of public health services (Falchetta, Hammad, & Shayegh, 2020; Wang, 2020), particularly in rural areas. Using Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Nairobi National Park as case studies, they were able to emphasize the importance and practical application of GIS and RS in assessing changes in ecosystems caused by the pressures of human development.

One of the most important instruments for promoting development in South Africa is land reform and its implications for restitution, land redistributions, and tenure allocations. The land question is still a major concern for policymakers in South Africa after more than twenty years since democracy was established. Using a case study from South Africa, Musakewa (2018) illustrated the value of GIS and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) in supporting fact-based decision-making for sustainable land use management approaches and land reform. Ncube, Mupangwa, and French (2018) state that a variety of field-level operations, such as weed control, irrigation, fertilization, and soil preparation, can profit from precision agriculture. Applications of RS and global positioning are essential for monitoring soils, weeds, diseases, and crop strain. This was demonstrated in their study using the examples of chameleon and wetting front detector sensors, which allowed small-scale farmers in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to double productivity while reducing irrigation frequency by fifty occasions.

2.3 Digital policy regulations, governance, community engagement, and sustainable rural tourism

Chatterjee and Kar (2018) claim in their case study of India that the use of the internet of things (IoT) is expanding more quickly globally and improving businesses. To accomplish the change, emphasize the importance of citizen participation and information technology (IT) (Milakovich, 2012; Wagner & Ferro, 2020). From this point forward, it is relevant to modern industrial policies, the nature of the internet, and the global administration of invention (Dai, 2018). The administration and further facilitation of the efficacy of governmental statutes, according to Yen (2020), is a component of the digital leadership infrastructure. Aguerre (2018) reminds us of the significance of governmental power and the developing digital trade built on current policies and procedures in the case study of Latin America. Consequently, a digital strategy has an impact on data security laws and the vast array of government services (Wagner & Ferro, 2020). Digital governance and new technologies are therefore essential for improving public involvement and service. As a result, the institutional environment and changes to global e-commerce duties made in the 1990s contributed to business and the global internet’s growth (Mueller, 2002; Aguerre, 2018). In light of this, Dredge, Phi, Mahadevan, Meehan, and Popescu (2019) believe that digital technologies have enabled significant changes in the travel and tourism sector, transforming travel businesses, side trips, business ecosystems, and locations.

According to Jouanjean, Casalini, Wiseman, and Gray (2020), farmers' readiness to adopt digital resolutions may be hampered by disjointed and vague data management and configurations. The above could adversely impact agritourism as well as agriculture. As a result, it has added new duties, affinities, business standards, and capabilities to the traditional roles of tourism producers and consumers. According to Kalbaska, Janowski, Estevez, and Cantoni (2017), e-government and its technology are essential for tourism and destination governance, expressing the demand for improved governance in the tourist industry. To fully leverage the digital economy, e-commerce, IT, and the internet’s contribution to tourism companies and community empowerment, it is crucial going forward (Hojeghan & Esfangareh, 2011). Abbasian Fereidouni and Kawa (2019) caution that if digitalization in tourism is not applied carefully, it could have long-term undesirable effects on the economy, politics, and social life of tourist destination spots. Digital media also provides platforms for people to share their endeavors and tourism-related tales (Bassano et al., 2019). It is sufficient to note that Cheng and Foley (2018) highlight the Airbnb case to reaffirm that digital discrimination refers to situations where decision-making strategies based on information mining restrict access for members of particular social classes to housing, employment, education, hobbies, and variable offerings.

As a result, Airbnb operates an online platform that gives users a choice to favor potential hosts and guests based on their race and sexual orientation, which runs contrary to the principles of sustainability, human justice, and empowering the community (Fisman & Luca, 2016; Ahuja & Lyons, 2017). A range of sustainable tourism forms, including medical, agricultural, adventure, and eco-tourism, have benefited from crucial innovations from new digital technologies in makers, hospitals, resorts, metropolia, and settlements. Consequently, the smart tourism idea manifests the tourism sector’s digital transformation endeavors (Wei, 2012; Pencarelli, 2020).

2.4 Linkage of digital economies, information and communication technology (ICT), and the internet to resources marketing

According to Kogut (2003), all of the previously small number of countries had connected to the internet by 2002. As to Rezabakhsh, Bornemann, Hansen, and Schrader (2006), by the actual inception of the internet, the ultimate transition from supplier investment to consumer impact was projected by several writers and is still attested to in modern debate. The relationship between the internet and global commerce, corporate governance, and finance raises awareness of public policies governing property rights and technological advancement. It also aligns with Ye and Ma’s (2017) examination of the fundamentals and implications of various e-business platforms and Luo, Li, Wang, and Ye (2021) investigation of the variables influencing customers' purchase decisions in airport shopping centers. To address these issues, Gnezdova, Chernyavskaya, Rubtsova, Soldatova, and Idilov (2016) discussed several subjects on the particulars of economic connections on the internet, specifically the development of the establishment, the delivery process, and the transition of network entitlements. Romm, Rosenfeld, and Herrmann (1999) are enthusiastic that the growth of e-commerce will lead to opportunities and challenges for both public and private groups. Noe and Parker (2005) contend that web-based businesses could lose money despite having a sound economic foundation if they spend carelessly advertising and selling. According to Hayman (2000), who is still upbeat about the future of the internet economy, enterprise resource planning (ERP) will play a crucial role in the more pervasive content strategy that successfully combines various types of market partnerships and collaborations. Carroll and Tansey (2000) urged that the cornerstone of business advancement in the new economy is intellectual capital (IC). Evans, nevertheless, fears that antitrust disputes frequently center on web-based businesses. To this end, the IoT, including various GIS and IT tools, is crucial for managing and promoting tourism resources. It demonstrates how the IoT supports broad corporate networks and digital economies.

3. Methods and data

Google Scholar and integrated publication outlets were used to execute a comprehensive literature review on the most important topics, and no sophisticated software was applied. As a result, to collect information on the relevant subject for this research, existing documents and narrative literature reviews were used, and the process of data collection spanned from January 2023 to January 2024 and extended to most recent affairs. As a result, the study predominantly adopted qualitative data collection and analysis methods, with no software application. According to Viloria et al. (2018), document review is an organized technique of data collection in research that includes documentation, commentary, and data organization. It is a data collection method whereby the investigator acquires information from existing secondary sources and correlates it with what is in the field (Bowen, 2009; Sileyew, 2019). From this point forward, a narrative literature review is an exhaustive, critical, and accurate analysis of the most recent research on a subject. It is a crucial step in the research process and enables one to specify the study’s academic structure, focus, and context (Grant & Booth, 2009; Palmatier, Houston, & Hulland, 2018). Although no strict inclusion and exclusion techniques were used in the examination, consistent with scientific rationales, a greater emphasis was placed on papers and scenarios that demonstrated how GIS, remote sensing, and related technologies improved tourism, sustainability, and economic development, all while improving public governance and livelihood security. Additionally, special attention was given to remote African countries or global scenarios that provided the best representation for these underprivileged African countries. This results in a general review that is more descriptive and instructional than interpretive, providing a synopsis and symbolic analysis of a given phenomenon. Compared to a quantitative study of bibliometric metrics that supplement the qualitative essence of a systematic literature review and the quantitative character of a meta-analysis review (Linnenluecke, Marrone, & Singh, 2020; Donthu, Kumar, Mukherjee, Pandey, & Lim, 2021), this study was more qualitative, and the analysis was descriptive and manual.

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Narrative literature, document reviews, and viewpoint data significant for the African rural and remote areas

There are instances where GIS, RS, and related fields support inclusive social livelihoods, governmental mentorship, and sustainable tourism. Therefore, the present findings, which are primarily found in peri-urban, rural, and outlying areas, have been inspired and selected from the major themes by which tourism, agriculture, and sustainability endeavors manifest profusely, particularly in marginalized areas:

4.1.1 The nexus of GIS, RS, and PGIS in sustainable rural tourism initiatives

An electronic tool for mapping and identifying distinct effects on land is known as a geographic information system (GIS). A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computerized record monitoring system used to record, retrieve, handle, service, analyze, and show spatial (i.e. location-defined) data (Knippers, Stoter, & Kraak, 2006; Tasoulas et al., 2013). There are some instances:

• (1)

  Mining specialists and topographical engineers

Mining specialists and engineers may require to identify copper-mining expectations that are ideally suited for future use and, as a result, take into account criteria like profundity, attributes, and the potential of the ore material. The activities that take place in mining regions are a fascinating facet of tourism. By exploring old, abandoned mines, they combine heritage tourism and geotourism; however, active mining sites can still draw tourists looking for adventure. Informational GIS data about both active and inactive mines can increase visitor safety and, in turn, reveal any hidden hazards from inactive mines. For the reciprocal interests of residents and visitors, as well as for the preservation of any resulting resource inconsistencies for sustainability in rural spheres, GIS can also assist in the mapping and modeling of African rural mining domains. Similarly, backpacking and trailing in the mountains are important aspects of adventure, and mountain travel requires safety, which is consistent with the crucial role that geographic engineers play (Ramaano, 2022c). Extensive GIS and RS data regarding various mountain patterns and true strain, as well as rock configurations, play a crucial role in the development of sustainable tourism and geotourism, benefiting both visitors and locals in underprivileged and marginalized rural districts of Africa and around the world.

• (2)

  Urban development and regional planners

Urban planners may want to investigate the lengthening of the border of cities in their community and assess the population increase that certain suburbs are seeing (Tayyebi, Pijanowski, & Tayyebi, 2011). A critical factor in this is awareness of green space and land use change (Xu, Duan, Sun, & Sun, 2011; Van Herzele & Wiedemann, 2003); they may also wish to ascertain the exact drivers behind the outermost expansion of typical cities connected to the others (Hassan & Southworth, 2017; Abdullahi & Pradhan, 2018). As a result, they would be privy to vital information about the metropolitan stretch’s administration, management, and local attractions and tourist projects. The reversal would be equivalent for rural development planners in creating and sustaining sustainable tourism in African rural surroundings and, therefore, in the campestral range, similar to the Silva and Clarke (2002) case study of the calibration of the SLEUTH urban development model for Lisbon and Porto, Portugal (Brail & Klosterman, 2001; Ramaano, 2023a, d). It is consistent with King (2002) on the essence and rationales of GIS and PGIs in African and emerging country rural development projects, enhancing the planning process against various socio-environmental challenges.

• (3)

  Conservationists, ecologists and entomologists.

Ecologists, entomologists, and conservationists may voice concerns about the slash-and-burn methods. Thus, it affects certain insects or wild creatures. They might also be worried about the biodiversity of invertebrates in urban and agricultural headwater waterways (Moore & Palmer, 2005). Implicitly, ecologists and agroforestry share viewpoints and serve as guardians of two important systems for sustainable tourism in rural areas: ecotourism and agritourism (Ramaano, 2008, 2021a). For an effective tourism approach, local community empowerment, and involvement in rural environments and other pertinent contexts, substantial GIS data about conservation areas, eco-tourism, agricultural areas, and agritourism is essential. However, poverty, restricted access to information and technology, and insufficient backing from their government authorities mean that many marginalized African rural communities are compromised when it comes to these deeds (Longmatey, Amoako-Atta, & Prah, 2004).

• (4)

  Forest administrators and supervisors

Forest administrators and supervisors may be interested in maximizing timber output by utilizing precise tree outlook distributions and soil data, despite several obstacles, such as the need to maintain tree heterogeneity (Fonji & Taff, 2014). Their case study on the significance of satellite data to track forest dynamics in northern Latvia supports the cited. Surprisingly, forests play a significant role in a variety of tourism activities. Establishing tourism enterprises and endeavors is made possible by stakeholders' and planners' solid expertise in forest surveillance (Argent, 2004). As a result, maintaining the search for and leadership of tourist destinations in rural and remote regions for activities like heritage, agrarian tourism, and adventure tourism (McAdam, 1999; Rogerson, 2016; Ramaano, 2023a, b). The former can significantly support the growth of rural communities and sustainable tourism strategies, influencing the goals and management of natural and water-based tourism resources toward pro-poor tourism, public management, livelihoods, and sustainability within marginalized African societies (Knippers et al., 2006; Ramaano, 2021c, d, 2022b).

• (5)

  Geo-informatics engineers

Along with network assistants, geo-informatics engineers may need to consider certain financial factors like land price and undulation in the landscape when determining the best locations for the business relay environments. As a result, such information can support the planning and management of the tourism industries in rural areas with estimates of their environmental value and effect. It can help in selecting the best location for the development of tourist facilities in African rural communities as benchmarked internationally.

4.1.2 The prospective role of GIS, quantum GIS (QGIS) in agronomy, agriculture, and tourism for community empowerment

Quantum GIS (QGIS) is an open-source GIS generated in May 2002 as an assignment on SourceForge (Sherman, Sutton, Blazek, & Luthman, 2005). The aforementioned is consistent with a quantum GIS instruction manual by Thiede, Sutton, Düster, and Sutton (2014). Since it can handle both spatial and non-spatial data in a synthesized database, Jaya and Fajar (2019) inform us that it can serve as a converged data bank. Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a cross-platform laptop application for GISs that achieves this. In line with African systems, it offers a cost-effective option to GIS programs that are also expensive (Graser, 2013; Flenniken, Stuglik, & Iannone, 2020; Ramaano, 2022b, c). From this point forward, many isolated and underprivileged African communities can benefit from this avenue to increase agricultural output. Accordingly, Walke, Reddy, Maji, and Thayalan (2012) and Thorp, Hunsaker, French, Bautista, and Bronson (2015) stated that improved instruments that contribute to geospatial knowledge of crop and soil conditions have been worthy of refinement for unfiltered agriculture. Eventually, as shown by their research, the Geospatial Simulation (GeoSim) plug-in for Quantum GIS has contributed to improving the crop control of cottonseed and maize production (Ramaano, 2023b). Hence, the same could be fundamental to agriculture and agronomy efforts in many African nations while also improving the socioeconomic conditions of the corresponding neighborhoods. As was already implied early on, these objectives could collaborate with sustainability, agritourism, and community-based natural resource management goals for the eventual welfare of the natives.

4.1.3 The convergence of RS on sustainable tourism and sustainability

To collect transmissions and data, RS explores the globe using satellites or high-flying aircraft (Colwell, 1983; Huffman, 1992). Without actually causing tangibility, it gathers information about a phenomenon (Campbell, 1996; Houze, 2014). Also, take into account planet observation. In a case study in the Greater Mankato region of Minnesota, RS and GIS modeling were crucial for analyzing and evaluating changes in land cover and their effects on the ecosystem (Yuan, 2008). Wahab, Hall, and Jirström (2018) contend that only a small number of crops in sub-Saharan Africa have benefited from the use of RS methods to assess crop vigor and products. Sustainable tourism includes eco-tourism. However, tourism has both advantageous and negative effects on the environment, justifying GIS and RS-based mitigation and conservation approaches (Boori et al., 2015; Ramaano, 2022f, 2023e). Ecotourism serves as the focal point for regional community development projects in rural Africa, along with agritourism. RS can encourage residents and tourism stakeholders to enhance the beneficial effects of tourism while exposing and stifling its negative ones (Magige et al., 2020; Ramaano, 2024a, b, c).

Without ignoring the positive effects of tourism, such as the preservation of the ecosystem and the establishment of sustainable tourism businesses, it can be dismal by endangering the environment. Environmental problems like soil erosion, the conflict between animals, and the destruction of the natural world are examples. It is consistent with Lambin and Ehrlich’s (1997) study on how RS was used to track changes in land vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa between 1982 and 1991. Symeonakis and Drake (2004) assert that RS has been crucial in assessing desertification and land deterioration throughout sub-Saharan Africa. As a consequence, the Masai Mara ecosystem wildlife sanctuary in East Africa has been used to realize the ecosystem’s variety, illustrations, and resulting relationships using satellite RS imagery and GIS in Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Nairobi National Park (Ndegwa, Mundia, & Murayama, 2009). Therefore, RS is essential for land knowledge in sub-Saharan Africa’s governance of renewable resources (Falloux, 1989). Similarly, RS and the IoT are recommended for South African tourism advances by Weiner, Warner, Harris, and Levin (1995) and Gcaba and Dlodlo (2016). Consequently, RS plays a crucial role in global ecotourism efforts (Salam, Lindsay, & Beveridge, 2000), as well as the tourism policy strategy for local community development in rural African societies (Boori, Voženílek, & Choudhary, 2015; Anand & Kim, 2021). Likewise, de Klerk and Buchanan (2017) advocate for mentoring in RS utilization and conservation approaches in rural areas while supporting tourism development in rural conservancy areas. This is in line with the practicality of this study, which calls for the use of RS and GIS-oriented strategies to promote tourism development and integrated rural livelihoods and management of natural resources that are primarily compromised by poverty and a lack of necessary empowerment tools and education. In keeping with the starting point and stance of this study, the author also believes that foreign funding may be able to help African academic entities become better equipped to use RS for research purposes in order to address conservation-related issues. The specified can support local community development and environmental management worldwide and in rural African communities. The potency of RS to support conservation strategy, execution, and monitoring is especially significant in biodiversity-rich African regions that are, however, impoverished and difficult to access because of geography, cost, or political history, and indeed worsened by poverty.

4.1.4 The implication of participatory geographical information systems (PGIS) in sustainable rural tourism

A participatory approach to spatial planning, spatial data, and contact information is called participatory GIS (PGIS). GIS and participatory learning and action (PLA) methodologies are combined in PGIS. Individuals communicate societal transformation on a global scale by working together to develop ideas and innovations (Rambaldi, 2005). GIS, global positioning systems (GPS), RS tools, and open access to spatial data and imagery are examples of spatial information technologies, and they are used to empower their users. Generally speaking, a variety of access can benefit the privileged while helping locals and groups that are less fortunate. To achieve this, PGIS maintains the exclusion of those already distant cultures. The goal of PGIS is to enable participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and spatial data technologies to modify the inferred. Minority groups can become more capacitated through typically underappreciated spatial decision-making processes. Rambaldi (2005) and Rouse, Bergeron, and Harris (2007) provided evidence of PRA’s role in empowering locals. Consequently, they will use the technologies to put their maps together and use them for their study. These maps and samples differ from the paper and ground maps produced by PRA regarding their higher spatial accuracy, durability, warranties, and acceptability to government officials. According to Rambaldi, these maps were used as interactive means of data interchange, spatial discovery, decision-affirming, planning the use of resources, and lobbying campaigns. Consequently, there is a clear need for participatory mapping, ethnobiological, and biocultural preservation in African-marginalized societies, as benchmarked with the communities in the Peruvian Amazon (Gilmore & Young, 2012). Therefore, it may be essential for creating and managing a variety of tourist routes in Africa and elsewhere. According to Ramaano (2021d, 2023b) and Xiang, Isbister, and Okumus (2015), equality is one of the requirements for the development of sustainable rural tourism. This paper supports the crucial role of women in tourism programs as a source of income for local communities. Villagers from all over the world can use a variety of PGIS models, such as protecting indigenous lands and resource rights, managing and resolving disputes over natural resources, planning and jointly governing the use of resources, conserving intangible cultural heritage, building identity among indigenous rural communities, and making progress in racial, cultural, gender, and environmental justice (Rogerson, 2002; Ramaano, 2021c, d). The aforementioned can benefit collaboration, empowerment, and land reform dynamics in South African parks, nature areas, and nearby local communities (Omara, 1992; Ramutsindela, 2003). These factors may be essential in tourism as instrumental support for isolated areas (Rambaldi, 2005; Rambaldi et al., 2006). For countries as diverse as Australia, Brazil, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, and Canada, among others, many PGIS representatives have been created. There are numerous additional unrecorded instances where technology arbitrators and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) majorities support indigenous communities or community-based organizations (CBOs) using geographic information technology and systems (GITS) for their critical spatial planning needs. Parts of the barriers to prosperous tourist businesses in rural areas are undesirable outcomes of political inferences. Hence, the foundation of efforts for vibrant tourism is land ownership and the delineation of land use (Rogerson, 2002; Ramaano, 2021a, 2023b). This consequently affects the success of the private-sector purchase. Geographic information systems (GIS) can therefore play a potentially important role for local societies and private sectors when it comes to the administration and mapping of indigenous land to enhance sustainable tourism efforts within Africa, remote rural populations, and rural areas elsewhere. According to Hasse and Milne (2005), tourism researchers and officials continue to struggle with how to create sustainable methods that are compatible with tourism growth. To achieve desired outcomes, stakeholder interaction and community cooperation are frequently more essential. It is essential for sustainability, civic leadership, and corporate responsibility. Therefore, this report upholds the implied significance of integrative geographic information systems in sustainable tourism and comprehensive community development in Musina Municipality, South Africa, as well as a justification for geographic information systems in sustainable rural tourism and local community empowerment. Henceforward, the economic and administrative advantages of GIS in the estimation of natural resource management for remote, underdeveloped African settlements.

5. Conclusion, limitations and imports

5.1 Policy and economic imports

While it was demonstrated that CBNRM provides the best guidelines for managing local resources and that better public leadership venues and hybrid GIS can support such endeavors, to enable exhaustive socio-economic growth, an integrated framework is unavoidably required among the rural and impoverished inhabitants of Africa. In order to achieve this, there is a pledge among national, regional, and municipal government entities to collaborate on resource management and community development through the support of technology and a range of corporate services (Wei, 2012; Mkwizu, 2020). According to this logic, knowledge of participatory tourism planning would promote tourism growth, population improvement in rural areas, and the development of destination administration for tourism (Bassano et al., 2019; Ryan, 2020). Supporting an inclusive tourism strategy that aims to operationalize local resources and correct prior management accounts will be crucial (Ramaano, 2021a, b, c, d). To this end, maintaining equity, equality, and empowerment for each member of the various communities within their dwellings is therefore necessary. Mogende and Kolawole (2016) reminded us about the vitality of the requirements and consequences of local governance in the protection of natural resources in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, as a case study. For African communities that depend on the forest for their livelihoods, a successful integrated and digital governance-oriented tourism development strategy and guidelines may be essential. Similarly, Longmatey et al. (2004) make a compelling case for the critical need for GIS use in Ghanaian tourism planning and advancement.

5.2 Theoretical and practical imports

Accordingly, Figure 1 is based on thorough suggestions from this review and the vital content of sustainable tourism foundations (Ramaano, 2022a, b). It shows how factors like policy and regulations affecting the efficiency of role players like researchers and the media can support tourism prospects and community growth in rural areas (DEAT, 2003). Thus, along with the positive qualities of CBNRM and CBT companies, the importance of GIS, ArcGIS, QGIS, tourism, community-based natural resource management, and community development initiatives could be fundamental elements of environmental impact assessments (EIAs). These include tourism deals, new route setup, synergies between sustainable tourism strategic collaboration, and tourism transactions. The sustainable tourism plan is based on the perceptions, advantages, and attitudes of local communities. Therefore, the perception of sustainable tourism among the natives, as well as improved methods that could promote localized economic growth and public leadership, reduce poverty, and lessen environmental degradation, are all factors that can help to promote sustainable community development and sustainability. The remote rural provinces on the African continent can bloom, acting as a model worldwide. Farmers participate in tourism activities as an additional form of revenue for food and agro-tourism reasons (Ramaano, 2022a, b, c, d, e). Any tourism plan for rural areas must acknowledge the relationship between agricultural, farming, and tourism efforts. It is enough to say that agriculture and tourism are fundamental to the character of most rural African areas. It follows that villages elsewhere depend on this (Ramaano, 2019, 2023a). It is crucial to practice, create, and adopt a potential inclusive tourism strategy to support outdoor recreation and livelihoods (Beeco & Brown, 2013). Agriculture typically has some edge over tourism expansion. Villages in remote and underserved areas may benefit the most from a strategic tourism strategy that incorporates the value of agriculture and emphasizes a synergistic association rather than a competitive analysis. For this reason, in rural areas, CBNRM, GIS, sustainable tourism, community development, and empowerment must all be in accordance (Ramaano, 2023b, c). Therefore, Figure 2 presents the model for the potential and synergetic significance of GIS and RS in sustainable tourism and decent community involvement in rural livelihoods.

Nonetheless, along with the essence of practicality and successful implementation and also the prevailing notions of several failures and challenges of local government to fulfill obligations around rural livelihoods in marginalized areas, potential challenges remain. For example, there have always been complaints about a lack of integrated development plans (IDPs) alongside CBNRM to enhance community livelihoods through sustainable tourism, agriculture, and rural food tourism in many remote areas of the African continent (Maina, 2019; Ramaano, 2022e). To this end, Du Rand, Booysen, and Atkison (2016) remind us that GIS tools are used globally and are backed by a culinary repository of data gathered from a variety of sources, including lifestyle magazines, the internet, publications, recipe books and mags, censuses, and tourism frameworks that are crucial for culinary tourism. According to them, GIS has the potential to be effectively utilized for promoting culinary tourism in the Karoo region of South Africa. This is the perspective of the current analysis of the benefits and desired practicality of GIS, which is frequently impeded by a state of impoverishment, uneven local government empowerment strategies, and inadequate avenues for the distribution of knowledge and education in many rural areas. Reinforced efforts on the latter could afford fertile ground for GIS and RS and related digital and technological routes as needed to boost the implementation strategies for diversified local resources and monitoring technologies.

To this end, the barriers and challenges that may be encountered in implementing the integrated approach, such as access to data and technology, level of community participation, empowerment of communities with ownership of rural development projects, and stakeholder coordination in livelihood strategies, are indeed more common and ongoing in rural and remote areas due to abject poverty, a lack of proper CBOs and local government structures, and a poor commitment to sustainability and IDPs goals and ideals. These are consistent with the main findings of this study on lack of adequate commitments from local governments, lack of reliable infrastructure, and a need for better routes to enhance both natural resource use and integrated rural development policies on livelihoods that are linked to GIS, RS, and related digital platforms in many rural areas. This study makes recommendations for the better development of community-oriented GIS platforms and capacity-building initiatives in the region through empowerment from local government and IDPs and collaborative CBNRM and CBT initiatives with CBOs, agriculturalists, local communities, and conservancy site managers for enhanced integrated livelihoods and environmental management.

5.3 Constraints and future research

The study focused on restrained research techniques based on extensive data gathering and analysis, limiting the review processes. In this qualitative study, the analysis was manual and narrative rather than using advanced tools. Notwithstanding the aforementioned fact, the principal objective of the examination was to contribute to the body of knowledge on GIS, RS, tourism and agriculture livelihoods, sustainability, and digital platforms. The stipulated constraints and limitations did not prevent it from accomplishing this goal. As is earlier inferred, there is indeed a void in adequately channeling the usage of varied GISs in rural tourism management, holistic administration of rural natural resources, enhanced tourism development, holistic subsistence, and sustainability imperatives in many remote African regions. However, it is recommended in this study that future research explore the same using more sophisticated methods along with pertinent analysis like actual physical observation and active applications of GIS and RS approaches. The abovementioned can be supplemented by big data analytics techniques to remedy the situation and improve tourism and sustainability in such areas. Similarly, it is essential for advanced applications in bibliometric review and related platforms compatible with the recommendations.

5.4 Conclusion

In research on tourism and the sustainability of local livelihoods in isolated rural areas, there is more room for innovative incorporation of GIS, RS and other earth observation techniques within African remote neighborhoods. Hence, crucial for monitoring the efficacy of existing and prospective equitable tourism policies within the disadvantaged rural communities and significant economic output, solidified sustainability initiatives, and digital governance (Longmatey et al., 2004). Therefore, consistent with the outlined potential challenges for the practical implementation of GIS and RS-based integrated livelihood strategies, it is recommended that there should be a better rural development policy with a stronger stakeholder blend in local resource sustainability, cultural heritage resources, and biodiversity management in these areas, with a diligent focus on implementing the effective management virtues of GIS, RS, and related digital tools (Myers et al., 2016; Fagerholm et al., 2016; Albuquerque et al., 2018). Next is the list of academic sources used.

Figures

Figure 1

The envisaged digital policy empowered sustainable tourism and community development and empowerment model for remote and marginalized communities

Figure 2

Model for potential and synergetic significance of GIS and RS in sustainable tourism and decent community involvement in rural livelihoods