Introduction

This chapter seeks to discuss issues of representation, relationships between the hosts and tourists, and development involving cultural tourism at !Xaus Lodge; a venture partly owned by the ≠Khomani San. The historical representation of the San has proved influential in the way in which the current ≠Khomani community represent and articulate themselves when engaging with ‘outsiders’. We explore the reasoning behind the romantic representation of the ≠Khomani and describe the ‘realities’ at !Xaus Lodge through our own (as researcher-tourists) and through tourists’ experiences. As with tourists to any destination, expectations and resulting experiences vary widely, so too do people's expectations and experiences of meeting with the ≠Khomani. Therefore we do not claim to have a complete understanding of the tourist experience at !Xaus.

Our research falls under the Rethinking Indigeneity project founded and headed by Professor Keyan Tomaselli at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Research areas in this project include ‘development communication, media production and reception, livelihoods and micro-enterprises, community radio as a development medium (particularly among the !Xun and Khwe), and a specific development project: the genesis, establishment and performance of !Xaus Lodge’.