•ProfElsabéLootsandProfRenierJansenvanRensburgfortheirfinancialcontributionstothepost-graduateconferenceheldinPortugal.•TheNRF(NationalResearchFoundation)forfinancialassistance.•BIGConcertsforfinancialassistance.•TheChief FinancialOfficer of BIGConcerts,Mr Justin vanWyk, for all his supportthroughout theyear, forallowing the research tobeconductedandespecially forprovidingthefinancialinformation.•MsDestiLoeijsfromMushroomProductionsforherkindness,andforherhelpinprovid-ingthepassesforthefieldworkersatalltheBIGConcertevents.•MrGlennPhillips,MrBhekiZwaneandMrJoepStevensofSANParksfortheirloyalas-sistanceandsupportthroughouttheyearsconcerningtheresearchconductedatthevariousnationalparks.Also,aspecialthankyoutoallthevariousparkmanagersfortheirassistance.•TheCapeTownInternationalJazzFestivalDirector,MrRashidLombard,forallowingtheresearchtobeconductedandMsCarenzavanWillingh,MarketingManageroftheFestivalforallherassistancepriortoandduringthesurveyaswellassupplyinguswithqualitydata.•MrBrettPyper,MrJCOuckampandMrVelmontLaynefortheirsupportduringthesurveysaswellastheirpositiveattitudetowardstheresearchattheKleinKarooNa-tionalArtsFestival.•MsElizmaSpangenbergforherassistancepriortoandduringthesurveyattheWackyWineFestivalaswellassupplyinguswiththeeconomicdata.•Ms SandraJacobs forher supportandguidanceduring the surveyat the InnibosNationalArtsFestival.•MrGaryBoshoff,theRaceDirectoroftheComradesMarathonforhissupport,foral-lowingtheresearchtobeconductedandforprovidinguswiththeeconomicinforma-tion.•MsStefanieSchultzen,theMarketingManageroftheOldMutualTwoOceansMara-thonforherlaughs,support,assistancepriortoandduringthesurveyandforprovidinguswiththeeconomicinformation.•MsLiezleBothmafromConkerExhibitionsforassistingwiththelogisticsofthesurveysatboththeTwoOceansandComradesMarathon.

Without the supportandassistanceof the following individualsand institutions,2011 would not nearly have been so successful. TREES is forever grateful andthanksthemforallowingustobepartoftheireventsandforbeingapartofours!

•MsSarahStruys,theEventManagerattheKirstenboschBotanicalGardensforhersupportandforallowingtheresearchtobeconductedattheOldMutualSummerSunsetConcertoftheCapePhilharmonicOrchestra.•MrHaddadViljoenandMsAnnekeBormanforfinancialassistanceandfortheiras-sistanceandsupportduringthekykNETsurveysattheKleinKarooNationalArtsFestivalandInnibosNationalArtsFestival.•MsJanciPrinslooandMsNerisaCoetzeeatMedia24andHuisgenootforfinancialassistanceandsupportduringtheHuisgenootSkouspelsurveys.•MsKarenBorrainforassitingwiththeSouthernSunHotelsurvey.•MsYolaniGeldenhuysandtheteamatPlatinumPressforalltheprintingworkofthevariousquestionnairesandreports.•MrsCecilevanZyl,MrRodTaylor,MsMalcolmEllis,MsKristinaDavidsonandMsDiKilpertforallthelanguageeditingofthevariousarticles,questionnairesandreports.

•MrEddyKhosa,NationalChairmanoftheFederatedHospitalityAssociationofSouthAfrica(FEDHASA)fortheBestfirst-yeartourismstudentaward2010.•MrBhekiZwane,GeneralManagerofSalesandMarketingofSANParksfortheBestEcotourismstudent2010aswellasBestsecond-yeartourismstudentaward2010.•MrDarronMoore,GeneralManagerofDrakensbergSunLifestyleResort(SouthernSunHotels)fortheBestthird-yeartourismstudentaward2010.•MsChristinevanDeventerofATKVrepresentedbyMrMarcovandenBerg,re-gionalpublicrelationsofficeroftheATKV,fortheBesttourismstudentoverthreeyearsaward.•MrPieterViljoen,NationalPresidentofTheSouthernAfricaTourismServicesAssocia-tionofSouthAfrica(SATSA),fortheBestTourismmanageraward2011.•MrKobusFouriefromElgroHotelGroupfortheBestTourismhonoursdegreestudentaward2010andtheBestMaster’sStudentwithintheSchoolofBusinessManagement2011.• LUFTHANSAfortheBestMaster’sStudentwithintheTourismProgramme2011award.

AspecialthankyoutothefollowingsponsorsfortheircontributionsatTREES’awardceremonies:

Iwouldliketostartthisforewordbystat-ingwhatayearwehad.Attheendof2010,Ithoughtwehadreachedourlimitintermsofoutput–butIwaswrong.Lit-tledidIknowwhat2011wouldhaveinstoreandallthatonecansayis“whata ride”orwithin thecontextof this re-port, “what an event”. We broke allpreviousrecordsintermsofallthatwesetouttodo.Therefore,itiswithgrati-tudeandthankfulness that I reflecton2011. Basedonallachievements thatareevidentintheannualreport,Iwanttothankeachandeverybodyfortheirinput,energy,commitmentandloyalty,sincewithouttheseattributeswewouldnotbeabletoperformthewaywedo.Sincethe themeof thisyear’s report is“events”,mypersonal reflection is thatpeople can also be seen as events.StrangebuttrueandwithinthecontextofallthestaffthatisinvolvedintheFocusArea,thefollowing:somestaffmemberscanbeseenasmajoreventsfortheircontributionandoutput;somearesportevents,whileothersarecul-turalormusicalevents.Onealsofindsthosewhocanbeseenascommunityevents,whilesometendtobemoreinternational.Someoftheseeventsaremoreconcernedwithcommunities,otherwiththeeconomicsandotherswiththeenvironment. Togetherwemakeacalendarofeventsnotbemissed.

Based on what we have achieved in 2011, I am looking forward to2012 where we will strengthen our position as a leading research en-tity and enter new areas of research on our ride to discovery.

BestwishesProfMelvilleSaayman

In tourism literature,eventsareclassifiedin terms of their size and nature. A dis-tinctionisthereforemadebetweenlocalevents,major events,megaeventsandhallmarkevents.Events,invariousformsand guises, are held around the worldparticularlyduetotheirdistinctivepositiveimpactsintermsofeconomicgrowth,im-age creation and encouraging tourismactivity. Wehad theopportunity toex-perience the impact ofmajor events infull force this year. Weapproachedanevents company, namely BIGConcerts,toconductaneconomic impactanaly-sisat theU2concert inJohannesburg inFebruary. What started out as a once-off research project, turned into a yearcontract at all the BIG Concert eventsandconcertsheldin2011.Sayingthatwe

havehadaneventful2011isthereforeanunderstatement.Wehaveseenincrediblebandsandartistsperformandwerereallyblessedandfortunatetobeabletoattendandconductresearchatalltheevents.ApartfromBIGConcerts,weconductedresearchatvariousmusicfestivals,artsfesti-vals,sportevents,nationalparksandwinefestivals.Eachresearchsurveywasanunforgettableevent in itsown right. Anothermajorevent foruswaswhenourTourismNicheAreawasawardedthestatusofaFocusArea,makingus thefirstandonly TourismResearchFocusArea in thecountry.

Together with the events we witnessed and that formed part of ourwork, our daily lives are also filled with events – some big, some small,some positive, some negative; however, each one being life alter-ing in its own way. In the end, when it is over and the curtains aredrawn, it is up to us to decide how todealwith the events in our lives,who forms part of them and what we take from the experiences.

Forthisreason,wechose“events”asthethemeofour2011annualreport.

Ihavehadanincredibleandblessed2011! I livedoutmyloveandpas-sion for research. I have seen and met incredible people, artists and

musiciansandvisitedamazingandunforgettableplaces.Itwasayearfullofmemo-riesthatIwouldnotgiveupforanythinginthisworld!Bigeventsinmyyearincluded:

• MeetingtheMarketingManageroftheOldMutualTwoOceansMarathon, StefanieSchultzen,forthefirsttimein2011afterconductingresearchatthe raceforthepasttwoyears.Aftertwoyears’worthofphoneconversations, wefinallymetinMay.SheisapersonIadmireandIamprivilegedtonow callhermyfriend.• Coordinatingtheresearchsurveyforthethirdtimeatthe12thCapeTown InternationalJazzFestival.• CoordinatingtheresearchsurveyattheCapePhilharmonicOrchestra concertheldattheKirstenboschBotanicalGardens.• Coordinatingandconductingresearchforthefirsttimein2011atthe ComradesMarathon.• CoordinatingthesurveysattheBIGConcertevents:U2,NeilDiamond, Roxette,TheScript,JamesBlunt,Coldplay,JoshGroban,RAIN–Atribute totheBeatlesandRiverdance.• AttendingtheWorldWrestlingEntertainment(WWE)Smackdown performanceattheCocaColaDomewithmymotherandbrother (heisadie-hardwrestlingfan).• MeetingJoshGrobanathisPortElizabethconcert–ourfinalBIGconcert eventfortheyear.• Attendinginternationalconferencesandpresentingpapersincountriesthat Ihavealwayswantedtovisit:Spain,Scotland,PortugalandtheUK.• Promotingthestudiesofmyfirsttwomaster’sstudents.

IamthankfultomyHeavenlyFatherforblessingmewithalltheseunforgettableevents,forsurroundingmewithincrediblepeopleandforkeepingussafeonallourjourneys.

Thisannualreportwouldhavenotbeenpossiblewithoutthehelpofseveralindividuals:Mymentor,ProfMelvilleSaaymanforalwayssupportingmeinallmyevents,SusanOber-holzerforassistingwiththecompilationofthecontent,MarcoScholtzforassistingwiththegraphicdesignsandmybestfriendandassistantBiancaMannersforallherhelpandfriend-shipduringtheyear.ABIGTHANKYOUalsotoeachandeveryfieldworkerandrespond-entatalltheevents!–Withoutthem,noneofourresearchwouldhavebeenasuccess.

Hereistoanincredible2011!Ihopeyouenjoyourannualreportandthankyoutoeveryoneforallowingustobepartoftheirevents!May2012beevenmoreevent-fulandmayweallcherish thepeoplewho formpartofourbigand smallevents.

YourssincerelyDrMartinetteKruger

Thetablebelowprovidesanoverviewofallthepublications,projects,conferences,coursesandpost-graduatestudiescompletedin2011.Comparedto2010,thenumberofresearcharticlesandattendanceofinternationalconferenceshavealmostdou-bled.Thelatterisagoodindicationofthestrengthofthecurrentresearchprogramme.

CATEGORY 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 TOTALPeer-reviewedjournalarticles 7 3 9 13 16 17 65Peer-reviewedbooks - - - 3 1 1 5Peer-reviewedbookchapters - 1 - - 1 - 2Researchreports 6 8 17 14 13 38 96Conferenceproceedings 1 - 1 1 3 2 8Conferencepaperspresented:Interna-tionalconferences 5 10 7 12 29 19 82

Conferencepaperspresented:Nation-alconferences 5 2 6 3 2 4 22

Completedmaster’sdegrees 3 2 8 9 14 9 45Completeddoctoral(PhD)degrees - - 1 1 6 1 9

•

Research highlights include:

• Growthinnumberofpost-g

raduatestudents

• Increaseinpublicatio

ns

• BigConcertsAgreem

ent

• Recordnumberofsurve

ys(72)

• Recordnumberofquest

ionnairesdeveloped(52

)

• AgreementwithEzemveloKZNCo

nservation

• Firstyearthatallresea

rcherspublished

Other highlights of 2011 include:

• PresidentJacobZumamadereferencetoourresearchinhis2011InaugurationSpeech.• TREESreceivedenormouspositivepublicitywithourbiltonghuntingresearch.• NICHEbecameafocusarea:TREES(TourismResearchinEconomicEnvironsandSociety).• VariousstaffmemberswereonthesteeringcommitteesoftheInternationalGlob-al Sustainable Conference in Mbombela, the 7th International Wildlife RanchingSymposiuminKimberleyandAdvancesinTourismEconomics.• ProfWaldoKrugelldeliveredhisinaugurationaddress.• ProfAndreaSaaymanwasappointedforanothertermattheInternationalAsso-ciationofTourismEconomics.• Oursecondandthirdpost-doctoralfellows,DrFrancescaCiniandDrSerenaLu-crezi,wereappointed.• ProfDonaldGetzwasappointedasavisitingprofessor.• MissSusanOberholzerwasappointedpermanently.• MissMarikeKrugellwasappointedasastaticianfrom2012.• ProfAndreaSaaymanandProfMelvilleSaaymanwereappointedtotheorganis-ingcommitteeoftheConsumerBehaviourTourismSymposium.• ProfMelville Saaymanwasappointedas executivememberof theorganisingcommitteeforAdvancesinTourismResearch.• ProfMelvilleSaaymanwasguesteditorofaspecialeditionofTourismEconomics.• MissSusanOberholzerandProfElmarieSlabbertreceivedthebestpaperawardintheSocialandEconomicImpacts:LocalcommunitydivisionattheInternationalConferenceonGlobalSustainableTourismheldinMbombela.• DrMartinetteKruger,ProfMelvilleSaaymanandMrsKarinBothareceivedthirdplaceintheEffectiveSustainableTourismManagementdivisionattheInternationalConferenceonGlobalSustainableTourismheldinMbombela.• ProfMelvilleSaaymanwasawardedthemostproductiveseniorresearcherattheNorth-WestUniversity.• Prof Andrea Saayman received third prize at the Young Woman in SciencesAwards.