Unconventional tourism mobilities: insights from an African business city
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/bgss-2026-0021Keywords
domestic tourism, informal business tourism, unconventional tourism mobilities, urban informality, ZimbabweAbstract
Recently, it has been urged that tourism scholars should accord greater research attention to the phenomenon of ‘unconventional tourism mobilities’. In the urban Global South where informality is the dominant feature and mode of urbanization, the need is most apparent. This exploratory study opens a window on the neglected mobilities of informal domestic business travellers to one African business city. Across much of urban sub-Saharan Africa, where informality is the norm, the activities and mobilities of these unconventional tourists are the predominant form of business travel. Using semi-structured interviews conducted with 400 informal business tourists in Harare, Zimbabwe, findings are analysed concerning unconventional tourism mobilities in an African business city. Issues under scrutiny are inter alia, the characteristics of participants in this ‘unconventional form of tourism’, ...
References
Azunre, G.A., & Cobbinah, P.B. (2026). Informality in globalizing African cities: Hybridity towards Southern decoloniality. Journal of Planning Literature, 41 (1): 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/08854I22254160769
Bandauko, E. (2026). "This space is ours": Street trading and contestation over the rights to the city in Harare’s Central Business District. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 116 (4): 805-823. https://doi/org/10.1080/24694452.2025.2592752
Bandauko, E., & Arku, G. (2025a). A tale of two Harare(s): Contested narratives of world class city ideals and everyday urbanism in an informalizing city. Cities, 167: 106328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.106328
Bandauko, E., & Arku, G. (2025b). ‘They want to get rid of us by all means’: A critical analysis of policy and governance responses and their implications for street traders’ access to urban space in Harare. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 43 (5): 917-936. https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241298414
Bar-Kołelis, D., & Wendt, J. (2018). Comparison of cross-border shopping tourism activities at the Polish and Romanian external borders of European Union. Geographica Polonica, 91 (1): 113-125. https://doi.org/10.7163/G.Pol.0103
Batala, B., & Slevitch, L. (2024). Keeping two balls in the air: The bleisure travel experience. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 5: 100115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2023.100115
Bygvrå, S. (2019). Cross-border shopping: Just like domestic shopping? A comparative study. GeoJournal, 84: 497-518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-018-9871-6
Carmody, P. R., Murphy, J.T., Grant, R., & Owusu, F.Y. (2024). The urban question in Africa: Uneven geographies of transition. John Wiley and The Royal Geographical Society.
Chitaukire, R.H. (2026). Enduring intersectional precarity; A history of resistance by women informal traders in Harare (Zimbabwe), c. 1965 to 2022. PhD Dissertation, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch.
Çiftci, G. & Timothy, D.J. (2025). Cross-border shopping tourism: A systematic review. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 23 (1): 1-18. https://johat.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2312025-1-18.pdf
Cobbinah, P.B. (2025). The oddity of desiring informality. Dialogues in Human Geography, 15 (1): 81-85. https://doi.org/10.1177/20438206231191737
Cohen, E., & Cohen, S.A. (2015). A mobilities approach to tourism from emerging world regions. Current Issues in Tourism, 18 (1): 11-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2014.898617
Dovey, K. (2025). Informality as the ur-form of urbanity: Keeping the ur- in urban studies. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 49(1): 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13284
Dube, E.E. (2021). Motivations and livelihood dynamics in the urban informal economy: The case of Dire Dawa City, Eastern Ethiopia. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-Economic Series, 51: 61-74. https://doi.org/10.2478/bog-2021-0005
Dube, E.E. & Brown, A. (2025). ‘Normalizing informality’ in local-transnational spaces: Contraband, conflict and street trade in eastern Ethiopia. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 60(5): 3319-3334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909624l230495
Finn, B.M. (2025). Informality at the heart of sustainable development. Dialogues in Human Geography,15 (1): 91-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/20438206241240216
Finn, B.M., & Bandauko, E. (2024). Dwindling funds and increased responsibilities: Decentralization, unfunded mandates, and Harare’s infrastructure crisis. Habitat International, 148: 103087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103087
Grant, R. (2024). Informality. In: Carmody. P. & Murphy, J.T. (Eds.), Handbook of African economic development, 435-447. Edward Elgar.
Hart, K. (1973). Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana. Journal of Modern African Studies, 11: 61-89. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X00008089
International Labour Organization (1972). Employment, Incomes and Equality: A Strategy for Increasing Productive Employment in Kenya. International Labour Office.
Irimiás, A.R., Timothy, D.J., & Michalkó, G. (Eds.) (2023). A Geography of Unconventional Tourist Mobility: New Approaches and Methodologies. MDPI.
Kifworo, C., & Dube, K. (2023). A review of domestic tourism resilience research agenda in Africa post-COVID-19. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 51 (4): 1749-1756. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.514spl15-1170
Magidi, M. (2019). Sustaining Livelihoods in Norton town after Deindustrialization in Zimbabwe. PhD dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
Magidi, M. (2025). The transformation of Zimbabwe’s informal economy: From petty trade to vibrant sector. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 60(8): 5090-5106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909624l275388
Magidi, M., & Gwekwerere, T. (2024). Unemployment, hustling and waithood: Exploring Zimbabwean urban male youth’s utilisation of ICT in soccer betting. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11: 711. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03230-y
Makkonen, T. (2022). Outshopping abroad: Cross-border shopping tourism and the competitive advantage of borders. In: Timothy, D.J. & Gelbman, A. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of borders and tourism, 269-280, Routledge.
Makoni, L. (2024). The nature of business tourism economy in Harare, Zimbabwe. PhD dissertation (Tourism and Hospitality Management), University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Makoni, L., & Mearns, K. (2025). Informal tourism and sustainable development in Africa: Insights from a systematic literature review and content analysis. Revista Română de Geografie Politică, 27(1): 66-83. https://doi.org/10.30892/rrgp.272101-390
Makoni, L., & Rogerson, C.M. (2023). Business tourism in an African city: Evidence from Harare, Zimbabwe. Studia Periegetica, 43 (3): 25-48. https://doi.org/10.58683/sp.596
Makoni, L., & Rogerson, C. M. (2024). Bleisure and informal business tourism in Harare, Zimbabwe. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 56(4): 1484-1492. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.56405-1319
Makoni, L., Rogerson, C.M., & Tichaawa, T. (2023). Harare as a destination for informal business tourism: Perspectives of the cross-border traders. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 50 (4): 1555-1562. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.50434-1152
Makoni, L., Shereni, N. C., & Mearns, K. (2024). Mugabe’s policy legacies on urban poverty and informality in Harare, Zimbabwe. Revista Română de Geografie Politica, 26: 108-123. https://doi.org/10.30892/rrgp.262105-381
Moyo, I. (2023). The vacuity of informal cross-border trade facilitation strategies in the SADC region. Political Geography, 101: 102816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2022.102816
Moyo, I. & Gumbo, T. (2021). Urban Informality in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Springer Nature.
Nyandoro, M. & Muzorewa, T.T. (2017). Transition from growth point policy to liberal urban development in Zimbabwe: The emergence of Ruwa town, 1980–1991. The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 13(1): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v13i1.426
Olajide, O.A. (2025). Coloniality and racialization of informality. Dialogues in Human Geography,15 (1): 86-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/20438206231217572
Pratt, A.C. (2019). Formality as exception. Urban Studies, 56 (3): 612-615. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098018810600
Rogerson, C.M. (2015). Unpacking business tourism mobilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Current Issues in Tourism, 18 (1): 44-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2014.898619
Rogerson, C.M. (2018). Informal sector city tourism: Cross border shoppers in Johannesburg. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 22 (2): 372-387. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg22290-296
Rogerson, C.M. (2026). Business tourism in South Africa: Growth and uneven geographical development. Revistă Româna de Geografie Politică, 28 (1): 12-27. https://doi.org/10.30892/rrgp.281102-399
Rogerson, C.M., & Letsie, T. (2013). Informal sector business tourism in the global South: evidence from Maseru, Lesotho. Urban Forum, 24: 485-502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-013-9196-y
Rogerson, C.M., & Rogerson, J.M. (2021). The other half of urban tourism: Research directions in the Global South. In: Rogerson, C.M. & Rogerson, J.M. (Eds.), Urban tourism in the Global South: South African perspectives, 1-37, Springer.
Rogerson, C.M., & Rogerson, J.M. (2025). Women informal business tourists in urban Southern Africa: Circuits, drivers and challenges. Tourism - An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 73 (1): 113-125. https://doi.org/10.37741/t.73.1.8
Rogerson, J.M. & Mushawemhuka, W. (2015). Transnational entrepreneurship in the Global South: Evidence from Southern Africa. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-Economic Series, 30: 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1515/bog-2015-0040
Simatele, M., Mishi, S., Kapingura, F., & Copestake, J. (2022). Guest editorial: Introduction to the special issue on contemporary issues in micro and small business development in Africa. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 13 (3): 321-327.
Tawodzera, G., & Chikanda, A. (2017). Linking Harare and Johannesburg through informal cross-border entrepreneurship. African Human Mobility Review, 3 (2): 910-942. https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S2410-79722017000200006&script=sci_arttext
Tichaawa, T. (2021). Informal business tourism in Cameroon. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 38 (4): 1289-1298. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.38437-771
Timothy, D.J. (2024a). Historical geographies of tourism and heritage. In: Wilson, J. & Mūller, D.K. (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of tourism geographies (2nd Ed.), 179-188, Routledge.
Timothy, D.J. (2024b). Tourism, shopping and connotations of place. In: Hall, C.M. (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Tourism, (2nd Ed.), 501-514, Wiley.
Timothy, D.J. (2025a). Borders and tourism: Dynamic relations, mobilities and the touristic other. In: Wilson, T.M. (Ed.), Border Studies: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 203-223, Edward Elgar
Timothy, D.J. (2025b). Shopping tourism and tourist shopping: Looking backward, looking forward. In: Timothy, D.J. (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on shopping, retail and tourism, Channel View.
Timothy, D.J., & Butler, R.W. (1995). Cross-border shopping: A North American perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 22 (1): 16-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383 (94)00052-T
Timothy, D.J., & Çiftci, G. (2025). Border crossings, retail and shopping tourism. In Timothy, D.J. (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on shopping, retail and tourism, Channel View.
Timothy, D.J., & Teye, V.B. (2005). Informal sector business travelers in the developing world: A borderlands perspective. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 16: 82-92.
Timothy, D.J., Michalkó, G., & Irimiás, A. (2022). Unconventional tourist mobility: A geography-oriented theoretical framework. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14 (11): 6494. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116494
Timothy, D.J., Michalkó, G., & Irimiás, A. (2023). Is unconventional the new normal in tourism? Sustainability (Switzerland), 15 (6): 5366. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065366
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Logistic Makoni, Christian M. Rogerson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Title, logo and layout of journal Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series are reserved trademarks of Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series.Stats
Number of views and downloads: 18
Number of citations: 0
