Abstract
An important research challenge for tourism geographers is the mapping and interpretation of the structure of the tourism space economy. In recent scholarship on uneven regional development much attention surrounds the application of the concepts of ‘left-behindedness’ and of ‘left-behind spaces’. In this research one critical dimension of the unevenness of the tourism space economy is explored, namely the identification and features of the least visited spaces. Using a comprehensive database of tourism trips and tourism spend for 213 South African local authorities the analysis points to the existence of multiple ‘left-behind’ tourism spaces in the country. The geographical distribution of these spaces mainly is concentrated in the province of Northern Cape. The differentiated structure of these spaces shows the largest group is dominated by travel for purposes of visits to friends and relatives. Beyond that group are, however, a small number of leisure dominated spaces. Although the volume of total trips and tourism spend occurring in such leisure dominated spaces is small, tourism assumes a critical role in local economies. To advance further the understanding of the least visited or ‘left-behind’ tourism spaces it is suggested local case studies are required.