Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is a ‘trigger event’ which is remoulding new patterns of demand and supply for the tourism sector. For policy makers and destination managers it highlights the potential significance of niche tourism products. South Africa is viewed as fertile terrain for the promotion of different forms of niche tourism. The aim is to investigate international and South African research debates concerning niche tourism. The paper analyses the conceptual development of niche tourism, international debates, the (re-) emergence of niche tourism on the policy agenda of tourism stakeholders in South Africa and the state of existing literature and debates surrounding niche tourism in the country. The article represents a contribution to the growing and vibrant scholarship around niche tourism and change in the global South.