The incidence of racial discrimination in post-apartheid South Africa: an audit of KwaZulu-Natal South Coast holiday accommodation establishments.

This article reports two studies - in 2006 and 2010 - that use matched pairs audit methodology to estimate the incidence of racial discrimination among holiday accommodation establishments on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. Black and white auditors phoned the same establishment one day apart and attempted to make an identical booking. Discrimination was evident when the black caller was refused accommodation that was offered to the white caller. We found a disturbingly high incidence of racial discrimination in 2006 (29.3%) and 2010 (24.4%). The incidence of discrimination was not affected by the location or the price of the accommodation or by the social class of the black auditor, but was found to be higher in private than public establishments. We conclude by considering the nature and underlying causes of racial discrimination in post-apartheid South Africa.