Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
community tourism enterprises; assessing income-generation and making recom-
mendations. Assessment centred on the business performance of enterprises and
did not assess the impact of community tourism on livelihood strategies, socio-
cultural or environmental aspects. Qualitative research methods used were a desk
review of published and 'grey' literature, questionnaire surveys, field visits, partic-
ipant observation and semi-structured interviews. Three different questionnaire
surveys comprising of open questions were completed by 25 NGOs and donors,
29 commercial tourism companies (a 40 per cent response rate) and 22 commu-
nity tourism enterprises. Interviews with relevant government agencies were also
held.
Tourism and poverty in Zambia
Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) is a large landlocked country in south-
ern Africa that borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania,
Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Angola. The
country is one of the poorest in Africa, ranking 38th out of 50 African countries
according to the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2006b). Zambia has a
population of 11 million and the UK Department for International
Development categorizes 68 per cent as living in poverty (DFID, 2007). A
long-lasting dominance of urban-based copper mining has led to a strong bias
against the agricultural sector and consequently poverty has remained concen-
trated in marginalized rural areas (Lofgren et al, 2004). Although a tourism
master plan was developed in 1979, this sector was also neglected until instabil-
ity in the copper market focused attention on tourism in the drive for economic
diversification (Rogerson, 2003).
Tourism is a small but steadily growing economic sector. The destination is
marketed by the National Tourist Board as 'The Real Africa' and Victoria Falls is
the country's leading tourism attraction. The nearby town of Livingstone is
marketed as the 'Adventure Capital of Africa' and tourism has emerged as the 'key
sectoral driver' for local economic development (Rogerson, 2005). Other major
tourism attractions include the Mosi-oa-Tunya, South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi,
Kafue and Kasanka National Parks. Zambia has 19 national parks and 34 game
management areas (GMAs) covering a third of the country but few of these assets
have been developed for tourism (GRZ, 2002).
According to WTO, international tourism arrivals more than trebled between
1990 and 2004 from 141,000 to 515,000. The most reliable data indicate that
approximately one-third of arrivals are holiday makers (Dixey, 2005). Research
suggests that almost 90 per cent of holiday makers are nature tourists visiting the
falls, viewing wildlife or taking an adventure trip, and that the majority visit only
one site with an average duration of stay of 6.3 days - low compared to Botswana
(8.6 days) or Namibia (12.4 days) (Sinyenga et al, 2007). Regional tourism is
crucial, particularly in South Africa, which is a source of tourists as well as invest-
ment and marketing (Rogerson, 2003). Information on the economics of tourism
is limited and the value of the sector and its economic multiplier is a matter of
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