Environmental Engineering Reference
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community tourism project for three 'Bushcamps' in the Luangwa valley
supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society. However, the enterprises had
been unable to service or repay the loan during the stipulated period. The
PROFIT study suggested that the Tourism Policy directive for the credit facility to
act as ' a source of soft loans to local investors and local communities ' was not being
met. Moreover, an advisory note of the International Monetary Fund and
International Development Association concluded that the credit facility ' is not
sustainable and its operations are ineffective ' (IMF and IDA, 2005, p2). The
Department of Tourism received a community tourism mission from the WTO
ST-EP Programme in 2004.The consultant visited two enterprises and concluded
that community tourism had great potential (WTO, 2004). A proposal for the
MTENR to engage hundreds of communities through a Village Action for
Sustainable Tourism (VAST) Project was developed for the ST-EP Foundation.
The PROFIT study strongly suggested that such an approach to community
tourism was unrealistic and inappropriate.
The Zambia National Tourist Board is responsible for marketing but its
promotion of community tourism was extremely limited. The Board had an inter-
nal list of four community enterprises. The PROFIT research showed that there
were 21 other initiatives.The organization did profile cultural festivals, such as the
Kuomboka in Barotseland, although attendance by international tourists was low.
The PROFIT report suggested that the low level of attendance was due to the
remoteness of event locations, no set event dates, a lack of staged authenticity and
interpretation, as well as risk factors. Furthermore, it concluded that increased
training, infrastructure development and promotion for festivals were unlikely to
result in viable community enterprises.
The Zambia Wildlife Authority is a semi-autonomous statutory agency
mandated to manage the conservation and utilization (both consumptive and
non-consumptive) of wildlife and National Parks. The Authority has responsibil-
ity for regulating the formation and operation of Community Resource Boards
(CRBs) in Game Management Areas (GMAs) that border National Parks and
was involved with community tourism in GMAs but was not aware of all existing
and planned enterprises. Community tourism appeared to fall between 'the stools'
of the organization as it was relevant to the GMA Directorate as well as the
Commercial Services and Tourism Development Sections. The Authority recog-
nized many challenges including the need to develop new community institutions
such as trusts as it is legally problematic for CRBs to own assets; the lack of capac-
ity in CRBs to manage business; the danger that only the local elite benefit;
conflicts between community tourism enterprises and hunting companies; and
poor product quality. The Commercial Services Section was supportive of
business partnerships between communities and tourism companies.
The National Heritage Conservation Commission is responsible for the
conservation and management of heritage sites and many are thought to have
community tourism potential.The PROFIT study advocated caution, however, as
research assessing the viability of a community enterprise at the Livingstone
memorial concluded that it was unlikely to generate much income (Hawkins,
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