For African tourism, the future means 'profits with principles'

Responsible tourism is the future for Africa, as travelers increasingly want authentic, genuine and responsible holidays. This was the key focus at the World Travel Market Africa Responsible Tourism Conference (WTM Africa) in Cape Town, South Africa, this month.

During WTM Africa, heroes of responsible tourism in Africa were honored at the 2015 African Responsible Tourism Awards Ceremony. Among the winners were Chumbe Island in Zanzibar, Coffee Beans Routes in South Africa and Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana. The overall winner of the awards was Gansbaai Tourism in South Africa.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Heidi van der Watt, managing director of Better Tourism Africa, said the winners of the awards all have a vision that extends beyond the commercial, linking business success with the well-being of local communities and the longevity of their environments. 

“They want to make profits with principles, communicate balance sheets alongside beliefs and won’t undermine passion in the pursuit of professionalism,” she said. “They are the future of tourism in Africa." 

But, although industry players strongly believe that responsible tourism is the future for Africa, inbound tour operators to Africa report that there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to educating the public on responsible tourism.

Read more: http://www.travelweekly.com/Middle-East-Africa-Travel/Insights/For-African-tourism-the-future-means-profits-with-principles

Poaching and illegal wildlife trade threaten tourism and development options in Africa

Panelists at an event held in Berlin, Germany, during ITB — the world’s largest tourism fair concurred  that record poaching levels of rhinos and elephants are not only threatening the basis of tourism but also tourism-based development options in Africa.

 

In his opening remarks, Hon. Moses Kalongashawa, Minister of Tourism and Culture in Malawi, and Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers responsible for Tourism noted that the issue of poaching is of huge concern and Africa is losing wildlife at record rates each year to poachers and illegal trade. He said this was because of the involvement of organized criminal syndicates in elephant and rhino poaching, with criminals now deploying advanced technologies ranging from night vision scopes, silenced weapons, darting equipment and helicopters, to carry out their missions.

For more information visit: http://www.traffic.org/home/2014/3/7/poaching-and-illegal-wildlife-trade-threaten-tourism-and-dev.html

Funding shortage holds back research in culture: Dr Susan Keitumetse

In an interview done with Research Africa concerning anthropology funding, ORI Research Scholar, Dr. Susan Keitumetse, cited lack of funding as making anthropology research a nightmare for scientists. According to her, "the field is not yet regarded as a priority by funding bodies. This is more prevalent in Africa where there is a lack of awareness of its potential to contribute to poverty alleviation (Botswana included).” Topics researched by African anthropologists include the use of cultural heritage to promote the growth of tourism. Leslie Aiello, president of the US based Wenner-Gren Foundation , maintains that the lack of funding is not confined to Africa.“Anthropology does not enjoy the level of funding characteristic of many other disciplines. The great majority of funding that is available is government funding that supports academics in their own countries,” she says. However, funding for projects is critical for raising awareness and interest in the discipline in Africa, Keitumetse says. The question is where to get the money. Most funding in the field is for training. But there are some research funders. The Wenner-Gren Foundation, which specifically funds academic anthropology, spent about US$600,000 on research and conferences in Africa last year. The programme includes the Wadsworth African Fellowships and Research Grants.

UNESCO promotes stronger links between World Heritage and Tourism

At the recently held Roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova underlined the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism, adding that cultural heritage is a powerful driver of social and economic development for local communities. She also highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to heritage preservation in its various forms, be it natural, cultural or intangible, in order to educate younger generations to the need to preserve it, not just as a historical legacy but as a living and fundamental component of our lives and of the lives of many communities around the world.

Conserving an ancient heritage

The Kgalakgadi Joint Management Plan, which oversees the management of the Kgalakgadi TCFA, is being updated to ensure that conservation, tourism and the flow of benefits within the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park and the entire protected area are handled efficiently. The !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park which came was developed in 2009 gives visitors the opportunity to experience the hunter-gatherer culture of the local Khomani San and Mier Communities. The article is available in the March issue of Africa Geographic in the ORI Library.

Environment-friendly Tourism and Community participation

The paper examines looks at ways of enhancing local peace through environment-friendly tourism. It identifies linkages among environment, tourism and local peace, looks at the trend of the tourism sector's role in peace-building and explores potentials and challenges of its engagement in building local peace. It argues that peace, environment and tourism are all vulnerable to local conditions. In addition to meeting the needs of tourists, it is vital to ensure community participation and protect the environment. After all, this is the venue from which local peace begins its journey. Link to full paper available here.

Biodiversity: facts and figures

In some places, medicinal plants and animals provide most of the drugs people use, and even in technologically-advanced countries like the USA, half of the 100 most-prescribed drugs originate from wild species. A square kilometre of coastal ecosystem such as mangroves forests can store up to five times more carbon than the equivalent area of mature tropical forests. Unfortunately, these areas are being destroyed three to four times faster than forests, releasing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the ocean, and contributing to climate change. Tourists spend billions of dollars every year to watch birds or whales, or witness wildlife spectacles such as the great annual migrations in the Serengeti ecosystem of Tanzania and Kenya where 1.5 million wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson’s gazelle and 200,000 zebra cross the plain. Overfishing has reduced some commercial fish stocks by more than 90%. More of these interesting facts available on the IUCN website.

Decongesting the Chobe Riverfront

The overcrowding of the most popular of area of the Chobe National Park has been a concern for years. Statistics show that over 75 vehicles enter the Chobe National Park through its Sedudu gate every day. These include day trippers from neighbouring countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia, safari goers from lodges and camps in Kasane and Kazungula.Although most safari companies want something to be done about the situation, few are willing to give up prime game drive routes and schedules. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks has drawn up a strategy to address this situation. In 2009, it introduced the Chobe Riverfront Decongesting Strategy, with its first phase of implememntation started in 2009. This multi-pronges strategy is in various phases of implementation and the continued engagement of the tourism industry through the Local Advisory Consultative Committee(LACOM) has been critical in the success of the implemented phases.

Linking communities, tourism & conservation

According to the World Tourism Organization, “The development of sustainable tourism requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. The manual combines standard market-based analyses with socio-cultural, natural resource use and environmental assessments. It not only gives you ready-to-use tools like worksheets and questionnaires, it clearly outlines how to use these tools and when to use them. Perhaps, more important, this guide reinforces why the assessment process is vital in determining if sustainable tourism is a realistic option in a given destination. Full link available on Zeitfoundation website.

Guidelines for community-based ecotourism development

Tourism is the world’s largest industry and accounts for more than 10% of total employment, 11% of global GDP, and total tourist trips are predicted to increase to 1.6 billion by 2020. On the one hand, inappropriate tourism development and practice can degrade habitats and landscapes, deplete natural resources, and generate waste and pollution. However, on the other hand, responsible tourism can help to generate awareness of and support for conservation and local culture, and create economic opportunities for countries and communities. The term ‘community-based ecotourism’ takes this social dimension a stage further. This is a form of ecotourism where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in, its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community.

New at ORI Library: Tourist destination governance

In this book, the authors aim to contribute to the understanding of best practices in tourist destination governance and to benchmark and advance ways of theorising these practices. Tourism is recognised as as complicated multi-sectoral activities with numerous stakeholders and with diverse and divergent goals and objectives. For this reason, achieving cooperation and collaboration amongst these stakeholders is a major concern for managers, communities and and academics. This book is now available in the ORI Library.

Utilising Tourism Potential in Combating the Spread of HIV/AIDS through Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas of Botswana

The paper analyses the potential of tourism in contributing towards poverty alleviation since it is a viable sector in minimising the spread of HIV/AIDS.The author maintains that tourism has the potential to alleviate poverty among people living in the rural areas of Botswana. It concludes that poverty alleviation is imperative in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tourism being an important economic activity in Botswana, has the potential to alleviate poverty in the country, since it creates employment, earns foreign exchange, attracts foreign investment and contributes to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Full report available here.

Tsabong Camel Project

The Tsabong Camel project, an initiative of the Botswana Tourism Organisation is attempting to diversify the tourism industry in the country to create jobs and to bring financial and social benefits to rural dwellers. Once fully operational, the project will benefit the communities of Maubelo, Maleshe and Tsabong in the Kgalakgadi District. In addition to the stimulation of tourism activities in the Tsabong area, camel husbandry will be developed, creating exciting entrepreneurial opportunities in the sale of animal by products and other economic ventures. According to Thabo Brian Dithebe, manager of the project, TCP represents one of the many innovative government strategies to move the country away from spheres traditionally associated with tourism.

Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010: Preliminary Findings

In the report, the crucial role tourism plays in empowering women politically, socially and economically is highlighted. However, it makes it very clear that more must be done to close the gender gap, in particular ensuring equal pay for men and women for equal work, raising employment quality and ending all discrimination. The report shows relevant data in five main areas: employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, education and community, comparable by regions. It provides policymakers and operators recommendations on how to promote more gender sensitive policies and integrate gender equality into corporate decisions, including strengthening the legal protection of women in tourism employment, providing higher levels of training and greater opportunities for women to develop their businesses. “Greater gender equality will contribute to the overall quality of the tourist experience, with a considerable impact on profitability and quality across all aspects of the industry,” says the report. Full report available on UNWTO site.

Sustainable tourism and natural World Heritage : priorities for action

The aim of the study is to examine the gaps in our understanding of how tourism development affects natural World Heritage Sites in order to support the development of sustainable tourism in these sites. The study also hopes to encourage tourism development that while protecting the integrity of the site, it also brings income generation opportunities for local communities associated with World Heritage Sites, offers financial and other support for the conservation of the sites, and contributes to visitors’ awareness about the values of nature. Full report available on the IUCN site.

Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011

The World Economic Forum has for the past five years engaged key industry and thought leaders through its Aviation, Travel & Tourism Industry Partnership Programme to carry out an in-depth analysis of the Travel & Tourism competitiveness of economies around the world. The aim is to provide a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure the development of strong and sustainable national Travel & Tourism industries capable of contributing effectively to international economic development. The theme of this edition of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, “Beyond the Downturn,” reflects the cautiously optimistic outlook and many complexities still facing the industry that must be overcome to ensure strong sectoral growth. Full report available on www3.weforum.org .

New at ORI Library: the economics of sustainable tourism

The book edited by Fabio Cerina et al. aims to critically explore how tourism economic development can move closer to a sustainable ideal from an economic analytical anchor. Grounded in economic theory and application, it analyses tourists' satisfaction and impacts of tourism on the host community, investigates the productivity of the industry and identifies factors that could increase economic and sustainable development such as trade relationships. It also offers further insights into how destinations' sustainability can be measured and sets the agenda for further research. The book is now available in the ORI Library.

Travelers’ philanthropy & voluntourism

Consumers who embark on responsible tourism tend to choose a tour company with ethical characteristics such as a written CSR code, good working conditions, fair prices, locally sourced food and staff, and revenue sharing with employees, support for community projects and protection of the environment. They also appear willing to pay (modestly) more for companies that are bringing real benefits to people in the host destinations.” Article available at: http://www.responsibletravel.org/news/Fact_sheets/Fact_Sheet_-_TPhil_and_Voluntourism.pdf

Impact Investment in Community-Based Sustainable Tourism: Summary of Roundtable Discussion

The Impact Investment in Community-Based Sustainable Tourism discussion brought together impact investment funds, development practitioners, and donors (USAID, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Department of Commerce) to explore ways to work together to establish enterprise-based development that delivers triple bottom-line benefits—economic, social, and environmental. The participants believe the investment in the tourism sector is a prime example of self sustaining development, and weighed challenges and strategies to increasing investment in such projects. Full report available on:http://www.swisscontact.ch/any/resources/pdf/Tourism-Development_Summary.pdf

ORI Professor gains recognition at International Conference

Professor Joseph Mbaiwa has just won second place in the best paper award at the International Conference on Global Sustainable Tourism currently being held in Nelspruit, South Africa. The paper that won him the award is entitled "Existing and potential impacts of policy changes on CBNRM in the Okavango Delta, Botswana“. This is a highly prestegious award in the global tourism arena as competitors came from all over including countries with leading tourism scholars such as USA, Australia, UK, Germany, Kenya, RSA & others. Prof Mbaiwa was handed the award by the Executive Mayor of Mbombela local Municipality Cllr L L Chiwayo in a glistering event attended by over 200 delegates. Congratulations Prof Mbaiwa!