Evaluation, Recommendations and Conclusions
5.3 The Socio-Economic Impacts of Tourism in the Okavango Delta Region
Most Third World tourism occurs in rural areas or draws upon rural labour resources, and hence, inevitably leads to socio-economic changes, as well as to the
establishment of links with the global agri-food system (Goodman and Watts, 1994). In the Okavango Delta, the processes of rural restructuring, which are directly linked to tourism development are dramatically evident. Firstly, the intersection of global food regimes and international tourist flows has occurred. Rural areas, traditionally production spaces for local populations, have become consumption spaces for the leisure of non-locals. However, tourists and the indigenous population remain socially, economically and ethnically separate (Torres, 1996).
In the Okavango Delta region the resentment by local communities of the international tourism industry is growing. Locals increasingly perceive the development of tourism ventures, and the conservation of the areas wildlife and natural habitats, as the 'selling out' of their land and resources, to foreigners, by the Botswana Government. Most Batswana in the Delta experience no tangible benefits from the tourism industry, and hence, fail to see its importance to the region's economy. Due to the loss of land by local people to conservation and tourism, tension between indigenous communities and the global tourism industry in the Okavango Delta continues to grow (Torres,
1996). According to Alien and Hamnet (1995), compared to the absolute poverty of the majority of individuals in a Third World host community, the tourists seem extremely affluent, which is usually manifest in their appearance and behaviour. In the Okavango Delta, most tourists dress in designer safari fashions, and sport the latest hi-tech photographic and wildlife viewing equipment. They frequent the luxury hotels and lodges in the area, where the price of even one meal in such establishments is likely to be more than a local will be paid in one month (Alien and Hamnet, 1995). This is leading to increasing xenophobia in the area, which has the potential to alienate the sector, resulting in the loss of foreign investors and economic returns (Ashley, 2000).
As Cooper et al (1993) highlights, tourism cannot be exported to consumers. The consumers must visit the destination to experience the tourism product, and in doing so they act as a stimulus for social change. The impact of tourism development, and the resultant 'rural-urban' migration in the Okavango Delta has had extreme social effects on rural subsistence farmers. The 'demonstration effect' is a direct social
impact, caused by the development of tourism in rural areas. This occurs when tourists influence changes in the behaviour of host communities (Cooper et aI, 1993).
Language is one way in which host communities can remain distinct from the visitors.
However, the language of the hosts will inevitably change to accommodate the tourists as members of the host society who learn the language of the tourists are more
employable and valuable to the tourism industry (Martha, 1993). Changes in language from traditional dialects to English and Setswana, dress and consumption patterns are evident in all the towns in the region. As Cooper et al (1993) highlights, an increase in income levels from the creation of employment for the local population within the tourism industry, and the spread of the monetary sector, will alter traditional consumption patterns. Such changes, if they include consumer durables such as television and radio, will expose the host community to a wider range of wants, and speed up the process of social change.
The tourism industry in the Okavango Delta is dominated by foreign ownership, investment and participation, to such an extent that any meaningful participation by local citizens is becoming increasingly impossible. According to Schneider (1993), the tourism industry is seasonal and therefore employs people on a temporary or part-time basis. As Blank (1989) and Williams and Shaw (1991) also highlight, tourism
employees are usually laid off work during the low season. As a result, the tourism
industry cannot provide secure, meaningful jobs for many local residents, and their bargaining power for better wages and conditions is reduced. The formal employment of Batswana in the Delta's tourism industry consists of low-paying, unskilled labour, which provides little prospect for economic improvement or promotion. The foreign ownership of this sector is increasingly leading to the loss of resource control by the local population, as the industry, and the resources upon which it is based, are reserved for the consumption by non-locals. The foreign domination of the Delta's tourism industry has also led to increased wage differentials between expatriate and local tourism employees. Foreign employees' earn up to 30 percent more than their local counterparts for the same job.
Due to the major income disparities experienced by most Batswana in the Okavango Delta, and the exclusive nature of the tourism industry, the segregation of local
communities from the tourism sector has reached extreme proportions. The Okavango Delta is dominated by tourism enclaves, insulated from local residents by physical·
'buffer zones', and pricing structures, accessible only to wealthy foreign tourists.
Since the early 1970s analysts have increasingly highlighted the point that the earlier guarantees of tourism multiplier effects have not materialized in most Third World destinations (Limb and Dwyer, 2001). The predominant form of traditional, western- oriented mass tourism that has been established in so many less developed countries makes demands for services and products that can rarely be manufactured locally, due to many of these destinations having extremely narrow resource bases (Ioannides, 1995). This results in the tourism industries of many less developed countries relying heavily on imported foreign foods and materials, which leads to high leakages of capital and a reduction in the balance of payments (Wilkinson, 1989). Tourism
facilities, and their resultant supportive infrastructure, have been developed throughout the Okavango Delta region. However, uneven regional economic development is still a major problem in the area, as the economic gains from these developments tend to accrue to tourism headquarters located in the larger towns such as Maun and
Gaborone, as well as with other foreign based tourism companies. The uneven pattern
of regional development, resulting from the districts nearly exclusive dependence on
tourism, is clearly evident in the Okavango Delta. Severe regional inequalities exist
between wealthy tourist sites, and the marginalised, agricultural villages in the area.
The tourism resources and infrastructure are seldom accessible to poor local communities (Torres, 1996).
Tourism comprises 16 percent of the country's GDP, and is the dominant economic activity in the Okavango Delta region (Republic of Botswana Statistical Bulletin, 2001).
Tourism profits in the area have led to exceptional economic growth, which is of great importance to the state, but has also resulted in uneven industrial development, with little emphasis placed on stimulating non-tourism economic activity. The regions high level of dependency on tourism leaves the Okavango Delta extremely vulnerable to international tourists and foreign interests, whose chief concerns are increased economic development through the commodification of environmental and cultural heritage for tourist consumption (Torres, 1996).