Tourist Profile in the Okavango Delta

Tourism Impacts on Agriculture in the Okavango Delta

4.4 Tourism in the Okavango Delta

4.4.3 Tourist Profile in the Okavango Delta

combine different types of travel such as taking a mobile safari as well as driving into the National Parks and Game Reserves independently (Borge et ai,

1989).

Structured interview questionnaires were distributed to 400 tourists in the Okavango Delta between April 2001 and April 2002. Responses were received from 237 of them.

Figure 4.2: Tourist Nationality in Okavango Delta, Botswana (2001/2002)

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Nationality

As can be seen from Figure 4.2, 74 percent of tourists interviewed are of European

and North American origin, while only 16 percent were from African countries. This has

great implication for the generation of foreign exchange for the region as well as impact

on the balance

of

payments. The economic role

of

international tourism in the region

can be examined through both the tourist trade balance and the share of tourism

receipts in total exports. The share

of

tourism receipt in total exports is inversely

related to the size of a region, especially in GNP terms (Table 4.8), (Briguglio et ai,

1996).

Table 4.8: Total National Receipts From Tourism (Botswana, 2001)

Year US

$

Million

1995 162

1996 184

1997 184

Source: Africa Contemporary Record (2001).

With regard to the indirect economic impact, or the multiplier effect, of international tourism, the larger the region, the higher the tourism multiplier. This is due to the magnitude of the multiplier depending largely on the degree of tourist goods and seNices supplied domestically and how closely various sectors of the economy are linked. In a large country or region, a more diversified resource base and a complete industry system will enable it to enjoy both a high level of inter-industry linkages and a low level of leakage, as most of the international tourists demand can be met by domestic products. Whereas in a small state or region, such as the Okavango Delta, the small scale and limited variety of industries limit the range and volume of linkages and enforce the need for imports (Table 4.9), (Briguglio et aI, 1996).

Table 4.9: Total Annual National Imports (Botswana, 2001)

Imports ($ million)

1996 1997 1998

Food, Beverages,

Tobacco

292 297 306

Fuels

110 127 125

Chemicals and

Rubber Products

176 205 211

Wood and

Paper Products

126 140 144

Textiles and Footwear

129 146 150

Metals and

Metal Products

152 241 249

Machinery

278 398 410

Vehicles

243 452 465

Total

1 727 2260 2326

Source: African Contemporary Record (2001).

Figure 4.3: Tourist Accommodation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana (2001/2002)

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Safari Camp Lodge Hotel

Accommodation Facilities

As can been seen from Figure 4.3, most tourists (66 percent) that participated in the survey were staying in safari camps in the Okavango Delta, which tend to be located in the more rural isolated areas, not in the urban zones such as Maun and Shakawe. The development

of

tourism facilities has therefore occurred in even the most remote areas of the Delta. However, this has not initiated regional economic development as most of the safari camps have foreign-owned headquarters in Maun or Gaborone to which most of the tourism-generated income accrues.

There has been an unequal distribution

of

the economic impact of tourism

development in the Delta. The majority of the earnings accrue to multinational hotels, and hunting and safari camps, which dominate the Delta's tourism industry.

The Mexico experience of "... the uneven pattern of regional development, shaped by the heavy, nearly exclusive dependence on tourism" is also present in the Okavango Delta region (Torres, 1996, p.9). This too has "... worsened regional inequalities between the wealthy tourist sites and the marginalised traditional villages" in the area.

There is also

^{11 •••}

a clear spatial segregation between the two groups, with tourism resources concentrated in tourism areas and poor local communities confined to the periphery of the tourist sites" (Torres, 1996, p.9).

120

In most developing tourism regions, including the Okavango Delta, the potential for tourism to balance regional development has not been realised, and as in the Delta, tourism even leads to the widening of regional disparity. This can be attributed to two key factors. Firstly, in many underdeveloped regions, the dominant mission of the tourism industry is to generate foreign exchange. Regional development is generally not on the government's agenda concerning tourism development, with "an increase in the 'national cake' being viewed as far more important than questions of how the 'cake' might be spatially made and distributed" (Bruguglio et ai, 1996, p.108).

Secondly, due to regional development being ultimately the result of the location of economic activities in response to differential regional attractions, in most developing regions, including the Delta, it is more cost effective to develop tourism ventures in relatively well developed areas such as Maun, and only in a few cases in remote and extremely attractive locations (Bruguglio et ai, 1996).

Tourism now comprises 16% of the country's GDP, and it has been rated the fifth most popular destination in Africa. The government has gone to great lengths to promote environmentally sensitive, low-volume/high income tourism and has substantially upgraded the country's travel infrastructure and accommodation capacity. It is also very receptive to joint venture proposals. Lease agreements for hospitality enterprises such as safari lodges have been relaxed, as have building and other restrictions.

Tourism profits have led to economic growth, which is of great benefit to the state, but it has also resulted in unequal regional growth, with "little emphasis placed on

stimulating non-tourism economic activity" (Torres, 1996, p. 9). This high level of dependency on tourism leaves the area extremely vulnerable to international tourists, who are always in search of new 'unspoiled' areas (Torres, 1996).

Most tourists interviewed stated that they do not intend to spend another holiday in the Okavango Delta (Table 4.10).

Table 4.10: Percentage of Tourists Intending to Return to Okavango Delta

Accommodation Type Intend to Return Will not Return

Safari Camp 36

64

Lodge 43 57

Hotel 47 53

The most commonly cited reason for the lack of intention to return was that the prices charged for tourist accommodation facilities and services were too high. Thirty-nine percent of the tourists interviewed stated that they were taking part in package tours, while 61 percent stated that they were taking part in individually guided tours. Almost all of the tourists (92 percent) who were taking part in package tours felt that exorbitant prices were charged.

These findings have great implications for the continued growth of the Okavango Delta tourism industry. Firstly, due to the increasing perception by both overseas and African tourists that accommodation in the Okavango Delta is not affordable, a growing

number of tourists are holidaying in other, more affordable African countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania. As a result, the Okavango Delta is losing most of its potential 'return tourists' to other Third World tourism destinations due to its 'high-cost, low- volume' policies. As was discussed earlier, there is increasing recognition that this policy is damaging the country's tourism industry by putting off both potential and return tourists.

A decline in the number of tourists visiting the Okavango Delta will be extremely

damaging to the region's industry in that according to the law of supply and demand, in

times of scarcity, prices will rise, and this applies to the accommodation sector, just as

anywhere else. Also, during peak tourist months, when there is an influx of visitors, and

rooms are hard to come by, accommodation prices will rise. In the Okavango Delta the

price inflation during the peak August to October tourist season tends to increase from between 50 to 200 percent, which increasingly brings into question the degree to which supply and demand dictate prices, as opposed to the deliberate squeezing of the tourist market though irresponsible opportunism. With the current 'high-cost, low- volume' policy, the Okavango Delta is in increasing danger of losing its growing

international status as one of the best holiday destinations in Africa. Given the extent to which the region depends on tourism as its economic mainstay, a drastic decline in tourist numbers would greatly damage the region's economy.

Tourist accommodation facilities in the Okavango Delta tend to be independently owned, with no significant franchises operating in the area. In order to increase tourist numbers, and make the Delta's tourism industry more accessible to the local

population, there is an urgent need for the establishment of cheaper, more widely accessible accommodation facilities, which will appeal to a greater sector of society, not just upper class foreign tourists, as is the present scenario.

In an attempt to determine the impact of tourism development on local agricultural practices in the Okavango Delta, the structure of the demand and supply of fresh produce for the tourism industry in the area was considered.

4.4.4 The Demand and Supply of Fresh Produce in the Okavango