The Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism Development in the Okavango Delta, Botswana - Literature review Example

Running Head: The socio-cultural impacts of tourism development in the Okavango delta, Botswana NAME: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE: DATE: Abstract Okavango Delta is one of the leading tourists’ destinations in Botswana. This is mainly because of its beautiful scenery and rich wildlife resources. The development of related infrastructure has therefore been stimulated by the tourism. These infrastructures that have developed in this Okavango region include camps, airstrips and airports, lodges and hotels. Retail businesses and wholesales have also been established through its backward linkages especially in Maun. These businesses offer goods and services mainly to the tourist industry. Ngamiland District has for instance experience development in tarred roads and other telecommunication facilities to help in the development of tourism. The local communities have also gotten employed in the tourism industry in this area earning then foreign exchange. Despite the many socio-cultural impacts, there are some negative impacts that the industry is starting to develop. This paper therefore tries to address these socio-cultural impacts based on the sustainability concept. Introduction Socio-cultural impacts of tourism development on the people of Okavango Delta in Ngamiland district is what this paper discusses. For the last one decade, Okavango Delta in North-Western Botswana has been a major tourism attraction site. This is largely because of its scenic beauty and a wide range of wildlife which has attracted tourist from various parts of the world like Western Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and North America. There has been establishment of tourism facilities in the region due to tourism growth in tourism with both consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife uses characterizing tourism in Okavango Delta. Some of the most significant tourist activities in the area include but not limited to walking trails, safari hunting, dug-in canoe commonly known as Mekoro safaris, game viewing and photographic tourist activities. The natural wetland of Okavango Delta makes its tourism development have socio-cultural impacts, an aspect that is the subject of discussion in this study. To adequately address these issues, the concept of sustainability is assessed anchoring on major principle of socio-cultural equity and sustainability. Though in general terms tourism has been argued has the world largest industry accounting for more than 5.6% employment and about 6% of the world DNP (Glasson, 2005), most government of the world are aggressively encouraging the growth of tourism in their various countries as a main pillar of economic development. For poorer countries, cities and regions, this is prevalent as it is seen a quick tract to development. According to Hall (2005), most developing countries for instance encourage investment in the tourism industry has this is expected to support the economic development since tourism when viewed from a broader sense as means of economic development with a direct socio-cultural impacts on the destination regions. This according to Binns (2005) is more elaborate as he argues that development is not only based on the economic matters abut also on the social, ethical and cultural considerations. These are some of the indicators according to Binns (2005) poverty, self-reliance and inequality. He further noted that their cumulative relationship between the socio-cultural development and tourism development. This means that for tourism to be sustainable in terms of its contribution to economic development it must be socially sensitive and culturally appropriate (Wall, 2007). Tourism development should therefore conform to the concept development that is sustainable in accordance to the principle of intercultural and generational equity. Tourism development in environments like Okavango Delta according to Chambers (2006) should be designed in such a way that there is no environmental trade-off but rather an improvement of human welfare and the environment it operates in. issues of sustainability in tourism is therefore is seen as a new eco-tourism concept where the conservation of the environment is the aim the aim of the tourism activities. This study then suggests that eco-tourism and sustainable environment are related and both champions for the distribution of tourism benefits, securing of live hoods and equal participation in decision making. The paper retrieves its information for both the secondary and primary sources of data whereby the primary data is collected through administered questionnaires that are both structured and semi-structured to a household sample of 200. Thee households are located in Seronga, Maun, Khawai and Ditshiping villages near Okavango Delta. These villages especially Maun were chosen because of their major role as suppliers of tourist camps and lodges among other tourism facilities. Some of the villages like Khawai and Ditshiping were chosen because they have chosen because of the recent tourism initiatives they have started while Seronga was chosen because of its long well-developed community based tourism that is identified for. Tourism trends both regional and international As part of the regional and global tourism trend, tourism industry in the Okavango Delta in Botswana has developed. The number of international arrivals has increase from 467 million people in 1990 to 673 million in 2000 according to WTO (2000). This represents 45.8% increase in this 10 –year period. The amount of income received from the tourism sector increased from US$ 220 billion to US$ 449 within the same period. This was equivalent to 101.4 % increase all attributed the improvement of standard of living and improved mode to transport in the west (Harrison, 2005). The international arrivals have most significantly increase in developing countries as Africa alone recorded approximately 4.0%. South Africa for instance has been identified as the fastest growing Africa tourist destination with more than 31.5% increase in the arrivals and recipes according to (WTO, 2009) Some of the contributing factors to the increase in tourism is the end of liberalization wars and the subsequent establishment democratic governments in Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and South Africa. According to the statistic for the department of tourism, the number of tourist arrivals in Botswana increased from 944,000 to 1,330,990in the period between 1998 and 2008. This translates to a 13.7% remarkable growth in tourist arrivals. Okavango Delta received the second largest after Francistown. Combined visitors who visited Maun and Okavango Delta was the largest as it stood at 22.7 % according to (DOT, 2008). Social- cultural impacts (socio-cultural benefits) Both backward and forward linkages are requires to assess the extend at which tourism has contributed to the economic development of the host regions like Okavango Delta. The linkages are between the tourism sector and the other sectors of the Botswana economy. The analysis also seeks to understand where all the tourism activities are spatially located and identifying possible beneficiaries of the social, cultural and other impacts. Tourism is therefore seen as the major influence in the social and cultural lives of the people around. The study of impacts of tourism in the Okavango Delta was found to be important in the following sense ways: Social impacts These according to (Hall, 2008) are the impacts that that occur as a result of travel effect and tourism changes in the individual and collective community structures, lifestyle, value systems behavior patterns and quality of life. He noted that some of these changes in the society of the communities living around Okavango region due to the establishment of tourism in the region. The economic backwardness of the communities living around the region has been improved through nurturing of hospitality among these communities. Several tourism activities have help in the establishment of commercial linkages with visitors. This has had the effects of changing the traditional approach to hospitality to the modern ones. This has made the locals view hospitality has a commodity to be bought traded. The environment that the tourists are received and intended to stay also changes while those working in the beaches and other part of the tourism industry get time to bond with the tourist (Ryan, 2001) The behavior pattern for the community structures of the communities living in Okavango Delta has changed as a result of being influenced by international tourist visiting the place. Okavango being a small village in the Western part of Botswana has changed due to its attractiveness to both local and international tourists. According to the culture of the locals, men has seen as powerful and role model to the boys while among the Europeans this is the opposite has boys who have been trea6ted as beach boys hence offering all the services and din the process earn a living instead of working in the farm as it has been the tradition. The degree of social impact on the society however depends on the how the hosting societies react to the tourist and how different the two group of the society are. The international tourists have had major effect on the mainstream societies in Okavango since the hosting communities are very friendly and have been highly receptive to visits. They have therefore been exposed to international tourists. They have openly introduced the tourists to their own society. This has hard positive social impact on the societies hence impacting quality to the lives of the hosting societies (Brown, 2002). Cultural impacts These are the change in culture elements that presence in the result of activities by the tourists. These cultural impacts are either positive or negative or surpass the host societies that may be having different cultural practices that can be different from the tourists’ culture. Due to the cultural impacts that tourism has on the hosting communities is that their traditional societies then to come like the modern societies. This is what is commonly referred to as homogenization by the anthropologists (McKean, 2009). The hosting communities lose their traditional culture. For the case of the native communities in Okavango Delta, they are homogenized as they loss their native culture as they get more interest with the European culture. They have copied the behaviors and styles of the tourists like the dress code has change to resemble those of the tourists. This is regarded as a negative impact on the culture of the hosting community since it loses its culture while they empress that of the tourists as they look for bettering their own culture. This however be argued by other communities as merely an impact that that is part of the culture evolution and therefore they embraces that of the tourist. For a less developed country like Botswana, there traditional cultures become eroded. Overseas education and media has also had negative impacts on the native culture. The traditional cultures have been interfered and are swallowed by that of the tourists. Though most communities have lost their native cultures some of the communities especially those living in Maun town on of the most tourism activities takes place still maintain their culture. This is what has earned living by keeping their culture alive. They are above to explain their culture to the visitors as they identify themselves with this culture. The money they earn from selling their culture is to modernize their society. Authenticity is the other concept that is common among the tourist in Okavango Delta. This is where the some pseudo events have been created to distract tourists from the original and genuine tourist attraction sites for the tourists. To prevent the tourists from being cheated into paying for what they never intended to, the industry players have known in advance what the tourist will experience and be certain to have what they have come to see. This is done through staging of authencity through the communities staging performance of their culture. Commoditization is the other event that the hosting communities do to sell their culture. This is done through dances and ceremonies held during religious occasions hence becoming part of the tourist industry, this common in almost all the villages that have become tourist attraction sites in Okavango Delta. Social-cultural impacts (socio-cultural problems) The major problem has been on the best way in which enclave tourism can be gotten rid of in Okavango Delta. This according to (Briton, 2006), is a type of tourism whereby it takes place only within the local or remote area where by the physical location does not meet the requirements of the and the desires of the communities living around. This is the major problem in Okavango has most of the tourism businesses are owned and controlled by the foreigners. Most of the tourist facilities in Ndubano, Maun, and most environs of Okavango Delta are owned by on citizens. This has left the locals benefiting less from the natural resources that they ought to ripe maximum. Summary and conclusion The study has revealed that the tourism development in Okavango Delta is still at its early stages. The study also showed that sustainability issues have not been given priority while it’s hinted in three major concerns of social equity that advocates for the equal social process that give fair treatment to everyone involved. According to the study, there is need for equity in the distribution of benefits and costs while decision making should also be decentralized to give the locals the opportunity to participate in the decision making process. The study further showed that the locals residents living in Ngamiland has limited access and control of tourism facilities something that has made then remain economically disempowered. They decision making and running of the tourism business is full in t socio-cultural impacts of tourism development in the Okavango delta, Botswana and of the foreigners being shortchanged in this. The tourism industry in Okavango is foreign owned hence known as the enclave tourism. 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