Anna Spenceley

Tourism and poverty reduction: theory and practice in less economically developed countries

This paper analyses the evolution of the theory and practice of tourism development aimed at poverty reduction in less economically developed countries (LEDCs). It critically reviews two central early themes in this area: community-based tourism projects, and the focus on structural conditions and power relations between global players and local communities. The paper considers the potential strengths of tourism development for LEDCs and summarises the many new subject area developments. A review of papers within the Journal of Sustainable Tourisms special issue on tourism and poverty reduction follows and four main themes are explored: development agency strategies and approaches, governance and biodiversity conservation, the assessment of tourism impacts and value chain analysis and inter-sectoral linkages. Key potential topics for future research and action are outlined, including: (1) the use of new techniques measuring tourism impacts, (2) the roles of development agency governance and operational practices, (3) how inequitable power relations and weak governance can undermine efforts, (4) the importance of private-sector business practices that contribute to poverty reduction, (5) the value of multidisciplinary quantitative and qualitative research tools and (6) the need for linkages between academic research and practitioner interventions.

The Value of Avitourism for Conservation and Job Creation— An Analysis from South Africa

Tourism directed at bird watching (avitourism) has become increasingly popular. In many lower and middle-income countries, including South Africa, avitourism is being applied in an effort to simultaneously achieve community development and biodiversity conservation. This paper presents the results of an exploratory investigation of 11 community-based avitourism projects in South Africa. Conservation benefits were measured with the Threat Reduction Assessment tool. We calculated the Gamma (G) correlation coefficient to explore the relationship between conservation and income benefits and project characteristics. The projects were successful at reducing threats to sites where conservation was an explicit objective (n=11, G=0.609, P=0.03). The level of income benefits did not correlate with success in reducing threats to conservation. Once involved in avitourism projects, the average monthly income earned by local bird guides increased from USD 114 to USD 362. The extent of income benefits was positively related to the extent of support to projects (n=10, G=0.714, P=0.01). Participants in the projects reported substantive capacity building and empowerment benefits. Success in delivering conservation, income and empowerment benefits was challenged by the local guides limited previous exposure to tourism and business, the guides lack of self assurance, cultural differences, and a requirement for sustained mentorship and support to overcome these barriers. We conclude that with adequate long-term support, avitourism projects can be a cost-effective way to create jobs and deliver conservation and human development benefits.

Tourism in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) is a transboundary protected area that straddles the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The parks development was partly motivated by the ecological objective of re-establishing traditional migratory wildlife routes once fences between the three countries are dismantled. Besides biodiversity conservation benefits, the park may also provide a basis to generate revenue for conservation and local economic development through tourism. This paper describes current state and private sector tourism within the GLTP and planning initiatives that may promote responsible tourism, and describes the achievements by community-based tourism enterprises and public–private partnerships in generating economic, social and environmental benefits. The livelihoods of people living in the park are outlined in relation to government policies on land redistribution, resettlement and options for the future, and progress in biodiversity conservation and responsible nature-based tourism development within the GLTP over the past five years is evaluated. 1Research Fellow, Transboundary Protected Areas Research Initiative, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. This research was supported by the BMW Chair for Sustainability, University of the Witwatersrand and the Transboundary Protected Areas Research Initiative (TPARI), an IUCN-SA programme funded through the Centre for the Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Carnegie Mellon University, by way of a co-operative agreement with the National Science Foundation (SBR-9521914). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendation expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Carnegie Mellon. The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers who commented on a draft of this paper. This paper is largely drawn from Spenceley (2005); the full paper is available at http://www.anna.spenceley.co.uk/files/Tourism%20InvestmentGLTFCAMar05.pdf

Benefits to the poor from gorilla tourism in Rwanda

Tourism is currently the leading export sector in Rwanda and is growing. The country is famous for the rare mountain gorillas of the Parc National des Volcans. This paper uses information from value chain analysis studies, complementary research and stakeholder testimonies to reveal the benefits that accrue to people living around the Park. It quantifies pro-poor income and non-financial benefits from gorilla tourism, and describes the opportunities for the poor to become economically involved in the value chains relating to accommodation, food and beverages, excursions and shopping, and the barriers to their involvement. To increase local benefits from gorilla tourism and other tourism activities around the Park, the authors recommend stimulating the activities of the private sector, increasing the number of joint venture agreements, enhancing opportunities for local employment and career progression, and improving business linkages with entrepreneurs and entertainers.

Can a wildlife tourism company influence conservation and the development of tourism in a specific destination

The evolution of tourism destinations is influenced by a range of factors including the policy and planning framework, the role of destination management organisations, and integration of tourism into the local and national economy. The aim of this paper is to describe how the private sector can influence destination development, by considering a luxury safari lodge (Mombo Camp) and its holding company (Okavango Wilderness Safaris) within the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Through a series of stakeholder interviews and literature review, the research found that Mombo had influenced the destination’s quality standards, how it is marketed and promoted, and also in the conservation of endangered species. Over the course of 30 years, the holding company has also been influential in the development and implementation of tourism and conservation policy, environmental awareness among youth, and also conservation research. The findings of this study suggest that destination planning authorities should encourage reputable private sector operators that have a long-term interest in the destination and promote sustainable tourism practices, including those that can mobilise a network of facilities and attractions, can collaborate with their competitors, and can support and advise government on policy and its implementation.

Reducing economic leakages from tourism: A value chain assessment of the tourism industry in Kasane, Botswana

ABSTRACT Retaining revenue generated by tourism within a local economy is an important issue in tourism development, especially in developing countries where tourism is used as a tool for development. This research aims to quantify the value and proportion of tourism expenditure retained in this destination in order to inform national-level decision-making. It applies a value chain analysis (VCA) approach through semi-structured questionnaires with 117 stakeholders in Kasane, Botswana. The VCA demonstrates that the total gross revenue generation of the tourism industry within Kasane was USD 39.5 million in 2014. Excursions and transport generated nearly half of this revenue (USD 19.2 million; 49%), followed by accommodation and food and beverages, at around USD 10 million each (26%). Of the gross revenue accrued, USD 14.5 million (37%) remained in the local economy (defined by the Botswana Tourism Organisation as a 50 km radius surrounding Kasane) in the form of local goods (production) and services (wages). Recommendations for interventions that could enhance the local retention of revenue from tourism in Kasane are presented.

The contribution of tourism revenue to financing protected area management in Southern Africa

Protected areas (PAs) are one way of conserving biodiversity, and ecosystem services and human well-being and are now recognized as an integral part of sustainable development strategies. Over the past four decades there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of protected areas globally. Increasingly however, park management agencies do not have sufficient funds to finance their conservation management activities, and most governments do not fund PA budgets fully. Furthermore, efforts to determine how much money is spent or required for PA financing has been hampered by significant data shortages, especially in the most underfunded countries as many are still unable to quantify the relative adequacy of their levels of conservation finance. This research assesses the extent to which tourism contributes towards biodiversity financing for PA management in southern African countries. It analyzes Fifth National Country Reports (produced in 2014/2015) submitted to the Convention for Biological Diversity produced for all southern African countries to determine the actual contribution of tourism to overall PA financing. It highlights that although tourism is a significant revenue source for PA authorities in southern Africa, how it is retained and reinvested back into conservation management remains ambiguous. The incompleteness and inconsistency of national level reporting presents a missed opportunity for justifying greater financing support.

Tourism and poverty reduction : principles and impacts in developing countries

1. Tourism and poverty reduction: Principles and impacts in developing countries Anna Spenceley and Dorothea Meyer Section 1: Development agency strategies and approaches 2. Tourism and development at work: 15 years of tourism and poverty reduction within the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation John Hummel and Rene van der Duim 3. Influenced and influential: the role of tour operators and development organisations in tourism and poverty reduction in Ecuador Louise Mary Erskine and Dorothea Meyer 4. Community-based tourism enterprises: challenges and prospects for community participation Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust, Botswana Lesego Senyana Stone and Tibabo Moren Stone Section 2: Governance and biodiversity conservation 5. Blessing or curse? The political economy of tourism development in Tanzania Fred Nelson 6. Tourism revenue sharing policy at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: a policy arrangements approach Wilber Manyisa Ahebwa, Rene van der Duim, and Chris Sandbrook 7. Community-based cultural tourism: issues, threats and opportunities Noel B. Salazar Section 3: Assessment of tourism impacts 8. The role of tourism employment in poverty reduction and community perceptions of conservation and tourism in southern Africa Susan Lynne Snyman 9. Tourism and poverty alleviation in Fiji: comparing the impacts of small- and large-scale tourism enterprises Regina Scheyvens and Matt Russell 10. A critical analysis of tourism, gender and poverty reduction Hazel Tucker and Brenda Boonabaana 11. Can ecotourism deliver real economic, social, and environmental benefits? A study of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica Carter A. Hunt, William H. Durham, Laura Driscoll and Martha Honey Section 4: Value chain analysis and inter-sectoral linkages 12. Value chain approaches to assessing the impact of tourism on low-income households in developing countries Jonathan Mitchell 13. Tourism-agriculture linkages in rural South Africa: evidence from the accommodation sector Christian M. Rogerson 14. Social enterprises in tourism: an exploratory study of operational models and success factors Janina von der Weppen and Janet Cochrane

Tourism and protected areas: Comparing the 2003 and 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Parks Congress is held once a decade, and brings together thousands of the world’s experts on protected areas. In 2014, the Sydney World Parks Congress and the parallel event, Global Eco, provided a platform for 125 presentations relating to tourism and visitation. This paper presents a synthesis of the body of work shared at Sydney, including some of the cutting-edge issues, best practices, and inspiring initiatives relating to sustainable tourism. In particular, it compares issues that were highlighted at the 2003 World Parks Congress, and how they have evolved and progressed over the past decade. The paper highlights the role of different stakeholders from different corners of the world in promoting sustainable tourism practices. It also considers the relevance of tourism to the themes of the World Parks Congress, and how the sector is reflected within the official records of the 2003 and 2014 World Parks Congress. Looking forward to the next 10 years, the paper reflects on specific challenges, gaps in knowledge, and areas for further research and outreach.

Protected area tourism: Progress, innovation and sustainability

Protected areas are highly sought after destinations by the increasing number of global travellers. Tourism has grown faster in the last 60 years than most other industries and the United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates that the number of international tourist arrivals will increase by an average of 43 million (3.3%) a year in the second and third decades of this century. The literature on tourism is substantial, in 2012, there were >150,000 items in total, with around 5000 relevant to sustainable tourism (CIRET, 2012 in Buckley, 2012). Eagles et al. (2002: 13) explain that the growth in interest in sustainable tourism and ecotourism reflects a rising tide of social concern about the quality of the natural environment and the effects of tourism. McCool (2009) highlights that the management of sustainable tourism in protected areas essentially requires numerous tradeoffs between two goals: (1) protection of the key values that form the basis for preservation and (2) allowing access to visitors to enjoy and appreciate those values. He goes further to say that these trade-offs occur within a context of a lack of societal agreement on goals and also a lack of scientific agreement on the relationships between causes and effects; two conditions needed to identify and implement effective tourism management actions (McCool, 2009). Many researchers have described how tourism and visitation to protected areas can generate both positive and negative environmental, economic and social impacts (Eagles et al., 2002; Leung et al., in press; McCool, 2006; Mitchell and Ashley, 2010; Snyman, 2014). The past decade has seen the publication of research on protected areas addressing several core themes in relation to sustainable tourism, including: the economic impacts of tourism (Lapeyre, 2011; Nielsen and Spenceley, 2011; Snyman, 2012, 2014; Spenceley, 2010; Telfer and Sharpley, 2008), including a recent focus on value chain analysis (Meyer, 2007; Mitchell et al., 2009; Rogerson, 2012; Rylance and Spenceley, 2013; Spenceley et al., 2010) and inclusive tourism (Rylance and Spenceley, 2014a, 2014b), the social impacts of tourism (Deery et al., 2012; Esteves et al., 2012; Mbaiwa, 2005; Stronza and Gordillo, 2008) and the environmental impacts tourism has in protected areas (Buckley, 2010; Eagles, 2013; Mbaiwa, 2003). Another area of research which has progressed in the last decade is that of understanding visitation (Kajala, 2009, 2013; Kajala et al., 2007, Leung et al., in press; Spenceley et al., 2015a; Telfer and Sharpley, 2008) and the importance of understanding the impact of visitation on tourism and conservation and finding ways of maximising benefits and, at least, satisfying all stakeholders. There has also been research focusing on the different governance types of protected areas and the various tourism models that accompany these, for example transboundary protected areas, involving different country’s governments (Spenceley, 2006; Vasilijevic et al., 2015); community conserved areas (Lapeyre, 2011; Snyman, 2012) shared governance, and governance by the private sector (BorriniFeyeraband et al., 2013). The linkages between tourism and poverty reduction have also been explored extensively in the literature (e.g. Ashley et al., 2001; Erskine and Meyer, 2012; Hall and Brown, 2006; Mitchell, 2012; Rogerson, 2012; Scheyvens, 2011; Scheyvens and Russell, 2012; Spenceley and Meyer, 2012), and particularly in relation to areas of high biodiversity and protection (e.g. Ahebwa et al., 2012; Nelson, 2012; Rylance and Spenceley, 2014a, 2014b; Snyman, 2012). Demand for tourism in protected has largely grown since the end of Second World War and has been associated with the increasing convenience and reduced