the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

income, and presumably high spending segments of the tourist originating markets,
that are more likely to take advantage of existing permanent accommodation, given
their higher purchasing power. The policy also aimed at ensuring that the Batswana
benefited from the development of the tourism industry through the implementation
of projects such as the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM)
programme. Such attempts to balance the country's objective of maximising revenue
earnings while considering the fragile ecology upon which the industry is based are
generally regarded as being far-sighted and unique within a Third World tourism
industry (http://www.safariweb...htm; http://www.gov.bw...html).
Botswana has, however, also developed a tourism industry that encourages the
growth of high-cost, exclusive hotels and safari camps, and this has led to the
emergence of 'enclave tourism'. Foreign owned hotels, lodges and safari camps are
established to meet the demands of foreign tourists and generally fail to take into
account the needs and demands of surrounding local communities. Most tourist
facilities and services in Botswana, and particularly the Okavango Delta are owned
and managed by whites, some of whom are Botswana citizens. This situation can be
attributed in part to the government's policy of high-cost, low-volume tourism which
tends to directly exclude local communities from participating in tourism businesses
as they lack the necessary skills and financial capability to invest in the industry
(Mbiawa, 2001).
The tourism industry in Botswana is still in its infancy, and while attractions such as
wildlife and pristine natural areas have always existed within the country, tourism
development has been hindered by several factors (Silisthena and McLeod, 1998).
Tourism development in Botswana, prior to the 1990s, was partly retarded by the
political instability present in the southern African region. Even though Botswana
was politically stable, instability in South Africa, Namibia (South West Africa),
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Angola reflected negatively on the entire region,
hampering tourism growth (Cooke, 1990; Fowkes, 1990; Tsiang, 1990).
Prior to the 1990s, Botswana's lack of infrastructure also inhibited tourism growth.
The country's road network was basic and underdeveloped, with tarred roads
present only in the more urban areas, and other forms of transport, such as
commercial air travel, almost non-existent. A further hindering factor was the fact
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