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

days in the region, while independent tourists usually spend around 10 days in the
Delta. Table 6.12 shows the total number of days/nights that were spent by the
various tourist categories in the Moremi Game Reserve between 1997 and 2001
(DWNP, 2002; Main, 2001).
Table 6.12: The Total Number of Days/Nights Spent by Tourists in the Moremi
Game Reserve, 1997 - 2001
Year Independent Tourists Mobile Tourists High-Cost Tourists Total
1997 20832 22039 30951 73822
1998 26898 27313 40668 94879
1999 27694 26963 33681 88338
2000 12818 19118 25478 57414
2001 11 002 12907 28926 52835
Source: Adapted From Main, 2001; DWNP, 2002.
Table 6.12 shows that high-cost tourists generally spend more days in the Okavango
than the other two categories of tourists. High-cost tourists also contribute more
revenue than other photographic tourists in the Delta, the implications of which will
be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
6.3.4.3 Tourist or Visitor Expenditure
Visitor expenditure represents the total amount of money that tourists are expected
to spend in tourist destination areas such as the Okavango Delta. Spending patterns
vary with different categories of tourists. Consultations with managers of various
lodges and safari camps throughout the Delta indicated that high-cost tourists (who
are the main group of photographic tourists in the Delta) spend, on average,
between US$ 4 000 to 6 000 each during a 6 - 10 day stay in the Okavango. Mobile
tourists have a range of packages and opportunities on offer to them, and hence
their expenditures vary greatly from less than US$ 200 to over US$ 5 000.
Independent (self-drive; low-cost) tourists, particularly those from South Africa and
expatriate Botswana residents, spend very little in the Okavango Delta. In most
cases they carry their own camping equipment, food, petrol, and spare wheels.
Generally, their main expenditure in the Delta is park entry fees and vehicle taxes.
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