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

Delta, fishing, wildlife and bird viewing opportunities, and swimming pools, bars and
restaurants, further strengthening the segregation of the tourist industry and local
population, and enforcing the growth of enclaves (Briguglio et aI, 1996).
The dominance of the tourism industry by foreign investors and the non-local
ownership of the tourism infrastructure can reduce control over resources. In fact,
according to Glasson et al (1995), the loss of local autonomy is certainly the most
negative long-term effect of tourism. Local residents may also suffer a loss of sense
of place as his/her surroundings are transformed to accommodate the requirements
of a foreign-dominated tourism industry. As such, interviews with local residents
within and around the Okavango Delta indicate that there is a general view that the
Delta has been taken over by the Botswana Government and given to foreign tour
operators. The fact that the tourism industry is predominantly foreign owned and
controlled indicates that there is unequal access to the use of resources and
decision making between local people and those involved in the tourism industry.
According to Glasson et al (1995) and Cebellos-Lascurain (1996), tourism should be
sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the host population, specifically in terms of
participation in decision-making processes, and providing employment for local
people. The exclusive nature of the tourism industry in the Delta is characterised by
limited interaction and competition for the use of resources between foreign tourists
and local communities, which is leading increasingly to resentment, antagonism,
alienation and the development of racism among the local communities, tourists and
expatriate tour operators. As expatriate entrepreneurs dominate the tourism sector,
Botswana citizens perceive the industry negatively, and often regard the process of
tourism development as the 'selling out' of their resources (Mbaiwa, 2001).
Britton (1991) highlights that when tour packages are offered by foreign airlines and
foreign run hotels, the destination countries receive, on average, 22 to 25 percent of
the inclusive tour retail price paid by the tourists. The lack of a home-based
international airline with flights to Europe, North America and New Zealand/Australia
in Botswana has also contributed to the repatriation of revenue outside of the
country. Air Botswana, the only national airline in the country, has flights to
Johannesburg, where most tourists connect with this flight to Gaborone and then up
to Maun. A comparison of arrivals and receipts between Botswana and Namibia
254