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

8.2 Impacts of Tourism on Local Culture and Traditions
There are conflicting views amongst safari operators and the managers of tourist
accommodation facilities in the Okavango Delta and the local inhabitants of the area
in relation to the socio-cultural impacts caused by the development of tourism in the
Okavango. According to the 63 managers of tourist accommodation facilities
interviewed in the Okavango Delta, 33 (52 percent) regarded tourism as having a
negative socio-cultural impact on the local inhabitants of the Okavango Delta,
particularly in Maun. The remaining 30 (48 percent) either had no opinion on the
matter, or felt that the development of tourism in the Okavango Delta was having a
positive impact on the area's local population.
According to the 50 local inhabitants interviewed in the Okavango Delta, 31 (62
percent) felt that the development of tourism was not having a serious socio-cultural
impact on the area's local population, while the remaining 19 interviewees (38
percent) stated that they either did not know what impact tourism was having on the
local population, or regarded the growth of tourism in the Okavango as being a
predominantly negative development.
According to Mbaiwa (2002), many people in the Okavango Delta, including both the
local population and those directly involved in the tourism industry such as tourist
facility managers regard the growth of the tourism industry in the area as being a
positive development. Many felt that:
• Tourism is the economic backbone for the whole of Ngamiland District, and
is noted for its economic contribution to the economy of the region through
the creation of employment, income generation, and the facilitation of the
provision of social services and infrastructural developments;
• The development of tourism in the Okavango Delta has led to the promotion
of environmental conservation and management. Tourism is increasingly
being regarded as the driving force behind all the conservation and
management strategies being developed for the Okavango Delta. For
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