Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

Survey of Tour Operators in Arusha, TanzaniaBy Johanna Wolff, M.A.University of Applied Sciences, Eberswalde, GermanyThe following is a case study of travelers’ philanthropy programs run by tourism companies inArusha, Tanzania and operating in the Northern Safari Circuit. It is based on three weeks of fieldwork carried out in July 2009 during which the author interviewed 27 tour operators. 52 Thesurvey was designed to assess how widespread the programs are; the types of projectssupported; the motivations of both companies and their guests; how the programs areorganized, promoted and managed; andrange of donations and the total amount ofmoney collected during one year.The survey results show that tour operatorsin the Arusha area are supporting a widerange of social development andenvironmental conservation activities. Theresults suggest that the concept of travelers'philanthropy is widely practiced in Tanzania,although it may not be called by this name.Tanzania’s poverty combined with itspolitical stability, robust and growing tourismindustry and strong emphasis on alternativeforms of tourism (responsible tourism,ecotourism, community-based, pro-poortourism, and voluntourism) make it a logical destination for travelers' philanthropy initiatives.Village Education Project, Tanzania. Credit: Jane Crouch• OverviewTanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is listed by the United Nations as one ofthe Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) 53 . The UN’s Human Development Index, for 2010, ranksTanzania 148 out of 169 countries. 54 It is however immensely rich in natural and culturalattractions. Some 25% of the country’s territory is set aside in national parks and otherprotected areas.Over the last two decades, tourism became Tanzania’s most important industry. The maintourist attractions are Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, MountKilimanjaro, and the island of Zanzibar. All of these, except Zanzibar, are located within theNorthern Safari Circuit, with the town of Arusha as main jumping off point.Tourists visiting Tanzania come from Italy (22.9%), UK (18.8%), U.S. (10.1%) and Germany(8.1%). In the Northern Safari Circuit, nearly all tour participants are from Europe and the52 This field research study was part of the author’s thesis for a master’s degree in Sustainable Tourism Management at theUniversity of Applied Sciences Eberswalde in Germany. It was written in collaboration with the Center for Responsible Travel(CREST).53 “List of Least Developed Countries,” http://www.un.org/esa/policy/devplan/profile/ldc_list.pdf.54 Wikipedia, List of countries by Human Development Index,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index#Complete_list_of_countries.150