University researchers have found that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the negative consequences of overreliance on international visitors, and the lessons could be used to transform the tourism sector into a more sustainable field in southern and East Africa.
Research conducted by the University of Kent’s Professor of Heritage, Sophia Labadi, and University of Leeds postdoctoral fellow, Francesca Giliberto, focused on interviews with tourism professionals, local community members and site managers at the World Heritage Sites of South Africa’s Robben Island and Cape Floral Region, Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro National Park, Zanzibar’s Stone Town and Kenya’s Lamu Old Town.
“We wanted to understand whether and how the pandemic has been and could be used to transform the tourism sector into a more sustainable field in southern Africa. Particularly important for us was how tourism could be improved to meet the needs and expectations of local communities in terms of enhanced living standards and quality of life,” said Labadi.
Overreliance on international visitors
The research examined the issue of international tourism potentially generating an unequal distribution of economic benefits, increasing social disparities and marginalising local communities.
“This is particularly the case in Africa, where tourism has mainly benefited international and foreign companies and individuals, with the core tools of air travel and e-commerce concentrated in the global north,” said Labadi.
She said research participants pointed towards the stimulation of domestic and regional tourism as a way to mitigate these effects.
“Some of the tourism professionals interviewed, particularly in Kenya, pointed out that since the country came out of lockdown, domestic tourism has been blossoming, with many Kenyans visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve, and holidaying in Lamu and other coastal destinations.”
Labadi pointed out, however, that shifting the focus more towards local and regional visitors presented a potentially difficult task.
“Currently, offers target Western and international visitors through a focus on colonial history, particularly for cultural heritage destinations. Attracting local, national and regional visitors for ‘staycations’ would require changing the tourism maps and attractions, so that they focus on regional, national and local history,” she said, adding that such attempts have already faced serious challenges in southern Africa.
“In the case of Namibia, the government and international community have sought to refocus tourism on the country’s war of independence and indigenous communities rather than German colonial history. These efforts have faced challenges, including lack of support from the private sector as well as inadequate infrastructures and facilities.”
Bottom-up approach needed
The researchers highlighted that some of the ‘positives’ of the pandemic, including less international tourism, greater environmental sustainability, and the reduction of pollution and CO2 emissions, should be used to promote an integrated, bottom-up approach to tourism.
Labadi gave the example of Mozambique Island, a World Heritage Site in the north of the country, which, in addition to being promoted by government as a tourism attraction, recently welcomed a new university.
“Why not take this opportunity to provide goods and services based on local resources to respond to the needs of students? Not only would this bottom-up approach fulfil several sustainable development goals, including education, reducing inequalities and boosting gender equality, but it would also provide a function for historic and vacant buildings on the island in dire need of a new life.”
This article was edited from an original editorial piece published by The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
