https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3684-9052
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ABSTRACT
The paper analyses the state of natural heritage tourism in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and assesses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC), accordingly. Data were obtained from secondary information sources and analysed using the inductive qualitative approach. The paper illustrates the existence of a mutual relationship between natural heritage and tourism in the SSA region. Identified strengths include a diverse and extensive protected area (PA) network, foreign direct investment inflow, and community-based natural resource management projects. The main opportunity lies in the great untapped potential for natural heritage tourism in the region. Findings reveal that most of the weaknesses of SSA countries are related to budget constraints. The main challenges to the sustainability of natural heritage include political instability, climate change, wildlife crime, and land use changes. The paper concludes that while the region has several strengths and opportunities, there also exist several weaknesses and challenges, which negatively impact the sustainability of both the natural heritage legacy and tourism. To enhance the sustainability of both, there is need for a sustained management of tourism impacts at the natural heritage sites, and persistent engagement of necessary stakeholders to devise innovative ways of enhancing sustainable revenue streams for nature and wildlife conservation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Chiedza N. Mutanga
Chiedza Ngonidzashe Mutanga is a Senior Research Fellow in Sustainable Tourism at the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana. Her research interests are in sustainable tourism development, with a focus on nature-based tourism, community-based tourism and community livelihoods, ecotourism, protected area tourism, community-based natural resource management and biodiversity conservation.
Oluwatoyin D. Kolawole
Oluwatoyin Dare Kolawole is Professor of Rural Development at the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana. His research interests are in social change/diffusion studies, natural resources management, rural development, and the intersection of local and Western knowledge/innovations in sustainable, low external input (LEI) agriculture.
Reniko Gondo
Reniko Gondo is a Senior Research Fellow at the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana. His research interests are in water management and governance, the integration of spatial data and technology into policy making processes and exploring the relationship between spatial planning, land use and environmental conservation for sustainable management of natural resources.
Joseph E. Mbaiwa
Joseph Elizeri Mbaiwa is a Professor of Tourism Studies at the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana. His research interests are in Tourism Development, Rural Livelihoods, and Community-based Natural Resource Management.