Abstract
The paper explores the contribution of tourism industry operators to pro-poor tourism development in Zimbabwe. This research investigates a possible nexus between the aforementioned tourism growth and its potential for poverty reduction in communities surrounding Victoria Falls and Hwange. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with tourism industry businesses that exhibited their products and services at the International Travel Expo held on the 18th- 21st of October 2012 at the Harare International Conference Centre in Zimbabwe. Findings indicate that the tourism industry is keen to engage in pro-poor tourism initiatives for the rural people despite the political and economic turmoil that the industry has suffered over the past years. In Zimbabwe, 80% of the population resides in rural areas and a sizable fraction of these are near National Parks and Tourism Resorts, for example, Hwange National Park, the biggest Park in Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls, respectively. The findings point to the fact that tourism operators appreciate the need to incorporate pro-poor initiatives in their operations as evidenced by their commitment towards education funding initiatives, employment of the poor and generation of income from village tours. However more could be done to enhance the pro-poor tourism benefits that accrue to the rural poor by establishing close linkages between tourism operators and local communities.
Highlights
1.1 Tourism Development in ZimbabweMuchapondwa and Pimhidzai (2008) mentioned that Zimbabwe’s tourism figures began to decline in 2000 because of political instability that is attributed to controversies regarding the draft constitution, land reform and the outcome of the parliamentary elections in 2002
There is not yet any government commitment to ensure that tourism contributes to the alleviation of poverty in Zimbabwe, this research‘s findings show signs of an initial connection between tourism and poverty reduction
As the nature of tourists visiting the developing countries change and visitors become more interested in the welfare of the host communities, the tourism companies in Hwange and Victoria Falls have created a useful linkage to bring the most benefits of tourism to the poor
Summary
Muchapondwa and Pimhidzai (2008) mentioned that Zimbabwe’s tourism figures began to decline in 2000 because of political instability that is attributed to controversies regarding the draft constitution, land reform and the outcome of the parliamentary elections in 2002 In addition they mention that international arrivals registered 4.5% decline for the period 2000 to 2005 with the largest annual declines being 14.7% and 15.9% in 2003 and 2005 respectively (Muchapondwa & Pimhidzai 2008). After the Land Reforms and the obvious reduction in tourism receipts and arrivals, the government launched the Look East policy in a bid to increase tourism activity (Mkono, 2010) This had an insignificant positive impact as the policy resulted in the attraction of low spending tourists from China, Japan and other Asian countries compared to the traditional western markets of German, USA, France and Australia. It was clear that without a more stable political environment, the tourism sector would continually face challenges in trying to grow (Mkono 2010)
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