Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the operational competitiveness of public protected areas (PPAs) in the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Financial data for ecotourism operations in PPAs were collected from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) for 2007–2013, to construct an operational competitiveness profile for each PPA by using a non-parametric method called operational competitiveness rating analysis (OCRA). The results show that permanent staff, utilities, maintenance and repairs, and cost of sales were cost items with the highest average share of total costs, whereas accommodation, admissions, sales and tours, and rides and hikes received higher average shares of total revenues for most PPAs. The identification of the most important cost and revenue items was followed by the computation of resource consumption and revenue generation inefficiency ratings from 2007 to 2013, with the results showing that resource competitiveness had more impact on operational competitiveness relative to revenue competitiveness. This suggests that PPAs under EKZNW can improve operational competitiveness by reducing costs. Ecotourism is an economic incentive used in several countries to encourage biodiversity conservation. Because of declining public funding, conservation agencies such as EKZNW in South Africa should find new sources of funding or find cost-effective ways of managing ecotourism operations.Conservation implications: This information will provide insights into the quality of operational efficiencies of ecotourism activities at EKZNW-controlled PPAs and motivate management to adopt cost-cutting and revenue-increasing strategies to improve operational competitiveness.
Highlights
The ownership of wildlife largely remains under state control in several countries, managed by conservation agencies (Muir-Leresche & Nelson 2000)
The aim of this study was to measure the operational competitiveness of ecotourism operations of public protected areas (PPAs) in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW)
This was performed through constructing an operational competitiveness profile for each PPA, using the operational competitiveness rating analysis (OCRA) procedure
Summary
The ownership of wildlife largely remains under state control in several countries, managed by conservation agencies (Muir-Leresche & Nelson 2000). Conservationists recognise that to prevent further deterioration, the preservation of many species rests on establishing their economic value and providing incentives for sustainable use (Baker 1997; Lindsey, Romanach & Davies-Mostert 2009). Ecotourism as an economic incentive has become a tool for biodiversity conservation in public protected areas (PPAs) of many developing countries (Lindsey et al 2005). This is based on the principle that nature or biodiversity must pay for itself by generating economic benefits (Kiss 2004). Ecotourism supports biodiversity conservation and at the same time promotes sustainable local development (Ross & Wall 1999). Several protected areas, both public and private, have promoted joint economic initiatives whereby specific services and functions are outsourced to local communities (Honey 2003; Mahony & Van Zyl 2002; Myburgh & Saayman 1999)
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