Contribution of Tourism towards poverty alleviation: A case of Botsalano Game Reserve, North West Province

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the extent to which Botsalano Game Reserve has achieved its objectives stipulated in the Management Master Plan of involving the community in its tourism development so communities can benefit both directly and indirectly from tourism development. The study contributes to the growing field of pro-poor tourism by suggesting mechanisms to enhance community participation and benefit from tourism development in the North West Province. The findings of this study may be used by policy makers especially the North West Parks Board and Tourism Board when developing new tourism destinations which are community orientated and fully integrated for the development of tourism facilities and also derive benefits from tourism in order to improve their livelihoods. The framework adopted is the sustainable livelihoods approach (Scoones, 1998:4). The framework is suitable for the study as it makes the connection between people and the overall enabling environment that influences the outcomes of livelihood strategies (Serrate, 2008:1). Pro-poor tourism was considered as it is all about: redistributing benefits gained through tourism activities to the poor local communities (Ashley, Roe, & Goodwin 2001). To attain objectives of the study: to establish the role of Botsalano Game Reserve in income generation among the local communities; to establish if Botsalano Game Reserve creates employment for the local communities; and to establish the level and type of participation by communities in decision making in the Botsalano Game Reserve; a triangulation of methods were adopted where qualitative and quantitative research approaches were employed to collect information from respondents of the study to further attain Botsalano Game Reserve’s role in poverty alleviation. The results of the study show that Botsalano Game Reserve does not play a significant role in income generation among local communities. Another finding of the study was that Botsalano Game Reserve does not create employment for the local people. Furthermore, the study results show that the local communities of Matlhase and Madutle do not participate in decision making of the Botsalano Game Reserve. The study concludes by recommending that the pro-poor tourism be used to improve lives of poor people in Matlhase as well as Madutle, by developing linkages among tourism businesses and poor people (Dwyer et al., 2004) cited in (Winters et al., 2013: 179). Some suggested strategies include encouraging tourists to buy local crafts, attracting the private sector investment to the local areas, increasing programmes of training and empowerment for the local people (Mitchell & Ashley, 2010: 21). That Authorities offer enterprise support and training to the local community of Matlhase and Madutle, and develop markets by attracting more tourists to the site. The Botsalano Game Reserve should make a commitment to the local communities of Matlhase and Madutle through employment prioritising of members of the local community. Sustainability of natural resources is dependent on support from the local community. It is critical that the Botsalano Game Reserve creates room for the promotion of community participation by Matlhase and Madutle communities in conservation-tourism matters of the reserve. They have a lot to offer in terms of indigenous knowledge systems as well as being key stakeholders of the Reserve.