TITLE:
Enhancing Tourism Industry through Community Participation: A Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Zanzibar, Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Wakuru Magigi, Haji Ramadhani
KEYWORDS:
Tourism Industry; Tanzania
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
10,
2013
ABSTRACT:
This study centred on understanding how local
communities participate in tourism industry in Bwejuu Village in Zanzibar and
the benefit they are getting towards poverty reduction. Specifically, the study identifies
tourism industry activities and how local communities participate in improving
their livelihoods, find out factors influencing local community participation
in tourism sector and lastly, and identify contribution of tourism sector in
enhancing local communities’ livelihoods. Interviews, observations, documentary
reviews and photograph taking are methods employed to the case. The study result shows that tourist hotels,
beach, seaweed, historical building archives, diving and snorkeling, sailing
boats, coral reefs and lagoons as well as mangrove swamps are some tourist
activities in the settlement. Both men and women
involves in the tourist activities. The tourist activities noted contributing
to local communities’ livelihoods in terms of employment creation,
leisure, income generation, increased government revenues, schooling, health,
house construction and household consumption. However, language barriers,
inadequate experience of operators, poor education and training, culture,
commitment of actors and poverty level are some constraints highlighted. Following
these challenges, the study recommends that the government in collaboration
with other development partners interested in tourism industry development may
opt to ensure capacity building to local communities and tourist operators in
Zanzibar, to review the policy and legislations in place as well as to encourage
stakeholder involvement in Tourism sectors as prospects for its development. In
conclusion, it can be asserted that if tourism developers believe that local communities
will be satisfied if they are used as labourers instead of being ownership of
tourism activities. Thus, there is an urgent need to enhance participation and
involvement of local communities in tourism sector. These communities must be
actively involved in each stage of tourism planning and development in order to
ensure that all their tourism activities and products benefit the residents.
This will represent a significant step towards ensuring more adequate community
participates in the industry, which is essential sector for sustainable local
communities’ livelihoods improvement
and thereby contributing to the national economic growth and poverty reduction
agenda in Tanzania and other countries of the same context.