Tourism Potential Scriptie Yvonne Onderwater 1-6-2011.pdf

Opportunities for community-based tourism
in the Tonkolili district, Sierra Leone
By Yvonne Onderwater

Thesis
Opportunities for community-based tourism in the Tonkolili
district, Sierra Leone.
Name author: Yvonne Onderwater
Student number: 2416050
Education: Hotel Management
Educational: Hospitality Business School Saxion, Apeldoorn
Place and date of publication: Deventer, June 1 st 2011
Organization: Sierra Leone Youth Initiative
Location: Huis van de Wereld
Spoorlaan 346
5038 CC Tilburg
Principal: Mr. A. Bangura
Name first examiner: Mr. A.J.L. Van Es
Name second examiner: Ms. B.G. De Vries
Name research professor: Ms. D.A. Logger
I hereby declare that this thesis is wholly the work of Yvonne Onderwater. Any other contributors or sources have either been
referenced in the prescribed manner or are listed in the acknowledgements together with the nature and scope of their contribution.
2

Preface
This thesis was prepared in the context of the Hospitality Business School of Saxion University
for Applied Sciences, Deventer to finish my Bachelor Degree in Hotel Management. The past 9
months I worked on this bachelor thesis for foundation Sierra Leone Youth Initiative on the
subject: opportunities for developing tourism. The thesis focuses on the possibilities regarding
community-based tourism in the Tonkolili district and particularly Makonkarie in Sierra Leone.
It is not without a reason I came to this research topic. I first came in contact with a culture
which was totally different from my own in 2008. For my internship 1, I visited South-India for
five months. In India I learned a lot, how cliché, about myself. But not only about myself,
appeared as if the world was revealed to me. I learned to look beyond the Netherlands, or even
Europe. Here, my interest in traveling and culture grew stronger. After my internship I decided
to choose for a minor, Global Development Issues which I attended at Fontys University for
Applied Sciences, Tilburg. Global issues like ‘’Why are ‘we’ rich and ‘they’ poor?’’ ‘’What is justice
and what isn’t?’’ This, in combination with the importance of sustainability took me even a step
further. I want to do something tangible, and where I can, I want to contribute to a better world.
Through my minor, I came in touch with the foundation Sierra Leone Youth Initiative. Part of the
minor was an internship of four weeks in a developing country. What a challenge would it be to
go to Sierra Leone! After a number of conversations with the founder of Sierra Leone Youth
Initiative, Abubakarr Bangura, I became more and more excited. Why shouldn’t I combine this
minor internship with my final project for my major? Together with Arjo van Es from Saxion
University we raised an interesting question: What is the touristic potential of that area? Based
upon that, I came to this final research project.
The result of all my work during this research is described in this report which is in front of you.
It was quite a task to complete this thesis. The field research I did in Makonkarie was amazing
and tough at the same time. I must say I underestimated myself in doing the field research in
Sierra Leone and as you will read in my report, the research plan I set up before I went to
Makonkarie is a bit different than the final approach. I found it difficult to complete and evaluate
on my research because it was a very emotional and personal experience. Though, four weeks
living in a traditional Sierra Leonean village was a life time experience I will never forget! Finally
I would like to say to any person who is interested in this thesis, I hope you will enjoy reading
my report.
Yvonne Onderwater
Deventer, June 2011
3

Acknowledgements
There are many people who contributed in a certain way to the completion of this thesis.
Without their help this would not have been possible. I would like to extend words of thanks to
these people.
First of all I would like to thank Arjo van Es, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Leisure and my first
examiner of Saxion University, Deventer for all his provided literature, help, consults, advices,
feedback, listening, tips and endless checks on my thesis.
I would like to extend a word of thanks to Benedicte de Vries, my second examiner of Saxion
University, Deventer for her feedback during the thesis proposal defense.
I want to thank Desirée Logger Research Professor at the Hospitality Business School of Saxion
University, Deventer. Already in the very beginning I deviated the number of consultations.
Thank you for both personal and email consultations.
Thank you, Abubakarr Bangura, founder and chairman of the foundation Sierra Leone Youth
Initiative for making it possible to do my final project for SLYI. Thank you for helping me in the
preparation of my journey to Sierra Leone.
I also want to extend a word of thanks to Martijn Felder. The sources and tips you provided and
sharing your practical experiences helped me a lot.
And of course, to the village Makonkarie: thank you so much. Especially Mr. Kargbo: thank you
for the assistance, the translations and showing me around. I also would like to name Mr.
Bangura and Ms. Kadi, for their good care, for providing me with shelter and food during my stay
in Makonkarie.
I also would like to thank Foday Y. Kan, member of the Tonkolili district council for making it
possible to answer my questions about the Tonkolili district through the council.
I would like to thank Cecil Williams, general manager of the National Tourist Board in Sierra
Leone. Thank you for your time answering my questions, even though it was a last minute
meeting, and for providing many documents and reports about tourism in Sierra Leone.
I would like to extend a word of thanks to Jacolien van der Valk for checking my thesis on
English grammar. Thank you for your time.
And last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me during my
thesis research, for their interest and letting me actually go to Sierra Leone despite their fear and
anxiety. Now I really can tell everyone Sierra Leone is safe, stable and an amazing country.
4

Summary
Tourism initiatives in rural areas, in developing countries, and the involvement of local people in
these initiatives can promote several important national objectives. These objectives include
economic growth, improved wealth, empowerment of local people and conservation by local
people.
This report is fulfilled for foundation Sierra Leone Youth Initiative in Tilburg. This report is a
graduation thesis written for the Higher Hotel Trade Training at Saxion University of Applied
Sciences, Deventer. The purpose of this thesis is doing research and providing advice for a
certain problem. The principal in the case of this research is the founder and chairman of Sierra
Leone Youth Initiative Mr. A. Bangura. The period of time spend on this report is from
September 2010 to June 2011.
The aim in this research is as follows:
Determine which opportunities there are for the village Makonkarie and direct environment to
develop the area for community-based tourism.
The problem of the research is as follows:
Which opportunities for community-based tourism could contribute to a higher standard of
living in the communities in Makonkarie and direct area?
This problem has been split up in four research questions, namely:
Sub question 1.1 What is the potential tourism and leisure offer of the Tonkolili district and
particularly from the village Makonkarie?
Sub question 1.2 Which external factors affect the Tonkolili district?
Sub question 2 What are success factors for community-based tourism?
Sub question 3 Who is the potential tourist for the village Makonkarie?
Sub question 4 What are the opportunities and wishes of the local community regarding
community-based tourism?
The sub questions can be seen as four parts of the research: the destination analysis where the
internal and external analysis are described, the benchmarking that has to conclude on the
critical success factors of community-based tourism projects, the potential tourist and the field
research on the spot with the help of the APPA method.
The research consists of desk research and field research. The theoretical part of the research is
about sustainable tourism and contains a definition of community-based tourism, carrying
capacity, benchmarking, voluntourism and the APPA approach of The Mountain Institute.
The benchmarking, part of the theoretical framework, where different CBT projects are
compared to each other leads to the critical success factors of community-based tourism
projects.
5

Another part of desk research where literature was collected is to determine the potential
tourist for a community-based tourism project in Sierra Leone. This has been done with the help
of the segmentation criteria of TNS NIPO, and to focus on three groups of people: the Cultural
Creatives, the voluntourist and the backpacker.
The second part of the research: the field research, consist of one month field research in the
village Makonkarie in the Tonkolili district, Sierra Leone. During this field research most
information was gathered by means of interviews, informal talks, observations and integrating
in the way of living of the local community. Not only in the community itself, but outside the
village an interview was held with the general manager of The National Tourist Board of Sierra
Leone, Cecil Williams in order to gain more information and collect documents for the internal
and external analysis. Another interview was held in the Netherlands with Mr. A. Bangura,
founder and chairman of SLYI to gain more information about Sierra Leone, the Tonkolili district
and Makonkarie.
In the conclusion a SWOT model is used to conclude on the previous chapters. The advice part
consists of three types of recommendations regarding tourism development in Makonkarie and
the Tonkolili district. The criteria used for the alternatives are: the destination mix, responding
to attractive markets and trends, and feasibility
6

List of abbreviations
AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
APPA Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action
CBT Community-based tourism
ECOWAS Economic Community Of West African Societies
EPS Extended Problem Solving
FTS Food, Transportation, Souvenirs
GDP Gross Domestic Product
ICT Information Communication Technology
KRST Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust
LAC Limits to Acceptable Change
LPS Limited Problem Solving
MoTCA Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs
NBTC Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme Congressen
NDC National Democratic Congress
NGO Non Governmental Organization
NPRC National Provisional Ruling Council
NRC National Recovery Committee
NTB National Tourist Board
OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
RUF Revolutionary United Front
SLYI Sierra Leone Youth Initiative
SLA Sierra Leone Army
SLMB Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood
SWOT Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats’
TMI The Mountain Institute
UN United Nations
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade And Development
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
WTO World Tourism Organization
WIN Waardensegmentatie In Nederland
WWF World Wide Fund for nature
7

Table of contents
Preface 3
Acknowledgement 4
Summary 5
List of abbreviations 7
Chapter 1 Introduction 11
Chapter 2 Research plan 13
2.1 The project 13
2.1.1 Aim 13
2.1.2 Problem and research questions 13
2.2 Research methods 14
2.2.1 Literature research 15
2.2.2 Field research 15
2.3 Reliability and validity 16
2.4 Relevance and usefulness 17
Chapter 3 Context 18
3.1 History 18
3.2 Geography 19
3.2.1 Tonkolili district 20
3.2.2 Makonkarie 20
3.3 Sierra Leone Youth Initiative 21
3.3.1 Vision 21
3.3.2 Strategy 21
3.3.3 Goals 21
3.3.4 Projects 22
3.3.5 Internships 22
Chapter 4 Sustainable tourism 23
4.1 Definition of community-based tourism 23
4.1.1 Participation 24
4.1.2 Objectives 25
4.1.3 Key stakeholders 26
4.1.4 Carrying capacity 28
4.2 Benchmarking 29
4.2.1 Annapurna, Nepal 29
4.2.2 Yunnan, China 30
4.2.3 Khama Rhino, Botswana 31
4.2.4 Different villages, Kenya 32
4.2.5 Ichingo Chobe river, Namibia 32
4.3 Critical success factors for CBT 33
4.4 Voluntourism 33
4.5 APPA method 35
8

Chapter 5 Internal analysis 36
5.1 Destination mix 36
5.1.1 Attractions and events 37
5.1.2 Facilities 41
5.1.3 Infrastructure and transport 41
5.1.4 Hospitality resources 42
5.2 Tourism policy 43
5.3 Conclusion 45
Chapter 6 External analysis 47
6.1 Tourism flows 47
6.1.1 Tourist arrivals by air 47
6.1.2 Purpose of visit 49
6.1.3 Travel expenditures 49
6.1.4 Total stay 50
6.2 Trends and developments 50
6.3 Conclusion 54
Chapter 7 Potential tourist 55
7.1 Motivation 55
7.2 Tourist typologies 56
7.2.1 Segmentation typologies 56
7.2.2 Socio-psychological typologies 56
7.2.2.1 TNS NIPO 56
7.2.2.2 Cultural Creatives 57
7.2.2.3 Voluntourist 58
7.2.2.4 Backpacker tourist 59
7.3 Conclusion 60
Chapter 8 Results field research 61
8.1 Actors in the society of Makonkarie 61
8.2 APPA in practice 63
8.2.1 Discovery phase 63
8.2.1.1 CBT mapping 63
8.2.1.2 Mobility mapping 66
8.2.1.3 Seasonal calendar 69
8.2.2 Dream phase 69
8.2.2.1 Elderly 70
8.2.2.2 Youth and children 71
8.2.1.3 Success factors 71
8.3 Conclusion 72
Chapter 9 Conclusions 74
9.1 Destination analysis 74
9.2 Potential tourists 76
9.3 Success factors for CBT 76
9.4 Field research in Makonkarie 77
9

Chapter 10 Advise and recommendations 78
10.1 Makonkarie is not a tourist destination 78
10.1.1 Destination mix 78
10.1.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends 79
10.1.3 Feasibility 79
10.2 Developing the district with the help of voluntourism 80
10.2.1 Destination mix 80
10.2.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends 80
10.2.3 Feasibility 80
10.3 Make Makonkarie a tourist destination 80
10.3.1 Destination mix 81
10.3.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends 82
10.3.3 Feasibility 82
10.4 Best alternative 83
10.5 PDCA method 84
List of references 85
Appendices 89
1. Work breakdown structure 90
2. The issues regarding voluntourism 90
3. APPA tools 93
4. 4 Ds 96
5. Carrying capacity indicators 97
6. The private sector and the tourism industry in community 98
benefit tourism initiatives
7. Government and non-governmental organization: benefits 99
derived by communities as a result of tourism initiatives
8. Interview guide A. Bangura 100
9. Summary oral interview A. Bangura 101
10. Interview guide C. Williams 103
11. Summary oral interview C. Williams 104
12. Written interview Tonkolili district council 105
13. Trends per driver of the Kuoni Study 108
14. Segmentation by TNS NIPO 110
15. Pyramid of Maslow and demographical segmentation by TNS NIPO 111
16. Observation schedule different actors in the society of Makonkarie 112
17. Detailed scenario field research in Makonkarie 113
18. CBT mapping Makonkarie 114
19. Mobility mapping Makonkarie 115
20. Seasonal calendar Makonkarie 116
21. Makonkarie and direct environment 117
22. Monthly visitors arrival by purpose of visit 2010 118
23. Monthly visitors arrival by place of residence 2010 119
24. Visitors expenditure 2010 120
25. Competences 121
10

1. Introduction
Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world. According to the World
Travel Organization (2010), international tourist arrivals grew from 25 million in 1950 to 277
million in 1980, 438 million in 1990, 681 million in 2000 and 880 million in 2010. In 2020
international arrivals are expected to reach 1.6 billion.
A different form of tourism is community-based tourism. This form of tourism is a form where
tourists and locals interact. Especially in small and rural areas where tourists visit and enjoy the
life of the locals for a few days. Accommodations are in the local style and are similar to the
housing conditions of the locals. Tourists undertake local activities with the community like
preparing food, guided walks and fishing. In this manner tourists come very close to the local life
of the population which leads to respect for their way of living. An important detail is that
tourists’ payments benefit the locals. With this money social projects will be financed: a water
pump project, or a hospital or school will be renovated. Finally, this form of tourism delivers a
contribution to poverty reduction (Foundation Fair Tourism, 2010).
Sierra Leone is a country with a lot of ingredients for tourism potential. It is not without a reason
the National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone has the following slogan: The Freedom to explore.
Sierra Leone has un spoilt beaches, wildlife, cultural heritage and a great history. However, not
too long ago, Sierra Leone came out of a bloody civil war that took place from 1991 until 2002.
This war damaged not only the country enormously, but also the people and their chance on
education and life.
To deliver a contribution to an active recovery after a period of civil war, Sierra Leone Youth
Initiative (SLYI) was created. Sierra Leone Youth Initiative is a development and support
organization. In a professional and active way SLYI contributes to achieving the millennium
targets in Sierra Leone. In achieving this, SLYI provides knowledge to people in the Netherlands
by organizing information sessions, debates and symposia for different target groups and
supports education and work projects in Sierra Leone. SLYI works with a small team of
volunteers within Sierra Leone. SLYI is a small organization founded in 2005 and is officially
registered by the Chamber of Commerce.
The activities of SLYI are focused on the development of the village Makonkarie and its direct
environment. Makonkarie is situated in the Tonkolili district in the north of the country.
Makonkarie has about 500 inhabitants. The inhabitants are mainly farmers who produce
products for local consumption and partly for sale. During the war, the village has been
destroyed and since then, it is hard for the village to recover itself. Mainly young children don’t
have a chance at education. With the help of SLYI the development of the village is supported.
There are a lot of ongoing projects SLYI is working on, such as: introducing a palm oil plantation
project, building extra classrooms, making scholarships available and a water project.
The founder and chairman of SLYI is Mr. Abubakarr Bangura, born in the village Makonkarie, he
had to fled because of the civil war. Since 11 years he is living in the Netherlands and since 2005
he is helping his village and country via Sierra Leone Youth Initiative.
11

In the following chapter the research plan is described. In this research plan the project is
described with the help of research questions and the approach of literature and field research.
In the context, chapter 3, background information about Sierra Leone, the Tonkolili district,
Makonkarie and SLYI are given. Chapter 4 shows the theoretical framework and exists of a
definition of community-based tourism, voluntourism and the APPA method of The Mountain
Institute. In this theoretical framework the success factors of community-based tourism are
determined with assistance of a benchmark. The internal analysis, chapter 5, contains the
destination mix of Mill and Morrison and its five elements: attractions and events, infrastructure,
transport, facilities and hospitality resources. Another part of the internal analysis is the policy
of Sierra Leone regarding tourism. The external analysis, chapter 6, contains the tourism flows
and trends and development. Chapter 7 is about potential tourists for the Tonkolili district. In
chapter 8 the field research in Makonkarie has been worked out with the help of the APPA
method. Chapter 9 consists of an overall conclusion where chapter 10 consists of the advice and
recommendations based upon the conclusion.
12

2. Research plan
In this chapter the research plan is described. To answer the problem of the project, research is
needed. The following points are part of the research according to Schreuder Peters (2005):
- Formulating clear research questions
- Spread out a process that generates new data
- At the end it should be possible to answer the research questions on the basis of facts
2.1 The project
Research will be performed on the opportunities for community-based tourism in Makonkarie
and direct environment in the Tonkolili district in Sierra Leone. This research will be done for
the foundation Sierra Leone Youth Initiative. In the following sub paragraphs the aim, problem
and research questions will be described.
2.1.1 Aim
The aim in the project is to determine which opportunities there are for the village Makonkarie
and its direct environment to develop the area for community-based tourism.
By means of the income and contributions from tourism the village can further develop. This
new source of income can improve the standard of living in Makonkarie and the surrounding
area.
2.1.2 Problem and research questions
The problem is formulated as follows: ‘’Which opportunities for community-based tourism could
contribute to a higher standard of living in the communities of Makonkarie and direct area?’’
This problem focuses on four main research questions, divided again in sub questions:
Research question 1.1 What is the potential tourism and leisure offer of the Tonkolili district and
particularly from the village Makonkarie?
1.1.1 What has the region to offer using the destination
mix of Mill and Morrison?
1.1.2 What kind of tourism policy is carried out in Sierra
Leone?
Research question 1.2 Which external factors affect the Tonkolili district?
1.2.1 How do the tourism flows to Sierra Leone look
like?
1.2.2 What are trends and developments in the tourism
industry?
Research question 2 What are success factors for community-based tourism?
2.1.1 What is the definition of community-based
tourism?
2.1.2 What are success factors for community-based
tourism?
Research question 3 Who is the potential tourist for the village Makonkarie?
3.1.1 How can the market be segmented?
13

3.1.2 What are the demographical and social
characteristics of the tourist?
3.1.3 What is the traveling behavior of the tourist?
3.1.4 What is the accessibility of the tourist?
Research question 4 What are the opportunities and wishes of the local community regarding
community-based tourism?
4.1.1 How does the organization structure and culture of
the village looks like?
4.1.2 What is the current view of the locals about their
village?
4.1.3 What is the future view of the locals about their
village?
In appendix number 1 the research questions are summarized and combined in a work
breakdown structure with an accountability. In addition the purpose of each research question
is given.
2.2 Research methods
In this project the purpose of the research is descriptive. Desk research as well as field research
are used. There is sufficient existing information available about community-based tourism and
Sierra Leone in existing literature. Field research is needed to get physical insight in Makonkarie
and the Tonkolili district and to get social insight in the host community, living in Makonkarie.
The field research information is acquired about little research units like interviews,
observations and group discussion. Only qualitative research is part of this project: a qualitative
research is characterized in that it is not strictly bound to collecting figures, it is the opposite of
quantitative research. Even in literature research information in the form of texts (qualitative) is
collected.
Data sources
The following data sources are used in this research:
- Literature and media
Various literature including articles, websites and books about tourism and Sierra Leone were
consulted as explained in the sub paragraph ‘literature research’ below.
- Individual persons
Two persons were interviewed, namely Mr. A. Bangura and Mr. C. Williams (see field research).
For the interviews an interview guide (see appendices 8 and 10) was used. Both interviews took
approximately 1 hour time.
It was not planned but a written interview took place with the Tonkolili district council through
a ward member of that council Mr. F. Kan (see appendix 12 for the result of the written
interview). In the proposed questions, almost every question is an open question to get more
depth in a written interview.
- Local community of Makonkarie
The local community of Makonakarie and the physical circumstances of the village and its direct
area were major important for the last research question. In the last paragraph of the ‘field
14

esearch’ is described how Makonkarie and its people were used in the field research and with
what kind of instruments.
2.2.1 Literature research
In one of the first phases of the research it was important to consider what is already known and
written about the subject. By consulting existing literature (books, reports, articles) information
was collected. In this research project the second and third classification of a literature study
(Verhoeven, 2007) are used.
In the List of references on page 85 all the literature used in this report can be found.
Search methods
Two search methods are used in this project for literature study. The first one is the Boolean
method. By means of this method there will be searched for specific words, or specific words are
excluded.
The second search method is the Snowball method. Via the literature list of founded articles it is
possible to reach other relevant sources (Fischer, Julsing, 2007). Databases used for finding
articles and data are http://saxion.bibliotheek.nl, http://www.google.com and
http://scholar.google.com.
2.2.2 Field research
The field research in this thesis consists of interviews, observations and group discussion. The
interviews are oral interviews with open questions. For the interviews an interview guide is
used. During oral interviews it is possible to reformulate the questions and clarification on
answers can be posed. This for the benefaction of the depth of the interview. Interviews are held
with Mr. A. Bangura, founder and chairman of foundation SLYI to gain more information about
Sierra Leone, the Tonkolili district and Makonkarie in case of research question 1. Another
interview is held in Sierra Leone itself with Mr. C. Williams, general manger of the National
Tourist Board in Sierra Leone to gain more information about the tourism policy, tourism flows
and Sierra Leone as a tourist destination.
To answer the last research question, intensive field research in Makonkarie is needed. The
population in this field research is the community of Makonkarie. Observations, conversations
and group discussion are part of this field research. For observation a schedule is used to find
out the different behavior of the different actors within the community. Observation has to give
clarity to the social and physical circumstances. The schedule that is used for the social
circumstances, can be find in appendix number 16 (the physical circumstances are in the
community-based tourism mapping). By means of the observation schedule the behavior of the
different groups acting in Makonkarie have to come forward. How are they interacting? Who
does what? How is the hierarchy ruled? Are they different in their opinion about tourism and
tourists? Participatory observation is needed to create basis with the local communities and
especially with the people with a higher status. A side-effect could be that people will be acting
differently because an outsider is present (Schreuder Peters, 2005).
The current and future view of the locals about their village regarding community-based tourism
are presented with the help of the APPA method of The Mountain Institute. With the use of
observations, conversations, group discussions and integrating in the life of the locals by helping
and joining them on their daily routines the exercises: community-based tourism mapping,
15

mobility mapping, seasonal calendar has to be completed. The outcomes of those exercises create
the basis for the brainstorming session at the end. The brainstorm session is part of a group
discussion, existing of different persons with different thoughts. In the theoretical framework,
chapter 4, more information about the APPA method can be found. Only the first phase,
discovery phase and the second phase, dream phase of the APPA method are used to stay within
the frameworks of this research. In appendix number 3 the different instruments of the APPA
method that are used in the field research are described.
In the table below the instruments per sub question are summarized:
Table 1: Instruments per sub question
Sub question 1;
Internal/external analyses
Sub question 2; Communitybased
tourism
Sub question 3; Tourist x
Sub question 4; Local
community
Literature research Interview Group discussion Observation
x x
x
2.3 Reliability and validity
This section describes the reliability and validity of the research. Reliability means the degree to
which something is measured. Validity means the degree to which you measure what you want
to measure (Schreuder, Peters, 2005).
The reliability of the research is ensured by reading recent literature: articles, books and
websites. Regarding the subject reliable websites as the WTO were consulted, books are
consulted that are recommended in tourism management and/or are from the Saxion library,
plus articles were consulted which were found on websites as http://scholar.google.com and
http://saxion.bibliotheek.nl.
Besides literature, desk research is needed. A side-effect of executing interviews, observations
and group discussion, answers on questions and observations can be wrongly interpreted. To be
careful with information from the interviews, in the case of Mr. A. Bangura, the interview was
recorded and the summary of the interview was sent to him for a check.
To interpret the questions correctly in the example of an interview, a correct interview guide is
composed. To check the information that is gained during the interview it is important to
summarize the interviews at the end orally and ask the person who is interviewed to conform
that it is interpreted correctly.
Personal experience and a relatively short time play a role in the case of observing the social
circumstances of the host community in Makonkarie. This is a disadvantage in this part of the
field research. By contrast, observations are an important addition to the research. Because of
this, an observation schedule is used (see appendix number 16).
In the case of field research different consultation with Ms. Logger and Martijn Felder were held
to receive feedback and critics in the case of the APPA method en the research approach.
x
16
x
x

2.4 Relevance and usefulness
SLYI has different initiatives on the development of Makonkarie and surrounding area. For
example the plantation project and the renovation of a school in Makonkarie. Supplementary to
this a tourism initiative could help develop the village as well.
In this research a look will be cast on the possibilities for developing CBT in the district where
SLYI is active. It is good to know whether there are opportunities for tourism or not, and if there
are, what they are and how to fill these in. This research is relevant because SLYI as a nongovernmental
organization and the locals in Makonkarie can benefit from community-based
tourism. Developing tourism in a rural area in the Tonkolili district, especially community-
based could lead to a higher standard of living for the locals, cultural exchange, empowerment
for different actors in the society of the district and conservation of resources. In this way, the
local economy gets support.
17

3. Context
Adrian Phillips, publisher of the Bradt travel guide explains: ‘’It wasn’t so long ago that Sierra
Leone was war-torn, a place of dark acts and despair. However, it is now a safe and peaceful
country of brilliant beauty and fascinating wildlife (…) deserved rebirth as a tourist destination’’
(Manson, Knight, 2009).
In this chapter some general information about Sierra Leone, the Tonkolili district and
Makonkarie are presented. The following points are described in the context of Sierra Leone:
history and geography. And in the context of the foundation SLYI the vision, strategy, goals and
projects are described.
3.1 History
Sierra Leone was discovered in 1462 by the Portuguese explorer: Pedro da Cintra. He was sailing
down the coast of West Africa and the first thing he saw where the tall mountains near the coast
and Banana Island in front of the coastline in the shape of a big cat. Soon, he called the country
‘Serra Lyoa’ in Portuguese, or in English: ‘Lion Mountains’.
Before Pedro da Cintra discovered Serra Lyoa it was a land of small communities working with
stone and wooden tools, melting iron, growing rice, sledging salt from swamps, refining palm oil,
panning for gold, making soap, potting, weaving and fashioning sandstone carvings. Gold, ivory,
swords and utensils were the main exchange after the discovering. But from 1550 the most
tempting and financially rewarding goods were human. Due to the raise of the rice plantation
across the Atlantic there was a great ask for labor. Between 1668 and 1807, more than 500 000
slaves were brought towards America.
Finally, it were the English sailors and the colonization of this country by the British who
changed the name into ‘Sierra Leone’. In 1808 Sierra Leone became a British colony. The British
government outlawed the trade in human in 1807, however in 1821 slavery reached his peak. In
that year more slaves were carried out than any earlier year. Sierra Leone became independent
on April 27, 1961.
Between 1991 and 2002 Sierra Leone suffered a bloody civil war. This war was probably one of
the most extreme wars ever. About 400 members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
invaded the country for the first time in 1991 and claimed their ‘armed uprising of the people’.
They didn’t agree with the current situation of Sierra Leone, according to the RUF: a ‘rotten
system’ (Manson, Knight, 2009). On the other side, the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) had to protect
the government. However, the SLA was responsible for two coups in 1991 (NPRC) and 1995
(AFRC) because of splits in the party. Alliances shifted constantly. Sometimes the RUF was
fighting against AFRC and sometimes with them. A constant factor in this were the similarities of
the fighters. Most of the time it were young, poor and angry men using drugs because of poverty
and abuse.
The violation used in the war was very bad. Methods of killing were very crude, sometimes in
the absence of ammunition. Amputation of limbs, child soldiers, raping girls or turning them into
cooks or sex slaves, abuse and forced labor were only a few atrocities fighters from all sides
carried out.
18

With help of the Civil Defense Forces and international armies of the ECOWAS, the AFRC and
RUF were repelled at the end of 1998. Initiatives of peace negotiations were undertaken by the
policy-Kabbah.
In January 1999, the AFRC and RUF invaded Freetown with a terror campaign called Operation
No Living Thing. This short but heavy campaign caused more victims than the eight years before
did.
In July 1999 a peace treaty was signed and the UN troupes were stationed in the country. Still,
new fights broke out. Especially the property of diamond mines caused fights, till 2002, when the
RUF definitely put down their weapons.
At the moment Sierra Leone is one of the most stable countries of Western Africa. The Republic
of Sierra Leone, as the country is officially called is a constitutional democracy. The legal system
is based on the English law. Since September 2007, Ernest Bai Koroma is president of the
country. The president is both chief and head of government.
3.2 Geography
Sierra Leone is a country situated on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Western Africa. The size
of the country is similar to South Carolina or Wales, about 71,740 km2. The neighboring
countries are Guinea in the north-northeast and Liberia in the east-southeast. Sierra Leone has
5,132,138 million inhabitants (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010). The capital of Sierra Leone is
Freetown and is the largest city of the whole country. It has about 1 million inhabitants.
Figure 1: Map of Africa (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) Figure 2: Map of Sierra Leone (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010)
Figure 3: Provinces of Sierra Leone (Wikipedia, 2010) Figure 4: Districts of Sierra Leone (Wikipedia, 2010)
19

The country is divided into the Northern, Eastern and Southern province and the Western Area.
Those provinces are divided again into districts. The names of the 14 districts are Bo District,
Bombali District, Bonthe District, Kailahun District, Kambia District, Kenema District, Koinadugu
District, Kono District, Moyamba District, Port Loko District, Pujehun District, Tonkolili District,
Western Area Rural District and Western Area Urban District.
3.2.1 Tonkolili district
The Tonkolili district has a population of 322. 310 inhabitants and occupies a total space of
7,003 km2 (Tonkolili District Ministry Officers, 2004).
Figure 5: Specific map Sierra Leone (UNHCR, 2001)
Each district is divided into chiefdoms. The Tonkolili district knows 11 chiefdoms. The 11
chiefdoms are as follows: Kholifa Mabang, Yoni, Malal Mara, Kholifa Rowalla, Tane,
Gbonkolenken, Kunike Barina, Kunike Sanda, Sambaia Bendugu, Kalasongoia, Kafe Simira.
The capital and largest city of the Tonkolili district is called Magburaka.
3.2.2 Makonkarie
Makonkarie is situated in the northern province in the Tonkolili district. Makonkarie is part of
the Yoni chiefdom, the headquarter chiefdom is situated at Yoni Bana and the Tonkolili district
council is situated at Magburaka.
20

Makonkarie is derived from the name Pa Konkarie, a famous warrior at the time, who gained
approximately 1,000 hectares land in and surround Makonkarie. Makonkarie has about 500
inhabitants. The villages in the direct environment are Roline, Ma-con and Magbassa. Those
villages are relatively smaller than Makonkarie, from 80 to 350 inhabitants.
3.3 Sierra Leone Youth Initiative
Sierra Leone Youth Initiative is a non-governmental organization founded in 2005 by Abubakarr
Bangura. SLYI is situated in Het huis van de Wereld in Tilburg, the Netherlands. There are three
people involved in the foundation: Mr. A. Bangura is the chairman, Ellen van Tuijl is the
secretary and Foday Sankoh is the treasurer of the organization. Mr. A. Bangura works with the
locals of the village Makonkarie on completing the second school building and the plantation
project for example. The contact persons in Makonkarie concerning different projects are the
assistant-head teacher Mr. Kargbo and the father of Abubakarr: Mr. J.A. Bangura.
SLYI is collaborating with different partners in the Netherlands and Sierra Leone, namely
Duurzaam voor Afrika, Manama na mama and Newton Organic Farmer Association. SLYI is
supported by Cordaid, Cos Western Brabant and Rabobank and NCDO.
3.3.1 Vision
The vision of SLYI is to create a pedagogical environment stimulating and supporting the
educational development of children and youth. SLYI focuses on Makonkarie and direct area in
the Tonkolili district. Children and youth should have the opportunity to develop values, a
responsibility feeling and independency.
3.3.2 Strategy
An active contribution of the education of children and youth in Sierra Leone is very important.
It encourages the personal development of children and young people and contributes positively
to social progress. The strategy is to set up durable plantations in collaboration with the locals in
the region of Makonkarie. The profit made from these plantations will be used for education. It
will be used to set up Educational Resource Centers in the district. This center has to offer
educational services to children who passed secondary school and youths who already finished
secondary school or dropped out of school for any reason.
3.3.3 Goals
The main aim of SLYI is to support and promote educational development of children and youth
in Sierra Leone. This is made possible through financial and non–financial aid for specified
projects (see the next subchapter).
SLYI has different sub goals, a division is made by SLYI in the Netherlands and SLYI in Sierra
Leone (Annual report SLYI, 2006).
SLYI in the Netherlands:
- Promoting friendship between Sierra Leone and the Netherlands
- Providing information about the different projects in Sierra Leone and in the
Netherlands
- Ensuring adequate material and financial resources to carry out the projects
- Setting up a database of several Dutch initiatives in supporting Sierra Leonean children
and youth
21

SLYI in Sierra Leone:
- Care training and education of children and youth in Sierra Leone
- Assisting children and young people towards independent living in order to make an
active contribution to the society
- Creating a network where people can come together for information exchange about
their craft
3.3.4 Projects
There are several projects SLYI is working on:
- Makonkarie school project
In this project SLYI is providing extra class rooms, furniture and school material for the existing
building and the second school building that is under construction. In the long-term, the quality
of primary education of the SLMB Primary school in Makonkarie needs to be improved and the
attractiveness of education needs to be stimulated to develop personal and social development
among the youth.
- Makonkarie palm oil project
Despite the effort to encourage children to go to school, the impression seems to be that a lot of
children don’t have a chance on education because of poverty. This counts specifically for
secondary school, for further education. The profits of the plantation will be used for stimulating
children to attend secondary education and developing a learning community.
- Makonkarie water project
Water is a major problem in the Tonkolili district. With this project approximately 1,000
residents of the villages Makonakrie and Magbessa will be helped. This includes 350 primary
school pupils, of five different villages in and around Makonkarie.
- Scholarship project
With this scholarship youths get the opportunity to finish their education and attend
professional training awarding them for a middle profession. Immediately after graduation they
can put their skills into practice and will be able to function independently in the society.
3.3.5 Internships in Sierra Leone
The founder of SLYI, Mr. A. Bangura wants to stimulate internships to Sierra Leone in general.
Currently, he is working on this project. In the future he would like to send more students to
Sierra Leone. Mr. A. Bangura says about this: ‘’An important argument for the deployment of
(Dutch) students in international internships to Sierra Leone is that global problems require global
co-operations. Problems like unemployment, poverty, migration and security are global issues that
are not solvable within the borders of a country. This is only possible through international
cooperation. Internships can contribute significantly to solving the problems that we are facing in
the world.’’ He found collaborations with the University of Sierra Leone in Freetown, different
business associations and agencies in Freetown and of course with his own village, Makonkarie.
22

4. Sustainable tourism
Tourism is a large and important economic sector. Also for the developing countries it can be an
important source of income. Tourism generates profit for the traveling industry while most of
the time the local communities have to deal with the side effects. Community-based tourism
attempts to do something about that. Most of the time it is about small touristic initiatives in
developing countries. The local community controls and manages the project (Context Zuidelijk
Afrika, 2010).
Mr. van der Duin (2010), Professor in Tourism and Sustainable Development estimates tourism
is an important motor behind poverty reduction and conservation of nature in Africa. To reach
different targets through tourism, like the Millennium goals, different stakeholders of the
tourism industry, governments, conservations of nature and development organizations and the
locals have to experience each other as reliable partners. Local involvement and control are pre
conditions.
This chapter consists of a theoretical framework: a definition of community-based tourism
including carrying capacity, a bench marking concluding on the success factors of CBT,
voluntourism and the APPA method of The Mountain Institute, 2000.
4.1 Definition of community-based tourism
First, an explanation of the word community. The word community is derived from communitas,
a Latin term which refers to the very spirit of a community, or an unstructured community in
which people are equal (Beeton, 2006). A definition of community varies according to the
context. Most of the time the term ‘community’ is associated with developing countries, which
should not be necessary. The WWF (2001) concludes defining community depends on the social
and institutional structures in the area but the definition implies some kind of collective
responsibility and approval by them. Communities can be seen as homogeneous, static and
harmonious units within which people share common interests and needs (Mowforth, Munt,
2009). Murphy and Murphy (2004) indicate that community has three dimensions: social
function, spatial area and external recognition:
Social functions: This element contains the ‘coming together’. It is a continuous process of
community building. By identifying and sharing their problems and needs, people improve their
social and physical environment.
Spatial area: The social functions and spatial area of the community are often synonymous.
When people share a common condition of life, they often choose to live close together, this can
be sharing an interest like golf or because of their social-economic status. In rural areas it is
easier to define the spatial areas than in urban cities.
External recognition: Even though the group can bond together and have a strong sense of
belonging, this has to be recognized by someone externally. External recognition can lead to
empowerment, for example the Aboriginals in Australia.
In 1980 as the result of a symposium on tourism development in Canada and his experience with
tourism expansion around the world Murphy described tourism as ‘an industry which uses the
23

community as a resource, sells it as a product, and, in the process, affects the lives of everyone’
(Murphy and Murphy, 2004). Recently, it became more common that tourism involves and
benefits the community. Beeton (2006) claims as tourism relies on visiting places and people, it
cannot exist outside a community.
The World Tourism Organization (2010) sees tourism as a distinct activity, taking place away
from home and for a period of more than 24 hours. Tourists are people who travel to and stay in
places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an
activity remunerated from within the place visited.
Community-based tourism is a form of tourism which seeks to increase people’s involvement
and ownership of tourism at the destination end (Mowforth, Munt, 2009). This form of tourism
is supposed not to be measured in terms of increasing number of tourists or gaining a lot of
profit. It is about how it is integrated in the local communities at the end. The benefits of tourism
will be used for the local community. The wishes and needs of the locals are given priority
(Huybers, 2007). The WWF (2001) defines community-based tourism as a form of tourism
where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in its development
and management and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community.
According to The Mountain Institute (2000) community-based tourism is a visitor-host
interaction that has significant participation by both, and generates economic and conservation
benefits for local communities and environment. The following characteristics has been set up
regarding community-based tourism:
1. Community-based Tourism must contribute to increasing and/or improving protection of
natural and/or cultural resources;
2. Community-based Tourism must contribute to local economic development through
increasing tourism revenues and other benefits to community participants, and ideally to an
increasing number of participants;
3. Community-based Tourism must have a level of participation;
4. Community-based Tourism has a duty to the visitor to provide a socially and environmental
responsibly product.
4.1.1 Participation
Involving the community is necessary for a successful community-based tourism project (WWF,
2001). The aim of active participation in tourism is that locals become active subjects and not
just waiting recipients. Mowforth and Munt (2009) adapted a figure from Pretty (1995), Pretty’s
typology of participation consists of six types of participation grading from passive to active:
Passive participation: This form of participation is just getting the information. People
participating by what already has been decided.
Participation by consultation: By answering questions, people respond. There is no share in
decision making.
24

Bought participation: People only participate when they get something in return. This can be
food but also money.
Functional participation: A form of participation where it is about meeting predetermined
objectives.
Interactive participation: This form of participation has to do with a group. Together there will
be decided how available resources are used for example.
Self-mobilization and connectedness: Initiatives are taken independently, participants develop
contacts by themselves with stakeholders for technical advice for example but retain own
control over resource use.
The last two types of participation are of great importance for the local people to be included
the decision making process.
4.1.2 Objectives
The objectives of community-based tourism can be distinguished by three categories:
empowerment, conservation and economic development. As CBT fits in the context of
sustainable development, those objectives can be compared with people (empowerment), planet
(conservation) and profit (economic development).
Figure 6: Three pillars of sustainable development
Empowerment: Empowerment in the context of community-based tourism is important because
it ensures that the rights and territorial boundaries of the community are acknowledged.
Empowerment can be divided in social (maintain the community’s stability) and political
(communities are able to participate in decision-making processes) power. Self-determination,
community participation and community consultations tend to fall significantly short of
empowerment (Sofield, 2003). Poon (1992) termed ‘new tourism’ whereby host communities as
passive recipients become managers themselves. The local communities have the ability to
develop their skills and bring out empowerment, beside the potential to increase local income
and the creation of jobs as a result of tourism development (see the example of women in
Annapurna, paragraph 4.2.1). Especially for the long-term, empowerment is an important
objective in its own right to improve the living standards. The level of empowerment depends on
how much control the community has over tourism development (Ashley, Garland, 1994). The
WWF (2001) says in its guidelines for community-based ecotourism development in the
example of tourism development in Namibia: ‘’Developing effective legislation to empower local
communities and helping them strengthen their relationship with private enterprise, has been a
major feature of WWF's work in support of ecotourism in Namibia’’ (see paragraph 4.2.5).
25

Conservation: Conservation is most of the time part of the definition of community-based
tourism. The Mountain Institute (2001) states that community-based tourism must contribute to
increasing and/or improving protection of natural and/or cultural resources. In a broader
context TMI claims community-based tourism describes a variety of activities that encourage
and support a wide range of objectives in economic and social development and conservation.
According to Ashley and Garland (1994) there are some factors community conservation is
depending on: the scale of benefits received by the locals, the extent to which the benefits are
clearly perceived as dependent on the resource base, whether benefits reach all resource users
and resource management. If these conditions are not met, the financial earnings will only
change life for a few people. Conservation also has to do with empowerment, rights and control
over resources which make people feel more responsible for their resources. Unfortunately
there are a lot of examples whereby communities were forced off their piece of land or couldn’t
benefit from their natural resources. Recently this started to change, for example the tourism
project in Namibia and Botswana (see the benchmarking, chapter 4). Besides the positive effect
of conservation on the environment it also affects the well-being of the community. In the figure
below, The Mountain Institute visualized the relationship between protecting resources and
tourism:
Figure 7: Relationship between resources and actions in community-based tourism (The Mountain Institute, 2000)
Economic development: The third goal of community-based tourism in this row is economic
development for the local communities. This is also shown in most definitions of CBT where the
local communities have to benefit. Also in one of the characteristics set up by TMI (2001)
community-based tourism must contribute to local economic development. Also Huybers
(2007) claims benefits out of community-based tourism will be used for the local communities.
Benefits for example can be jobs that will be created and income whereby social projects like
renovating a school or creating a playground will be financed.
4.1.3 Key stakeholders
At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janiero (1992) it
became clear the tourism industry could contribute towards community development. Whether
the tourism initiative is located in a developed or a developing country it is argued that the
involvement of communities and a significant level of community participation at all stages in
the initiative gives stakeholders a better chance to have an influence on shaping community
development and to deliver the maximum benefits (Simpson, 2007).
Community tourism tends to develop in one of two ways (Mann, 2000). The first scenario is an
unplanned scenario whereby the area is discovered by adventurous backpackers and later by a
commercial operator for example, who recognizes the promising market. In this way, the
community responds to tourism. This approach is called ‘demand-led’. The second scenario is a
planned scenario, it typically involves an NGO (Mann, 200) or a commercial operator who
26

identifies tourism as a potential source of income in a sustainable way. Most of the time this is an
NGO, but the government or the private sector can take an initiative in developing CBT as well.
Another definition for unplanned scenario is ‘supply-led’ because community-based tourism is
developed before the tourists arrive. The latter is the case in this research.
Governments
Before 1992, when the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de
Janeiro took place, the government had a passive attitude towards tourism and community
involvement. Recognition and expansion of this theme has been taken up by organizations
including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Tourism Concern, the Eco-Tourism
Society, the Association of Caribbean States, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, and by
researchers and commentators (Ashley, 2000; Mowfurth and Munt 1998; and Scheyvens, 2002).
The government was happy to receive taxes from successful projects, however no assistance
was given to projects that were under pressure. Nowadays the role of the government is
increasing in importance. They are more motivated to play a role in tourism. It is clear that
tourism contributes to international development and for the country, it is both socially and
economically some kind of engine. For example in China, in Yunnan the government invested in
culture again because of tourism (see paragraph 4.2.2). The government plays an important role
in the effects of tourism. For example land management, labor regulations, trainings, capacity
building, services like health, energy supply, water provision, safety and waste disposal. It is
essential that tourism issues should be integrated into all layers of politics (Simpson, 2007).
Nongovernmental organizations
An NGO as one of the key stakeholders in the processes of tourism initiatives can bring out more
sustainable and long-term benefits to communities. NGOs have often been criticized when
involved in tourism projects for their lack of transparency, lack of commitment and excessive
focus on self-promotion (Simpson, 2007). Nowadays NGOs are building up knowledge and
experience in tourism initiatives that deliver benefits to communities, for example WWF (see the
example of Namibia in paragraph 4.2.5) and OXFAM. The roles of Nongovernmental
organizations and governments overlap each other in providing benefits for the communities
(see appendix number 7). Simpson (2007) declares about this that capacity building is
something both NGO and government could and should working on together.
Private sector
The private sector is the stakeholder where money plays the most important role. They are most
aware of the market and financial stability and growth has their main interest (see appendix
number 6). However, more companies and investors tend to recognize the importancy of the
role of the community in successful tourism. It looks like there is a growing interest from this
industry in the importance of supporting the communities in their development and maintaining
the communities’ own way of living, culture and identity. There are several private sector
initiatives like responsibletravel.com and TUI’s Environmental Unit who are including
community priority as one of their main objectives. For example the community-based village
home stays in Kenya by responsibletravel.com (see 4.2.4).
Community involvement and NGO initiation can lead to the development of a tourism product.
For this, the destination mix from Mill and Morrisson (2009) can be used: this concept includes
attractions and events, facilities, infrastructure, transport and hospitality service (see chapter 5,
internal analysis).
27

4.1.4 Carrying capacity
The WTO (2010) defines carrying capacity as the maximum number of people that may visit a
tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic and
socio-cultural environment, thus leading to a decrease in visitor’s satisfaction. Kelly and
Nankervis (2001) applied the carrying capacity to tourism and recognized three aspects: the
destination’s viewpoint, the host community’s viewpoint and the tourists’ viewpoint:
From the view of the destination: the number of visitors whom can be physically provided shelter
without harming the environment.
Perspective of the host community: the extent to which the host community can profit from
tourism without leading to annoyances (see the influence of large tour groups in the benchmark,
Yunnan, chapter 4). Doxey (1975) developed the ‘Irridex’ to show the effects of tourism
development between visitors and the host community. The four stages of this model describe
different states of tourism development and the ways in which tourists and local people perceive
each other in these stages (Mowfurth, Munt, 2008).
Table 2: Doxey’s Irridex (1975)
Doxey’s Irridex Social relationships Power relationships
Euphoria Initial phase of development: visitors
and investors welcome
Apathy Visitors taken for granted: contacts
between residents and outsiders
more formal (commercial)
Annoyance Saturation points approached:
residents have misgivings about
tourist industry
Antagonism Irritations openly expressed: visitors
seen as cause of all problems
28
Little planning or formalized control:
greater potential for control by local
individuals and groups in this phase
Planning concerned mostly with
marketing: tourism industry
association begins to assert its
interest
Planners attempt to control by
increasing infrastructure rather than
limiting growth: local protest groups
begin to assert an interest
Planning is remedial but promotion
is increased to offset deteriorating
reputation of destination: power
struggle between interest groups
may force compromise
According to the theory of Doxey, host communities are curious and interested in tourists when
there are no tourists known in the environment as yet. This is called euphoria, the first phase of
the irridex. In this phase visitors are most welcome. When the interaction between visitors and
host is becoming more commercial and an increase in tourist numbers takes place the host feels
uncomfortable about whether they would like to welcome tourists or not, this phase is called
apathy. When the number of tourists reaches the limit in the feeling of the host, the annoyance
stage is reached. In this phase the residents have misgivings about the tourism industry. When
the number of tourists keeps increasing, the host will be concerned about price rises, crime and
cultural protection. For this, the host blames the visitors. The tourists are seen as cause of the
problems that play a role in their society, this phase is called antagonism.
From a tourists’ viewpoint:. when the experience of the visitors is diminished because of too
crowded places. This is a subjective point of view because some people like crowded places
more than others.

Besides numbers of visitors, other factors are important: the length of stay, the kind of visitor
and its behavior and type of traveling (see the benchmarking below, the example of Annapurna
in Nepal and Yunnan in China), seasonal influences, accessibility of specific sites, level of
infrastructure and ecological environment.
It is important to stay between the thresholds of the carrying capacity. Therefore the limits to
acceptable change (LAC) need to be determined. Indicators have to be set up in advance. These
indicators can be socio-cultural, economical, environmental, tourism planning and management
and responding to global issues (WTO, 2010). In appendix number 5 examples of indicators by
the WTO are given.
4.2 Benchmarking
Community-based tourism does not always guarantee success. Only under critical preconditions
this special form of tourism can bring profit to the local community. The World Wide Fund for
nature (2001) set a few basic preconditions for community-based tourism. It does not mean that
when the following checks are met, a tourism project will be successful. The preconditions are:
- Flora and fauna, this has to have a degree of interest or attractiveness.
- Ecosystems that are at least able to absorb a managed level of visitation without damage.
- The local community has to be aware of the potential opportunities, but also the changes
and risks that are involved, besides this the local community should be open to visitors.
- Existing or potential structures for effective community decision-making.
- Culture and traditions need to be protected.
- A potential demand and an effective means of accessing the market, is the last
precondition.
In this sub chapter different CBT projects are described, compared with each other and finally
lead to the success factors of CBT.
4.2.1 Annapurna, Nepal
Tourism has been considered as the most important export industry and foreign currency
earner for Nepal’s economy as tourism accounts for 4% of the GDP (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler,
2005). The most popular form of tourism in Nepal is mountain tourism. This has to do with the
ecological diversity of the country and the cultural heritage. Annapurna is the most frequently
visited destination, about 62% of the mountain tourists visit Annapurna. In Annapurna there are
nine ethnic groups active in the area with each of them having specific characteristics like dialect
and cultural norms. Most of the residents are farmers, laborers or traders relaying over the
natural resources of the area. In Annapurna more than 1,000 locally owned lodges are spread
out over the area. This provides jobs to the locals, some locals are even employed as guides and
cooks.
One theme that emerged in Annapurna is the empowerment of women thanks to touristic
development. Tourism gave women in Annapurna the possibility to make money on their own
which made them less dependent on men. Women in Annapurna explained no big investments
were needed and it didn’t clash to their own social norms. Most of the women are providing food
and accommodation. The money that is earned will be used for community development.
Higher incomes, better education and health conditions lead to a higher standard of living for the
communities in Annapurna. Tourists bring knowledge to the village, they learn the residents
29

about the outside world and stimulate children to learn and go to school. A field research in
Annapurna led to the conclusion that health and environmental awareness appeared to be
greater in villages engaged in tourism than in areas without tourism (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler,
2005).
Residents of Annapurna highlighted that tourism has made their ethnic cultures valuable to
protect. The participation of youth in cultural dances helped to justify funding for museums, and
promoted the continued production of traditional arts and crafts (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler,
2005).
Because of new money brought by tourism, the value of money has led to the disruption of
traditional kinship and community bonds in many host communities. In Annapurna, a local
villager in Ghandruk expressed that ‘‘nowadays people only think about earning money, they do
not think about their relatives and communities. They do not do without money.’’ (Nyaupane,
Morais, Dowler, 2005). A division was made into the society: the tourism entrepreneurs and the
farmers. Families from the lower level of the society received only limited benefits from tourism.
The tourism project in Annapurna has been set up in the first place without any central
supervision which upset the balance of the community. Unplanned and unregulated tourism
growth damaged the community, like deforestation (for building lodges and cooking) and loss of
children’s interest in school. With the help of the NGO Annapurna Conservation Area Project
(ACAP) the impacts of tourism were managed in a more sustainable way.
4.2.2 Yunnan, China
It is the domestic market in Yunnan that characterizes the tourism industry. This relatively poor
province in China received 1 million international tourists against 38 million domestic tourists
in the year 2000. Yunnan is known for its economic problems, however this province is
attractive because of its ecological and cultural diversity. Mainly ethnic minority groups are part
of the cultural diversity of Yunnan.
The empowerment of women is also an important theme that occurred in Yunnan. It gave
women there more opportunities to communicate with the outside world. Besides women start
making money on their own, it gave empowerment also to women groups.
One of the community leaders in Yunnan estimates the living standard improved because of
more income, better food, better housing, and some income to travel, more opportunities to buy
food and lease out farmland.
In Yunnan the government invested in culture again because of tourism. They provided funds for
renovations of buildings for example. Revitalization of culture makes people also proud of their
identity.
However in Yunnan, negative effects of tourism are at first glance the impact on children’s
schooling (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005). Families want their children to work in the
tourism industry because this increases the family income.
Unfortunately the developing tourism industry in Yunnan led to an increase in prostitution. Most
of the women working in prostitution are from surrounding villages not participating in the
tourism industry.
30

The tourism project in Yunnan was mainly regulated by government and the private sector.
Hosts complained that most tourism revenues were collected by national tourism groups, they
even felt like their land and their culture had become a commodity sold by the government to
tourists (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005). Mainly large organized tour groups visited Yunnan,
the impact of this first stadium of mass tourism unbalanced the tourism project. Because of this,
the Northwest Yunnan Ecotourism Association (NYEA) is operating in some of the parts of
Yunnan to act as a link between the host, the government and the private sector to develop
community involvement.
4.2.3 Khama Rhino, Botswana
The Khama Rhino in Botswana is a sanctuary established in 1992 to save the vanishing rhino. It
is a community-based wildlife project, economic benefits go to the local Batswana community
through tourism and the conservation of resources. KRST is a community-based organization to
promote rural development in Botswana by involving communities in tourism.
This wildlife project employs locals in a variety of jobs, from drivers to cleaners to guides
(Sebele, 2007). These earnings from community-based tourism lifts the standard of living in
Botswana as it is hard in rural areas in developing countries to make good money, tourism is a
great opportunity. The KRST is also providing funds.
The wildlife project started with four rhinos only. However more and more rhinos were donated
and transferred to the Khama Rhino as the project contributes to the conservation of the species
in the country.
The sourcing of locally available goods and services is very important for this community as
opportunities are created for small scale, informal sector operators, who otherwise would not
have access to the mainstream tourism industry, which is mostly foreign dominated (Sebele,
2007). In this way employment, revenues and sustainability are the results. This project is based
on a small scale. It is a fact that small scale tourism brings more benefits for the locals. Tourists
will use the locally available goods and services which creates a higher multiplier effect because
most of the income that is generated will be retained in the local economy.
The majority of the local community have little benefit regarding the tourism project. The
biggest loss is the grazing land for the livestock of the locals (Sebele, 2007). This doesn’t simply
mean not enough food, but also bad prices on the market. It is difficult for community members
to generate enough income to feed the family and sending the children to school.
The community-based initiative has not been managed very well. The website of this wildlife
project hasn’t been updated for more than two years. The Trust found it difficult putting them on
the market, regionally as well as internationally (Sebele, 2007).
The community is complaining they are not involved in the running of the wildlife project. Only
in the first phase of the project where KRST asked permission to the locals the involvement and
participation were there. If locals want to visit the office of KRST they have to travel a long
distance, which costs the poor people money they do not have. KRST provides newsletters,
however they are only written in English while a lot of people are illiterate.
31

Communities can only be active participants in tourism projects when they feel responsible and
get a sense of ownership (Sebele, 2007). This lack of sense could be an outcome of the poor
management of KRST.
4.2.4 Different villages*, Kenya
In Kenya responsibletravel.com developed community-based village home stays. This private
sector supplies a responsible tourism alternative for mass-packaged holidays. With the main
goals to improve the economy and protect the local environment of the host.
The accommodation is provided by the locals in their homes. In this way the tourist is able to
absorb the local village culture. Activities by this kind of vacation are: shared meals, discussion,
language exchange, sightseeing and other village related activities.
In this way the tourist helps the village encouraging responsible ecotourism. The incomes out of
the tourism project will be used to promote the long term conservation of the cultural identity
and the nurturing environment of the community.
The village community receives economic benefits as well because they are working in the
tourism operation. The community received training related to socially and ecologically
responsible tourism.
This form of village home stays as a tourism product brings benefits for communities because it
provides a more sustainable form of livelihood, fosters sustainable use and responsibility over
resources, encourage community involvement, generates economic benefits and it brings
empowerment to the women and women groups as they are the main participants in the project
(Responsibletravel.com).
The Kenyan villages that are included in this CBT project are in remote locations so it is asking
the tourist to totally adapt to the traditions of a typical Kenyan village. Tourists shouldn’t
overestimate their expectations as the primitive living can be a shock.
*Kajiado North, Rift Valley Province. Koibatek, Rift Valley Province. Embu, Eastern Province. Machokos, Eastern
Province. Thika, Central Province. Aberdare’s region, Central Province. Taita, Coast Province. Kwale, Coast
Province. Watamu, Coast Province.
4.2.5 Ichingo Chobe river, Namibia
Before Namibia’s independence the local community had no rights to manage and benefit from
wildlife even though they had to compete with the wild animals, e.g. the loss of sheep and goats
to lions. As a result, illegal hunting escalated. Several communities opposed to this and game
guards were appointed by community leaders, with assistance from NGOs (WWF, 2001). After
independence the government started to get involved. The Ministry of Environment and
Tourism gave the locals the right and possibility to manage their land and benefit from wildlife
and tourism.
Ichingo Chover river lodges are luxury tented lodges overlooking the Chobe river. The main
lodge building has been constructed over the river. Home cooked meals are served from the
menu. Wildlife like huge herds of elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippo’s and more.
The Namibia Community-based Tourism Association (NACOBTA) provides a link between
communities and outside agencies and operators, and supplies assistance to them through
32

training, business advice, marketing, advocacy, and funding. A central booking and information
system is being established.
In this tourism project joint ventures with the private sector arose where for example lodges
were developed bringing the greatest benefit to the community in terms of money. Developing
effective legislation to empower local communities and helping them strengthen their
relationship with private enterprise, have been a major feature of WWF's work in support of
ecotourism in Namibia (WWF, 2001).
4.3 Critical success factors for CBT
As a conclusion of the benchmark in the above subchapters the success factors for communitybased
tourism that should lead to promising initiatives are as follows (Goodwin, Santilli, 2009;
WWF, 2001):
- Location and accessibility of the project;
- A potential demand;
- Community-based tourism should involve the local people. Participation (planning
and process) in decision making is essential;
- The community has to maintain their original way of living and carry out their
culture, tourism has to show respect for this aspect. Ultimately this will encourage
the community to value their culture more. The tourism product represents the real
way of living of the host community;
- CBT generates income for the local, a fair share of the profit to the locals from
tourism is essential;
- The conservation of resources, this form of tourism should be environmentally
friendly;
- Tourism is based on sustainable development;
- Support by government, NGO or other organization (need for external support)
- The ‘right’ tourist needs to be target, at least small groups to minimize the impact on
the environment and culture;
- The tourist needs sufficient information about expectations and behavior at the CBT
destination.
4.4 Voluntourism
Several years ago the term Voluntourism didn’t exist (Planeterra, 2011). When people started
realizing that going away on a vacation with the purpose of volunteering was growing into a real
trend the words volunteer and tourism were melt into Voluntourism. In the case of
voluntourism the tourist has a holiday and is contributing to the destination that is visited.
During the projects there will be collaborated very close with the local community causing
mutual conception between people from different cultures beside the help that is offered from
the tourist. Voluntourism is not possible without active participation of residents and
communities (voluntourism.org, 2011). Voluntary work can be: building houses, supervising in
school, taking care of animals, et cetera. “There are now more opportunities for travelers with
specific skills in areas like engineering and health care, develop beneficial projects like assisting
with clinics and developing clean water systems for villages that lack adequate services,” says
Epler Wood (2011), executive director of Planeterra. Those projects teach you on a deeper level
about the people and place you are visiting. Being a participant in a voluntourism project is a
33

way to establish connections, discover more about cultures around the world and about
yourself.
The website voluntourism.org set up a ‘model’ for NGOs or nonprofit organizations to determine
on their main purpose regarding voluntourism:
- Long-term sustainability and revenue-generation
- Risk mitigation & development diversification
- Donor familiarization & cultivation
- Collaboration & partnership
- General education & awareness
- "Voluntourist" recruitment & placement for episodic engagement
Tour operators, hoteliers, public institutions (and the list goes on) are other stakeholders who
could be involved in a voluntourism project. The motivation for implementing voluntouris are
equally as broad. In the case of NGO’s (as described above) it may be generating income from a
social enterprise venture. For tour operators voluntourism may serve as a step forward to more
sustainable business operations or to make a link with ecotourism.
Paul Miedema (2010) is the founder of Calabash Tours, a market leader in Cultural tourism in
South-Africa. He did a reflection on voluntourism; in this reflection the negative and positive
effects came forward (see appendix number 2 for his full report). In summary there are 10
critical points that came forward:
- Profit orientation of tour operators, hoteliers, et cetera
- Liable insurances, emergency’s procedures in place, et cetera
- Volunteer exploitation and taking care for the volunteer at the destination end
- Little say/involvement of the host and/or volunteer
- Screening procedures for volunteers (internet and phone)
- One size fits all?
- Constant reflection
- Life changing experience for as well as the host as the volunteer
- Real understanding between host and volunteer
- Social interaction, shared humanity
Below different examples of projects regarding voluntourism are given:
Project: Sustainable tourism and village activities in an Indian village.
Organization: Commundo
Description: As a voluntourist, you contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in the
Indian village Apetina. Apetina is a Native village of Wayana Indians, located in the district on
the Upper Sipaliwini Apanahonirivier, Suriname. The community would like to see socioeconomic
progress achieved by introducing small-scale sustainable tourism. As a volunteer you
help the people of the Indian village to further build upon the small-scale tourism activities. On
the island you can help to improve the lodge or you can roll up your sleeves and help stab
footpaths or maintain the forest trails. The last week you will explore the country, where you
will return to Paramaribo, and travel through the west of Suriname.
Type of voluntary work: Most job-activities include carpentry, woodworking and painting. You
can participate in various village activities, such as helping on the plots (rather heavy physical
34

work), or help peeling cassava, or making kasiri (local drink made from cassava). You can help
children to improve their Dutch and develop more confidence among the children and learn
them to present themselves to outsiders / tourists or you can organize fun creative workshops
for children and entertain them with songs, dance, sports and drawing.
Project: ICUganda
Organization: Commundo
Description: The village of Ngoma in Southeast Uganda is a poor community without a reliable
source of income for residents to meet the daily needs. Most residents are farmers trying to
survive. The involvement of ICU (non-profit organization in Uganda), the village is developing.
ICU has established a school and a corn mill. In the weekend it is time to relax, you will make a
an excursion to Lake Mburo where a beautiful national park is situated.
Type of voluntary work: Job activities include setting up gardens, creating a kitchen, a cow shed,
etc. Assisting in school where you can teach English or assist in sports and games. Grist to the
village: fetching water, land editing. Working with the women's group: manufacturing of utensils
(baskets, mats braiding ) – and any other help that is needed, for example setting up a shop in
the village.
Project: Education project, Peru
Organization: RESPONS
Description: RESPONS works together with local schools in Vicos, Peru, in order to improve
children´s education because RESPONS, and the local communities themselves, believe that
education is essential for local livelihood improvement on the long run.
Type of voluntary work: Job activities include teaching English in school but also to the host
community as they are involved in a tourism project, developing education tools and
implementing different projects (for example music and sports).
4.5 APPA method
There are different manners of implementing a tourism project, the APPA method of The
Mountain Institute is one of them. It consists of four different phases, from discovering to
delivery and sustaining. In the field research, this method is used, only the first two phases
(discovery and dream) are part of this research to stay within the framework.
The Mountain Institute is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation,
community development and cultural protection in different mountainous countries in the
world. The APPA method has been developed by TMI (2000) and provides the basic structure
for community-based tourism planning.
The short name APPA stands for Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action. This
methodology can be used in a variety of contexts from local level with illiterate people or
educated participants, and even with community leaders or officials and managers. There need
to be taken four steps in APPA, known as the “4Ds of Discovery, Dream, Design and Delivery. The
4Ds are described in appendix number 4.
Figure 7: The cycle of discovery, dream, design and delivery (TMI, 2000)
35

5. Internal analysis
The tourism industry in Sierra Leone is growing. After mining and agriculture, tourism is the
largest contributor to the economy of the country. The government of Sierra Leone expects
economic and social benefits from tourism development like more earnings in foreign exchange
and taxes, the creation of more jobs, development of certain areas with no other possibilities of
expanding economic activity, a boost for local production, an increase of infrastructure and
facilities which supports the tourist industry as well as the locals and maybe the most important
the promotion of the true image of the country (National Tourist Board, 2010).
Beach tourism
At the moment the tourism industry of Sierra Leone is mainly situated on the coast area and
around Freetown. In Freetown hotels, guesthouses and resorts are situated. The orientation of
tourism in Sierra Leone is focused on the beach. The whole coastline on the western part of
Sierra Leone comprises excellent beaches. In total 360 kilometers of white sand beaches. There
is a lot of variety in the beaches and it is beautiful to see the mountains rise next to the sea. The
National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone (2010) concludes that beach and sea will remain the
major holiday product, however inland scenic, wildlife and cultural attraction have to offer a
‘’total African experience’’.
Nature and wildlife
Sierra Leone has wildlife including pygmy hypos, chimpanzees and a lot of different kinds of
birds. Unique landscapes, flora and fauna, waterfalls and inland hills, mountains and forest
should attract lovers of nature. There are different wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
Fishing and bird watching are two niche markets that could attract tourists.
Cultural heritage
After slavery Freetown became a naval base for freed slaves. Different cultures came here
together, in 1855 there were more than 50,000 people living in Freetown, with their own
specific culture which is in short how the Krio culture presented itself.
Tonkolili district
The Tonkolili district is the epicenter of Sierra Leone with huge human and natural resources.
This Northern district has a glorious academic, economic, and political history in native Sierra
Leone (Bangura, 2009). The Tonkolili district has a population which most of them being Muslim
and belonging to the ethnic group Temne. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of
the district, however the overall development of the district is far behind.
In this chapter the internal analysis of Sierra Leone, the following points are described:
destination mix and tourism policy.
5.1 Destination mix
The term destination is commonly used for any location to which people make a journey (Kelly,
Nankervis, 2001). Tourists travel to destinations. A destination consists of mutually independent
elements that have to create the vacation experience. Next, there is a figure (adopted from Mill
and Morrison, (2009) which says a destination consists of five main elements which include
36

certain components. The five main elements are: attraction and events, facilities, infrastructure,
transportation and hospitality resources.
Figure 8: Destination mix (Mill, Morrison, 2009)
Attractions will attract tourists to a certain area while facilities make sure the needs of the
tourist will be satisfied. Infrastructure and transport are needed to make an area accessible.
Hospitality services is about the way certain services will be provided to the guests.
5.1.1 Attractions and events
Attractions are the pull factors in tourism (Kelly, Nankervis, 2001). An attraction will be an
attraction when it is recognized that people will want to visit it.
Accessibility
In the last few years more and more international airlines have added National Airport Lungi to
their routes. Bellview Air, BMI, Brussels Airlines, Elysian, Gambia International Airlines, Kenya
Airways, Royal Air Maroc and Slok Air International are flying to Lungi. The latest trend in this:
Air France-KLM is flying on Lungi from Paris since April 2011. Cecil Williams, general manager
of the National Tourist Board is very happy with this development. He says about this:
‘’Competition brings down prices.’’. A flight ticket is expensive, from 800 Euros and could rise to
more than 2,000 Euros. Sierra Leone is approximately 6 hours away from Europe. The airport of
Sierra Leone is situated on the opposite side of giant river mouth to the capital. There are
several options of transport to meet Freetown, by road (4 hour drive), ferry, hovercraft,
helicopter, speedboat, catamaran or by water taxi. None of these options are reliable due to bad
maintenance and/or lack of safety.
To reach the Tonkolili district the highway Freetown/Mile 91-Bo has to be used. Public
transport can be taken from the east of Freetown. There are several options to travel by public
transport. The podo poda (taxi bus) is the cheapest way of traveling, or you can share a regular
taxi or you can charter a taxi for yourself. All options are not that comfortable, taxis and buses
aren’t about to leave until they are full. If you think the bus or taxi is full, it isn’t. Besides people it
is normal that you bring chickens, oil, cassava or other food with you. Chartering a taxi for
yourself is relatively expensive.
The road from Freetown to Mile 91 is in a good state, the main highway is paved. The main road
up north from Mile 91 to Magburaka is in a good state as well. However, if you travel inland, in
this case for example the road from Mathoir to Makonkarie (see appendix 21 to visualize), the
road is in a very bad state, not paved and less accessible in the wet season. The road exists of
sand, gravel and stones. It takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to reach the Tonkolili district,
depending on the traffic in Freetown.
37

Climate
Sierra Leone is a country with two kind of seasons. From May to October, the wet season and
from November to April, the dry season. The temperature during the year is between 27C and
30C. However in March and April temperatures can reach 38C. The rainy season has a peak in
August, this is also the time malaria risk increases. The Tonkolili district has a major water
problem in comparison with the other districts, because of its geographical location. In the dry
season the Tonkolili districts has the highest temperatures and in general the Tonkolili district
has the lowest rainfall over an average year.
Culture
English is the official language of Sierra Leone which is spoken at schools, governmental
organizations and also by the media. Besides English, 97% of the populations speaks the Krio
language. However, the Krio language doesn’t have an official status. Two other dominated and
important languages are the Mende and the Temne in the rural areas. In total, there are more
than 20 languages spoken (Manson, Knight, 2009). Sierra Leone is dealing with illiteracy
approximately 64.9% of the population cannot read and write English or a local language
(Central Intelligence, Agency, 2010).
Krio is mostly spoken in Freetown and its outskirts. The origin of Krio is derived from English
and native African languages. Krio is the lingua franca of Sierra leone, it plays an important role
in the society. This language is an important factor of the culture of Sierra Leone. In the Tonkolili
district the community speaks Temne (local language) and Krio, in schools the common
language is English.
Sierra Leoneans are polite and manner-conscious. Courteous greeting are a way of life. When
someone says ‘Hello’ in any language (Mende, Temne, etc.) people nearly always respond in Krio
‘A tel God tenkey (I tell God, thank you). When people greet, they shake hands. When shaking
hands it is habitual to uphold the right arm with the left arm when you greet someone from a
higher status.
Besides this, respect is an important value for the people in Sierra Leone. Especially the elderly
and ancestors are respected. The hand shaking ritual is also a form of respect because it is
suggested that the hand of the other person has more weight.
In almost every African country the notion of time is not so punctual. This is also the case in
Sierra Leone. It is accepted to come one or two hours later than the exact time of the
appointment.
In Sierra Leone men have an advantage in all kind of sectors of the society. Especially in the rural
areas, girls and women have the pressure of being a housewife, in most cases girls and women
don’t get the same chances as boys and men.
Because of the war between 1991 and 2002 women were forced to be the bread winner of the
family because the men had to fight. Not only because of the war, but it is usual in rural areas
that the women work on the field: planting, harvesting, weeding, gathering wood, cooking,
cleaning, getting water and child care are duties that are typical for women in Sierra Leone. The
men are responsible for offering clothes and shelter to the family and fulfill labor on the field. In
some urban cities women can enjoy freedom: there, more women achieve paid work outside
their houses.
38

Having children provides appearance to the parents. Therefore, Sierra Leone has one of the
highest birth rates of the world, approximately 6.5 child per woman (Central Intelligence
Agency, 2010). It is not only the status of the parents it is about, but getting children is some
kind of investment: a lot of children do not go to school but have to work for their parents.
Children are also ‘used’ for tactical arranged marriages (for example creating new alliances
between certain families) and dowries. In marriage, women live under the authority of the men.
It is normal for a man to have more than one woman. A lot of young men are married with
under-aged girls. Most people in Sierra Leone live according to a polygamy system. Before a girl
can marry she has to go to the Bundu society. In this society female genital cutting is performed.
While there are no exact figures, it is thought 85-98% of all the women in Sierra Leone have
been excised (Manson, Knight, 2009).
Even though child mortality is declining, it is unfortunately still an important issue in Sierra
Leone. According to the World Bank (2011) in 2009 192.3 out of 1000 baby’s died before the
age of five. Mostly due to bad hygiene, insufficient knowledge and no advanced health posts or
hospitals.
Many Sierra Leonean are initiated into a secret society. This society is not only binding members
to each other but also to their ancestors. The Poro is a secret society for boys and men, and is the
most popular society, also under the Temne and the people in the district. Most of the time these
societies are great and powerful networks of contacts. The Poro community can best be
described as a traditional education system where members are taught about traditional
practice of medicine but also about how to act like a ‘soldier’. The Bundu society is the secret
society for girls and women.
About 60% of the inhabitants of Sierra Leone is Muslim, 20-30% is Christian and 10-20%
practices another religion, in most cases a native traditional religion (Manson, Knight, 2009). In
the North of Sierra Leone people are mainly Islamic, in the South are more Christians. The
government of Sierra Leone protects the right of freedom of religion. The religion variety in this
country has rarely led to conflicts in comparison to other African countries. Especially in
Freetown you can see a lot of cultural diversity.
Ethnicity
Sierra Leone is divided into certain ethnic groups as is shown in the figure below. The Islamic
religion has the most supporters among the Temne people. The supporters of the Christian
religion are concentrated among the Mende and the Krios (Creoles).
The traditional religion is practiced by almost every ethnic group in different ways. In the
Tonkolili district people are mainly Muslim and belong to the Temne. The Temne account for
about 29% of the population. The Temne believe in one almighty God which will be approached
via negotiating of the ancestors. They don’t only bring offers to the ancestors, but also to other
ghosts (called: a-krifi). The Temne people also believe in witches (called: Rashir). This could be
men as well as women. Their identity is overtaken by means of divination. Religious
practitioners have a respectful appearance.
39

Figure 9: Ethnics groups in Sierra Leone (Mapsorama, 2010)
Historical resources
Tonkolili district became the district of hope of the northern province when it had the first
secondary school in Magburaka in the 1950’s. This school, called the ‘Oxford of the North’ has
given birth to great men and women who have achieved various goals and attained many
political positions in the country.
Through the Tonkolili district used to be a railway network. One of the routes was from
Freetown to Roruks, to Makonkarie, Yoni Bana, Mile 91 and up north to Magburaka and Makeni.
In some places you can still see some old railway houses, however because of the war most of
the houses and remainders of the railway network are destroyed.
Natural resources
The main economic activity of the district is agriculture (rice, palm) and gold mining. Most of the
residents of the Tonkolili district are subsistence farmers and own a piece of land. The Tonkolili
district consists of forests, mountains and some rivers.
In Mamunta, close to Magburaka, the Mayosso Wildlife Sanctuary is situated. This sanctuary is
important for the cultural and economical development of the local people in the surrounding
villages. There are 252 different kind of birds in a relatively small area. The sanctuary has
limited access, the road is not tarred. You need a very powerful motorbike to get there. Manson
and Knight (2009) conclude in the Bradt Travel Guide of Sierra Leone that the sanctuary is so
sleepy, even the birdwatchers have mostly flown elsewhere. Since 1972 the sanctuary got its
first protection - before that time the men living in the villages killed elephants and monkeys for
traditional reasons. Now, birds, small mammals and the rare short-nosed crocodile live under
protection.
In Bumbuna, on top of the Northern part of the Tonkolili district a waterfall with the first hydroelectric
dam of Sierra Leone is situated, the dam has been built by Italian contractors. Special
permission is needed to visit the waterfall. To reach the waterfall a motor bike is required (same
road conditions as on the way to Mamunta), till Magburaka the road is tarred. It is not possible
to stay over yet (Manson, Knight, 2009).
Events
Most of the shops and markets shut down for Muslim and Christian festivals. On many public
holidays traditional dancing devils take to the streets. Independence day on April 27 th is maybe
the most important celebration day: music, singing and dancing.
40

The Poro and Bundu society gather together once a year in the time the schools are closed in July
or August. Then, all the women and girls and men and boys discuss, sing, dance, eat and drink.
5.1.2 Facilities
Without facilities like accommodations a destination is limited to day-trippers (Kelly, Nankervis,
2001). While attractions have to take care of the development of the area, facilities have to
support this growth.
Lodging
Most of the houses of the locals in the district are made from mud bricks. People who are richer
and have more status are living in houses made of cement blocks. It depends but at average 8 to
10 persons living in one house.
There are no hotels, guestrooms or other lodging facilities in the district.
Food and beverage
36% of the cultivated land of the Yoni Chiefdom is used for rice cultivation (OCHA, 2002).
Besides rice, the villages cultivate cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, pepper, couscous, pine apple,
palm oil and peanuts. These are mainly used for their own consumption. Sometimes, the surplus
is for sale or will be stored. Besides the use of land and cultivating there are different fruit trees
like mango and banana in the district.
Support industries
In Mathoir and Roruks (see appendix 21) are weekly local markets. Every Wednesday in Roruks
and every Friday in Mathoir. Here the people are selling food (surplus). It is remarkable that
those villages are relatively poor in comparison to the other villages in the surrounding area.
Mile 91 is a place where every day is a market day. Mile 91 is an intersection and a busy town.
Most of the people living in Mile 91 are traders.
5.1.3 Infrastructure and transport
Attractions and facilities are not accessible without a good infrastructure: water and power
lines, public institutions, security, transport, etc. Infrastructure can be seen as the basic
structure of a system or organization.
Health care facilities
Due to the civil conflict the health infrastructure has been severely affected in the Tonkolili
district (OCHA, 2002). There are 5 hospitals in the district, 3 of them have the status: functional.
In the Magburaka Government Hospital the health service delivery has markedly improved.
There are also 2 hospitals at Mile 91 intact, Mile 91 is 24 kilometers away from Makonkarie.
The Tonkolili district council is working on developing health facilities in the area like the
construction of health posts and health centers. But also provision of drugs and medical
equipment needs more attention (see the written interview with the Tonkolili district council in
appendix number 15).
41

Power sources and systems
Mainly there is no electricity in the villages of the district. In some places in the Tonkolili district
(the bigger villages or towns) there is electricity with the help of generators for example in Yoni
Bana and Mile 91. Here it is possible to watch television or charge a mobile phone.
Sewage disposal
There is no service or system for sewage disposal. The inhabitants of the villages recycle some
garbage or just leave it behind their houses and set it on fire. This also counts for weeding the
farms, after weeding the bushes and weed are set on fire.
Water resources and systems
Due to destruction and the lack of maintenance as a result of displacement, inadequate access to
drinking water is a major problem confronting most villages in the district (OCHA, 2002). The
website of Sierra Leone Youth Initiative mentions that especially in the dry season there is not
enough water for everyone in the village, not enough for the plantation, the school, local
consumption and the production of local crops for selling. A partner organization of SLYI, Civil
Action 4 Progress did research into the causes of this problem: ‘’The water situation in the
Makonkarie community is very deplorable. There is no protected source of drinking water, all
inhabitants of the community solely depend on exposed water holes in nearby swamps. During the
thick of the dry season, when almost all those holes got dried, women and children are forced to
walk miles away in search of water for domestic use. There is a usually frequent outbreak of water
borne diseases during this period, posing huge health hazards in the community.’’
Roads, streets and highways
The road network in the Tonkolili district is in a damaged stage. In total there is a road network
of 482 kilometers, only 38% is tarred, being 185 kilometers (Tonkolili district ministry officers,
2004) The district has a combination of sandy and mainly soil roads. The average speed is about
10 kilometers per hour. The majority of the roads do not have drainage, in the rainy season most
of the roads are easily blocked (OCHA, 2002).
The road network carries roughly 80% of internal passengers and cargo traffic and further
provides direct access to small communities for rural economic activities, specifically for the
transfer of agricultural produce from community to community. The route from Makeni, the
capital of Bombali district to Magburaka, the capital of Tonkolili district is in a good state, just as
Mile 91 which connects Freetown to Magburaka (NRC/DRC, 2003).
Public transport
When using the main highway or secondary roads, public transport like taxi buses (poda poda’s)
or regular taxi’s can be used. Because a relatively low percentage of the total road network is
tarred, a motorbike is needed to travel to small villages or inland Sierra Leone where the road is
not paved but exists of gravel and soil.
5.1.4 Hospitality resources
Hospitality is an important feeling for a tourist. The tourist has to feel him- or herself
comfortable, in other words: a welcoming feeling. This will be expressed by the services offered.
Currently no services are offered. After the civil war, but also before the war tourism hasn’t been
active in the Tonkolili district.
42

5.2 Tourism policy
Sierra Leone established the Hotels and Tourist Board in 1964. At that time there was no growth
in the tourism industry in the country because there was no act or policy to guide tourism
development in Sierra Leone. In 1973, the government of Sierra Leone decided to establish the
Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs aiming to make positive use of the touristic potential of
the country. At that time, the Hotel and Tourist Board was still there and became in 1975 an
integral part of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.
Currently, the MoTCA is responsible for the policy formulation on tourism and culture. The main
objective of their policy is building the image of Sierra Leone as a country with a glorious past
and a vibrant future. (NTB Sierra Leone and National Strategy for the Development of Statics,
2010). Sustainable tourism, economic growth, socio-cultural integration, cultural diversity,
cultural heritage and Artistic creativities are some keywords MoTCA wants to maintain and/or
achieve.
In 1991, the parliament of Sierra Leone passed the Development of Tourism Act ‘to make new
and better provisions for the promotion and development of tourism in Sierra Leone’. Because of
this act, the National Tourist Board was established as part of the MoTCA. The directive of the
National Tourist Board is to develop all aspects of the tourist industry and promoting them.
Besides this, The NTB is responsible for undertaking research, experiments, recommendations,
registering and operating in the tourism industry in Sierra Leone. However, in 2008 critical
remarks to press on review and updating the legislation were raised. The NTB is receiving
financial support from the European Commission.
Policies and strategies
The government of Sierra Leone follows the seven points of the Draft National Investment policy
(2009) by the strategic policies and regulations (2009-2014):
1. 5 years exemption from corporate tax, limited to 150 percent of eligible expenditures of
the original capital invested
2. Duty free for new construction, extension or renovation of existing tourism related
facilities
3. Exemption from payroll taxes for 3 years for up to six non-citizen employees with skills
not available in the country
4. Attractive tax incentives and services are also provided by other sectors that will
encourage investment in the tourism sector
5. Stakeholders and investor coordination to restore Bunce island facilities
6. Develop exhibition on Slavery in Sierra Leone; networking with African –Americans in
the Diaspora – Thus promoting roots tourism
7. Market awareness – increase knowledge about Sierra Leone tourism potentials
nationally and internationally through aggressive marketing campaign.
To achieve the above policies and regulations the following four strategies and activities (2009-
2014) have been set up:
1. Target Tourism Product and Market Development around the Western Area Peninsula –
a platform for job creation and income generation, and environmental conservation
drive
43

2. Institutional Capacity Building within the Ministry of Tourism, NTB and the
Hotel/Tourism School to improve service delivery
3. Government reforms to ease difficulties of investing in Sierra leone; so that the reform
will stimulate investment opportunities within the tourism sector
4. Review and upgrade tourism regulated regulations –review of the 1990 Tourism
Development Act, establishment of a Land Adjudication Mechanism for Targeting
Tourism Development Areas.
The government of Sierra Leone sees the major opportunity for tourism development in beach
tourism. However there is a lack of capital and skills to realize hotel projects. Investors should
come from overseas. ‘’The existing accommodations need improvement, because of the war and/or
because they are not maintained well’’ (Williams, 2011). The occupancies are low and there is a
lack of regulatory standards and classification systems (NTB, 2010). The investment
opportunities according to the NTB (2009 – 2014) are as follows:
1. Western Area Tourism Investment plan
2. Small Grants Program for Product development
3. Targeted Marketing to support Product development
4. Development of tourism related amenities
5. Enhancing conducive and reliable transportation and facilitation
Contents Integrated Framework Tourism Project
The Integrated Framework Tourism Project is a relatively new part of the MoTCA and consists of
three components: the development of a tourism strategic action plan, a marketing program
implantation sponsored by the World Bank and other institutions, and a tour guide training
program.
1. Strategic action plan
For this component of the Integrated Framework an amount of $154,500 has been charged. The
aim of this plan is to re-launch the tourism industry. The project will review current legislations
and regulations, draw a code of conduct and structure of the Ministry and National Tourist
Board, and finally update existing tourism documents.
2. Marketing program
For the marketing program for tourism an amount of $410,267 is budgeted. The aim of this
marketing program is to revitalize the tourism industry. The project will produce promotion
material like visitor’s guides, tourist maps, posters of attractions, films, et cetera. The project will
attend different tourism fairs in Spain, France, Germany and United Kingdom. Also, the project
will take a look on interested tour operators, also from the past. The plan for establishing a
Tourism Information Desk at the Lungi Airport will also be executed. And finally sensitizing
tourism activities countrywide.
3. Tour guide training program
The tour guide training program will consume an amount of $147,000. The aim of this program
is to increase the number of qualified tour guides. The project will identify and recruit lecturers
for the training, developing and designing programs and activities, identifying the training venue
and developing courses, and finally training 60 tour guides.
44

The National Tourist Board
The key markets to focus on in the next five years (Sierra Leone Tourism Strategy Paper, 2009)
are expatriate communities of international organizations and aid agency staff (and their visiting
friends and relatives), business and conference visitors, niche markets for cruise ship stopover’s,
sport fishing, bird watching, community-based tourism, African – American cultural
heritage, environmental science research and student group and beach tourism. Sierra Leone is
seeking for tourists that are looking for new destinations (Williams, 2011).
In an interview with Cecil Williams, general manger of the National Tourist Board in Sierra
Leone it came forward that the un-spoilt and beautiful beaches of the country are a strength of
Sierra Leone as a tourist destination but it is not enough. Tourists starting to combine different
aspects, beach with wildlife for example. Plus, tourists start to compare, there are beautiful
beaches in The Gambia as well.
Tourism as a priority of the government: Mr. Williams says the following: ‘’Tourism has never
been a top priority because there are little attractions in the country. Tourism doesn’t play an
important role. The private sector has to be attracted to develop tourism, it is not the main task of
the government.’’
The NTB is focused at the up market segment, according to Cecil Williams (2011) tourism is an
economic business and not a charity. For this reason the National Tourist Board is not focusing
on small scale-tourism because economically it isn’t interesting for the country.
5.3 Conclusion
Tourism isn’t active in the district and has never been active, not even before the war. The
district isn’t attractive for tourists because it misses attractions, events, facilities and a road
network of good quality. Furthermore, the district is dealing with some major problems
concerning basic needs namely water and health care.
Even though the district is known to have the first hydro-electric dam at Bumbuna, it is one of
the most under-developed districts in the country. Even the capital of the district, Magburaka is
a crumbling town with no pipe-born water and no serious hospitals. Mr. Ahmed Bangura (2009)
is asking himself why the Tonkolili district is retrogressing despite the rich culture and the
availability of minerals and the scream for development from the residents: ‘’Some may say the
reason is a result of a national meltdown of economic factors and political gymnastics. These
include a poor local administrative set-up with no accountability. All of these could be
complementary and collaborative. However, one would argue that despite these elements of
backwardness, Tonkolili should not have been in this state of despair.’’ The main attractions of
Sierra Leone, beach and wildlife, cannot be found in the Tonkolili district and could be an added
reason why tourism isn’t active in that area.
The tourism potential should not be found in the district as a whole, but it may be found in the
cultural aspects and the traditional way of living in some of the authentic villages.
The NTB doesn’t have plans to develop the Tonkolili district regarding tourism and the Tonkolili
district council has other priorities than developing tourism. Also, because there is no
development of that ministry in the district (see appendix 12 for a written interview with the
Tonkolili district council).
45

The main policy of Sierra Leone is focused on the upscale segment of tourism and is focused on
the coastline, in and around Freetown. Besides developing tourism in the country the NTB has
the tough task to change the misconception of many people over Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone
doesn’t have one unique selling point but it has the possibility for a total African experience
because the combination of beach can be made with wildlife and culture. There lies a focus on
niche markets like bird-watching, fishing, cultural heritage and cruise ship tourism.
46

6. External Analysis
After the internal analysis where the destination mix and tourism policy have been described, in
this chapter a view from the perspective of the market is presented.
Despite the civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002 which resulted in tens of thousands of
deaths and approximately two million of displaced inhabitants. Sierra Leone, or Salone as the
country is affectionately known should be seen on the map again. With help of the UN
peacekeepers the military forces in Salone took full responsibility for the safety of their country,
also after the UN left in 2005. Due to the responsibility of the military the safety of the country is
developing.
The general manager of the National Tourist Board in Sierra Leone, Cecile Williams, says the
following: ‘’We need people to know that Sierra Leone is a destination that is safe, in spite of the
fact that we have come out of war. There is no mayhem in the streets’’ (Manson, Knight, 2009).
Of course Sierra Leone isn’t an easy country. The country is struggling with energy, water,
infrastructure, education and health. According to the United Nation Human Development Index
the country is shuffling at the bottom of the list. But the country is trying. Sierra Leone is safe
and stable. It has an impressive history, nature, cultural diversity, hospitality and a lot to
discover.
In the external analysis of Sierra Leone the following points are described: tourism flows, and
trends and developments.
6.1 Tourism flows
The tourism flows are divided into: tourist arrivals, purpose of visit, tourists expenditure and
total stay.
Domestic tourism
Domestic tourism numbers are not registered in Sierra Leone. ‘’Domestic tourism in Sierra Leone
is a cultural issue,’’ says Cecil Williams of the National Tourist Board in Sierra Leone. If Sierra
Leonean people go traveling, go on a holiday or visit a place outside their resident they stay
mostly with friends or relatives. Besides this, they don’t spend much money on their trip. It is
not in the Sierra Leonean culture to book a hotel room for example. This is one of the reasons
why it is hard to give numbers about domestic tourism as well. Mr. C. Williams adds: ‘’The
National Tourism Board does not encourage domestic tourism because the market is not active and
economically it isn’t interesting.’’
6.1.1 Tourist arrivals by air
According to the World Travel Organization (2010) tourists are people who travel to and stay in
places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an
activity remunerated from within the place visited.
47

In the table below the numbers of tourist arrivals by air arrived at Freetown International
Airport in Lungi are given. Due to the civil war that took place from 1991 to 2002, the number of
tourists in that time are very low and inconsistent. In 2004 the number of tourist arrivals
increased over 40,000. In 2008 the number decreased to 36,000 this may be caused by the
financial recession that caused two major target markets (Europe and America) of Sierra Leone,
described in the following paragraph.
Graph 1 : Number of tourist arrivals per year (National Tourist Board Sierra Leone and National Strategy for the Development of Statics,
2010)
An important question to answer besides these numbers is where are those tourists coming
from? In the following graph the tourist arrivals of the last few years are distinguished by region
of origin. In each year shown, Europeans are the biggest group of tourists visiting Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is relatively close to Europe in comparison to Asia or America. The 14 other
countries of the Economic Community Of West African Societies (ECOWAS) also count for an
important part in number of tourist arrivals.
Graph 2: Number of tourist arrivals per continent (National Tourist Board Sierra Leone and National Strategy for the Development of
Statics, 2010)
In the report of the Sierra Leone Immigration department (2010) the latest trend in tourist
arrivals is shown in the years 2009 -2010. In 2009 Sierra Leone received 36,775 visitors by air
and in 2010 this number rose to 38,615. Europe remains the most important market for Sierra
Leone with more than 10 000 visitors each year (see appendix number 23).
Non-airport arrivals
Most visitors arrive in Sierra Leone by air. As described in the destination mix, more and more
airline companies are negotiating about adding Lungi airport to their destinations. It is possible
48

to arrive in Sierra Leone by road from Guinea, however special permits are required if transiting
the border. On a daily basis, taxis and buses go back and forth from Freetown to Guinea.
The harbor of Sierra Leone is one of the biggest national harbors in the world. Sierra Leone is
looking forward to the arrival of cruise ships. Currently it is possible to arrive by sea. This
happens most of the times by passenger -cargo craft from Guinea (Conakry) and the Gambia
(Banjul). Again, special permits are required. Because it is a small group of people traveling to
Sierra Leone different by air, numbers are not documented.
6.1.2 Purpose of visit
The following graph shows that before the civil war, holiday was the main reason why people
came to Sierra Leone. From 2004 the ‘other’ category came up as an important reason. This
category lacks information on purpose of visit. During all the years covered in the graph,
business is an important reason for visiting Sierra Leone. The ‘conference’ reason for visiting the
country is very low. This could be because of the war, the lack of modern attributes, bad
infrastructure or the location of the national airport Lungi across the sea which limits access to
Freetown, where most conference facilities are. Since 2006 there is an increase in holiday
arrivals.
Graph 3: Number of tourist arrivals by purpose of visit (National Tourist Board Sierra Leone and National Strategy for the Development
of Statics, 2010)
In the report of the Sierra Leone Immigration department (2010) the purpose of visit shows a
decline in holiday arrivals where 2010 is compared to 2009. Mr. Cecil Williams of the National
Tourist board blames the recession in Europe and America for this decline (see appendix
number 22).
6.1.3 Travel expenditures
Travel expenditures contribute to the economic development of a country. Economic
development stimulates investments and growth.
As shown in the table below the travel expenditures are given for each year in millions of dollars.
The indicator is described on the website of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) as follows: This indicator corresponds to the item "Travel receipts" in
IMF balance of payments data. It refers to expenditures of non-resident visitors within the
territory of a reporting economy, without taking into account the cost they pay for transport
(2010). During the years there is an inconsistent trend in expenditures decline in expenditures,
from 60 million dollar in 2003 to 22 million dollar in 2007.
49

Table 3: Travel expenditures excluding transport (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010)
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Sierra Leone Travel
expenditures
excluding
transport
(millions of US$) 6 10 14 38 60 58 64 23 22
The latest data according to the report of the Sierra Leone Immigration department (2010) show
that visitors spent $27,112,480 on food, transportation, souvenirs, etc. The NTB estimated the
average nights spent on 7. The business type visitor spent relatively most money on FTS, namely
$5,783,280 (see appendix number 24).
6.1.4 Total stay
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2010) the average
length of stay of visitors in 2007 is 7 days, this number is similar to 2006 en 2005. Prior to 2005,
when the country was very unstable due to the civil war the average length of stay was only 2 or
3 days.
In this case the term visitor is used instead of tourists, a term that encompasses all persons who
live elsewhere but are temporarily present at a destination for leisure or business purposes.
Visitors include tourists and are distinguished from the host community, which consists of
permanent (or at least long-term) residents of the destination region (Kelly, Nankervis, 2001).
Table 4: Average length of stay of visitors (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010)
Sierra
Leone
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Average length of
stay of visitors (in
days) 3 2 2,4 2,43 3,16 2,8 7 7,3 7
6.2 Trends and developments
The overall definition of a trend is a direction in which something tends to move. Tourism finds
itself in a turbulent environment and it will not get calmer in the future. Consumer behavior,
destination development, markets and products are all dynamic and influence each other easily
(Cooper, Fletcher, Fyall, Gilbert, Wanhill, 2005).
The popularity of tourism in general is highly dependent on factors which best can be described
as so-called mega-trends. Issues like globalization, global economic trends (rising oil prices), the
fight against terrorism, demographic trends such as the creation of a larger group of elderly in
the Western world and the emergence of other family forms. All these developments will affect
tourism and related destinations (Werdler, 2008).
Global warming and rising sea levels due to changing climatic conditions cannot be seen as
trends, but it can lead to other choices concerning holiday destinations.
Mass tourism
In the 1960s and 1970s mass tourism grew rapidly as a form of tourism because of the
improvements in technology and transport, higher income and more free time. In that time
tourists went to North American and Western European destinations. Nowadays mass tourism is
50

still the largest form of tourism, 70% of the total market share. Mass tourism is dominated by
tour operators. Tour operators offer low cost, standardized package tours. Most of the
destinations are ideal for ‘Sea, Sun and Sand’ vacation. Also known as the 3S (Bonarou,
Dermetzopoulo, Kalonaki, Karamanidis, Kelessidi, Mavrodontis, 2009).
Special Interest Tourism
In the 1980s the tourism patterns changed. Special Interest Tourism came up. New values like
awareness of ecological problems, educational advances, improvement of self and society
became increasingly important.
This led to a trend in specialization among travelers demanding unique experiences in terms of
adventure, culture, history and interaction with local people.
Volunteer tourism is gaining recognition as an attractive option for a getaway, giving the avid
traveler a chance to explore the world--with a conscience. According to
the voluntourism.org website: 'Voluntourism provides you with the perspective and balance.
You are able to utilize your 'six' senses and interact with your destination in ways that had
previously existed beyond your capacity of expectation.' According to the World Bank (2010),
ecotourism and cultural tourism are the fastest growing segments for the global tourism
industry. Volunteer travel is closely linked to this type of travel.
Experience
Pine and Gilmore (1990) suggested that in the future, consumption will be driven by
experiences. The experience-based product is different from commodities, goods or services.
The nature of the offering should be memorable and intangible. The buyer is a guest not a client
and it is not about benefits but about sensations.
Tourism is perfect for this approach. For the ‘new tourist’ travel is not just about being at the
destination, but experiencing being there as travel becomes the medium for personal fulfillment
and identity (Cooper, Fletcher, Fyall, Gilbert, Wanhill, 2005).
Within the "experience-concept’’ there is a shift noticeable to more in-depth experiences.
Particularly from Western markets of origin there is a demand for more enriching experiences
(NBTC, 2009). Tourists want to get the most from their holidays. They are tired of the lazy beach
holidays, they want to explore the country, they want to learn something from the local people
and are looking for a truly 'experience'. As a result of this trend world trips and far destinations
became popular. There is an increase noticeable in the destinations of the developing world. The
relationship between sustainable tourism and ‘experience’ is getting stronger.
Geographic expansion
Weaver (2006) shows three stages of global tourism since 1950. The first stage is called:
between and within the more developed countries. The more-developed countries (MDCs) had
a great market share in tourism. This period after the Second World War resulted both in
activity in and between the more developed countries like Europe, North America and Australia.
The second stage is called: from more-developed to less-developed countries. Since 1960
tourists from the MDCs started traveling to less-developed destinations, destinations as Cyprus,
Bahamas, Barbados, Maldives came rapidly in the position of depending on the tourism sector.
The third and most recent stage is called: between and within the less-developed countries. In
51

this stage it is reasonable to state that every place on the world could be considered as a new
tourist destination.
Sustainable tourism
By the early 1990s the term sustainable tourism was gaining prevalence. Sustainable tourism
development has become the organizing aspect of all aspects of tourism: now and in the future it
will be implemented on a local scale. There are a lot of different definitions of sustainable
tourism. The definition of the World Tourism Organization (2010) is commonly used, the
definition is as follows: development which meets the needs of present tourists and hosts while
protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management
of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while
maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life
support systems. Essentially, sustainable tourism involves the minimization of negative impacts
and the maximization of positive impacts (Weaver, 2006).
Part of sustainable tourism is ECO-tourism. According to the Ecotourism Society (1991)
Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains
the wellbeing of local people. The reasons why the ECO-tourism market is growing is because of
an overall increase in the travel market and the special interest in natural areas. More and more
people getting dissatisfied about the simplistic travel packages offered by travel firms and
facilities. Another reason is the recognition of the importance of tourism within in the field of
sustainability (Alaska, department of community and economic development, 2001) and how
human resources are needed for the management of this.
However, the tourist remains an unpredictable creature (Werdler, 2008.). Almost every single
tourist sees the need for sustainable management but there are still plenty of trips illustrating a
destructive attitude. The Times Travel Section (2008) of the Dutch newspaper, the Volkskrant,
published an article about return trips to the North pole to explore and photograph the view
from the air is the perfect example.
ICT
Since the rise of internet, ICT became more important than ever. ICT empowers consumers to
identify, customize and purchase tourism products, this ‘dynamic packaging’ is increasing.
Consumers have more information on tourism and have a greater choice. For example prices are
more flexible and transparent. Internet as a booking channel is sure to grow (NBTC, 2009). For
the tourism industry this means a better understanding of consumer needs based on research,
plus reduction of paperwork allows employees the possibility to spend more time on better 1:1
service (Buhalis, O’Connor, 2005).
Internet is becoming increasingly important in the orientation phase, partly because of the social
media like facebook and twitter where people share stories (NBTC, 2009). However, internet is
not only important in the orientation phase: when we travel abroad, we search for extremes that
are worth a story to tell through social media. The trend "local / live like the locals" continues
through social media (Spiegels voor Toerisme, 2011).
In the following graph the question has been asked on European adults: ‘’Which of the following
information sources do you depend upon for holiday/travel info?”. It is easy to see the internet,
as a part of ICT has become very important. The lighter beam are all the consumers and the
darker beam are the online consumers.
52

The Internet
Magazines
Newspapers
TV
High street
shops
Graph 4: Information sources (Forrester’s Technology Benchmark Study Q, 2008)
14%
15%
15%
16%
18%
19%
21%
23%
Recession
The last economical crisis affected the tourism industry majorly. According to the WTO, the first
overall decline in tourist arrivals and receipts was in 2003. Africa is the only region where this
didn’t happen. Hotels, airline companies and tour operators started lowering their prices to
remain competitive. Business as well as VFR and holiday were affected.
Kuoni Study vision 2020
The market for holidays and travel is becoming more vibrant and complex. Customer behavior
becomes hard to measure. In the study of Kuoni (2006), one of the leading tourism companies
with subsidiaries in 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North-America, is asking the
question: In what direction is the holiday and travel sector headed? The Kuoni study puts their
eyes on tourism in 2020. The study makes a division in social, technological, economical,
ecological and political drivers. In appendix number 13 the trends per driver are given. In
summary the following trends are noticed:
- Mass-tourism will still be an important type of tourism, hyper holiday hubs will rise,
nowadays known as the all-inclusive resorts;
- Care and comfort will become important especially for people who travel frequently. A
desire for an authentic home;
- The online dating and marriage market, for tour operators, an exciting market for real
meeting places will open up. Tour operators will become important players in love
stories;
- Health awareness as a global trend is a growing market as well. Hunger for health and
the battle against aging isn’t about to stop. On the medical side this is seen in growing
specializations and emotional care for patients;
- The older people become, more of their happiness depends on immaterial values and
personal experience. This means travelers will be seeking destinations which are
convenient to get to.
WTO vision 2020
The World Tourism Organization projected in their Tourism 2020 Vision that international
arrivals are expected to reach almost 1.6 billion in 2020. East Asia and Pacific is forecasted to
grow the fastest with an annual growth rate of 6.5% each year. However, Europe will keep the
greatest market share in 2020 (45.9%).
53
37%
59%

Graph 5: International tourist arrivals (World Tourism Organization, 2010)
6.2 Conclusion
The major target markets for Sierra Leone as a tourist destination are Europe and the ECOWAS
countries with more than 10,000 tourists coming from Europe. Last year an overall increase in
visitors took place: 38,615 international arrivals by air in 2010. In that same year the holiday
visitors group declined, probably because of the recession that caused Europe and America
enormously. Over the last few years (the period after the civil war) business is the most
important reason why people travel to Sierra Leone. The average stay of visitors is about 7 days.
The total expenditure of visitors last year was approximately $27 million on FTS whereby
business people are relatively the biggest spenders.
Mass tourism is since the 1960s and 1970s the largest form of tourism. However special interest
tourism came up in the 1980s and until now people want to travel to unexplored countries as
well as less developed countries. Sustainability in tourism became more important than ever
because of an overall increase in the travel industry, special interest tourism in natural areas,
dissatisfaction about standardized packages and recognizing the importance of tourism in
sustainable development. In the case of the ‘new type of tourist’ people want to experience a
holiday instead of just going there, tourism is seen as a medium for personal fulfillment and
identity, tourists are looking for sensation, cultural exchange and interaction. Since the last 10
years the uprising of ICT, especially internet, made the industry transparent and gave consumers
the power to customize and personalize their trips. For the tourist industry this meant customer
service became easier and cheaper.
There are different companies and studies discussing tourism in the future. The WTO predicts
an amount of tourist arrivals of 1.6 billion in 2020 where Asia will play an important upcoming
role. The Kuoni Study shows different trends in tourism based on different drivers. The
consequences of those visions according to Kuoni (2006) are as follows:
- More individual form of tourism than mass consumption
- Focus on niche markets (health, voluntourism, CBT)
- People are looking for a greater sense of community, personal contact becomes more
important
- Due to the growing number of singles, meeting and dating services are expected
- Looking for stability in the case of frequently traveling people
- By 2020 all destinations are explored. Opportunities for relaxation will become more
important than entertainment
54

7. Potential tourists
Processes in the society like industrialization, urbanization and the development of purchasing
power provide a reason for the development of traveling. But not only processes in the society,
also the post-modern lifestyle (the well-being, free time, media, facilities, services, consumer
setting, individualism and hedonism) and processes within the individual contribute to carry
this out (Egmond, 2004).
By reading relevant tourism literature a conclusion can be drawn that is a shift in types of
tourists. Mowforth and Munt (2009) are speaking about a new class of tourists. Egmond (2004)
adopted a figure from Poon (1992) where a distinguish between old and new tourists has been
made. Of course there is no straight difference, but some kind of trend has set in.
Old tourists New tourists
Search for the sun
Passive
Naïve: follow the mass
Just to show that you have been there
Prices
Precautious
Eat in hotel dining room
Fixed
Slow
Figure 10: ‘Old’ and ‘new’ tourists (Free to Poon, 1992)
Nature-based activities
Active
Experience something different
Concerned: see and enjoy but do not destroy
Images
Adventurous
Try out local fare
Mixed
Fast
In this chapter a view will be taken at the potential tourist for the Tonkolili district. This chapter
consists of the following subjects: motivation, tourist typologies and a conclusion.
7.1 Motivation
The decision-making process isn’t the same for one single consumer. It is influenced by different
external factors (Molenaar, 2007):
- Buying situation: A continuum where EPS (extended problem solving) and LPS (limited
problem solving) are the extremes. When the consumer thinks it is essential to make the
right decision, the decision of buying takes place very careful and radical, EPS. An
impulsive decision of buying can be typed as LPS.
- Cultural influences: Culture in consumer behavior cites to values, opinions, traditions and
needs in a society where a person is part of. Our culture decides where, how, what and
why we are going on vacation. Every society has something like different social classes
that are measured as a combination of the job, income, education and type of housing. It
is well known that people with a higher standard of living go on vacation more often and
more frequently than people from a lower class.
- Social influences: Consumer behavior is influenced by social factors. Informal groups like
family, friends and neighbors have the most influence on the individual behavior. The
influence of formal groups is relatively smaller, for example the membership of a sport
club.
55

- Personal influences: Personal characteristics are age, phase in the life cycle, lifestyle
(living pattern, activities, interests and opinions) and personality. These change
constantly which means preferences on type of vacation and destination are related to
age and phase in life. Nowadays marketeers prefer lifestyle for explaining consumer
behavior over demographic factors.
- Psychological influences: Different people have different needs. Maslow (1970) developed
a model where needs and motives are shown in a hierarchical way, (see appendix
number 15). It starts from the bottom up with physiological needs, safety, love, selfesteem
and self actualization. In comparison with traveling behavior an example of the
bottom of the list is the arranged bus trip with excellent hotels and high quality food and
at the top it could be buying a world ticket for 6 months or getting adopted in the
traditional life of certain tribes and sleep and eat with the locals.
7.2 Tourist typologies
There is a large number of typologies of tourists (Decrop, 2006). In this chapter the TNS NIPO,
Cultural Creatives, Voluntourist and backpacker segmentation are used.
7.2.1 Segmentation typologies
Most of the typologies are based on segmentation criteria. Typologies based on segmentation
can be used for targeting, destination selection, pricing and media planning. However for
describing fundamental and structural aspects this type of segmentation doesn’t provide
sufficient information. Socio–psychological segmentation is about behavior that isn’t predictable
based on the previous criteria. It is behavior which is reflected under certain circumstances, like
personal characteristics and lifestyle. In this paragraph TNS NIPO, Cultural Creatives,
voluntourist and backpacker segments are described.
7.2.2 Socio-psychological typologies
7.2.2.1 TNS NIPO
The extent to which people are focused on themselves or on others and are conservative or
progressive gives them a place in the two-dimension space that gives direction to their lives.
These dimensions are tested by Schwartz (1994) and Bilsky (1990) and are universal in many
countries (TNS NIPO, 2009). From this basis, TNS NIPO developed a WIN Model (2002). This
model contains eight segments: the broad thinkers, the business people, the luxury seekers, the
lovers, the conversation hearted, the caring, the committed and the balanced. All the groups are
briefly explained in appendix number 14.
Demographic characteristics
The demographic characteristics are summarized in appendix number 15.
Social characteristics
The broad thinkers (7%) and the committed (11%) share a social feeling of responsibility; they
care for people who suffer and are idealistic about the manufacturability of the world. These
people have a strict conscience. They are internationally orientated, are involved in poor
countries and have a high level of tolerance. They emphasize on the welfare of people
(worldwide). The broad thinkers have a high educational, in the group of committed are mainly
senior (retired) people. Both are political progressive-orientated.
The business people (8%) and luxury seekers (11%) want to work hard and make a lot of
money. Freedom and globalization are important for these people. Luxury seekers particularly
56

want to have it good themselves. They like to be seen. Socially these groups are individualistic
while the broad thinkers and committed are having a world-orientated vision.
Lovers (11%) are young and freer in their behavior than the conservative (16%). They are
spontaneous and extrovert while the conservative value correct behavior. The level of tolerance
is low. The conservative doesn’t like changes and is wary of the new; this could be technology
but also other cultures. Both are too impatient to discuss issues outside their own life. This is
against the broad thinkers and committed. The caring (15%) fits in these two groups when it
comes to traditions and safety however the caring is more sociable (supports charity work) than
the lovers and the conservative. Everything in the group of the balanced (21%) is average or in
between the above groups: interests, educational and way of thinking.
Media behavior
Knowing through which media the segments inform themselves those groups can be reached:
Table 5: Media behavior of the eight WIN segments (TNS NIPO, 2009)
News media
Television
channels
TV programs
News media
Television
channels
TV programs
Broad thinkers Business people Luxury seekers Lovers
Internet
Internet
Internet
Newspapers
Newspapers
Newspapers
Free newspapers
Public broadcasters
Documentaries, talk
shows, informative
programs, satire
Conservation
hearted
Regional newspapers
Commercial
broadcasters
Regional broadcasters
Sports, games, music
Public broadcasters
Foreign broadcasters
News, sport, satire,
informative
programs
7.2.2.2 Cultural creatives
The Cultural Creative is the new world-citizen putting his stamp on the 21st century. A Cultural
Creative is someone who is part of a worldwide flow of people worrying about specific subjects
like environment, equality between people, peace and justice.
Demographic characteristics
These Cultural Creatives can be men or women from every layer of the population. However, the
Cultural Creatives are more often women, older and high-educated. In the Netherlands research
57
Commercial
broadcasters
Movies, action
series, satire,
comedy series
Commercial
broadcasters
Entertainment,
soaps
Caring Committed Balanced
Regional newspapers
Public broadcasters
Regional broadcasters
Documentaries
Newspapers
Public broadcasters
Foreign
broadcasters
News, talk shows,
documentaries,
informative
programs
Drama, comedy
series

agency MarketResponse (2006) conducted a research into these new world-citizens and came to
a result of 1.6 million people under the denominator Cultural Creative.
Social characteristics
The Cultural Creative loves traveling, charity work, has attention for the fellow-man, cherish
ideals, supports charity organizations, chooses quality over quantity, reads a lot and loves art
and culture.
Paul Ray and Sherry Andersan (2000) discovered the Cultural Creatives during their research to
the behavior of American consumers. They found that a large group of people is having the same
norms and values relative to the environment and society (in the USA there is a group of 60
million people part of the Cultural Creatives group). The ‘’Less is more’’ slogan is completely
applicable to this group. This group is called Cultural Creatives because this group is literally
busy creating a new culture guided by six themes:
- World ecological problems;
- Women empowerment;
- Critical according to materialism and economical profit;
- Attention for the fellow-man;
- Pursue a better living environment;
- A personal lifestyle.
Traveling behavior
Traveling behavior is mostly determined by income and education level. The Cultural Creatives
have a Worldwide network of friends. These networks need to be supported, that makes this
group traveling a lot (especially by plane). Also the exotic, cultural-attractive destinations are
very popular among these people. They want to spend a lot of attention and money on new
cultural challenging destinations.
Media behavior
The Cultural Creatives are reading mostly newspapers and watch less television. Authenticity is
important to these people, attractive and colorful-packed commercials don’t have a positive
impact on this group. Internet is another important medium for the Cultural Creatives: they like
to search for information by themselves. Something needs to be discovered for this group: social
media, blogs and other publications are sources of information.
7.2.2.3 Voluntourist
The Georgian College in co-operation with Planeterra, Gap Adventures and the International
Ecotourism Society did a research (2010) to the profile and motives of the voluntourist.
Demographic characteristics
Most voluntourists are aged between 20 and 39, single or married, without children. The
voluntourists live all over the world.
Social characteristics
Voluntourists are motivated by their interest in environmental conservation, community
tourism projects and community development. According to the research report of The Georgian
College (2010) there are different motivators making people want to participate a voluntourism
58

project: the voluntourist is a person who wants to make a difference, is searching for cultural
immersion, is seeking for camaraderie and educational experience.
Traveling behavior
The respondents in the research indicated an interest in traveling to Central and South –
America, Africa and Asia. They were mostly motivated by their interest in community
development, community tourism projects and environmental conservation. Most people in the
group voluntourist prefer to travel over a month and for at least one to two weeks. According to
the Travel Industry Association of America (2010), more than 55 million Americans have
participated in a volunteer holiday. The voluntourist doesn’t spend much money on their
voluntourism experience, less than $1,500 is preferable.
7.2.2.4 Backpacker tourist
The submarket of backpackers could be interesting for tourism in developing countries.
Characteristics for this market are low-budget, ‘’meeting the people’’ as a key for their
motivation, sharing the local lifestyle, traveling alone or in small groups. Their activities are
focused around nature, culture and/or adventure.
Demographical characteristics
The typical backpacker is young, 18 to 35 years, educated, adventurous and price-conscious
(Tourism New South Wales, 2011). Backpackers live all over the world.
Social characteristics
Backpackers can be seen as self-centered individuals following each other around the world as
cheap as possible. Searching for sex and drugs and not behaving correctly. However the interest
of backpackers in meeting and learning from local people can lead to a revitalization of
traditional culture, respect for the knowledge of elders, and pride in traditional aspects of one’s
culture (Scheyvens, 2002). Communities can participate in an equitable manner with
backpackers and develop their skills and knowledge which makes them feel more confident.
Traveling behavior
Despite their reputation as tourists on tight budgets, backpackers spend more, travel further and
stay longer than other travelers. In a certain way backpackers can facilitate local development.
Backpackers have an average stay longer than the regular tourists; they also want to discover
more than one place which could mean for Sierra Leone, beach as well as inland tourism could
be opportunities. Backpackers have no demand for luxury and will spend money on local goods
and services. This means no large amounts of capital are needed to fulfill the needs of those
tourists. They also use fewer resources and are in that way sustainable and kind to the
environment.
Numbers
The backpacker market is increasing. In the case of backpacker tourism in South–Africa,
backpackers are seen as the new opportunity for economic development. About 90,000
international backpacker visits where 68% with tertiary education and/or further postgraduate
qualifications. From all the backpackers, only 17% were on a gap year (DTI, 2007). They
represent over 20% of all international visitors and generate over $100 billion each year.
It is significant that the average nights spent by backpackers in Africa is less than nights spent in
other parts of the world (42 nights); for example in Australia backpackers stay for an average
59

period of 3 to 6 months. In a research about backpackers in Africa, it emphasizes the importance
of the cultural learning, history, politics, talking to local people, taste local food and listen to local
music, detached from the typical tourism environment (DTI, 2007).
One of the most popular backpacker regions is Australia. Also in Australia backpacker tourism
remains and is increasingly popular. Tourism Research Australia’s latest International Visitors
Survey has reported an increase in backpacker numbers to Australia, a longer length of stay and
larger average spend in 2009 compared to 2008. In 2009 570,000 backpackers visited Australia
against 559,000 in 2008.
7.3 Conclusion
According to different literature we can speak of a ‘new type of tourist’ (Poon, 1992). This new
type of tourist is rather active than passive and wants to experience something different. They
are more aware of the environment and want to try out local fare. The new type of tourist isn’t
passive, precautious and naïve anymore.
Different external factors affect the motivation to travel (Molenaar, 2007). Those external
factors are the buying situation, cultural influences, social influences, personal influences and
psychological influences. On the last external factor the pyramid of Maslow (1970) is applicable
whereby the bottom of the pyramid stands for safety and security which can be compared with
an organized bus trip. On top of the pyramid it is about personal experience and inner potential
which can be compared with a cultural vacation and getting adopted in a traditional tribe for
example.
The form of tourism where this research report is about: community tourism and the country
where this report is about: Sierra Leone, the high-spending tourist searching for luxury doesn’t
have to bring the greatest benefits. It must be clear that luxury seekers and groups of people
without a world-orientated view are not interesting as a target group for a CBT project in Sierra
Leone. The broad thinkers and the committed as described in paragraph 7.2.2.1 could be
interesting to focus on. They are internationally orientated, share a feeling of responsibility, care
for the poor, and ethics and principals are important factors. Those groups can be targeted
through different media: internet, newspapers, public broadcasters, talk shows and informative
programs. These groups can be compared in global lines with the Cultural Creatives (Ray,
Andersan). The Cultural Creatives can be seen as the new world-citizens, where ‘’less is more’’ is
the perfect slogan for this group. More and more people become a Cultural Creative, with
already 60 million people in the USA against 1.6 million people in the Netherlands. They are
searching for new challenges and cultures without harming the environment or forgetting the
fellow-man. The voluntourist is a person with the same social characteristics as the Cultural
Creative and has voluntary work in a high esteem. The backpacker market could be very
interesting as well because community-based tourism is not about bringing great revenues and
numbers. It is about exchanging culture, sharing, participating, adopting and experiencing.
Backpackers can be seen as tourists searching for a way to travel as cheap as possible and not
being conscious of the world but the focus of the backpacker’s attention is on meeting local
people/local interaction and local culture. Furthermore, the economic leakage in terms of
backpacker tourism is lower because they demand for local goods and services. The backpacker
market is a market that is growing in numbers as well.
60

8. Results field research
In this chapter a view from the perspective of the local community in Makonkarie is presented.
In the first part of this chapter the different kind of actors and group of actors operating in the
society of Makonkarie are described, followed by the results of the field research.
Makonkarie is since the beginning of the 1960’s an important center for trade in the area.
Makonkarie is situated between Mathoir and Roruks (see appendix number 21 for Makonkarie
and its direct environment) and approximately 25 kilometers away from Mile 91, a busy and
important intersection with connections to Bo, Magburaka and Makeni. The Tonkolili district is
known as a district where it is hard to get access to clean water. From the mountain close to
Makonkarie it is possible to get enough clean water to fulfill the need of water of the village and
the surrounding villages. At the moment SLYI is working on this water project.
The chief of the village is called Kapr Thalay. This local chief is a member of the Bangura family.
Because Pa Konkarie also had the Bangura name, all the children in the village with the name
Bangura have the right to follow the local chief after death or unsuitability. Aspirants are mostly
senior people with experience and knowledge.
The inhabitants of Makonkarie, but also of the other surrounding villages are depending on
subsistence farming. There are a few inhabitants who carry out other activities like trading.
8.1 Actors in the society of Makonkarie
In almost every community, especially in developing countries, some kind of group organization
structure already exists (women’s organizations and farmers associations for example). In the
case of developing CBT it is important to seek to work with existing social and community
structures (WWF, 2001).
The different actors of the village are given in this paragraph with the help of the observation
schedule in appendix number 16. The figure below shows the different actors and their relation
to each other.
Figure 12: Actors in the society of Makonkarie
61

The head of the society of Makonkarie is a Chief; he has a high status and is seen as an important
leader with a lot of knowledge. The Chief has this status because of his family name and his
experience and knowledge. The Chief of Makonkarie is called a Ceremonial Chief. The head of the
whole Yoni chiefdom (where Makonkarie is part of) is called the Paramount Chief. The
Paramount Chief and Ceremonial Chiefs (also from other villages in surrounding) are important
leaders in the Poro Society (see the culture subject in paragraph 5.1.1). The Chief is involved in
all kinds of aspects happening in the village and stays in contact with the Paramount Chief
through the secretary of the Yoni Chiefdom. However the Chief of Makonkarie is just a farmer as
the other inhabitants.
Besides the Chief, the Imam is also seen as an important leader. He is the religious leader of the
village. Both play an important role because of their status. There are two mosques in
Makonkarie, and most of the residents of Makonkarie and surrounding villages are Muslim. The
Imam is 5 times per day in the mosque to read from the Koran and for praying. He is also
involved in the school. The Imam is teaching Arabic to class 1 and 2.
The only school in Makonkarie is called Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Primary school
and consists of 6 classes. The school has a head teacher and five teachers, youth and children
are allied to the school. The SLMB Primary school is a Muslim school and is open from Sundaya
until Thursdays. Teachers gain a lot of respect as well because by most of the residents, school is
seen as something very important. The residents are proud of their school because it is one of
the best schools in the environment. The English skills of the teachers are at average, with one
exception, Mr. Kargbo.
Most of the people in Makonkarie are farmers. Some of them own land and others are just
working on pieces of land owned by others. The Bangura family owns most of the land in
Makonkarie. Beside farmers there are a few traders and a blacksmith who are economically
active in the village.
SLYI introduced a palm oil plantation project. The yields of the plantation are divided by the
community to pay for school fees, food and clothing. Farmers are working on this plantation as
well.
There are two groups of women in Makonkarie, namely Samacarr and Sabenty. The husbands
of these women are involved in the group as well. For example the speaker of the women group
Samacarr is a man. The men are involved in the groups because the groups collaborate in
working on the farms and there, men are needed for the labor on the field. There are two groups
of women because Makonkarie is a relatively big village. At the end of every week the
participants of the groups have a meeting: they are discussing how to work most efficiently
together on the farms, about things that are happening in the village, about their children,
school, and everyday life things
All the women and girls are part of the Bundu Society whereas the boys and men are part of the
Poro Society. Those societies are secret societies. Once a year these societies join in to eat, drink,
talk, learn, dance, sing and discuss. This is one week in the year, in the school holiday (July or
August), because young children who go to school are also concerned in the societies.
62

8.2 APPA in practice
The application of the APPA method in practice is a bit different from the preconceived approach
as described in the detailed field research scenario in appendix number 17. House visits, indepth
interviews and group sessions were easier said than done because of the difficult
communication and the influence of the personal and emotional experiences. However this is
offset and compensated by integrating more in the local community, joining them with the daily
tasks like helping at the farms, getting water, going to the market, being part of the women’s
group, visit different villages, et cetera. This, in combination with small conversations and
observations ensured that the results are here.
Observations
As described above, communication was a problem, but it was offset by integrating in the life of
the locals in combination with small conversations and observation. An observation schedule
(see appendix number 16) was used to find out the social circumstances (8.1) of the actors in the
society. And with the help of the CBT mapping of the APPA method physical circumstances were
documented (8.2.1).
Another type of observation that has been used is unstructured observation; the behavior of
someone in his generality. The observation has been conducted as objectively as possible by
looking at facts. Different manners to observe were used (Career Tiger, 2011) like listening,
looking and testing. Because not everything is what it seems; when there was a doubt it was
asked in the form of small conversations what someone is doing or what he or she means or
thinks exactly. Testing has been done on the manner that is seen or heard.
8.2.1 Discovery phase
In this phase it is important to find out the existing current situation of the community and the
village. Research was done on the skills and knowledge of the community and the physical
circumstances of the villages and its surrounding with the help of the tools described in the next
sub paragraphs.
8.2.1.1 CBT mapping
Purpose in research approach: The purpose of completing a community-based tourism map is
to serve as a basis for the tourism product. Natural features, cultural sites and activities,
facilities, services and human skills need to be included in the CBT map.
How the research is done: By means of small conversations, integrating in the life of the locals
and observation .
Result: The CBT map is completed, see appendix number 18.
Table 6: Outcomes of the CBT mapping, APPA method, Makonkarie
Factor What Where By whom Comments
Language Temne In the village Everyone In the community every person speaks Temne,
In the village
are a lot of
the local language.
different Krio
School/village Youth and Besides Temne, some elderly, the youth,
languages
children/Tea children and young adults speak Krio as well.
spoken, local
chers
language, the
lingua franca English School
Teachers In school English is spoken. However,
of Sierra Leone
communication in English is a problem, even
and English
with the children and youth. Their English is
very basic. The elderly don’t speak English at all,
63

Lead: Mr.
Kargbo
(assistant head
teacher) is
speaking
English very
well
Specialist
skills
Specialist
skills like
guiding skills,
special cooks
and medical
skills can be an
important
factor in CBT
Games
Youth and
children like
playing games,
besides
football they
can enjoy
themselves
with things
like a bicycle
wheel, robe
and stones
Cultural
aspects
Sierra Leone
has a rich
culture as
described in
the destination
mix. In
Makonkarie
this is seen by
women’s
group and
secret
societies
Lead: the chief
of the village
plays an
important role
in the Poro
Society.
Arabic
Medical
treatment
Blacksmith
School/Mosque
Behind the
guest house
Close to the
guesthouse
Football Field in front of
the school
Women’s
group
Secret
societies
In the village
In the village
Imam
Mister John
Alpha
Bangura
Sons of the
Bangura
family
Youth and
children
Women and
husbands
Boys and
men and
girls and
women
64
or some of them can only greet in English.
The Imam has Arabic skills and teaches class 1
and 2. In the mosque he speaks Arabic.
Mr. John Alpha Bangura has basic medical skills.
He has a small drugstore and is capable of giving
injections. However he is not graduated in
health care. The nearest medical post is in
Magbassa
There is a blacksmith in Makonkarie
economically active producing materials that
can be used for farming. However, in Roline 1 is
a school for blacksmiths. In Roline they are
specialized in producing different tools for
farming. The whole Yoni chiefdom is getting its
tools for the farms at Roline. The blacksmith in
Makonkarie is not that active and is producing
tools only for him and direct family.
The children often play games. Especially
football is popular among youth and children.
They organize training and sometimes a
competition as well on the field in front of the
school. Boys and girls know how to play football,
even barefoot, in skirts and with a volleyball.
In Makonkarie are two women groups, Samacarr
and Sabenty. The women take care of the food;
they do traditional food preparing and
traditional cooking. The women groups can sing,
clap and dance very well on a traditional
manner. The husbands are involved in those
groups as well.
The two secret societies in the village are the
Poro for boys and men and the Bundu for girls
and women. In paragraph 5.1.1 this is explained

Natural
features
Natural
resources
could attract
tourists,
landscapes,
streams,
mountains,
forests,
wildlife, et
cetera
Intangible
assets
Important
strengths of a
community
that are not
easily mapped
like friendly
people or a
good climate
can be very
important to
notice as well
Farming
Plantation
‘Old village’
Mountain
and the
water
project
Peaceful
ambiance
Freedom of
religion
Clean air
Other Lodging
Blacksmith
school
Headquarte
r chiefdom
Remainder
s of
railway
The farms are
situated in and
around
Makonkarie,
mostly inland
In the village
next to the
guesthouse
Inland
Makonkarie
Inland
Makonkarie
In the village
In the village
In the village
In the village
Roline 1
Yoni Bana
Yoni Bana
Almost
every
inhabitant of
Makonkarie
SLYI and
farmers
SLYI
All residents
of
Makonkarie
65
Harvesting, brushing, planting and weeding are
different activities during the year on the farms.
On the farms rice, corn, couscous, different kind
of nuts, beans, banana, pepper and cassava is
cultivated.
The farmers are working on the plantation as
well. On the plantation oil palm, pineapple and
cassava is grown.
There is an area close to the centre of
Makonkarie where the old village of Makonkarie
used to be situated. There is even a nice
viewpoint on the stream and on the mountain.
The route that needs to be walked consists of
butterflies, flowers and small farms.
On top of the mountain is an ongoing water
project, unfortunately it is not completed yet. It
is possible to climb the mountain under
guidance.
The community of Makonkarie can be described
as a very peaceful village and the residents are
living as one big family. The people are very
friendly and in the village reigns a ‘we love
strangers’ feeling.
While most of the residents of Makonkarie are
Muslim, the head teacher for example is a
Christian. Different religions can live easily next
to each other. As a Christian it is possible to go to
a Muslim school and vice versa.
The air in the village is very clean because there
are almost no lorries in the environment. The
only problem is the dust. When a motor bike or a
bus is passing Makonkarie there is a lot of dust
coming up because the road is not paved and
contains of gravel and sand. This is also the case
when it’s becoming windy.
Most of the inhabitants of Makonkarie live in
traditional mud brick houses with grass on top.
Exceptionally there are few houses made of
cement where the roof is made of corrugated
iron.
As mentioned before, in Roline 1 is a blacksmith
school situated.
The head quarter of the Yoni chiefdom is
situated in Yoni Bana.
In Yoni Bana you can still see some remainders
of the old railway houses, some of them are used
for lodging and others are not used anymore

houses
Farmers
association
Robis Bana
66
because of the bad maintenance.
In Robis Bana is a farmer association. There is a
group of approximately 30 farmers working
together on their farms. The revenues that are
made are divided and used for school material,
uniforms and food. Composing a farmer
association in Makonkarie has been tried by
SLYI but didn’t succeed because people were not
willing to work in an association. Why, that
remains in the middle
8.2.1.2 Mobility mapping
Purpose in research approach: The purpose of completing a mobility map is to understand
people’s traveling and the use of resources. The movements of goods, human, resources and
money and the relationship between locations and resources have to be in it.
How the research is done: By means of small conversations, integrating in the life of the locals
and observation.
Result: The mobility map is completed, see appendix number 19 and 21.
Table 7: Outcomes of the mobility mapping, APPA method, Makonkarie
Factor What Where By whom Comments
School
SLMB Makonkarie Children and There are a lot of children and youth living in
SLMB primary Primary
Youth Makonkarie. Most of the children go to school.
school
school
Not all of them because the parents are not able
Makonakarie
to pay school fee or school materials or because
is the best
they need the help of their children on the farms.
school in its
More than half of the population of Makonkarie
environment.
exists of children. SLMB Primary school consists
A lot of
of 6 classes. All the children in Makonkarie go to
children come
the school in their own village. Children from
to SLMB
Magbassa, where a primary school is situated as
instead of a
primary school
well, go to SLMB Primary school.
in their own
village because
of the
construction of
the building
and the
Governmen
tal
Secondary
School
Mathoir
Roruks
miles)
or
(5
Youth When the children of class 6 passed their exams
in May, the next school year they go to
secondary school in Roruks or in Mathoir, both
villages are approximately 5 miles away from
Makonkarie.
provision
school
material
of
Lead: the
school has a
head teacher,
but he is old
and not very
good in
English. Mr.
Kargbo
however seems
to be in charge.
SLYI has
intensive
contact with
Mr. Kargbo as

he is really
involved in the
school
Religion
Muslims and
Christians can
easily live next
to each other
even though
Makonkarie is
a very
religious
Muslim village
Lead: the
Imam is the
religious leader
of the village
Daily work
Farming,
collecting
wood, grass
and water are
daily routines
of the
inhabitants of
Makonkarie
Health*
Health in
direct
environment is
a problem in
Makonkarie.
Firstly: health
care is not
advanced in
the direct
region.
Secondly:
Healthcare
isn’t free of
charge
Going to
the mosque
Farming
Collecting
wood,
getting
water
Collecting
grass
Basic
medicines
and small
treatments
Medical
treatment
or special
medicines
Medical
treatment
or special
Makonkarie All the
Muslim
In and around
Makonkarie
In and around
Makonkarie
Around and
outside
Makonkarie
Behind the
guesthouse
Magbassa, 0.3
mile away from
Makonkarie
Rokimbie, 8
miles away
from
All the
residents
Women,
youth and
children
Young men
67
Makonkarie is a religious village. Going to the
mosque is one of the daily tasks of the
inhabitants. There are two mosques in
Makonkarie, only one is used, it is situated in the
middle of Makonkarie.
As told before, most of the inhabitants of
Makonkarie are farmers. Farming is the daily
task of the men, women and even children. After
school, many children have to help their parents
on the farm. This to regret of the teachers. The
farms are situated inland; distance depends
from a few miles up to five miles.
Women, children and youth collect wood for
cooking. This is also a task for children after
school. This also counts for getting water. The
community gets its water during the rainy
season through pumps, in the dry season
through wells. There are different pumps and
wells in the village. However, when the
temperature reaches a peak at the end of March,
from that time the wells will be dry. Then, the
water has to come from the swamps, a few miles
away from the centre of the village.
The men collect grass for the roofs as it is
heavier and bigger in volume.
For basic medicines mister J.A. Bangura has a
small drugstore
In a medical post it is possible to get medical
treatment and there is a provision of drugs.
Women can give birth in a medical post as well.
Most of the residents go the medical post in
Magbassa
Residents with more money, who can afford to
travel a bit, go to the medical post in Rokimbie.
The medical post in Rokimbie is more advanced.

Market*
Going to the
market is one
of the main
task of women.
There are
different
markets in the
surrounding
area of
Makonkarie
Personal visits
Friends and
family are very
important in
the culture of
Sierra Leone. It
is normal to
live with your
medicines
Special
treatment
in the
hospital
Buying or
selling
Buying or
selling
Buying
Buying or
exchanging
Visiting
friends and
relatives
Makonkarie
Hospital in Mile
91, 15 miles
away from
Makonkarie
Mathoir
Roruks
Mile 91
Freetown
Depends; can
be Freetown as
well as Mile 91
Women,
youth and
children
Women,
youth and
children
Women
Men, women
Men, women
68
Rokimbie is situated on the highway
Freetown/Mile 91-Bo.
For special treatment the community has to go
to Mile 91. In Mile 91 are a few hospitals
*health care isn’t free of charge, there is no such
thing as a health insurance in Sierra Leone
The weekly market in Mathoir on Fridays is the
most popular market in the environment for the
inhabitants of Makonkarie and surrounding
villages. People (buyers and sellers) from
surrounding villages but also from Freetown,
Mile 91, Makeni and Bo are coming to this
market. The market starts in the early morning
till plus minus 6 o’clock. Because the market in
Mathoir is on Friday, and the school in
Makonkarie is closed that day, a lot of children
go to this market to sell some surplus from the
farms. Mathoir can be seen as a connecting point
and the most important village in the area.
On Wednesday is the weekly market in Roruks,
only a few are going there. In Roruks it is
possible to charge a mobile phone. Both, in
Mathoir and Roruks it is possible to charge a
mobile phone.
Mile 91 is a market town. Every day there is a
market. Because the distance is far (15 miles),
only few are going to there. However at Mile 91
are more different kind of products and even
some shops and electricity as well to charge a
mobile phone or watch television.
Very seldom, only few times a year some people
go to the market in Freetown to buy or
exchange. The main exchanging product is maize
for rice.
*It is not possible to buy drinking water on the
markets in Mathoir or Roruks, even in Mile 91
you have to be lucky to find bottled drinking
water. Then, Freetown or Waterloo (big city
close to Freetown) is the best option.
Family is a very important factor in the culture
of Sierra Leone. Also in Makonkarie families live
very close to each other. But there are some
residents in Makonkarie who have family in
other villages or towns. On weekly basis people
are visiting their relatives outside Makonkarie.
Again, this depends on the wealth of the
residents.

family. If not
then you visit
your family on
regular basis
Visiting the
Paramount
Chief
Yoni Bana
Ceremonial
Chief
69
The Ceremonial Chief visits the Paramount Chief
seldom. Most of the time it is vice versa. The
secretary of the Paramount Chief visits the
Ceremonial Chiefs mainly to inn taxes.
8.2.1.3 Seasonal calendar
Purpose in research approach: The purpose of the seasonal calendar is to identify the
opportunities and vulnerability of Makonkarie. A calendar will be made with the influences of
the seasons on the daily routine of the community.
How the research is done: By means of small conversations, integrating in the life of the locals
and observation.
Result: The seasonal calendar is completed, see appendix number 20.
Table 8: Outcomes of the seasonal calendar, APPA method, Makonkarie
Factor What When Comments
Type of season Tourist season October – March From October to March it is most attractive for
There are two
tourists to visit Sierra Leone. Because in March
types of season in
and April the temperature reaches a peak, it can
Sierra Leone, the
be up to 40 degrees. As the temperature reaches
dry season
a peak, at the end of March the wells in the
(October – May)
village will be dry and water becomes a major
and the wet
problem
season (June –
September) Wet season
June - September From June to September it is wet season. In the
wet season malaria risk increases and the
accessibility of Makonkarie is very low because
of the condition of the road. However, in the
rainy season there is more access to drinking
water because then the water pumps are
working again.
Farming
Harvesting the farms October – Farming is the major task of the inhabitants of
Farming is what it
November
Makonkarie. The tasks of the farmers during the
is all about in
year are as follows: October and November the
Makonkarie, it is Brushing the farms January – March farmers are harvesting, from January to March
the major task of
the farms will be brushed, in April the women
the inhabitants Planting the farms April
will plant on the farms, in June and July the
farms will be weeded.
Weeding the farms June - July
School
(See mobility
mapping, the
paragraph above)
Open/closed
Whole year from
Sunday till Friday
except on public
holidays and the
holiday in July –
August
The SLMB Primary school is open during the
whole year, except on public holidays. In
July/August the school is closed for a longer
time. In one of these two months the meeting
under secret societies takes place
8.2.2 Dream phase
It is not only important to find out whether the community is enthusiastic and interested and
want to participate in a community-based tourism project. It is also important to find out what
their expectations of the influence of CBT are. These expectations may be important for the
installment of a tourism project.

8.2.2.1 Elderly
Purpose in research approach: With the basis of the above tools (CBT mapping, mobility
mapping, seasonal calendar), the locals have to brainstorm about their future possibilities
regarding community-based tourism.
How the research is done: In an organized group meeting with the Imam, 3 farmers, 1 woman
and the assistant of the head teacher different open questions are asked concerning five subjects
(see the table below) and a written and discussed assignment for class 5 and 6 of SLMB Primary
School the dream phase regarding tourism has been done.
Result: Written outcomes in this paragraph.
Comments: Instead of a series of brainstorm sessions, one group meeting is held with the
elderly. To involve the children and youth a written assignment has been set up.
Table 9: Group meeting dream phase, Makonkarie
Imam Assistant-head
teacher
Farmers Woman
View of tourism All the participants in this meeting are very happy to see strangers; they would really love to
receive tourists. All the participants started even clapping their hands when the question was
asked ‘How would you like it if in the future tourists will come and visit Makonkarie?’ There
reigns some kind of ‘we love strangers’ mentality under the community.
Development The Imam came up The assistant of With the help of
regarding
with health care the head teacher revenues out of tourism
tourism
development. would like to see the farmers would like
Health care is not their educational to see swamp
advanced in direct system develop. development and
region. Moreover Especially the agriculture
Magbassa is in a provision of school development. Rice,
corner and not on material like seeds and machines are
the ‘main road’. In books.
expensive to buy at the
Magbassa there is
moment and in the short
no sufficient
term future. The farmers
provision of drugs
would like to develop
and the employees
mechanism farming.
are not highly
Nowadays all the work
certified.
on the farms is done
manually which is heavy
and sometimes even
dangerous work.
70
The farmers would like
to develop a community
centre where they can
meet and discuss. The
women totally agree
with this aspect. Almost
every woman (and man)
is part of a women’s
group. One of the
aspects of such a group
is discussing, about
efficiently working on
the farms for example.
At the moment they
have no space to sit
somewhere and have a
discussion.

Activities with
tourists
8.2.2.2 Youth and children
Every participant in the meeting noted the water problem in Makonkarie and surrounding
villages. The community would like to see the water project succeed. At the end of March the
wells in the village will be dry, women and children have to walk to the swamps, a long
distance, to get water.
Playing games,
playing football
with the kids of the
village could be a
nice activity as
well according to
the participants.
Table 10: Write about your village by class 5 and 6 of SLMB primary school, Makonkarie
Questions Answers
What can you do in your village? Farming, getting water, cooking, playing games
What can you see in your village? Houses, gardens, farms, animals, fruit trees, school,
mosque, forest, people
What do you like about your village? Playing football, when strangers are coming, education
system, trading, farming
What is most important in your village? Farming, family, religion,
What would you like to show strangers in your village? School, the lack of school material, homework
What are you missing in your village? Bicycles, lorries, church, hospital, sufficient clean water,
school and football material
8.3 Success factors
As a summary of the field research (discovery and dream phase) the following table is compiled.
Success factors will be explored to a fuller extent in the next stages of the 4D process. However,
it is useful to begin organizing, before the design stage, to determine the real strengths. And to
identify which additional information is needed (TMI, 2000). The table consists of the factor, the
strength, the place of the attraction and what could be an issue.
Table 11: Main attractions for community-based tourism of Makonkarie and direct environment
Factor Strength Place Could be an issue
Social factors Rich culture (secret
societies, singing, dancing,
language)
71
The women group
would like to perform
their traditional
singing, dancing and
clapping. They would
like to involve
‘strangers’ in this
happening
The community of Makonkarie would like to learn from tourists. Especially knowledge of
development, if a cultural exchange can exist this would be great.
Value the highest The community is proud of their rich culture, their language, their secret societies and their
singing and dancing. They would like to share their culture with tourists. They would like to
sing and dance and perform. They want to show their cultural instrument, the booboo.
Education and farming are valued the highest.
Details If tourists would come to Makonkarie the community would like to provide special
accommodations for those people. They want to take good care of strangers. They want
tourists to sleep in a nice bed and in a good house with a western toilet.
Makonkarie Secret societies,
instruments are not in the
village
Women’s group: Samacarr Makonkarie No collaboration between

and Sabenty the two women’s groups
Farmer association Robis Bana
Natural features Plantation Makonkarie
Stream, viewpoint, ‘’old Makonkarie Guiding skills are needed
village Makonkarie’’
Farms, gardens, swamps Makonkarie
Mountain and water project Makonkarie Guiding skills are needed
and the mountain is very
difficult to walk
Institutional factors Mosque Makonkarie
SLMB Primary school Makonkarie
Blacksmith school Roline 1
Headquarter Yoni chiefdom Yoni Bana The road from
Makonkarie to Yoni Bana
is bad and dangerous
Historical features Railway houses Yoni Bana The road from
Makonkarie to Yoni Bana
Other Daily tasks (getting water
from the well, collecting
firewood or grass, shopping
at the market)
Local market Mathoir
Roruks
Mile 91
Medical post Magbassa
Rokimbie
72
is bad and dangerous
Makonkarie Water problem when the
wells are dry at the end of
March
8.3 Conclusion
In the society of Makonkarie are a lot of different actors: the Ceremonial Chief, Imam, head
teacher, teachers, farmers, traders, a blacksmith, youth, children, women’s groups and the secret
societies. The Chief and Imam are the persons with the highest status and are respected by the
whole village. The head teacher and assistant-head teacher have a lot of authority as well
because school is mainly seen as very important. The inhabitants of the village are primarily
farmers and there are a few people who are economically active in a different way: traders and
the blacksmith. Most of the youth and children go to school. However, not every child is going to
school because some parents need the children to help on the farms or because the parents
cannot afford to pay school material and uniforms.
Makonkarie is a typically traditional inland Sierra Leonean village. The village is situated in the
‘bush’, 5 miles of the main Freetown-Bo highway. The community is very open to receiving
‘strangers’ and they would love to see more ‘strangers’ coming to the village. The possibility that
tourism can develop their village sounds positive for the community. In the organized group
meeting, the participants came up with different ideas such as: water development, the
construction of a community center and agricultural development. Discussing, singing and
dancing, showing their culture, their village and exchanging culture are activities that the
community would like to share/do with tourists.
In summary, there are some main attractions in and around Makonkarie that are divided into
social factors, natural features, institutional factors, historical features (table 11) and others. In
short:
- The culture of the community where music, dancing and singing is very important
(secret societies, women’s groups)

- The farms, gardens, plantation and swamps of the inhabitants where traditional food is
cultivated like cassava, rice and sweet potatoes.
- Visiting points like the mosque, school, medical posts, the blacksmith school and local
markets
- Daily tasks like collecting firewood and grass, getting water, shopping, traditional food
preparing, et cetera.
73

9. Conclusions
In this chapter, the research report concludes on the destination analysis, the bench marking,
the potential tourist and the field research, starting with a SWOT analysis:
9.1 Destination analysis
Figure 12: SWOT model
SWOT model
I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
E
X
T
E
R
N
A
L
Strengths Weaknesses
1.Pleasant climate during the dry season
(November-April)
2.Diversity in tourism products: Un-spoilt
beaches, wildlife, cultural heritage
3.Close to Europe (6/7 hours flight)
4.Peaceful country
5.Unique charm
6.The community is open minded and
enthusiastic to tourism*
7.Traditional ways of living*
Opportunities Threats
1.Progress in re building the country and its
image
2.Growing interest in Africa as a tourist
destination with Sierra Leone as a
newcomer, has to be explored
3.Inland tourism for a ‘’total African
experience’’
4.Focus on niche markets (bird
watching/fishing/slave trade tourism)
5.Interesting target groups are growing in
numbers (Backpacker, Cultural Creative,
voluntourist) *
6.Global interest in sustainable tourism,
ECO tourism, voluntourism gets more
support*
7.Internet and social media
8.’’in-depth’’ experiences*
9.The search for authenticity
10.Far destinations and worldwide trips
*Pertains specifically to the Tonkolili district/Makonkarie
Sierra Leone is a country with a pleasant climate from November to April. This is a great
advantage because in Europe (the main tourism target group for Sierra Leone) during that time
it is cold for most of the time. Sierra Leone has other touristic advantages like un-spoilt beaches,
wildlife, cultural heritage and history, this in combination with its proximity to Europe confirms
that the tourism potential is there. Sierra Leone is a peaceful country with a unique charm and
friendliness and open citizenry. Looking at the opportunities like progress in re building the
country, the growing interest in Africa as a tourist destination enhance the opportunities and
74
1.Poor infrastructure/road network
2.Poor basic needs: clean water, electricity, health care
3.Limited air, water and road transport
4.Lack of experience/knowledge in hospitality industry*
5.Incompleted and outdated framework for tourism
5.Monuments and historical attractions are not
maintained well
6.Not one unique selling point
7.No main attractions/limited attractions*
8.No organizations or initiator in the district*
9.English communication*
1.High prices (flight, accommodation)
2.Focus on beach tourism
3.Mismanagement of tourism
4.Recession in Europe and America
5.Tourism (small scale*) is not a top priority of the
government of Sierra Leone
6.Bad country image
7.Tourists are unpredictable creatures

strengths of Sierra Leone as a tourist destination. A lot of people don’t know that Sierra Leone is
currently one of the most stable countries in Western Africa. It is not without a reason the slogan
of the National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone is: The freedom to explore. Sierra Leone is a
newcomer on the market for tourism and has to be explored.
The threats and weaknesses of Sierra Leone as a tourist destination weaken the opportunities,
i.e. the high prices and the misperception of many people over the country in combination with
poor basic needs and no maintaining of tourist attractions and a lack of experience in tourism
don’t parry the threats. Because Sierra Leone has a unique charm and not a unique attraction it
is hard for the NTB and MoTCA to fight against the bad country image and to put Salone on the
map.
The National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone in co operation with the MoTCA is working very hard
on making Sierra Leone a new tourist destination in West Africa. This is not an easy task because
of the current situation of the country. Sierra Leone is struggling with less than 40 000 tourist
arrivals in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The major markets for Sierra Leone tourism industry are
Europe and the ECOWAS countries. With a total amount of 38,615 tourist arrivals in 2010 most
of the tourists come from Europe and the ECOWAS countries. According to Cecil Williams
(general manger of the NTB) it is hard to promote Sierra Leone because it has not one unique
selling point. He says the following about the strength of Sierra Leone as a tourist destination: ‘’
Sierra Leone is unique in its charm. When you want wildlife you go to Kenya, Paris is the city of
romances, Rome is famous because of its history and London is royalty. Sierra Leone doesn’t have a
unique selling point like that. But you fall in love with the country, with every situation, even the
difficulties you are facing with, it is something where you can’t put your hand on.’’
This is one of the reasons why the NTB wants to focus on niche markets like bird watching,
fishing and slave trade tourism. To attract those target groups the prices in Sierra Leone have to
go down. Flight tickets and accommodation prices are relatively high. The NTB wants to focus on
the up market segment of tourism, because tourism is seen as a big economic business and not a
charity (Cecil Williams, 2011). At the moment the focus of the tourist industry is on beachtourism
and that is where most of the tourists (beside business) are coming for. The main
attractions: beaches, wildlife and culture can be found in other African countries as well.
Although small scale tourism isn’t a top priority of the NTB, it offers some opportunities to put
Sierra Leone on the map: looking at the growing interest in voluntourism, ECO-tourism,
sustainable tourism and community involvement projects. In a broad perspective there can be
said there is a growing interest amongst travelers to step beyond the boundaries of the brochure
and to truly explore and engage with a destination (Voluntourism.org, 2009).
Tourism in the Tonkolili district isn’t active and has never been active. You can’t find beaches,
wildlife, or attractive landscapes in the district. Sierra Leone as a whole is already dealing with
some major problems as infrastructure and health care but the Tonkolili district is the most
under developed district of the country. Especially water, health care and infrastructure are
huge problems in the district. The Tonkolili district council has made some progresses in
developing the district and is working on different projects like more provision of drugs, the
road network and water projects (see appendix number 12).
The traditional way of living and culture could be an aspect to visit the district, this can be found
in some traditional inland villages in the Tonkolili district. This strength, experiencing a
75

traditional way of living in typically Sierra Leonean villages together with the positive attitude of
the locals, in combination with the opportunity that certain interesting target groups and
markets are growing together with the new type of tourist that is looking for ‘’in-depth’’
experiences, it is possible to exploit the opportunity.
Again, the weaknesses (bad road network, lack of tourism and hospitality knowledge, et cetera)
and threats (high prices, misperception) cannot compete the strengths and opportunities.
9.2 Potential tourists
A tourist that is suitable for a small-scale project in a rural area is a tourist far from the type of a
mass tourist. It is important for the tourism project that the tourist is traveling alone or in small
groups because of the impact on the local community (Doxey’s irridex), takes care for the
environment and wants an active instead of a passive vacation. It is a tourist who has a feeling of
responsibility, doesn’t need luxury and has a great interest and wants to experience a traditional
culture. For the host this means they are kind for the environment, use fewer resources, no large
amounts of capital are needed to fulfill the needs of the guests and it leads to mutual respect.
As mentioned before, the new type of tourist is looking for ‘’in-depth’’ experiences. The Cultural
Creatives are stamped as the new world-citizen: aware of the environment and their fellow-man,
open minded, and wanting to contribute to a better world. The Cultural Creatives group is
growing in numbers and seems like ‘to take over the world’. The backpacker is traveling alone or
in small groups and is aware of the environment. In the example of Yunnan (paragraph 4.2.2)
where first the tourism project was mainly regulated by government and the private sector,
large organized groups were visiting Yunnan. For the host this resulted in a disturbance of the
tourism project. The voluntourist is similar to the Cultural Creative and Backpacker in terms of
social characteristics.
Internet and social media become more important when it comes to orientating on a potential
vacation, customer service and telling stories through social media.
9.3 Success factors for CBT
In the lines of the theoretical framework about sustainable tourism the benchmarking where
different CBT projects were described ultimately led to the following criteria for a successful
CBT project:
- Location, accessibility and existing or potential structures (WWF, 2001)
- A potential demand (WWF, 2001)
- Community involvement as involving the community is necessary for a successful
community-based tourism project (WWF, 2001)
- Maintaining local culture because revatilization of culture makes people proud of their
identity. Because of tourism, the government in Yunnan invested in culture again
(Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005)
- Based upon sustainable development (profit in terms of benefit for the locals, people in
terms of empowerment and planet in terms of conservation): Higher incomes, better
education and health conditions lead to a higher standard of living for the communities
in Annapurna (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005). The earnings from CBT lifts the
standard of living in Botswana as it is hard in rural areas in developing countries to make
good money, tourism is an opportunity (Sebele, 2007). Tourism gave women in
Annapurna the possibility to make money on their own which made them less
76

dependent on men (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005). A field research in Annapurna led
to the conclusion that health and environmental awareness appeared to be greater in
vallages engaged in tourism than in areas without tourism (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler,
2005)
- Support by NGO, government or private sector: the tourism project in Annapurna has
been set up in the first place without any central supervision which upset the balance of
the community (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005)
- Small scale tourism: it is a fact that small scale tourism brings more benfits (Sebele,
2007). Tourists will use the locally available goods and services which creates a higher
multiplier effect.
Beside community-based tourism, voluntourism is another interesting market. Voluntourism
exists of the words volunteer and tourism and is a relatively new form of tourism. Voluntourism
becomes very popular as it meets the characteristics of the new tourist type. Voluntourism can
help developing an area or place in several aspects.
9.4 Field research in Makonkarie
To conclude on the field research in Makonkarie: the local community is very open to ‘strangers’.
They would be very happy if their village could develop with the help of a tourism project. Most
attention and developing needed in the village and its surroundings is the water project, health-
care, a community center, education and agriculture.
The main attractions of Makonkarie and surrounding area are mainly the cultural and traditional
aspects of the community. This is also something the host would like to share; singing, dancing,
language and local instruments. However beside the culture and traditional way of living that
could be interesting for certain target groups as it responds to the ‘experience trend’ and the
growing interesting markets, Makonkarie and the district have very little to offer.
77

10. Advice and
recommendations
Taking the interest of the community regarding tourism into account and involving the
community in the tourism project has become more important than ever. If the community is not
interested in community-based tourism development, the CBT project is doomed to fail.
Knowing that, community participation is a critical success factor of community tourism.
The aim in this research is to determine which opportunities there are for the village
Makonkarie and direct environment to develop the area regarding community-based tourism.
With the help of tourism the village develops a new source of income and can improve the
standard of living in Makonkarie and surrounding area.
The problem of this research is formulated as follows: ‘’Which opportunities for community-based
tourism could lead to a higher standard of living of the communities in Makonkarie and direct
area?’’
With the help of the findings during this research, summarized in the conclusion, it will be
possible to give an advice regarding the problem of the thesis. In total there are three different
recommendations given: no future for Makonkarie with tourism, voluntourism as general
development for the area and voluntourism with the aim to develop Makonkarie as a tourist
destination.
Each recommendation has the following criteria: Destination mix, because according to Mill
and Morrison's on every destination exists a mix of interrelated elements. These elements are
interrelated in order to create a satisfying vacation experience, all elements of the mix need to be
there. The second criteria is Responding to attractive markets and trends. Feasibility, with
the help of some aspects of the FOETSJE model is the third criteria.
10.1 Makonkarie is not a tourist destination
In the current situation Makonkarie is not a tourist destination. There are too many weaknesses
and important problems. Makonkarie is not a tourist destination because it does not meet the
destination mix in any way. Makonkarie has little or nothing to offer, therefore you can ask
yourself the question: has tourism development a chance of succeeding? Below it is underpinned
why Makonkarie isn’t an attractive tourist destination and it is better to renounce.
10.1.1 Destination mix
Missing basic needs (infrastructure); Water is a serious problem in the village, the water project
needs to be succeed before a tourism project can develop. Even for the people in the village at
the end of March the wells will be dry. When tourists will visit Makonkarie the wells will be dry
earlier and the host as well as the tourist have to deal with a water problem. Even though the
tourists cannot drink the water, the water will be used for cooking, taking a bath and flushing
the toilet. Beside water there is no electricity and no advanced health-care in the direct
environment.
78

Missing facilities; there is very limited lodging in Makonkarie, there is one decent room
according to western standards. Even in the district there are no hotels or guesthouses. There
are no support industries in the environment regarding tourism, like a restaurant, cafe or tourist
office.
Poor infrastructure/transport; The whole road network in the Tonkolili district is in a bad state.
Especially the accessibility of Makonkarie (and other small villages, situated a few miles from the
main highway) is from Mathoir onwards very bad. The road is not paved and includes waters,
rocks, sand and gravel. In terms of security it is not very safe. There are adventurous types of
tourists, for example backpacker tourists who could be interesting in jumping on a bike with
their backpack. But you have to guarantee some kind of safety.
Limited attractions and events; The Tonkolili district is not attractive for tourists mainly because
there are no attractions or events that could attract tourists. There is not a unique selling point.
In the field research where the community needed to think about tourist activities, no real main
attractions came forward than playing games with children, dancing and singing with the
women’s group
Hospitality performance and communication; English is really a problem in the village and in the
district as well. A lot of people in the district only speak their local language, some of the
inhabitants speak Krio. Very seldom English is spoken, although it is the common language in
school (field research).
Initiator; There is no initiator or tourist organization active in the Tonkolili district. There is no
specific knowledge or someone who can help developing a tourist project in this stadium.
10.1.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends
There is no need to respond to attractive markets or trends because in the case of this scenario,
nothing regarding tourism will happen in Makonkarie. Of course, SLYI will still be playing an
important role in the society of Makonkarie. Without tourist development SLYI can still continue
working on the different projects as described in the context (chapter 3). As SLYI starts to focus
on internships to Sierra Leone, the recommendation given in paragraph 10.2 could be
interesting.
10.1.3 Feasibility
Even though the community would love to receive tourists, and would like to develop their
village through tourism (dream phase); currently there is nothing or very little to offer.
Makonkarie does not meet the destination mix in any way, so it isn’t attractive for tourists to
visit. For this reason you can decide to put your hands off a development regarding tourism
because it will take a lot of effort (see recommendation 3). For the feasibility this (no tourist
destination) means it is very workable. You can have doubts whether it is socially acceptable
and ecologically attractive because expectations could be created among the host during the
field research and a community-based tourism project can help conserving the environment
(theoretical framework, paragraph 4.1.2). In the benchmark of chapter 4, the example of
Annapurna (4.2.1), a field research in Annapurna led to the conclusion that health and
environmental awareness appeared to be greater in villages engaged in tourism than in areas
without tourism (Nyaupane, Morais, Dowler, 2005). In the villages of the district, people put fire
79

on their garbage and farms (internal analyses, paragraph 5.1.3). Community-based tourism
could contribute to the conservations of natural resources.
10.2 Developing the district with the help of voluntourism
Knowing that in the current situation Makonkarie is not attractive as a tourist destination, there
are opportunities for Makonkarie to develop the area. Voluntourism (theoretical framework,
paragraph 4.4) can be used for developing Makonkarie as a tourist destination but voluntourism
can also be placed in a broader perspective: the general development of a certain area (see the
example of Ugunda in paragraph 4.4). Different voluntourism projects could be set up like:
Supervising in school/education (there are primary and secondary schools in the direct area, see
appendix 20). Nursing/health care; in Magbassa and Rokimbie are health care posts looking
forward to any kind of development. Agricultural development (dream phase); Water project
(dream phase).
10.2.1 Destination mix
If Makonkarie becomes a destination for voluntourism it does not have to meet the destination
mix in every single way. However SLYI has to make sure there is sufficient water. The
recommendations concerning the destination should be: fix the water project before any tourist
project can start and provide more accommodations.
10.2.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends
Of course the main target group for this type of ‘holiday’ is the voluntourist. However, the
Cultural Creative (both described in chapter 7) could be interesting in this type of traveling as
well. Both target groups are growing in numbers.
Responding to trends: recently, far destinations and especially Africa as a relatively newcomer
on the tourism market became popular. People are becoming more aware of the environment
(global warming, rising sea levels, changing climate conditions) which leads to a change in
traveling behavior. Sustainable tourism, ECO-tourism and voluntourism get more support from
the new type of tourist. The new type of tourist is looking for ‘’in-depth’’ experiences and is
looking for more than just going on a holiday. Local interaction and exchanging culture are
themes in the new type of traveling.
10.2.3 Feasibility
Sierra Leone Youth Initiative can play a major role in this although it has no experience with
voluntourism yet. SLYI wants to stimulate internships to Sierra Leone: setting up voluntourism
projects that fit in the context, could be an opportunity. For example the primary school in
Makonkarie needs development concerning education material and English skills. A
voluntourism project in education could be set up. In the example of the theoretical framework
in paragraph 4.4, an education project in Peru is described. SLYI has to find a collaboration with
an organization to set up and promote voluntourism projects. As SLYI is already co-operating
with Cordaid and COS, SLYI could ask help from these organizations as they are involved in
providing knowledge and financial help to developing countries.
10.3 Make Makonkarie a tourist destination
There could be opportunities for Makonkarie as a tourist destination as the community is very
open minded and enthusiastic about tourism development in the village (dream phase,
paragraph 8.2.2). Beside the positive attitude of the community: ‘’Makonkarie offers a real Sierra
Leonean experience in terms of traditional living and culture’’ (Kargbo, 2011). However, really
important missing things need to be developed if Makonkarie wants to have a chance of
80

succeeding as a tourist destination. In the stage where Makonkarie is now, it would fit in a
voluntourism project (referring to the theoretical framework in chapter 4). In paragraph 4.4 a
few voluntourism projects are described, the tourism project in Suriname is a project that would
be possible in Makonkarie. How could this be filled in for Makonkarie? What kind of voluntary
work is suitable to make a tourist destination of Makonkarie?
10.3.1 Destination mix
Attractions and events; Attractions and activities need to be found in the traditions and the
culture of the village, as their traditional way of living and their daily tasks are important factors
to exploit (even in the case of CBT, see benchmarking 4.2.4). In the case of attractions and events
traditional and cultural activities need to be set up. Below some possibilities are given:
1. Guided tour through the village and direct area
There are different institutional factors in Makonkarie and its environment. The SLMB primary
school, the mosque, the blacksmith school in Roline, medical posts in Magbassa and Rokimbie
and natural features like the plantation and farms to visit. In this way it is possible to meet the
different actors in the village and to understand how the village is connected with their wider
environment and locality. At the colorful markets in Mathoir, Roruks and Mile 91 local food is
offered
2. A day at the farm
Farming is what life is about for the elderly of the village. Farming is their passion and way of
surviving. They cultivate their own rice, potatoes, beans, cassava, couscous, fruits, et cetera for
own consumption and partly for sale. This process can be followed. For example it is very
interesting to see how cassava is digested into gari.
3. Cooking workshop and sharing a traditional meal with the locals
The women in the village preparing food on traditional manner as there are no machines or
electricity. Traditional meals like grand nut soup, cassava, cassava leaves, gari, green green, okra,
plantain and foefoe.
4. Singing and dancing class with the women’s groups
The women and girls in the village love to dance, sing, clap and perform. Besides the dancing and
singing the women’s group like to discuss about their children, the school system or working on
the farms.
Facilities; In the case of community-based tourism where getting absorbed in the traditional way
of living of the locals is a part of (benchmarking paragraph 4.2.4: Different villages*,
Kenya).Living in the same houses as the locals are an attractive opportunity for lodging. Building
accommodation is another type of voluntary work that can be executed:
1. Building lodging facilities
Traditional mud–brick houses can be build and used for tourists. Because facilities as taking a
bath and going to the toilet usually take place in the natural environment, the mud–brick houses
can be facilitated with a toilet and a space to take a bath inside
Hospitality performance; In the case of hospitality performance, relevant skills and knowledge
are not or not sufficient enough presented in the village and district. Different trainings need to
be set up:
1. English skills training
Communication and English skills are major important if Makonakarie wants to succeed in a
tourist project. For tourists it is important they can communicate, discuss and interact with the
host and vice versa. Interaction in terms of CBT is one of the vital aspects. English classes need to
be provided.
81

2. Guiding skills training
The village, the Yoni Chiefdom and the district have some historical background, e.g. the railway
network that used to be through the Yoni Chiefdom, the history of chiefdoms, the civil war, the
‘old’ village Makonkarie and the person who founded Makonkarie. There are a lot of stories to
tell, and a lot of guided tours could be arranged (to Yoni Bana, but also to Magbassa, Mathoir or
Roruks) so some guiding skills are needed to interact with tourists
3. Tourism management training
There is no knowledge about tourism in the district. A collaboration need to found with a tourist
organization to inform the people in Makonkarie and SLYI.
10.3.2 Responding to attractive markets and trends
Also in this case, the voluntourist would be the most appropriate target group to focus on.
However specific skills (hospitality trainings, building and English) are needed by setting up a
tourist product in Makonkarie.
Makonkarie could be ready for community-based tourism after the above has been set up.
However Makonkarie in a CBT tourism project would be interesting for not more than 3 days
because of the limited attractions and activities. Visiting Makonkarie could be part of a specific
tour. The backpacker tourist and the Cultural Creatives are interesting target groups for
community-based tourism. Both groups are mainly looking for interaction with the local
community, want an active vacation and want to contribute to sustainable development.
An example of a day-by-day itinerary for a potential CBT project in Makonkarie is given in the
table below:
Table 12: day-by-day itinerary CBT in Makonkarie
Day Theme Description
Day 1 Introduction to the Arrival Makonkarie, sharing a traditional meal, guided
community
tour through the village, singing, dancing, cultural
exchange, discussing, meeting different actors in the
society of Makonkarie
Day 2 A day in the village Helping the community in their daily tasks: farming,
collecting wood, getting water, preparing and cooking
food, helping in school, playing football with the youth,
helping at the plantation, cleaning the village.
Day 3 Visit the local area The blacksmith school in Roline, Medical posts in
Magbassa and Rokimbie, Markets in Roruks, Mathoir
and Mile 91, Farmer association in Robis Bana,
Paramount chief (headquarter) and old railway houses
in Yoni Bana
10.3.3 Feasibility
The implementation of this recommendation asks too many of the inhabitants of Makonkarie , of
the foundation SLYI and of the volunteers. Especially organizationally there has to happen a lot,
like the screening of volunteers (see appendix number 2 for the issues of voluntourism) will
take a lot of effort as specific knowledge is necessary, there has to be some kind of organization
on the spot which is not there yet in the case of emergencies and for guidance. Financially
support has to be found with other NGOs or tourist organization which is very hard within Sierra
Leone. Besides these aspects,
In theory it is possible to build up a tourist product in Makonkarie as described in paragraph
10.3.1. However, the question can be asked: is Makonkarie, the Tonkolili district and Sierra
82

Leone as a country attractive enough for tourists. Is Makonkarie an attractive destination after
the product has been set up? According to the SWOT analysis there are major opportunities for
Sierra Leone as a tourist destination, however the threats and weaknesses of the country do not
counterbalance the strengths and opportunities (conclusion, paragraph 9.1).
10.4 Best alternative
Based upon the research and given advice and according to the current situation of Makonkarie;
the first recommendation may be the best alternative: Makonkarie is not a tourist destination.
The other two alternatives that are given in this chapter shows SLYI what could be possible,
maybe in the future, but at this moment it is better not to focus on a tourism project.
Makonkarie, and the district are not ready for tourism development yet. Too many basic needs
are missing and it has too little to offer, as well as Makonkarie as the district as the country. The
three different recommendations are combined in the FOETSJE model. Only the financial,
organizational, economical, social and ecological feasibility are determined. In the paragraphs
above, the feasibility was already focused on these aspect. There was chosen for these aspects
because those aspects are most important in the case of this research. Technological and
juridical do not really have an influence on the problem of this thesis. In the case of feasibility
the second and third recommendation seems to be way less workable than the first one (table
13). Especially organizational it is too difficult to start up a (voluntourism) tourist project in
Makonkarie or the district. Finding collaborations with other NGOs or tourist organizations will
take a lot of effort, plus SLYI should start a team within Makonkarie of some people who are able
to speak English and communicate between the tourists/volunteers and host and can give
direction to different kind of projects. Of course they have to keep in touch constantly with SLYI
in the Netherlands. Getting a team like that of the ground will take a lot of time. Unfortunately
there is no existing team in Makonkarie that can fulfill those tasks. For the third
recommendation you can ask yourself the question if it is socially acceptable because it will be
very hard for the locals to manage a tourist project as there is a huge lack of knowledge
concerning tourism. Financially it will cost a lot of money, for this and for the knowledge that is
needed, collaborations can eventually be found with Cordaid and COS.
Finally, if a tourist product, or voluntourism project will be set up and everything can be
managed well it will be very hard for Makonkarie to put Makonkarie on the map as a tourist
destination. Sierra Leone is not attractive enough (yet) as a tourist destination. A precondition of
a community tourism project is a potential demand of the market, attractiveness and location.
Because these preconditions are not met (as explained in paragraph 10.1) you can have doubts if
it will be successful. In the SWOT analysis, chapter 9, Sierra Leone and the district as tourist
destination are described.
Table 13: FOETSJE model
Financially Organizationally Economically
Socially acceptable Ecologically attractive
realizable feasible
accountable
1* ++ ++ + + +-
2* - - + + +
3* -- -- + + +
83

10.5 PDCA method
In this paragraph a creative method for quality management is offered; applicable for the
research that has been done for Sierra Leone Youth Initiative. The recommendations can be
incorporated in the cycle. This quality circle of PDCA (plan, do, check, act) is developed by
William Edwards Deming. This model can be completed for each business, with the aim to
optimize the process, and therefore to maximize the outcomes of the process . The process is a
continuous improvement process. Below, the four activities of the cycle are described:
- Plan: the recommendations will be decided by Mr. Abubakarr Bangura as he is the
person setting up all the projects for SLYI, he will discuss the recommendations with his
contact persons in Makonkarie Mr. Kargbo and Mr. J.A. Bangura in the village.
- Do: in the case of the first recommendation nothing will happen and SLYI will continue
working on their projects. In the case of the second and third recommendation SLYI has
to find collaborations with other NGOs or tourist organizations within Sierra Leone to
exploit a voluntourism project.
- Check: constant reflection with the host community (Miedema, 2010).
- Act: adjust according to the results found by Check.
Figure 13: PDCA cycle (Deming)
-
84

List of references
Books
Aaker, D. (2002). Marktgericht strategisch beleid. Academic Service, Schoonhoven.
Beeton, S. (2006). Community development through tourism. Landlinks Press, Australia.
Braas, C., Couwelaar, van, R., Kat, J. (2006). Rapporteren. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen/Houten.
Brown, J.M. (2004). The kids guide to business. Teachingkidsbusiness.com
Burk Wood, M. (2005). Het marketingplan. Pearson.
Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D., Wanhill, S. (2005). Tourism principles and practice.
Pearson, England.
Decrop, A. (2006). Vacation decision making. Cabi Publishing, London.
Egmond, T. (2004). Het verschijnsel toerisme: verleden, heden, toekomst. Toerboek, Leiden.
Fischer, T., Julsing M. (2007). Onderzoek doen!. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen/Houten.
Godfrey, K., Clarke, J. (2000). The tourism development handbook. Thomson, London.
Hall, N., Testoni, L. (2004). Steps to sustainable tourism. Commonwealth, Australia.
Huybers, T. (2007). Tourism in developing countries. Edward Elgar Publishing, UK.
Kelly, I., Nankervis T. (2001). Visitor destinations. Wiley, Australia.
Mann, M. (2000). The community tourism guide: exciting holidays for responsible travelers.
Earthscan Publication, London.
Manson, K., Knight, J. (2009). Bradt Travel Guide Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides, England.
Molenaar, M. (2007). Touroperating in beweging. Eburon, Delft.
Mowforth, M., Munt, I. (2009). Tourism and sustainability. Routledge, Great Britain.
Murphy, A.E., Murphy P.E. (2004). Strategic management for tourism communities. Channel View
Publications.
OCHA. (2002). Recovery strategy Tonkolili district.
Schreuder Peters, R.P.I.J. (2005). Methoden en technieken van onderzoek. Sdu Uitgevers bv, The
Hague.
85

Sofield Trever H.B. (2003). Empowerment for sustainable tourism development. Elsevier Science,
England.
Tonkolili district recovery committee. (2003). Tonkolili district recommendations for action.
Tonkolili district recovery committee. (2004). Tonkolili district transition report.
Verhage, B. (2004). Grondslagen van de marketing. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen/Houten.
Weaver, D. (2006). Sustainable tourism. Elsevier, Oxford.
Web sites and articles
Ashley, C., Garland, E. (1994). Retrieved November 1, 2010 from
http://www.nnf.org.na/EIS/data/RDPs/RDP04.pdf
Bangura, A. O. (2006). Retrieved May 18, 2011 from
http://www.thepatrioticvanguard.com/spip.php?article4679
Buhalis, D., O’Connor, P. (2005). Retrieved November 1, 2010 from
http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/1130/1/fulltext.pdf
Bonarou C., Dermetzopoulo, A., Kalonaki, E., Karamanidis, I., Kelessidi, V., Mavrodontis, T
(2009). Retrieved October 26, 2010 from
http://www.stepc.gr/_docs/library_docs/GLOBAL_SWOT_Analysis_TOUREG.pdf
Bos, M., Rippen, J. (2008). Retrieved May 26, from http://www.5-wheeldrive.nl/wpcontent/uploads/2008/06/bundel-over-beleving-gesprokendownload.pdf
CBT SPRING Partnerships Workshop & FAM (2008). Retrieved September 30, 2010 from
http://www.cbt-i.org/activity/ZOHMB0T6VGPEZ85.pdf
Central Intelligence Agency (no date). Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://www.cia.gov
Cheung, S., Michel, M., Miller, D. (2010). Retrieved May 26, 2011 from
http://www.planeterra.org/filebin/Voluntourism%20-
%20Give%20a%20Little,%20Gain%20a%20Lot.pdf
Context Zuidelijk Afrika (no date). Retrieved November 8, 2010 from
http://www.zuidelijkafrika.org/
Country Reports (no date). Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://www.countryreports.org
European Travel Commission (no date). Retrieved October 8, 2010 from http://www.etccorporate.org
86

Integrated Framework (IF) for Trade Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
(no date). Retrieved November 6, 2010 from
http://www.sl.undp.org/2_focus/tourism_prjtdoc_sl.pdf
Kleijn, H.G., Rorink, F.J. (2005). Retrieved October 6, 2010 from
http://www.pearsoneducation.nl/kleijn/pdf/verandermanagement_modellenen_technieken.pdf
Kuoni (2006). Retrieved May 17, 2011 from
http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/34834/kuoni_study.pdf
National Tourist Board and Sierra Leone Statistics (2010). Retrieved September 3, 2010 from
http://www.statistics.sl
Miedema, P. (2010). Retrieved May 26, 2011 from
http://www.calabashtours.co.za/ethics/resources/73.html
NBTC (2009). Retrieved May 26, 2011 from
http://www.toerismeflevoland.nl/uploads/files/NBTC_trendsenontwikkelingen.pdf
New Media Trendwatch (no date). Retrieved October 8, 2010 from
http://www.newmediatrendwatch.org
Nyaupane G.P., Morais D.B., Dowler, L. (2005). Retrieved December 21, 2010 from
http://han.saxion.nl/han/560A3EC0-95A4-6A15-
CF71E4CCB2AEFBFA/www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V9R-
4J6WNX1-1-
D&_cdi=5905&_user=958747&_pii=S0261517705001950&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item
&_coverDate=12/31/2006&_sk=999729993&wchp=dGLbVzWzSkzk&md5=d527d891d64bbd88ac9d44e880f08bdd&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Oostveen, T., Minh Thu N., Van Lam, N (no date). Retrieved September 30, 2010 from
http://turismo-sostenible.rds.hn/documet/documentos/SAPA-Vietnam.pdf
Scheyvens, R. (2002). Retrieved December 7, 2010 from
http://www.pacificdiscovery.org/credit/SEAreadings/Scheyvens%20-
%20%20Backpacker%20Tourism%20and%20Third%20World%20Development.pdf
Sebele, S. L. (2009). Retrieved December 22, 2010 from http://han.saxion.nl/han/560A3EC0-
95A4-6A15-
CF71E4CCB2AEFBFA/www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V9R-
4VV1B3F-1-
2&_cdi=5905&_user=958747&_pii=S0261517709000120&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item
&_coverDate=02/28/2010&_sk=999689998&wchp=dGLbVzbzSkWA&md5=9868a52683a4de2cb7b52cf923f42a32&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Simpson, M. C. (2007). Retrieved February 2, 2011 from http://han.saxion.nl/han/560A3EC0-
95A4-6A15-
CF71E4CCB2AEFBFA/www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V9R-
4PPNM17-1-
1&_cdi=5905&_user=958747&_pii=S0261517707001501&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item
87

&_coverDate=02/29/2008&_sk=999709998&wchp=dGLbVlzzSkzk&md5=01b10b293d4e896fd23568da01b65117&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Spiegels voor Toerisme (2010). Retrieved May 26, 2011 from
http://www.spiegelsvoortoerisme.nl/actueel/nieuwsoverzicht/bericht:vrijetijdstrends-
2011.htm
Stichting Fair Tourism (no date). Retrieved September 9, 2010 from http://www.fairtourism.nl
The Mountain Institute (2000). Retrieved October 3, 2010 from
https://www.mountain.org/docs/cbt-kit-final-2003.pdf
The Rotarian (1957). Retrieved January 3, 2010 from
http://books.google.com/books?id=W0AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12&dq=rules+brainstorm&hl=nl&
ei=Oq4hTZS3OI6SOob7nIIJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCA#
v=onepage&q=rules%20brainstorm&f=false
Think smart, travel slow (no date). Retrieved April 17, 2011 from http://www.planeta.com
Mulder, S. (2009). Retrieved January 31, 2011 from http://www.tns-nipo.com/pages/onzeexpertise-bs-winmodel.asp?sub=8
United Nations (no date). Retrieved August 31, 2010 from http://data.un.org
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (no date). Retrieved August 31, 2010
from http://www.unctad.org
Uganda Community Tourism Association (no date). Retrieved October 13, 2010 from
http://www.ucota.or.ug
World Tourism Organisation (no date). Retrieved September 6, 2010 from
http://www.unwto.org
World Travel and Tourism Council (no date). Retrieved September 6, 2010 from
http://www.wttc.org
World Wide Fund for nature (2001). Retrieved November 10, 2010 from
http://www.icrtourism.org/Publications/WWF1eng.pdf
88

Appendices
1. Work breakdown structure 90
2. The issues regarding voluntourism 90
3. APPA tools 93
4. 4 Ds 96
5. Carrying capacity indicators 97
6. The private sector and the tourism industry in community 98
benefit tourism initiatives
7. Government and non-governmental organization: benefits 99
derived by communities as a result of tourism initiatives
8. Interview guide A. Bangura 100
9. Summary oral interview A. Bangura 101
10. Interview guide C. Williams 103
11. Summary oral interview C. Williams 104
12. Written interview Tonkolili district council 105
13. Trends per driver of the Kuoni Study 108
14. Segmentation by TNS NIPO 110
15. Pyramid of Maslow and demographical segmentation by TNS NIPO 111
16. Observation schedule different actors in the society of Makonkarie 112
17. Detailed scenario field research in Makonkarie 113
18. CBT mapping Makonkarie 114
19. Mobility mapping Makonkarie 115
20. Seasonal calendar Makonkarie 116
21. Makonkarie and direct environment 117
22. Monthly visitors arrival by purpose of visit 2010 118
23. Monthly visitors arrival by place of residence 2010 119
24. Visitors expenditure 2010 120
25. Competences 121
89

1. Work breakdown structure
The main subject of the first research question is the destination analyses which contains an
internal analyses and an external analyses. In the internal analyses the destination mix (Mill and
Morrisson, 2009) and the tourism policy will be described. The external analyses consists of
different kind of tourism flows and trends and development regarding tourism. At the end this
will lead to a SWOT analyses, to summarize and combine the different elements of research
question 1.
Purpose of research question 1: Achieve a destination analysis with both an internal and external analysis. In this way
the picture is made of the current situation.
In the first part of the second research question community-based tourism followed by
benchmarking, this type of research will lead to the success factors of community-based tourism
projects.
Purpose of research question 2: Find the success factors for community-based tourism that actually contribute to
raising living standards.
The third research question has to do with the potential tourist for the Tonkolili district. What
kind of tourist will be interested in visiting Sierra Leone?
Purpose of research question 3: Identify the potential for tourist Tonkolili district.
The fourth research question aims to determine the wishes and needs of the local community in
Makonkarie. With the use of the APPA method (see paragraph **) the current and future view of
the community regarding tourism will be described.
Purpose of research question 4: After all the research literature and field research in the Netherlands for the fourth
reserach question, field research need to be done in Makonkarie. This research should provide a picture of the
possibilities and wishes of the inhabitants of the village with regarding community-based tourism. What is their
current and future view?
Figure 14: Work breakdown structure
90

2. The issues regarding voluntourism
The Issues.- Negative Impacts
While many have celebrated the merging of service to others and development with tourism, some critics have
emerged, and correctly so. Things can get complicated when for profit businesses get involved in eco or community
based projects. Environmental, and Social sustainability are easily sacrificed at the altar of blatant greed in the
tourism industry, which already has a global reputation for being brutally profit oriented at the expense of the
environment and communities. Why should Voluntourism be any different? There are 2 primary areas of concern for
me when looking at this boom in volunteering. The first is the issues relation to legal compliance, and this is an issue
within any sector in tourism. We have seen over the years, as South Africa takes up its place in the market, more and
more self-regulation. Star grading, SATSA standards etc, which try and ensure that those in the business of tourism
are operating within a legal framework. This is critical in building a destination. I think BSA itself is an example of this,
where the bar in terms of what is acceptable to the association has been raised over the years. This is not a very
contested issue, except by fly by night operators, who are in for the quick buck.
Violations among companies hosting volunteers include issues such as using Game Vehicles on public roads without
permits, operating without sufficient passenger and public liability insurance, not having risk assessments in place,
not having emergency procedures in place etc. The result of this is that when something does go wrong or someone is
injured the operator has no plan, and the end result is a very poor reflection on the destination. I do not think I need to
elaborate on this fairly simple point.
Far more contentious I believe are the potential negative impacts for communities, environmental or conservation
projects. And secondly, the blatant exploitation of well wishing volunteer travelers.
Let me deal with the latter issue first. There are many anecdotal stories of volunteer exploitation within the volunteer
sector, blogs, and newspaper chat forums One I found on the name and shame website irresponsible travel.com tells
the story of a volunteer who was sold a placement at a turtle project, only to discover on arrival that the turtles are
never to be found at her destination at the time of year she was sold a placement. Another tells the story of a young
woman who went to work in an orphanage in Kenya. She was collected at the airport, and dumped at an orphanage
where there was no food, little in terms of resources, and her first contact with anyone was two weeks later. Needless
to say the young woman was severely traumatized. A colleague of mine who has placements with a marine based
research project, on a visit, found a girl who paid 2000 pounds more for the same experience her client was having.
The UK based operators was putting an unethically huge mark up on the product. These are clear examples of how
paying volunteers are fleeced into poor quality projects.
What is of interest to me, is that when booking a holiday, an ordinary trip, clients will ask for all kinds of details about
where they will stay, the kind of transport, hotel etc. However, for some unscrupulous operators, they sell a smoke
and mirrors volunteer placement, talking vaguely about money into communities, the cost of research etc, obscuring
the details, and making the volunteer feel uncomfortable about asking pointed questions – as it is about helping other
you know!
So, like in any other travel transaction, there needs to be an education of the consumer. They need to be encouraged to
ask questions. There should be clarity of how much money goes where. Too often volunteers are told money goes into
the community, only to be horrified when they find out 75% of the money stayed with the UK or US based agent!
To use our own company and placement agency as an example, volunteers are told exactly how much money goes to
the placement agency, how much money goes to transport, accommodation, project management, and finally exactly
how much goes to the project. Furthermore, our volunteers, in consultation with the project, identify how the money
is used. So those of us that sell or facilitate volunteer placements need to be thorough, and cautious about who we do
business with. While it is difficult to turn down business as, we need to develop long-standing partnerships that are
sustainable with the source of our business. It’s not that complicated. Do you want to do business with crooks? What
are the chances of that leading to a long-term sustainable business for yourself. These are questions we must ask
ourselves in any sphere of business.
For host communities, there are a number of issues that need to be considered in order to minimize negative impacts.
A common occurrence is that communities, who are often eager for assistance, and vulnerable, are bullied or exploited
by volunteer service providers. An example would be when a project receiving volunteers has little say in the volume
of volunteers placed. This is not unusual. Very many of the source market agents will sell you a placement over the
phone, or internet, as long as you have that credit card handy. The result is sometimes a school with 10 or 12 GAP
91

years hanging around with little to do other than get in the way of work being done. I have witnessed this in the
townships of Port Elizabeth.
Community projects, be it school, orphanages or whatever, need to have the final say in who gets placed. Otherwise
who is being served? An oversupply of volunteers leads to a poor volunteer experience, for both volunteer and
community. So the only interest being served in this example is the money interest.
Another common problem is in how community needs are assessed. And whether individual volunteer skills are
matched to community needs. I am not a believer in one size fits all volunteer programs. I believe skills need to be
matched to projects. And I have serious doubts about certain volunteer projects that require no skill, but only labor.
Let’s face it, we have a unemployment rate of 40%, so cheap labor is not required – especially if it only serves the
interest of someone who comes from a well resourced country to have an “Experience”. Volunteer Programs cannot
be allowed to exist at the expense of local communities or local interests.
Locally based volunteer placement agencies need to be assessing needs in the community on an ongoing basis. Needs
in development change, community needs are dynamic, so to have a placement that never changes reflects a lack of
ongoing needs analysis. How involved are the locals served by the project in inputting around the placements? And
what is the capacity of the local project to manage volunteers. These are important questions, which if ignored, result
in negative, destructive, sometimes irreversible impacts.
Another sensitive but critical issue is the screening of volunteers. I work with children in poor communities, and with
vulnerable adults. What is the potential negative impact if I allow a sexual predator into that community or project?
Not all volunteers come with pure intentions. We take our work placements seriously, so seriously that we want
references from you before you come. And we check them, or rather our placement agency does. In the UK and many
other countries to work with youth, as a church leader, scoutmaster, soccer coach, whatever, you need a criminal
screening. Why must we accept less in South Africa or other developing countries?
I trust that you are beginning to see the vast arena of potential negative impact. There are many delicate and sensitive
areas that need to be managed from within the destination. It requires a good understanding of working with
community, and a good understanding of working in partnership with community projects. It is a fairly specialized
area, although judging by all the players coming into the market, who we never saw interested or near communities
before, you would never say so.
Positive Impacts?
Despite these potential negative impacts a well prepared, screened, skilled volunteer can make a tremendous positive
impact in host communities. Our own experience has been that skills transfer; capacity building, as well as physical
infrastructure can be provided from volunteer placements.
Furthermore, well-run volunteer placements can develop a level of social interaction and understanding that is
profound. It can result in a humanizing of poverty, it can give a face to poverty and vulnerability that is real, and lead
to a sense of a shared humanity.
It is often a life changing experience for the volunteer. An experience that shapes purpose and belief, and can shift
consciousness towards the understanding of a shared humanity. It can and does lead to an understanding of our
interconnectedness as people.
It also can lead to a well placed understanding of community needs that leads to needs based travelers philanthropy.
Again, our own experience attests to this. Volunteers who have been well managed and have developed an
understanding and a confidence in a community project where they have worked, are in a good position to go back to
their own communities and leverage resources to the advantage of the community or project. The fact that it is based
on a real understanding of needs is often a critical success factor.
(Miedema, 2010)
92

3. APPA tools
CBT mapping (discovery)
Natural features, cultural sites and activities, facilities and services and human skills need to be
in the CBT map.
Purpose: A map will be made of the village Makonkarie and direct (relevant) environment that
will serve as the basis for community-based tourism product identification (The Mountain
Institute, 2000).
How: Observations, conversations and integrating in the local life.
The following questions are asked in conversations:
What is your view of tourism?
What is the situation at this moment?
What and where are the resources?
How are the different resources related to each other?
What do you value about your community?
Where are you proud of?
What natural features are there?
What cultural sites are there?
Are there water resources, service points, hospitals, markets, view points, etc?
What kind of skills are there?
Mobility mapping (discovery)
This map is important for increasing the benefits regarding tourism. It could map the threats
also. To understand people’s travelling and the use of resources.
Purpose: The movements of goods, human, resources and money need to be mapped, the
relationship between locations and resources.
How: Observations, conversations and integrating in the local life.
The following questions are asked in conversations:
Where have you been going (this could be the market but also medical care)?
Why are you going there?
Are there (changed) patterns of movement?
How many times (in a week, in a day) you are going there?
Seasonal Calendar (discovery)
With a seasonal calendar opportunities and vulnerability of Makonkarie will be identified.
Purpose: A calendar will be made with the influences of the seasons on the daily routine of the
community, including climate, agricultural productivity, availability of fruit and vegetables,
festivals, events, accessibility, flora and fauna viewing.
How: Observations, conversations and integrating in the local life.
The following questions are asked in conservations:
93

When is there a lot of work on the field?
When does the temperature reaches a peak?
When are there certain events (sport, religion)?
When are the schools closed?
When is the flora and fauna on her best?
Brainstorming (dream)
Brainstorming is a great way to come up with ideas (Brown, 2004). With the use of
brainstorming, new ideas, suggestions and subjects can be discovered very quickly. Participants
have the possibility to react and to complement. They are encouraged to let ideas go freely.
Nothing will be rejected. With the use of brainstorming people are stimulated to think out of the
box. In The Rotarian ten steps to successful brainstorming are published by Judgon (1957). He
spoke about ‘’having a brainstorm’’ means the same as having a brilliant idea:
1. Bring together panel of participants, approximately 10 participants;
2. Limit the problem, stating the problem that everybody understands it;
3. Create a non-critical atmosphere, no one is to do or say anything negative;
4. Record every contribution or write down;
5. Obtain a quantity of ideas rapidly, quantity doesn’t always mean quality, however with
increased numbers comes increased quality;
6. Urge participants to improve ideas;
7. Maintain control of participants, the leader will ask anyone who wishes to contribute to raise
his or her hand;
8. Use questions to stimulate thinking, if the flow stops or slows down, the leader can ask
‘’what about..’’;
9. Decide on merits of ideas;
10. Acknowledge work of participants, thank the participants for their time and energy.
The rules of the brainstorm session will be told to all the participants. The following steps will be
taken to come to fulfill the brainstorm session:
Tell every participant the purpose of the brainstorm session.
Tell every participant where the brainstorm will be about
Let every participant write down as many ideas as possible
Let every participant share their ideas aloud with the whole group
Write down on the blackboard all the ideas
Cluster ideas
There will be a period of questioning and answering
Purpose: With the basis of the above tools, the locals have to brainstorm about their future
possibilities regarding community-based tourism.
How: Group discussion.
The following questions are asked:
How does the village looks like in a 10 years from now?
What will you be doing?
What will be the influence of community-based tourism?
What will tourists doing?
94

Are there accommodations?
Shops?
Guided tours?
Museums?
Workshops?
95

4. 4 Ds
1.Discovery, the act of appreciating – The best of what is, at the moment.
Discovery is the first phase in the APPA method. In this phase the participants, the local
community, identifies their current view on their village and community. Characteristics of the
community that could attract tourists and strengths and skills of the community itself. It is about
successes and ‘’good things’’. Another word for ‘’good things’’ is Unique Selling Point, however in
the context of CBT it covers a broader range. Good things can be accessibility, location, culture,
resources, knowledge, et cetera that can be strengthen and developed in community-based
tourism. Exercises that fit in this phase of the 4Ds are brainstorming, CBT mapping, mobility
mapping and seasonal calendar (see paragraph **). The outcomes of these exercises will be
summarized in a table called ‘’success factors’’ a distinguish will be made between the factor,
gaps in understanding and what is working.
2.Dream, envisioning an impact – What might be, image of the future.
In this phase of the of the 4Ds the local community will visualize how they would like to see their
community develop and benefit from community-based tourism. This has to happen in a
collective way. In the dream phase there will be build upon the ‘’good things’’ of the discovery
phase. Discovery outcomes are further strengthen and developed in terms of CBT. The dream
phase has not the meaning to fictionalize but to encourage the local community to imagine the
very best situation in the future. This phase can be difficult to understand or can be
uncomfortable. It is hard for local communities to think about their future or it can be seen as
stupid or childish. A good initiative is to come up with examples. An exercises that fits in this
phase is brainstorming (see paragraph **). The outcomes of these exercises are useful for the
implementation plan. The following question that needs to be asked is ‘how to achieve?’.
3.Design, co-constructing the desired future, further inquiry.
In the design phase the local community works together to construct their dreams. This takes
place in 5 steps. The first step is to evaluate the outcomes of the dream phase against the
objectives (economic development, participation, conservation) of community-based tourism.
Which one meets and do not meet them? The second step is selecting the most workable
products. Thirdly, a strategy needs to be developed that contributes to success for communitybased
tourism. The fourth step is formulating an action plan and finally monitoring and
evaluating this design phase.
4.Delivery and re-discovery, sustaining
The delivery and re-discovery phase in the 4Ds is the ongoing implementation of ‘’what works
and what could have been better’’ to ‘’what is next’’ and completes the circle of the 4Ds (see
figure **).
96

5. Carrying capacity indicators
- Socio-cultural (covering issues related to community wellbeing, cultural assets,
community participation, tourist wellbeing)
- Economic (covering capture of benefits, sustaining the tourist product)
- Environmental (covering protection of valuable natural assets, managing scarce
resources, limiting the impacts of tourism activity)
- Tourism planning and management (destination planning and control, designing
products and services, controlling tourist activity and managing quality)
- Responding to Global issues (e.g climate change, epidemics, sex tourism)
97

6. Government and non-governmental organization: benefits derived by communities as a
result of tourism initiatives
Figure 15: Potential roles of government and non-governmental organizations in determining the type and the levels of benefits derived
by communities as a result of tourism initiatives (Simpson, 2008)
98

7. The private sector and the tourism industry in community benefit tourism initiatives
Figure 16: Potential roles of the private sector and the tourism industry in community benefit tourism initiatives (Simpson, 2008)
99

8. Interview guide A. Bangura
Accessibility of Makonkarie
o Roads
o Public transport
Climate
Culture in Makonkarie
o Habits
o Norms and values
Natural resources
o Landscapes, beaches, rivers, lakes, flora and fauna
Events-sports
Homestay-accommodations
Food and beverage
o Cultivating
o Own consumption
Shops, guides, festival area’s
Telecommunication network
Hospitals and –posts
Energy-generator-electricity
Cops-security
Water
Community and tourism
100

9. Summary oral interview A. Bangura
Name of the interviewed person Abubakarr Bangura
Function of the interviewed person Founder and chairman of SLYI
Date November 3, 2010
Place Huis van de wereld, Tilburg
Makonkarie is a well-known village in its region. Makonkarie is situated between Mile 91 and
Rutifunk. Mile 91 is the largest town in the Yoni chiefdom. Since the sixties Makonkarie is an
important trade centre in the area. There used to be a railway station in Makonkarie. In time of
colonialism a lot of goods were delivered and transported like rice. This was ruled by the white
people. There were living white people in Makonkarie as well.
The chief of Makonkarie is Kapr Thalay. The chief is a member of the Bangura family. Everyone
with the name Bangura can be the successor of the current chief. Pa Konkarie, the name of the
founder of Makonkarie was a Bangura as well, that’s why everyone with that name can be the
new chief after death or unsuitability of the current chief. Other actors in the village are the
Imam (there are two mosques, the village is mainly Islamic), two women groups, youth, children,
a blacksmith and teachers.
In the village people living in a Group culture. Family is very important. This has an influence on
the development of the community. There are approximately 500 people living in the village,
this is 1% of the total inhabitants of the Yoni chiefdom. In Makonkarie are living a lot of youth
and children. Most of the youth are married. Older boys often marry young girls. Arranged
marriages are part of this system.
The houses in the villages are made from wood or stone. In the houses made out of stone are
living people with more money. Most of the time there are 8 or more people living in one house.
A lot of young adults and elderly are part of a club. Most of the time they work together on the
farms and they discuss how to profit and work most efficiently. They organize party’s like
weddings, disco’s, competitions and traditional music- and dance party’s as well.
In the village they are living in a polygamy system. It is allowed and gives even status when a
men has two women an d a lot of children. Because of this system there are a lot of children
living in Makonkarie. In the village female genital cutting takes place in the Bondu society. Every
girl and women in Makonakarie is a member of this society.
All the people in the village are farmers. Products like rice, sweet potatoes and nuts are
cultivated. There are a lot of chickens, goats and sheep. Besides these products and animals
there are tea bushes and different fruit trees. When the farmers have a surplus they sell these
products. There are two markets in the environment. Every Wednesday in Roruks and on
Fridays in Mathoir. It is remarkable those two villages are relatively poor in comparison with for
example Makonkarie.
Women prepare food on a traditional manner.
101

At the moment, SLYI is working on a water project on top of the mountain close to the village.
This water reservoir offers enough water to fulfill the needs of all the people in the village.
The mountain is accessible under guidance. On top of the mountain is water reservoir. It is a
mountain covered like a jungle.
There is a primary school in the village offering education to more than 300 children in
Makonkarie and surrounding villages. Secondary education is more difficult. Because of poverty
and the civil war the chances on secondary education for children (provided outside the village)
are limited. Introducing the palm oil plantation has to gain profit, that money will be used to
stimulate secondary education.
There is no Electricity in the village, there is a small generator for charging a mobile Phone for
example.
There is no police station or prison the neighborhood. Very seldomly there is a police coming in
Makonkarie.
Trash is dumped behind the houses and some parts of the trash will be recycled. There is no
waste system.
To reach Makonkarie you can take the highway towards Mile 91. When the village Mathoir is
reached, you can take a motor bike or taxi bus south towards Makonkarie. The road from
Freetown to Mile 91 is in a good state. The road from Mathoir to Makonkarie is in a less
accessible state in the rainy season. From Mathoir it is about 8 kilometers to Makonkarie. It is
possible to travel with public transport.
102

10. Interview guide C. Williams
Tourism policy
o National/international
o Regional
Strengths and weaknesses
Organization structure of NTB –Ministry of tourism
Task of the NTB
Cooperation with other organizations
Promoting tourism/marketing activities
Country image
Key source markets
Domestic tourism
Trends and developments
Opportunities and threats
Future plans
103

11. Summary oral interview C. Williams
Name of the interviewed person Cecil Williams
Function of the interviewed person General Manager of National Tourist Board Sierra Leone
Date March 30, 2011
Place Cape Sierra Hotel, Aberdeen, Freetown
Domestic tourism is not captured. Domestic tourism in Sierra Leone is a cultural issue. When
people living in Sierra Leone go for travelling they don’t stay in hotels. So it is difficult to give
numbers. Most of the time when Sierra Leonean travel or go for a visit they stay with family and
friends. The Tourism Board does not encourage domestic tourism because the market is not
active and economically it isn’t interesting. The tourism attractions in Sierra Leone are not
attractive to Sierra Leoneans themselves.
The ministry of tourism and cultural affairs relies on the National Tourist Board. The NTB has
three major tasks: promotion and marketing activities, product development and regulation and
classification in terms of quality. The MoTCA is the policy formulation body.
Promotion and marketing activities are focused on the up market segment.
The NTB cooperates with airlines. Because high flight prices are a threat for Sierra Leone as a
tourism destination, competition brings down prices. Starting in April, Air France adds Freetown
to its destination. The NTB cooperates with different hotel chains, travel agencies and tour
operators. The NTB also invites journalists from abroad and goes abroad to fair trades in
Europe.
Many countries have their unique selling point. If you want wildlife you go to Kenya, London has
royalty, Rome has history and Paris is a romantic city. Sierra Leone is unique in its charm. You
fall in love with Sierra Leone in every situation, even the difficulties you have to deal with in
Sierra Leone have its charm (getting from A to B, the airport)
When you mention Africa most of the people link it to diseases, war and unrest. When you want
to be an attractive tourist destination in Africa you have to be unique in the service you offer.
Recession in Europe and America affected the tourism industry in Sierra Leone as well.
Tourism has never been a top priority because there are little attractions in the country.
Tourism doesn’t play an important role. The private sector has to be attracted to develop
tourism, it is not the main task of the government.
Tourists are starting to compare. The unspoilt and beautiful beaches of Sierra Leone are a
strength but it is not enough. Tourists want to combine beach vacation with adventure for
example.
Most of the monuments and history attractions are not maintained well.
104

12. Written interview Tonkolili district council
From councilor Foday Y. Kanu – Ward 208
March 16, 2011
1.What are the regional plans for developing the Tonkolili district?
a) Social sector projects:
- Health facilities eg construction of health posts, health centres, provision of drugs,
medical equipment, etc
- Educational facilities eg construction of schools, provision of school furniture, text books
and library facilities
- Social protection eg care for the disabled, street children, abounded, and abnormal
children
- Youth and sports
- Gender issues eg protection of women against domestic violence
b) Social infrastructure sector projects:
- Construction or rehabilitation of roads, culverts, bridges
- WATSAN facilities eg hand plumb wells, VIP/Public latrines
- Others eg lorry parks, community centre, markets, etc
c) Productive sector projects:
- Agriculture eg provision of farming inputs, seeds, fertilizers, etc
- Trade eg provision of micro credit facilities to women’s group, etc
2.Are there plans regarding tourism development in the area?
No, because that ministry has not been devolved to council for now
3.What progresses are there made in the district?
Educationally, schools are constructed by Central government, NGO’s and communities.
Some health posts are constructed and rehabilitated. Feeder roads are rehabilitated in
some chiefdoms but more need to be attended to in due course. However there is room
for future development.
4.What needs the most attention in the district?
Education, health and sanitation, agriculture. Especially the cultivation of rice which is
the staple food to foster the participation of the local communities and the
construction/rehabilitation of feeder roads.
5.Is the Tonkolili district council collaborating with other organizations that the government?
105

- The Tonkolili district council collaborates with organizations (NGO’s) on the
recommendations and approval of the Central government, especially international
NGO’s.
- The council approves all registered Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) to ensure
their effective implementations in the district.
6.What does the council values in the district?
We value every developmental activities organized in the district, especially question 4
above.
7.Are some villages or chiefdoms more important than others?
Yes. The importance of a village/chiefdom is based on the following:
- The size and the population growth
- The economic activities of the residents
- Education and health facilities available
8.How often is there contact between the paramount chief and the council?
All the paramount chiefs have representations in all the councils –two in each district.
Their contacts with councils are almost on daily bases.
9.What could attract foreign visitors to the district?
- Adequate sensitization of the people in the district on the importance of tourism in the
country and district
- Physical make up of the district eg the water falls, Bumbuna, mountains, Bintimani,
Forest reserves, Gola in Kenema district, Kaseway in Yoni chiefdom
- The rich traditional cultures among the main ethnic groups in the district
- The mineral deposits
- The origin and historical backgrounds of chieftaincies in the district eg Yoni chiefdom
10.How does the organization structure of the Tonkolili district council looks like?
Structure of Local government administration:
Ministry of Local government and Community development
Freetown City council
Provincial administration
Local councils
106

Chiefdoms (Chiefdom committees)
Ward (Ward committees)
Eg Tonkolili district council structure:
- Headquarter town – Magburaka
- Number of chiefdoms – eleven
- Number of wards -28
- Number of paramount chif councilor – two
- Chairman of council – head
- Councilors and chairpersons of committees of five
- Administrative staff headed by the Chief Administrator (CA)
Chiefdoms (Chiefdom committee)
- Paramount chief –head
- Section chiefs –members
- Chiefdom speakers – members
- Chiefdom treasury clerk - secretary etc
- Ceremonial chiefs
Ward committee
- Ward councilor chairman
- Membership – paramount chief of the chiefdom
Not more than ten others, at least five of whom should be women, resident in the ward,
elected in a public meeting
Central roles and responsibilities:
- Mobilize ward residents to implement self – help and developmental projects
- Provide focal point for fruitful discussions to local problems and needs
- Organize communal and voluntary work
- Make project proposals to the local council
- Educate resident on their rights and obligations
107

13. Trends per driver of the Kuoni Study
1. SOCIAL DRIVERS
• Ageing society: In 2020, the elderly will be in the majority in Western Europe. Children and
young
people will be in short supply.
• Individualisation. Growing demand for individual holidays. Falling demand for package tours.
• New family structures. More and more singles. Ever fewer families with children.
• Health consciousness grows. Destinations with potential health hazards will come under
pressure.
Areas with contaminated water and beaches, polluted air, ugly buildings, a risk of infection, etc.,
will
be avoided.
• Value orientation increases resulting in a new competition of values. Ecological, ethic and
social
values become ever more important.
• Decline of the middle class in Western Europe.
• Leisure time declines. Western Europe must work longer again. Raising the pension age
retards
the growth of senior travel.
2. TECHNOLOGICAL DRIVERS
• Availability of information. The spread and performance of information and communication
technology
continue to increase. Access to tourist and booking Information will become even simpler, faster
and cheaper;
• Transport: more, faster and cheaper long-distance connections.
• New search and mapping services. Geo-tagging, Google Earth and GPS revolutionise maps.
• Tracking services make it possible to mark travellers like parcels and to locate them at any
time.
• Extreme engineering: Opening up new destinations that were previously closed to tourists, e.g.,
underwater hotels and space trips.
• Environmental-control technology will become more important. Destinations threatened by
natural
catastrophes will depend more and more on early-warning, water-treatment and weathercontrol
technology.
3.ECONOMIC DRIVERS
• Greater competitive pressure. Tourists expect more for less money.
• Booming Asia. Wealth and power shift towards the East.
• Polarisation of demand for cheap and luxury offers. Growing pressure on the middle.
• Daily rock-bottom prices are normal and expected. The downward once spiral will revolve
faster
and faster and the margins will shrink.
• End of industrial working in Western Europe.
• Growing vulnerability of financial markets.
4. ECOLOGICAL DRIVERS
• Unspoilt nature will become scarcer and, therefore, more valuable.
• Climatic change. Regional climatic advantages shift.
• End of the oil reserves.
108

•Traffic jams will become chronic, the consequential effects increase and make travelling an
even greater torture.
• Ozone hole: the sun is dangerous. Sun? Just say no!
5. POLITICAL DRIVERS
• Political uncertainties increase and prevent or restrict travel.
• Growth of terrorism. Security measures, visa regulations and entry controls will become even
stricter and make travel more complicated.
• Opening up of China. China and its numerous and its numerous previously unknown sights,
could
develop into the world’s popular tourist destinations over the next 15 years.
• Declining trust in politics.
•Disintegration of shared values. Clash of cultures. Intercultural conflicts spread and intensity.
Thus, travelling will become more dangerous again.
109

14. Segmentation by TNS NIP
The broad thinkers
The broad thinker is a progressive person, left orientated with a good educational. The broad
thinkers try to change the world, starting by themselves. They are environmentally conscious
and love their freedom. Self actualization is very important.
The business people
These people are ambitious and independent. They have a high educational, work hard and are
fast and creative thinkers. This group loves luxury but gives often money to charities. They
believe in innovations. Self determination is very important.
The luxury seekers
This group has high ambitions and strives to success and acknowledgement. They don’t like to
sit still. A comfortable life is very important to them. The style of living matches their own needs.
The keyword for this group is performance.
The lovers
Own physical and emotional pleasure are central. Social issues and politics are no interests.
Lovers watch more television in comparison to others. They have an impulsive buying style.
Having fun is very important for this group.
The conservation hearted
This group is mainly focused on the own living environment. Family and friends are central.
They don’t like to be seen and avoid difficult situations and discussions. Modern articles are
favorites. The keyword for this group is conformism.
The caring
The wellbeing of others is the focus of the caring. They are very social and enjoy carrying for the
other. The style of living is sober but generous to others. Traditions and traditional values are
very important. The keyword for this group is social.
The committed
Harmony and stability are very important for the committed. As well as in the society as in their
own life. The committed like to be part of a group. Most of the time this are older people with an
average high educational. Safety for this group is very important
The balanced
Everything in this group is average. Interests, educational, way of thinking, they are in between
the above.
110

15. Pyramid of Maslow and Demographic segmentation by TNS NIPO
Figure 17: Pyramid of Maslow (Maslow, 1970)
Figure 18: Demographic segmentation TNS NIPO (2009)
111

16. Observation schedule different actors in the society of Makonkarie
Chief
Imam
Head
teacher
Teachers
Youth
Children
Farmers
Traders
Smith
Women
groups
Level of
status in
practice
Daily
activities
In
contact
with..
112
Level of
interaction
Feels
free to
speak
Skills and
knowledge
Details

17. Detailed scenario field research in Makonkarie
This appendix can be found in the enclosed document: detailed scenario of the field research in
Makonakarie, Tonkolili District.
113

18. CBT mapping Makonkarie
114

19. Mobility mapping Makonkarie
115

20. Seasonal calendar Makonkarie
116

21. Makonkarie and direct environment
117
Robis Bana
Freetown-Mile 91/Bo highway
Freetown Mathoir Rokimbi1 Rokimbi2 Mile 91
Magbassa
0,3 miles
80 miles
5 miles 15 miles
8 miles
Roline 1
3 miles
Roline 2 Yoni Bana
Makonkarie
5 miles
Roruks
Note 1: The most frequently traveled distances are given, marked with arrows.
Note 2: From Makonkarie to Freetown, Rokimbi and Mile 91 the Freetown-Mile 91/Bo highway is
used because it is the only way to travel to those towns, Mathoir serves a connecting point.

22. Monthly visitors arrival by purpose of visit 2010
118

23. Monthly visitors arrival by place of residence 2010
119

24. Visitors expenditure 2010
120

25. Competences
Competence 7; Change management
Number Description Where to found?
7.1.a Desired situation Chapter 8 Results field research
Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: In the dream phase of the field research as well as in the advice part the desired situation comes
forward. In the case of the dream phase the desired situation of the host community it is about how the village can
develop from CBT. In the advice part the desired situation when tourism projects takes place are given.
7.1.b Current situation Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 3 Context
Chapter 4 Internal analysis
Chapter 5 External analysis
Chapter 8 Results field research
Explanation: The current situation of Sierra Leone and SLYI is described in chapter 1 and chapter 3. The internal and
external analysis describe the current situation as well, what is going on regarding tourism and the district. The
internal and external analysis make the picture of Sierra Leone at the end in the SWOT. Part of the field research is
the discovery phase where the current situation (in social and physical respects) of the community and Makonkarie
is described.
7.2.a.1 Characterization of the
organizational culture
Competence 6; Innovations
Number Description Where to found?
1.1.c.1 Opportunities Chapter 5 Internal analysis
Chapter 6 External analysis
Chapter 8 Results field research
Chapter 9 Conclusions
Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: In the external and internal analysis different opportunities for Sierra Leone, the district and the
tourism industry are given. In the field research where the dream phase is described and the success factors are
determined, different opportunities come forward. In the conclusion the SWOT model shows the opportunities as
well.
1.1.d.1 Risks Chapter 5 Internal analysis
Chapter 6 External analysis
Chapter 9 Conclusions
Explanation: The risks are reflected in the internal and external analysis and at the end in the SWOT in chapter 9.
1.1.f.1 Success factors Chapter 4 Sustainable tourism
Chapter 8 Results field research
Chapter 9 Conclusions
121
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 3 Context
Chapter 8 Results of the field
research
Explanation: The organization structure of SLYI and the community in Makonkarie are given. The organization
culture of SLYI is given in chapter 1 and 3. While the structure of the actors in Makonkarie are given in chapter 1, 3
and 8.
7.2.d.2 Core interest of involved parties Chapter 4 Sustainable tourism
Chapter 7 Potential tourist
Chapter 8 Results field research
Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: In the theoretical framework of CBT and in the benchmark in chapter 4 different parties as NGOs,
communities, private sector, government, et cetera are given and their roles are explained. Chapter 7 is another
party that is involved, the potential tourist. In chapter 8 different actors of the society in Makonkarie came forward.
7.3.b.2 Feasibility Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: With the help of the FOETSJE model the feasibility of the different recommendations are determined.

Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: In the benchmark of the theoretical framework the success factors of CBT are determined. In the field
research the conclusion of the discovery and dream phase are combined in a success factor table. In chapter 9 and 10
the examined success factors are reflected.
1.2.a.1 Trends and developments Chapter 4 Sustainable tourism
Chapter 6 External analysis,
Chapter 9 Conclusions
Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: Trends and developments can be found through whole the report, in different chapters.
1.3.a.1 Creativity Chapter 10 Advice
Explanation: The creativity can be found in how the third recommendation can be filled in with help of the
destination mix. The product that has been set up if community-based tourism will be developed as well.
122