the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

other two types of tourists, and hence, as can be seen from Table 6.6 and Table
6.12, high-cost tourists dominate the Okavango Delta's tourist areas.
The greater majority of the accommodation managers interviewed (53 percent)
stated that they were satisfied with the Botswana Government's 'high-cost, low­
impact' tourism policy (Table 6.14). The main reason given was that the policy helps
limit the number of tourists able to visit the Delta area at anyone time, helping to
promote the areas conservation, while the high cost aspect still allows large profits to
be made.
Table 6.14: Views of Accommodation Managers on Government's 'High-Cost,
Low-Impact' Tourism Policy (2003/2004)
Opinion of Manager Number of Managers Percentage
Satisfied with policy 33 53
No opinion 7 11
Dissatisfied with policy 23 36
Total 63 100
The main reason given by most of the 36 percent of the managers who stated they
were dissatisfied with the government's 'high-cost, low-impact' policy, was that the
policy restricted the number of people who were willing to pay the prices generally
charged for tourism in the Delta area, and hence restricted the number of tourists
visiting the area. This in turn reduced their profits, as they potentially would be able
to make far more from tourism in the Okavango, if more tourists could afford to visit
the area. With regard to the policy helping to conserve the Okavango Delta through
limiting the number of tourists, many of the managers stated that an increase in
tourist numbers in the Delta would not adversely affect the area. This was because
they held the view that it was not the tourists, but rather the local population, who
were degrading the region.
Despite the various opinions on the 'high-cost, low-impact' tourism policy, safari
managers in the area generally hold the impression that most parts of the Okavango
Delta are already saturated with tourism facilities, tourist activities and tourists. As a
result, it is suggested that there should not be an increase in the number of facilities,
nor the volume of tourists coming into the area (Mbaiwa, 2002). These views are
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