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

Table 6.16: Number of Years of Operation for Tourist Facilities in the
Okavango Delta and Maun (2001)
Number of Years Number Percentage
Less than 5 years 10 12
6 - 10 years 17 20
11 - 15 years 34 40
16 - 30 years 13 15
31 and more years 11 13
Total 85 100
Source: Adapted From Mbaiwa, 2002.
As can be seen from Table 6.17, some of the more major safari companies
operating in the Okavango Delta include Ker and Downey, Desert and Delta,
Gametrackers, Okavango Wilderness Safaris and Landela Botswana. The main
companies that operate hunting safaris in the Delta area include Blackbeard and
Hepburn, Safari South and Rann Safaris. Over the past 15 years, the safari industry
in the Delta has been very dynamic. Many of the companies have changed
ownership and diversified, shifting from hunting to photographic safaris or
broadening their services to include both, appealing to a broader spectrum of
tourists.
Until recently, the tourism sector in the Okavango Delta has been developing with
very little support (such as financial) and recognition from the Botswana Government
(when compared to agriculture and manufacturing which rely heavily on government
subsidies). As a result, international safari companies and individual expatriate
companies who could afford the expense of developing tourist infrastructure such as
camps and chalets, and marketing and administration, discovered a niche in the
Delta (Mbaiwa, 2002).
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