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

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Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development recognises <strong>the</strong> l<strong>in</strong>kages which exist<br />

between dest<strong>in</strong>ation areas and <strong>the</strong> wider environment. Therefore it seeks to<br />

contribute to regional, national and global <strong>resource</strong> conservation and preservation<br />

measures <strong>in</strong> order to advance <strong>in</strong>tra- and <strong>in</strong>ter-generational equity <strong>of</strong> access to<br />

wealth-generat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>natural</strong> <strong>resource</strong>s (Hunter and Green, 1995).<br />

Aspects <strong>of</strong> this <strong>in</strong>terpretation <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development are apparent <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>tourism</strong> literature. One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most thorough <strong>in</strong>vestigations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong><br />

susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development is provided by Cron<strong>in</strong> (1990, p. 13), who presents<br />

<strong>the</strong> cumulative work <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> Canadian academics, bus<strong>in</strong>ess people and<br />

government <strong>of</strong>ficials: 'In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry, susta<strong>in</strong>able development<br />

has a fairly specific mean<strong>in</strong>g - <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry's challenge is to develop <strong>tourism</strong> capacity<br />

and <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> its products without adversely affect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> physical and human<br />

environment that susta<strong>in</strong>s and nurtures <strong>the</strong>m'.<br />

Susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development is reliant upon three conditions. Firstly, <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>resource</strong>s <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> environment must be protected; secondly, local communities must<br />

benefit both economically and <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> life; and thirdly, visitors must<br />

receive a quality experience. The concept <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> is a very broad idea<br />

that refers to <strong>tourism</strong> that is long-last<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>tegrated at <strong>the</strong> same time as diversified,<br />

participatory, and environmentally, economically, socially, and culturally compatible<br />

(Perez-Salom, 2001).<br />

Therefore, susta<strong>in</strong>able <strong>tourism</strong> development means plann<strong>in</strong>g attractions <strong>in</strong> such a<br />

way that allows tourists to enjoy <strong>the</strong>m while also hav<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>imal impacts on <strong>the</strong> host<br />

environment and culture. Susta<strong>in</strong>able development can only occur when <strong>the</strong> quality<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> environment and community life can be preserved <strong>in</strong>def<strong>in</strong>itely. To achieve this<br />

goal, <strong>the</strong> local community must be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> all stages <strong>of</strong> development (Hassan,<br />

2000).<br />

Cron<strong>in</strong> (1990, p. 13) fur<strong>the</strong>r provides a list <strong>of</strong> criteria that need to be met for <strong>tourism</strong><br />

developments to conform to <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able development. These are<br />

that development should:<br />

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