Feasibility Study of Proposed Tourism Dev in Shewula, NE ...

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Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.4.2.2. General criteria for feasibility In order for the project to achieve the above goal, it is important to ensure the feasibility of the project from a number of perspectives, including the sociological, environmental and business perspectives. a) Sociological criteria The degree to which a community-based tourism development has the broad-based support of the local community will influence its feasibility on sociological grounds. Legitimate support for such a project can only occur, when the community has the ability to make informed decisions regarding the desirability of such a venture. Such informed decisions are dependent on general awareness about the proposed development and an understanding of the benefits that such a development could have for the community, as well as the nature and extent of the costs that the community could incur. If a tourism development is to be sociologically feasible it must provide the local community with significant benefits, which outweigh the costs of the development to the community as a whole and its individual members. Since the proposed project is touted to be a Shewula community initiative, the community must have a sense of ownership about the project. The ability of the Shewula community to effectively take part in all stages of the project is therefore central to its feasibility. Inadequate participation of community, especially during the planning stages could severely undermine the viability of the project. The ability of the Shewula community to properly manage the distribution of benefits resulting from the development, is an aspect of the sociological feasibility of the development's beneficial economic impacts. b) Environmental criteria The environmental feasibility of a tourism development is dependent on the extent to which the receiving environment (both natural and socio-cultural) is able to withstand the impacts of the development without being significantly undermined. c) Business criteria The financial feasibility of the proposed tourism development will depend on and be influenced by a number of factors, including: • a suitable target market, and marketable assets that will appeal to the identified target market; • accessing the target market and successfully marketing the tourism product; and • the financial outputs (eg. revenue, profits and turnover) exceeding, or in the break-even scenario equating with, the inputs (eg. capital, labour, operating costs and assets) that are associated with the tourism development. 1.4.2.3. Specific assumptions relating to Shewula • That the Shewula community is a relatively poor community, 23 located within a region that is characterised by higher rates of poverty than other areas of the country 24 This situation has been exacerbated in recent years, with the community suffering economic losses as a result of drought and cattle raids. 23 See original proposal, Appendix 5. 24 Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEP&D) 1997-.Swaziland Poverty Assessment by the Poor, MEP&D.
Chapter 1 - Introduction • That the Shewula community is a stakeholder in the tourism development, and that therefore only those development scenarios which will allow for significant community participation, management, and/or derivation of benefits, are applicable to the envisaged tourism development. • That planned community-based tourism development should take cognisance of the existing and potential markets, and should be demand-driven in the long-term but that supply-driven development (which utilises existing resources) is appropriate in the short-term. In other words, if an enterprise can begin with basic, low-cost services, then community capacity can develop, making it more feasible to engage in a more intensive, upmarket development in the future. • That project feasibility depends not only on the financial feasibility of a proposed development, but also on the ability of the receiving environment to withstand and/or facilitate the development, without incurring significant detrimental impacts. • That local objectives are most important in determining which model is most appropriate for operations of the tourism development; and that these objectives include increased quality of life, employment opportunities and income generating activities being promoted in Shewula. 1.5. RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODS This section describes how the study was conducted. 1.5.1. Research Approach The study consisted of an initial set of tasks that were refined in an adaptive way as the study progressed. The broad areas of study include the following: Environmental feasibility The assessment of environmental feasibility focused specifically on the biophysical, socio-economic and cultural components that could impact on or be impacted by the development. Economic feasibility The assessment of economic feasibility was carried out at a conceptual level. This component included marketing, business and financial considerations. Socio-cultural feasibility The assessment of the socio-cultural feasibility focused on the existing capacity in the Shewula community to successfully participate in / manage the proposed tourism development, and identified the capacity-building requirements that would allow community members to participate in this way. The overall approach adopted for the study was rooted in the principles mentioned above and included the following: A flexible and iterative approach to the research. This allowed for adaptation of the initial research plans and methodologies to accommodate information and opportunities that arose during the fieldwork.
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c) Re-establishment of game The bel
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) Indirect income generation Sugges
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References Obua, J. 1997: The Poten
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The four questions that the study t
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3. Requirements The resources that
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Outreach programme at Mlawula could
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If the tourism development site wer
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