(DTIS) Update, Volume 1 – Main report - Enhanced Integrated ...

Box 7.4: Examples of regional conservation and tourism initiatives in Southern and East AfricaSouthern Africa: Since 2000, SADC member States have been cooperating on common conservationand tourism related issues through the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs),adjoining protected areas in two or more countries. Seven TFCAs are already showcased to tourists andinvestors through a common brand, “Boundless Southern Africa”. Together, these parks involve ninecountries and up to five for a single park in the case of the Kavango Zambezi TFCA (Angola, Botswana,Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Moreover, several other TFCAs are at a various stages of development.While essentially a government-led initiative, the establishment of TFCAs has been supported bynumerous stakeholders, including international donors, NGOs, the private sector or foundations.East Africa: One notable example is the cooperation between the authorities in the DRC, Rwanda andUganda for the conservation and management of their trans-border forests in the Virunga ConservationArea, which covers the Parc National des Virunga (DRC), the Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) andthe Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda). Collaboration between national agencies was formalizedby the establishment of a transboundary strategic plan and memorandum of understanding. Various jointinitiatives are carried out, notably concerning the harmonization of the rules governing gorilla tourism.Sources: www.boundlessa.com ; www.peaceparks.org ; www.igcp.orgIntegrating into the regional market will require attracting FDI, especially from the actors whoare active in the EAC region. Tourism operators in East Africa already exploit the regional dimension:for example, Kenya is one of the main sources of tourism FDI in Uganda, and more than 20 percent ofhotels in Kenya do business in the region through hotel chains and branches of tour operators based inTanzania (UNCTAD 2008). Moreover, the UNCTAD’s study suggests that firms with some degree offoreign ownership are more likely to do business in the region than wholly local firms. The experience ofother East and Southern African countries shows that, FDI in tourism i) has been a significant source ofinvestment capital in the tourism sector, especially where tourism was emphasized as a new sector ofgrowth ii) has enhanced service delivery and supply capacity (especially accommodation provided byinternational hotel chains), hence contributing to a sustained increase in both arrivals and revenues frominternational tourism; and iii) can contribute to raising domestic tourism sectors’ productivity andcompetitiveness by transferring skills, technology and standards, especially in countries relatively new totourism 138 . Burundi could learn from neighbors’ experience in this regard. For example, to foster theprivate sector’s interest, the Rwandan government organized familiarization tours for internationalinvestors and tour operators, during which the Minister of Commerce and Rwandan tourism officereceived the delegates to demonstrate the importance of their visit (Nielsen and Spenceley 2011).Importantly, Burundi’s new Investment Promotion Agency (API) will have a role to play to promote FDIin tourism, in coordination with the ONT.138 See the UNCTAD’s (2008) detailed analysis of the role and developmental impact of FDI in the tourism sector,with case studies of several East and Southern African countries.147 / 153