A Qualitative Study on the Potential Obstacles in The

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A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE POTENTIAL OBSTACLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS IN ZIMBABWE Jeanette Tsikadzashe Matina¹, Beh Yean Shan*²,Nik Ahmad Ridzaffi Taqriz Shah³ ¹Student, International Hotel and Tourism Management, School of Hospitality, Tourism, and Culinary Arts, KDU College, Penang, Malaysia. *²Lecturer, Tourism Management and Development, School of Tourism, Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Level 11, West, No. 1, Jalan Imbi, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ³Lecturer, Event and Tourism Management, School of Hospitality, Tourism, and Culinary Arts, Taylors University Lakeside Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to examine the potential obstacles challenging the development of national parks in Zimbabwe. The research‟s initiative was driven primarily by the serious poaching crisis in Zimbabwe. The maintenance of these national parks becomes a major issue, a major challenge for the government and authorities concerned. The study focuses on the potential obstacles of development for national parks in Zimbabwe from various stakeholder‟s perspective. Data collected was analyzed with categorization and affinity group analysis. The findings and discussions of the study were presented according to its theme. A total of five potential obstacles were identified and discussed by both governmental and non-governmental bodies (NGOs). This study had successfully gathered the insights of both authorities and NGOs on the challenges faced by these national parks and had also gathered some proposal of solutions from both parties to overcome the identified challenges. Keywords: OBSTACLES; NATIONAL PARKS; ZIMBABWE

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1. INTRODUCTION The world has continued to join as a union front over the years. As the largest market in the world to draw in the most revenue annually, the tourism industry brings in a combined $3 trillion worldwide (United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, 2012).Tourism was the way people moved towards certain places away from the regions they reside, they participate in leisure excursions during their time of stay, and facilities are made available to look after them during their stay (Mathieson and Wall, 1982 as cited in Wamwara and Cornwell, 2008).The tourism industry is probably one of the world„s highest grossing industries, and over the years it has managed to create over thousands of jobs to individuals in most developing and developed countries (World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC,2012).There are a total of eleven differently located National Parks in Zimbabwe, Chimanimani National Park, Chizarira National Park, Hwange National Park, Kazuma National Park, Mana Pools National Parks, Matusadona National Park, Matopos National Park, Victoria Falls National Park, Zambezi National Park, Nyanga National Park and Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe boasts as a strong hold in the tourism Industry. All the National Parks are strategically located to ensure the number of visitors to all national parks is equally dispersed(Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authorities, 2013). According to Nyaguse (2001) who studied on the national parks in Zimbabwe and its influences on the tourist numbers, he reached a conclusion that most national parks in Zimbabwe despite the scenery located in the national parks were developed to protect and preserve the wildlife, whilst others were developed to help preserve the ecosystem.The main focus of the economy fell solely on the structures in the country and not solely on the activity to revive the tourism industry in Zimbabwe.Table 1.1shows that in 1998, Zimbabwe was ranked as the 10th top African Countries to earn the most. However, tourist numbers over the years has dropped drastically, as shown in the table 1.2 and there followed by figure 1.1that evidenced that the numbers of tourist arrivals over the years has fallen. As a result of low tourist arrival, the economy also suffered a drastic blow.Table 1.2 illustrates the tourist arrivals during the period of 2003 – 2011. These statistics showed the numbers of arrivals into the country dropped as the years went on. As a result of poor management, the economy has continued to fall and this might be caused by the political issues that the country went through in the last couple of years. Tourist arrivals were relatively low throughout the time as people were skeptical in travelling.

Figure 1.1 evidenced the numbers dropping in arrivals over the years that has also impacted in the economy downfall. The decrease of tourist visitation to Zimbabwe national parks resulted in the decrease of income that flows into the country especially from tourists who explored the tourist sites. The main goal of this study is to determine whether the obstacle faced by Zimbabwe in the development of national parks, and it also seeks answers to existing obstacles.This would help to ensure that the sustainability of national parks in the country from the perspectives of government agencies, the local community, environmentalists, special interest group and media.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Importance of tourism in Zimbabwe Tourism in Zimbabwe plays a very important role for the country, and as it generates a big part of the national income. According toUNWTO (2004), approximately 1.6million tourists visited the country and brought in 80 million Euros into the country. Tourism in Zimbabwe remains a strong economic stabilizer in for the country. Tourism in Zimbabwe is the 3rd highest foreign currency stipendiary in the country after mining and agriculture. This might be possibly caused by affordable flights and higher accessibility to Zimbabwe as compared to visiting other destinations. Zimbabwe is known for Victoria Falls and the vast landscape and wildlife. Tourism generates large employment opportunities for the locals in the country and to certain extent to other Africans around the world. National parks as the main attraction of the tourism industry of Zimbabwe should be primarily concerned over its sustainability and development.

2.1.1Role of National Parks in Zimbabwe The role of national parks is to safely look after the wildlife in the country. The authorities need to ensure that the wildlife is closely monitored and taken care well. The national parks act as a sanctuary and home to the wildlife. Secondly, is to act as an attraction for tourists and visitors by providing public the opportunity to move around and view different kinds of wildlife in the parks. Therefore, maintaining the quality and development of these national parks are vital.

2.2Role of various stakeholders for the development of national parks in Zimbabwe This particular study is adapted because it can be easily related to the current study that is trying to investigate on national parks, the elements being investigated are similar to that of which affect the national parks around Zimbabwe. Each element in the framework of study has a distinct role in the growth and maintenance of the national parks.The framework used in the previous study was focusing more on Eco-tourism. This particular framework is used in this study because the elements have been closely examined and deemed to fits well with the nature of this study. Adding to this, the framework has helped to analyze in a way the impact eco-tourism may have on the development of other aspects such as national parks in Zimbabwe.

2.2.1 Local community The present study is primarily driven by previous study. This study performed a similar study on “Nature based Eco-tourism in a Growing Market” by(Chirgwin and Hughes, 1997). The framework of study (figure 1.2) had been drawn based on the facts of study by Chirgwin and Hughes. The main purpose of this research isto identifythe potential obstacles that the national parks are facing in its development. The impact of tourism had the potential to grow and improve as it serves as both tourism entity as well as an economic booster for the country. The maintenance of the resources in the country, especially in national parks depending widely and exceptionally on the local community, as the local community is the core of every tourism destination. They learnt to understand the environment better than the tourists, even better than the tourism associations in the country as they reside longer in the place longer. Without the locals the country would not be able to function, as the locals assist every industry by working, and travelling. The reason of the local community being viewed as an obstacle

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 in the framework of study is the possibility on the role of locals being viewed as a threat by the government in conflict of views and perspectives (Gandiwa, 2011). Therefore, gaining views from the local community is vital.

2.2.2 Government agencies The government agencies such as the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), Ministry of tourism, National Park Authority to name a few, all work with the government to ensure that the country works together for its development. It is important to gather insights from the government agencies in the obstacles hindering development of national parks as government agencies work with the national parks to ensure growth (Crisis Coalition Zimbabwe, 2004).The political instability in Zimbabwe has caused many international investors to either withdraw their investments or refrain from investing in the country as they felt that the country could collapse at any minute. The shortage of foreign currency in the country makes it almost impossible to repatriate dividends from investments and there is reportedly a large backlog of such dividends awaiting repatriation. The political issue was only one side of the story the main issue aroused when there was no more funds to help maintain and look after the national park, this resulted in poachers coming into the parks and most of the animals were killed either for commercial purpose or as a game by poachers. These poachers were also locals who had not been paid as a result of the investors backing out and political instability which resulted in many locals having to suffer through week‟s sometimes even months without any food or money. As a result the employees who worked near the parks went out to reserves and took whichever meat they found and kept it for themselves some even sold it in order to make some extra income. Mpofu (2009) states that “Zimbabwe had about 1,000 rhinos 20 years ago, but only 400 of the endangered species are left, after most of them had been poached. Nobody is policing people in high places who are running the highly organized poaching rackets. The army and police have been engaged to fight poachers, but soldiers are also poorly paid and are actually poaching.”

Government agencies need to analyze the existing problems that were already in the community and those issues that are affecting the resources in the national parks. Therefore, there is a need for the party concerned to look at the potential solutions and other options that could have helped in preparing the government in expanding their resources into the maintenance and development.

2.2.3 Investors As discussed the political instability has not only caused alarm in the economy but has also caused the investors coming into the country to second guess their investments in the country. With the political issues many potential investors have either fled the Zimbabwe market or have pulled out their money as they felt that they were at risk of losing their money if they continued to work or operate in Zimbabwe.

British Airways said they have no plans to pull out of Zimbabwe, and are confident that a problem can be resolved over the government refusing to allow them to remit earnings to the UK. Australia's Quanta‟s and Germany's Lufthansa have already left Zimbabwe. Austrian Airlines will do so on 14 March (Machipisa, 2001). Adding to this because tourism is a high earner in Zimbabwe, the number of foreign tourists dropped which resulted in fewer numbers of travelers coming in to see the national parks and as well as other attractions in Zimbabwe.

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Many of the investors who once worked with Zimbabwe Tourism as well as the government have moved on to other border countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, all of which are neighboring countries some of which Zimbabwe shares boundaries like the Victoria Falls. Furthermore, the country had already lost the construction of a multi-million dollar resort complex to Zambia as well as other developments planned for Victoria Falls. This resulted in one of the country's major hotel groups, the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG), are indicative of the harsh reality that Zimbabwean tourism firms are facing. The hotel and tour group experienced a turnover decline of 14% which meant an operating loss of Z$104 million (Zimbabwe dollars) which is equivalent to US$1.9million.

2.2.4 Economy With the phenomenon of investor withdrawal, Zimbabwe must have taken the largest hit from the fall. As it is only a developing country most of it precedes stand strongly on tourism and mining sectors to bring in money to keep the country afloat. The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products. Badly needed support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been suspended because of the government's arrears on past loans, which it began repaying in 2005. The official annual inflation rate rose from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004, 585% in 2005, and approached 1000% in 2006, although private sector estimates put the figure much higher. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 160 per US dollar in 2006.

With the quick downfall of the economy the tourism sector is said to have suffered the most over the years. With little to no money coming into the country is insufficient fund to take care of the basic infrastructure in the national park regions which automatically means that the parks will be left unattended for time on end and this will result in the deterioration of the already existing resources. With the economy in Zimbabwe falling at a quick level the amount of tourists coming in is also dropping as other destinations seem to be more fitting to their needs. As a result of the political instability in the country fewer people would want to take the risk of coming to a country that could so rightfully collapse before them.

2.2.5 Media The media could also be part of the obstacles as they may have aired out information that is best kept within the country to international markets or other countries and this may be seen as part of the reason for the drop of tourist arrival in the country. However, the media could also be a huge benefit for the country as they would have helped the country‟s national parks to gain popularity amongst other countries that may have similar products. Another obstacle that the authorities might face could be the possible economy crisis facing the world. There may not be enough funds for the development of national parks as the income made from annual tourists may go to funding ofother projects and lesser importance and concern has been placed on the development of tourism.The media in Zimbabwe is separated into different industries in the country ranging from NGOs to the government

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 agencies as well as universities both public and private. The main media research programme in the country is Zimbabwe all Media Products Survey (ZAMPS). This program is initiated and owned (through a shareholding structure) by advertising agencies and marketing, public relations and business interests, hence its agenda is to source information on audience response to media products for the benefit of advertisers and business. The media in Zimbabwe over the years went through a few hardships as a result of the economy and political tension. Media is posed as an obstacle towards the national parks. It is evidenced when political crisis started in Zimbabwe (Coltart 2008), the media from all outlets local and international published what was going on in the country and this hindered progress in the country. Adding to this the information that was reported regarding violence and instability towards the locals sent the country into turmoil resulting in the drastic drop of the country‟s tourism industry. This further solidifies the need of gathering insights from the media point of view.

2.2.6Non-governmental organizations The country has a very strong NGO sector that works with human rights and the freedom of the people. However most of the funding of the NGOs is based on donor community with most of it coming from humanitarian issues as well as poverty alleviation (Mukundu, 2006).The NGOs faced a few issues working the government because of the political issues. This was also seen as an obstacle because the NGOs approval in the country is necessary as they have access in getting aid from foreign countries and by having this link the country could have used this to strengthen their relationships with other foreign countries that they had conflict in the past. This is being viewed as an obstacle because the relationship that was hindered between government and NGOs in a way slowed down the countries progress as they do not have sufficient fund to fend for the locals in rural areas. As NGOs are actively involved in many voluntary activities in protecting human rights as well as wildlife, it would be vital to gain insights from their point of view.

2.4.4 Environmentalist There is also a need to gather viewsfrom environmentalists working in the national parks when it comes to the obstacles that were facing in the development of national parks in Zimbabwe. As environmentalists are deemed to be appropriate in providing objectives view as they are commonly active as volunteers and front liners. With the extensive actual experience working in the parks as front liners, their views and opinions are deemed as valuable and important for this study. They may also be able to provide some guides and views on the environmental issues that are affecting these national parks as the last possible obstacle faced by the national parks in its development might be environmental factors, such as global warming .The weather conditionscould post a huge issue for the national parks and sanctuaries in the country. The potential obstacles are discussed based on previous research had evidenced the importance of gathering insights from various parties concerned on the issues of national park development.

3. METHODOLOGY The data gathered was mainly from the government organization, local community and NGOs, in regards to the risk of the national parks in Zimbabwe. Interview questions were prepared in advance and some were asked randomly during the research process. The information obtained from the interviews was serving as the primary sources, and related literature, journals, books and other past researches was serving as secondary

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 sources.Qualitative approach is deemed to be more appropriate in this study because it has more descriptive and explanatory design that explains the phenomenon better whereas quantitative research is mainly focused on the numerical and calculative part of the research. Therefore qualitative is most suitable for this research as it draws out in-depth comparison of the elements (Marshall and Rossman, 2011).

3.1.1 Research Sample design and Technique The researcher used non- scientific sampling instead of scientific sampling because scientific sampling is mainly done at random selection and unbiased, however with non-scientific sampling there is a better chances for the study being conducted as the researcher only targets one specific group. This type of sampling would better suit the study as the population being asked is not large and there is likely to be a likeness in the way the respondent answer the questions which would leave room for further investigation (Marshall and Rossman, 2011).

Purposive sampling method was employed in this study. Using purposive sampling whereby certain people in the population are selected and used to find answers. The main intervieweeswere managers and associates in the organization, and local community. The researcher interviewed ninepersonnel in different positions within several different organizations in and around Zimbabwe. This was because there were numerous Tourism Organizations in Zimbabwe, so by broadening the number of personals to interview, this would result in more information being obtained and further to this there would have been a wider comparison spectrum to choose and identify the issues if there were fewer personnel. The interview process involved a total of nine participants‟ in the spanof three weeks and each session lasted approximately one to two hours.

3.1.2 Subject The data collection was done by interview involving open ended questions; respondents were required to give answers to the questions in regards to the questions raised during the interview. The interview questions were asked to representatives from government agencies, local community members, and NGOs, environmentalists and media personnel. The samples were found and used to understand the significance of conserving national parks in Zimbabwe and the impact they may have had on the community.

3.1.3 Research instruments Data were collected through online interviews. The interviews were conducted through video conferencing as well as electronic channels such as instant messenger mediums. Most interviewees requested for Skype interview session and messenger (yahoo) interview session. The data collection process involved the local community, NGOs and government agencies. The interview questions were mainly open ended questions.All the data obtained was kept and saved so as to give the researcher the opportunity to refer back to the interviews in the case that there is a need.

3.1.4 Interview Note Design The first section of the interview questions was mainly focusing on the “Questions for Poaching Crisis in Zimbabwe”, in this particular section the researcher intends to investigate whether the respondents are aware of

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 the current issues regarding poaching and their views on the issues. These questions were asked in order to gain insights on the threat on the national parks through poaching and also to identify the potential issues that could arise from this.

The second section of the interview was mainly focusing on the “Questions for Advertising and Promotion Media in Zimbabwe”. This particular section the research intends to gain insights onrole of mediain influencing the development of national parks in Zimbabwe. Questions seek answers to recovery plan of the management, and both negative and positive recovery actions could be taken by media for the national parks of Zimbabwe. The third section of the interview was mainly focusing on the “Questions for Economic Issues”. In this section, the researcher intends to investigate the issues posed by the economy. Questions seek answers to the role of national parks in country‟s economy, and the role of economic crisis to its development. The fourth section of the interview labeled “Questions for Development in Zimbabwe”. In these questions the first one was asked to investigate the health issues in the National Parks and how these issues can be fixed and how they can be handled. The second question was asked to investigate if the country has over developed over the years in some areas. In the last section of the interview labeled “Questions for Recovery in Zimbabwe”. In this section the interviewer wanted to investigate the recovery plan and what can be done to continue the growth of the country. Questions seek answers to the political issues affecting the recovery plan, media coverage and how the political instability affects the recovery plan, in regional and tourist numbers.

4. RESULTS AND FINDINGS The interview process was conducted through internet a total of 9 respondents were contacted to participate in this interview process. The respondents were from different areas in the tourism industry as well as the community in the country.

4.1.1 Poaching crisis According to the respondents‟ majority stated that in the development of national parks, poaching was an issue and probably one of the biggest obstacles facing the parks. All of them stated that the parks need to find a way to conquer this issue, as no national park can exist in total isolation and over the years the fact is becoming increasingly clear as spaces around the parks are being developed into housing developments, agriculture and in some places even into mining zones. The main species protected in the national parks protected in the national parks do not recognize the boundaries. Poaching had become an issue on the country, from the researcher‟s knowledge in the early 2000s the country went through sheer hardship, the government agencies failed to provide for the local communities and as a result poaching began even until now years after the crisis, the country still has a considerably long way to go in terms of finding a solution to this issue. Agreeing fully with the respondents that poaching is an obstacle that is raging the country, there is a definite need to find new and alternative methods in order to conquer this obstacle.

Most recently, the country launched the International Anti- Poaching Foundation, whereby they train park rangers to enable them to fight and look after the National Parks. According to Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), the aim of the foundation is to restore the condition of the National Parks and

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 to attain financial stability. However, in my opinion the issue here is not having the ability to train parks rangers or involving ZPWMA, the issue in the discussion is poaching and it is a necessity for the country to be able to work to countering poaching. The poachers are not foreigners, but Zimbabweans, locals. The only way to begin countering the poaching obstacle is to go out and teach the community, in schools anywhere they can educate the community on the necessity of having National Parks in the country, and every species in the national parks are virtually important. Another obstacle that the respondents stated that there was lack of knowledge in the community. There is insufficient education on the poaching crisis in the country and this is an issue as poaching crisis is mainly caused by community who are not exposed to proper education and knowledge on its consequences.

4.1.2 Financial crisis According to the respondents the national parks suffered during this time because they had limited funding in the country especially in the tourism sector. The Tourism in Africa Journal stated that in 1997, Zimbabwe was ranked in 9th top African Top earners. Over the years the country failed to maintain that level as a result of the economic crisis that was facing the country there was little to no money (foreign exchange) coming into the country so they were unable to maintain and continue function as a country. The inflation rate raised very fast, the currency depreciated even faster, as a result of little trade in the country.

Respondents clearly states that the economic meltdown had a drastic impact on the country businesses closed down and mainly investors left the country. In all fairness, the country did suffer economically; however, the government should have anticipated the crisis when they realized that the country was having issues. The Zimbabwe dollar is no longer in the country, in because it had depreciated very much. However it is necessary for the government to have a backup plan. With the rate at which poaching is on the rise in the country, this may be a problem for the country too, because they do depend on tourism as a source of income and also for employment. The government has to ensure that they have tight policies and plans in the case of worse economic crisis.

4.1.3 Outdated Technology Another obstacle that is affecting the development of national parks in the country is that there is insufficient up to date technology. There is a need for the country to have updated technology in the national parks so that they are able to monitor certain things. For example the respondents stated that there to be better surveillance systems being implemented in the parks.National parks authorities have started to train park rangers to “safe guard” the national parks, in a way this is good but in the long run it will not be as effective. This system will probably work the first 2-3year. Whereas if they had a working surveillance system this would be easier for the authorities to monitor as everything is recorded and the record can be kept for reviews and monitoring purposes. These can be used in the future for training purposes and they can always refer to these in the future.

4.1.4 Political instability and miscommunication The last obstacle has viewed by the respondents ispolitical instability that leadsto miscommunication. Political instability is probably the biggest obstacle that the country faced during the 10years stretch. The respondents

ijcrb.webs.com SEPTEMBER 2013 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 5, NO 5 mentioned that the country in a way was not at a standstill during these times as the people nor the government had no idea on what they had to do in order to move forward.

5. CONCLUSION As the conclusion for the study, five potential obstacles challenging the development of national parks in Zimbabwe have been identified. However, the quality and accuracy of the responses were not up to expectations as some of the respondents refused to provide constructive reviews on the questions asked. The five potential obstacles identified are poaching crisis, financial crisis, outdated technology, political instability and miscommunication. Most of the respondents had given their views based on their respective areas of expertise that concluded the major challenge that will take longer time to overcome is financial crisis. It was also suggested that the improvement of technology may enhance surveillance system and therefore, reducing the rate of poaching with tight monitoring.

5.1 Limitation of Research This study contributes comprehensive reviews on the potential obstacles in the development of national parks in Zimbabwe; however, it may not be generalized in other areas and regions. This contribution of this study is limited by a few issues whereby some of the respondents were no giving full cooperation in providing information as some of them stated that they had no comment for some of the questions asked. This had restricted the researcher to gain extensive information from relevant parties pertaining to the particular issues. Another limitation was that the researcher was unable to interview the investors in the country as they could be one of the contributors in the development of this country in terms of foreign exchange and economic crisis issues.

5.2 Contribution of Research 5.2.1 National park authorities Firstly this study contributes to the authorities of national parks in Zimbabwe by making the findings of this study as a base for future references and research. It helps the national park authorities in knowing the issues that the public is aware of and their idea on the issues in the national parks. Adding to this by also contributing to the national parks authorities the researcher believes that the poaching crisis can be addressed better and this issues can be investigated as according to the findings in the study the researcher identified that the issues can be resolved once there is proper funding. This will also help in contributing to the growth of national parks giving them the opportunity to improve and strengthen the parks.

5.2.2 Environmentalist Secondly, the study can contribute to the environmentalist groups. The study aids the groups in finding ways they can better their programs and tasks. At the moment the environmentalists have issues with local governments and business group. This study contributes to the environmentalist in whom they can target certain areas without causing any issues amongst the locals or the government. Furthermore, the study can be used also by the government in analyzing details that they may have overlooked in the past. By doing this research the researcher is able to show the agencies the ways they can improve the way in which they communicate certain aspects with the local community and other agencies in the country.

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5.2.3 Education institutions Lastly, universities and colleges in Zimbabwe may use the findings of this study to aid other students that are doing similar scope of research.

5.3 Future research As this study was an exploratory qualitative research on the potential obstacles faced by national parks in Zimbabwe, the findings are limited to be only able to project comprehensive views from several parties namely, the government agencies, NGOs, local community, media and special interest groups. Future research might be carried out as the extension of this study in measuring the effectiveness of suggested solutions and other possible proposals for the identified issues by involving investors as there was a restriction in gaining insights from investor point of view for this study.

Table 1.1 Top Twenty Tourism Earners in Africa in 1997 Source: Peter U.C. and Dieke (2000), Developing Tourism in Africa, Policy for Consideration, Elmsford: New York, Cognisant

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Table 1.2 Tourist Arrivals 2003-2011 Source: Paterson, J. (2011). Forecast paper Zimbabwe Statistics [online] Available at:www.economic.co.zw, last accessed 12/02/2013

Figure 1.1 Annual Earnings Source: Paterson, J. (2011). Forecast paper Zimbabwe Statistics [online] Available at:www.economic.co.zw, last accessed 12/02/2013

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GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

MEDIA LOCAL POTENTIAL OBSTACLES OF COMMUNITY NATIONAL PARKS IN ZIMBABWE SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTA INTEREST LISTS GROUP Figure 1.2 Framework of Study Source: Adapted and revised Chirgwin, S., and Hughes, K. (1997). Ecotourism: The participants „perceptions. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 8(2), 2-7

Figure 1.3 Source: Chuma (2003). Regional Newspapers [online]Available at: www.bbc.co.uk, last accessed 12/05/2013

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Data Step 1: Step 2: Data Thematic Categorization Collection Analysis

Step 3: Affinity Group analysis

Figure 1.4 Data Analysis Flow Chart Source: Richard Y. Wang, Henry B.Kon, and Stuart E.Madnick (1993) Data Quality Requirement Analysis and Modeling, International Conference of Data Engineering, Vienna, Austria

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