Tourist Perceptions of Their Environmental Impacts In
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TOURIST PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN TANZANIA A thesis submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Anna Marie Solberg August 2017 © Copyright All rights reserved Except for previously published materials Thesis written by Anna Marie Solberg B.S., Northern Michigan University, 2015 M.A., Kent State University, 2017 Approved by Sarah L. Smiley, Advisor Scott Sheridan, Chair, Department of Geography James L. Blank, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... xii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: TOURISM, GEOGRAPHY, AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL LINKAGES .....6 a. Tourist Typologies ...................................................................................................7 b. Tourism and its Impacts .........................................................................................10 i. Economic and Social Impacts ....................................................................10 ii. Environmental Impacts ..............................................................................12 c. Geography, Tourism, and Environmental Perception............................................21 i. Geography and Tourism ............................................................................21 ii. Introduction to Behavioral Geography ......................................................23 iii. Environmental Perception ..........................................................................25 iv. Environmental Perception and Tourism ....................................................27 d. Conclusion .............................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 3: TANZANIA’S TOURISM SECTOR FROM AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE..............................................................................................................................31 a. A Century of Change .............................................................................................31 b. Tanzania’s Integration of Tourism.........................................................................36 c. Conclusion .............................................................................................................40 iii CHAPTER 4: TOURISM IN TANZANIA TODAY ....................................................................42 a. The Current State of Tanzania ...............................................................................42 b. Tanzania’s Current Tourism Industry ....................................................................45 c. Tanzania’s Tourism Landscape .............................................................................48 d. The Draws of Tanzania ..........................................................................................52 i. Northern Circuit .............................................................................53 ii. Southern Circuit .............................................................................55 iii. Other Areas ....................................................................................56 e. A Closer Look at Tanzania’s National Parks .........................................................57 f. Tanzania’s Tourism into the Future .......................................................................62 g. Conclusion .............................................................................................................64 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH METHODS .......................................................................................66 a. Data Collection ......................................................................................................67 i. International Tourist Survey ......................................................................67 ii. Tour Operator Survey ................................................................................71 b. Survey Design and Analysis ..................................................................................72 c. Sampling Overview ...............................................................................................75 i. International Tourist Survey ......................................................................75 ii. Tour Operator Survey ................................................................................76 d. Conclusion .............................................................................................................78 CHAPTER 6: ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTIONS IN TANZANIA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY ...................................................................................................................................79 a. International Tourist Survey ..................................................................................79 iv i. Environmental Impacts: Positive or Negative ...........................................81 ii. Tourists’ Personal Impacts Compared to Other Tourists’ Impacts ............89 iii. Environmental Behavior at Home and While Away .................................98 iv. Do All Tourists Positively Impact the Environment? ..............................101 b. Tanzania Tour Operator Survey ...........................................................................103 i. Environmental Impacts: Positive or Negative .........................................104 ii. Tourists’ Environmental Impacts .............................................................105 iii. Tour Company Contributions ..................................................................108 iv. Tour Operator Final Comments ...............................................................114 c. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................116 CHAPTER 7: A SYNOPSIS OF TOURIST PERCEPTIONS ....................................................117 a. Implications of the International Tourist Survey .................................................117 i. The Implications of Many Impacts ..........................................................117 ii. Wildlife ....................................................................................................119 iii. Water ........................................................................................................120 iv. Litter .........................................................................................................121 v. Infrastructure Development .....................................................................122 b. A Comparison of Tourist and Tour Operator Perceptions ...................................122 i. Environmental Impacts: Positive or Negative .........................................123 ii. Tourists’ Environmental Impacts .............................................................125 iii. Tour Operator Contributions and the Perceptions of Tourists .................126 c. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................128 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................130 v WORKS CITED ..........................................................................................................................134 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................149 a. Tourist Survey ......................................................................................................150 b. Tour Operator Survey ..........................................................................................157 c. Online Survey Link Card .....................................................................................164 d. IRB Approval .......................................................................................................165 e. Tour Companies ...................................................................................................168 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Cover of Tanzanian tourism magazine by the Tanzanian Tourist Board displaying the highlights of Tanzania......................................................................................................................3 Figure 1.2 Second page of Tanzanian tourism magazine displaying the highlights of Tanzania ...3 Figure 2.1 An example of extreme water use within an accommodation in Serengeti National Park ................................................................................................................................................16 Figure 2.2 A beach on the Indian Ocean north of Dar es Salaam strewn with litter amongst the seaweed ..........................................................................................................................................19