Challenges of Lin.,king.. Tourism and the Local Economy in and around Bahir Dar \ Getaneh Addis \ \ A thesis submitted to \ \ ":::enter, for Environmental Studies I \ Program of Tourism and Development \ \ \ \ \ Presented in Partial Fulfil:rnent of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Tourism and Development) ...... I Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 2012 AH \ ~ ·· ,S ;,rr,Yl 1'1V)!V ALISH.i .\I.'.l \ U\ u v sraav Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies This is to celtify that the thesis prepared by Getaneh Addis, entitled: Challenges of Linking Tourism and the Local Economy in and around Bahir Dar and submitted in partial fulfi llment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Tourism and Development) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to original it y and quality. Signed by the Examining Committee: Internal Exa miner !3e~ ti f>.",?U1£ Signature l~¥n ate J-.ff/a1r1~ External Exam iner ,,-' tfliOvm;guJ Signature ;/L" <Z../..., Date d t!o t2!J..,j I d Dov'1t 7 Advisor n(.J lid reOt r.(%2 ad...& Signature-+-Date &r/.( / 'Z-"7 L I ' ( Chair of Department or Graduate Program Coordinator ABSTRACT Cha llenges of Linking Tourism and the Local Economy in and around Bahir Dar Getaneh Add is Addis Ababa University, 2012 Linking tourism and the local economy is one of the strategies to increase the economic benefits of tourism to a certain destination and to distribute the revenue from tourism to the local community. However, because of various challenges, it has now become difficult to link tourism and the local economy in and around Bahir Dar. This research was conducted with the main objective of assessin g the chall enges which affect the linkages of tourism and the local economy in and around Bahir Dar. The research design for the study is descriptive. The research instruments used for gathering qualitative data were interviews, informal discussion, docum ent analysis and personal observation; the quantitative one was gathered through qu esti onnaires. A total of 78 subjects (60 for interview and 18 for questionnaire) were selected. Data gathered through qualitative methods were narrated; and the one through questionnaires were tabulated and described in frequencies and percentages. The local products available in and around Bahir Dar include agricultural products, souvenirs, ma npower, transport service, traditional ni ght clubs, textile, etc. The challenges which affect the supply of local products for the tourism industry were related to low production capacity, lack of orga ni zation of loca ls and poor quality of products in the study area. In addition, absence of standard facilities and services such as food and drink outlets at some sites and failin g to develop potential attractions and activities is another challenge to link tourism and the local economy. Hotels, lodges ·and restaurants in the town could not get sufficient local agricultural products. These establishments, with the exception of few, don't participate in ne ighborhood partnerships that can benefit the local economy. In order to create and increase th e lin kages between tourism and the local economy, there is a need to increase local production in terms of qu al it y and qu antity, expand tourist facilities and attractions and focus on local products by tou ri sm businesses. Key Words Tourism, challenges, local products, local economy, }Jahir Dar •. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I praise the Almighty God and His Mother St. Mary, for enabling me to start and fini sh thi s study. I would like to thank Dr. Mulugeta Feseha for his cri tical review and co nstructi ve comments for both the proposal and fina l thesis, and for initiating and encouraging me to conduct the research. A special thanks to my brother Gizachew Addis and his wife Kibnesh Hailu, who suppOlt ed, encouraged and ass isted me to study my MA and undertake this research. Without you , it could have been very difficult. I would also like to thank my families: my father Addis Tessema and my mother Yasab Limeneh who supported me to reach this stage; my brother Tsegaye Addis who encouraged and assisted be to be where I am now; and the rest of fami ly members. Thank you all who helped me. Many thanks to my fr iend s Ephrem Assefa, Tadesse Bekele and Yetnayet Getu who critically reviewed and commented on both the proposal and final thesis and encouraged me to pursue this research. I am also grateful to my friends Amare Ya'ekob, Bruk l erihun, Hirut Sintayehu and Solomon Lingerih for their critical comments and al l the support and encouragement you gave me. I also thank Kaleab, Tofik , Abrham, Moha mmed, lemal and Yenus for your support. Thank you all once again. I am also thankful to Haltom Wo ldu for your support and assistance in cond ucting this study. I would like to thank as well all the subjects in Bahir Dar who were very kind and answered my questions. Special thanks to Misrak and Gashaw at Zege; Muluken, Abebe and Wudu in Bahir Dar; tour guides at lege, Tis Abay and Bahir Dar; experts from agriculture bureau; chairmen of boat and taxi associations; experts from Culture and Tourism bureau at reg ional and town level; Monastery administrators; and all othe rs who prov id ed cooperation to this study. My special thanks is to all staff at L TIE and the marketing head, Ato Dagnew for allowing me two days round boat trip for free to trave l to l ege Monastery for data co llection. iv Table of Contents Ce·" ten t List 0 f Figures xiii List of Tables ix List of Boxes IX List of Acronyms and Abbrev iat ions X Chapter One Introduct ion .............................................................................. .................. 1 1.1 Background of the study .................................................... .................... I 1.2 Statement of the problem ...................................................................... .4 1. 3 Objecti ve of the study .... .. ...................................................................... 5 1.4 Scope and Limitations ........................................................................... 5 1.5 Significance of the Study ........... ...................................... ...................... 6 1.6 Organization of the Stud y ...................................................................... 6 Chapter Two Li teratu re Re view ......................................................................................... 7 2. 1 The Eco nomic Impact ofTourism ........................ .... ............ ................. .. 7 2.2 The Economic Impact of Tourism in LDCs ... .. ......................... .............. IO 2.3 The Linkages Approach .......... .. ............................................................. 1 I 2.3.1 Why li nkages are so important ............................................................ 11 2.3.2 Cha llenges of Creating and Enhancing Linkages ....... .. ....................... 12 2.3.3 Strengthening linkages of Tourism with the Local Economy .............. 15 2.3.4 Strateg ies to establish and enhance Linkages ...................................... 15 2.4 Co nceptual Framework .. .. ... ..: .... .............. ........................................... .. 16 v Chapter Three Research Methodology ....... ................ .. .. .. ........... .... .......... .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .... ... 18 3.1 Description of the study area.... ..... .... ........ .. ... ..... .............. 18 3.2 Resea rch Des ign ... .... ...... ....... .. ... ............. ......... .. .. ... ..... .. ... ..... .. ..................... 25 3.3 Data Sources .. .. ......... .... ...... .... ... ... ... .. .... .................. .. ........... ........................ 25 3.4 Subjects of the study ....... ........ .................... ......... .. ........................................ 25 3.5 Sample techniqu es and sample size .. .. ...... .... ........ .......... ... ...... .. ...... ......... ...... 25 3.6 Data col lecti on instruments ... .... .. ... .. .. .. ... .. ......................... .... .. ...... .. ............ .. 28 3.7 Data collect io n procedures ... .... .. .. .... .... .. .. .............. .. ........ ... ..... ... .. .............. .. 29 3.8 Data analys is methods ...... .. .. ... .. ............. .. .... ......... ....... .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. ..... 30 Chapter Four Data Presentation, Results and Discuss ion ............................. ... .......... ........ 31 4.1 Charac teristics of respondents ... ... ..... ... ....... ... .. ...... .. .. ... .. .. ....... .. ............. 31 4.1 .1 Characteristics of interviewees .. ...... .. ...... .. .. .. .. .......... .... .. ......... ............ 31 4.1.2 Charac teristics of questionnaire respondents .. .. ...... .................... .......... 32 4.2 To urism and the local economy in and around Bahir Dar .. ..................... 33 4.2.1 Existing and Potential Local Products Available for the Tourism Industry in and around Bah ir Dar .................. .. .. .. .. .. .. ............... .. .. .... .. ....... ...... 34 4.2. 1. I Agricultural products in and around Bahir Dar ............... .. .. .............. 34 4.2.1.2 Ma npower Supply ...... .. .. ..................... ............ .......... .......... .. .. .......... 38 4.2 .1. 3 Bahir Dar Textile Factory .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .................. .. ...... ............ ....... 38 4.2.2 Primary tourism serv ices in and around Bahi r Dar ........................ ....... 38 4.2 .3 Anc il