Development of management and business plan for ecotourism in Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bonga, Ethiopia In the frame of the NABU project: „Climate Protection and Preservation of Primary Forests – A Management Model using the Wild Coffee Forests in Ethiopia as an Example” Funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety within the frame of the International Climate Initiative Final report by Sigrun Lange & Michael Jungmeier 21 October 2011 FINAL REPORT DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM IN KAFA BR Table of Contents List of acronyms ........................................................................................................................... 4 Preliminary notes......................................................................................................................... 5 1 Description of Kafa Biosphere Reserve .................................................................................. 6 2 Rationale for ecotourism development in Kafa Biosphere Reserve ......................................... 9 2.1 The hope for a bright future of tourism in Ethiopia .............................................................................. 9 2.2 Definition of (community-based) ecotourism ..................................................................................... 10 2.3 Tourism in southwest Ethiopia and Kafa Biosphere Reserve .............................................................. 11 2.4 SWOT analysis for ecotourism development in Kafa Biosphere Reserve............................................ 13 3 Target audience .................................................................................................................. 14 3.1 Ethiopians, residents and people from the Ethiopian Diaspora.......................................................... 14 3.1.1 Ethiopian residents ......................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.2 People from the Ethiopian Diaspora ............................................................................................... 15 3.1.3 Staff of high ranking international organisations living in Addis..................................................... 15 3.2 International and national scientific community ................................................................................ 15 3.3 Visitors coming from foreign countries ............................................................................................... 16 3.4 Overview on target audience .............................................................................................................. 17 4 Vision, goals and objectives................................................................................................. 18 4.1 Vision ................................................................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Goals, objectives and related tasks ..................................................................................................... 18 5 Action plan ......................................................................................................................... 20 5.1 Diversification of the touristic portfolio .............................................................................................. 20 5.1.1 Visitor information centre............................................................................................................... 20 5.1.2 National Coffee Museum ................................................................................................................ 20 5.1.3 Historical museum on Kafa Kingdom .............................................................................................. 21 5.1.4 Open air museum on Kafa Kingdom................................................................................................ 21 5.1.5 Development of tour packages within Kafa Biosphere Reserve ..................................................... 22 5.2 Improvement of accommodation facilities ......................................................................................... 38 5.2.1 Model lodge .................................................................................................................................... 38 5.2.2 Improvement of existing accommodation facilities........................................................................ 40 5.3 Capacity building ................................................................................................................................. 42 5.3.1 Capacity building for biosphere reserve rangers ............................................................................ 42 5.3.2 Training programmes for locals ...................................................................................................... 43 5.4 Promotion............................................................................................................................................ 44 5.4.1 Unique selling proposition .............................................................................................................. 44 5.4.2 Promotional material ...................................................................................................................... 45 5.4.3 Active promotion ............................................................................................................................ 46 5.5 Organisation of tourism in Kafa Biosphere Reserve............................................................................ 48 5.5.1 Minimise impact on nature............................................................................................................. 48 5.5.2 Minimise impact on culture ............................................................................................................ 49 5.5.3 Providing benefits for local communities........................................................................................ 49 2 FINAL REPORT DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM IN KAFA BR 6 Financial overview – Business planning................................................................................ 51 6.1 Procedure, assumptions and validity .................................................................................................. 51 6.2 Calculation of infrastructures .............................................................................................................. 52 6.3 Calculation of model lodge.................................................................................................................. 53 6.4 General financial plan.......................................................................................................................... 54 7 Overview on tourist facilities and activities.......................................................................... 57 7.1 What to expect from Kafa Biosphere Reserve?................................................................................... 57 7.2 When to visit?...................................................................................................................................... 58 8 Recommendations and further perspectives........................................................................ 59 9 References.......................................................................................................................... 61 10 Annex................................................................................................................................. 63 10.1 Bird species found in Kafa Biosphere Reserve..................................................................................... 63 10.2 Hotels in and around Bonga ................................................................................................................ 64 10.3 Exemplary criteria for partner companies of protected areas in Europe............................................ 65 10.4 Guidebooks on Ethiopia ...................................................................................................................... 66 10.5 Overview on tour operators working in Ethiopia ................................................................................ 66 10.5.1 National tour operators .................................................................................................................. 66 10.5.2 International tour operators ........................................................................................................... 67 10.6 Selection of tourism journals............................................................................................................... 68 10.7 Connecting Kafa Biosphere Reserve to other attractions ................................................................... 68 3 FINAL REPORT DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM IN KAFA BR List of acronyms AfriMAB Regional Network of UNESCO’s MAB Programme in Africa ASA German Association for South and East Africa (cooperation of tour operators) BR Biosphere Reserve BRIM Biosphere Reserve Integrated Monitoring DMP Dennis Moss Partnership EAE Ecotourism Association of Ethiopia ECX Ethiopian Commodity Exchange EWNHS Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society GIZ German Development Association (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) KFCFCU Kafa Forest Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union MAB Man and the Biosphere (Programme of UNESCO) NABU Nature