The Tourism–Development Nexus in Namibia - A Study on National Tourism Policy and Local Tourism Enterprises' Policy Knowledge Julia Jänis Academic Dissertation To be presented for public examination with the permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Audito- rium XV, Main Building of the University of Helsinki, on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 10 am. INTERKONT BOOKS 20 Department of Political and Economic Studies (Development studies) Faculty of Social Sciences University of Helsinki Copyright Julia Jänis Layout Heta Ahtiainen Photos Julia Jänis Published by Interkont Books Department of Political and Economic Studies University of Helsinki ISSN 0359-307X (Interkont Books 20) ISBN 978-952-10-7135-5 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-7136-2 (PDF) http://ethesis.helsinki.fi Printed by: Unigrafia Helsinki 2011 Contents Abstract ................................................................................... VI Acknowledgements .............................................................. VIII List of Maps ............................................................................... X List of Figures ........................................................................... X List of Tables ............................................................................. X List of Pictures .......................................................................... X List of Abbreviations ............................................................... XI Introduction ............................................................................... 1 Aim and research questions ........................................................... 2 Interdisciplinary framework ........................................................... 5 The tourism–development dilemma .................................................. 7 Tourism planning and policy process in Namibia ............................ 14 Devolving rights through community-based approaches ........................... 19 Knowledge production in the policy process .............................................. 21 Structure of the dissertation ......................................................... 25 Geographical and methodological context .............................. 29 Introduction to the geography and history of Namibia ...................... 31 The role of tourism in the Namibian economy ................................. 34 Study regions and enterprises ....................................................... 42 Methodological choices and fieldwork ............................................. 48 Interviews .................................................................................................... 50 Observation ................................................................................................. 55 Ethical issues ............................................................................ 56 II Analysis process ........................................................................ 58 The political economy approach to tourism and development .................................................................................................. 61 Tourism, power and inequality ..................................................... 63 Fortress conservation ................................................................................... 65 Inequality in human mobility ...................................................................... 66 Tourism and sustainable development ............................................ 68 Sustainable tourism ..................................................................................... 70 Tourism, consumption and climate change ............................................... 73 Tourism and poverty reduction ..................................................... 76 Pro-poor tourism ......................................................................................... 80 Market vs. structural approach to poverty ................................................... 83 Economic contributions, values and responsibilities .............. 86 Contributions and complaints of private enterprises ......................... 88 Investments and multiplier effects .............................................................. 91 Economic contributions and social responsibilities in community-based tourism ..................................................................................... 93 Donor involvement: Dependency versus self confidence ........................... 95 Marketing the tourism product ................................................................... 99 Tourism, community development and reciprocity ................................... 103 Tourism and responsibilities in regional development ....................... 106 Lack of rural services .................................................................................. 109 Contested responsibilities in the Caprivi and Kavango regions ................ 110 Summary ................................................................................. 113 Tourism, poverty reduction and structural challenges ........... 115 III Poverty as a tourist attraction ..................................................... 118 Poverty, power and responsibility ................................................. 120 The impact of tourism employment on poverty reduction ................... 123 Women and HIV/AIDS ............................................................................. 124 Seasonality as an opportunity and a burden .............................................. 127 Controversial farm employment ................................................................. 128 Tourism, craft production and basic needs ..................................... 130 Dignity and self-employment ..................................................................... 134 Limits to supply chains in tourism ............................................... 135 Collective income, partnerships and power structures ....................... 138 Summary ................................................................................. 142 The colonial legacy, inequality and the complexity of transformation ........................................................................ 144 Efforts of inclusion ................................................................... 148 The colonial legacy in human resources ......................................... 150 In-house training and competition for employees ..................................... 152 Inadequate experience and tourist gaze .................................................... 154 The challenges of transforming the trophy hunting sector .................. 158 Power, inequality and government responsibility ............................. 160 Prevailing prejudices .................................................................................. 160 A critique of BEE ....................................................................................... 162 Summary ................................................................................. 164 Environmental sustainability and management of natural resources ................................................................................. 166 IV Characteristics of the Namibian environment ................................. 168 Ecological sustainability in the private enterprises .......................... 169 Sustainable wildlife management ............................................................... 171 The challenging interface of the strategic pillars of CBNRM ............ 173 Conservation ............................................................................................... 175 Benefits ....................................................................................................... 178 Summary ................................................................................. 183 Conclusions ............................................................................ 185 Tourism as a development strategy in Namibia .............................. 188 Sustainable development through tourism? ............................................... 189 Opportunities and constraints on poverty reduction ................................. 191 The specific challenges of community-based tourism .............................. 193 Suggestions for future research ..................................................... 196 Appendix 1. Government documents on tourism and development planning ............................................................ 199 Appendix 2. Interview guide for private enterprises .............. 201 Appendix 3. Interview guide for community-based tourism enterprises .............................................................................. 203 Appendix 4. List of study enterprises and their characteristics ................................................................................................ 205 Appendix 5. List of study methods ........................................ 207 Appendix 6. Currency convert ................................................ 208 References .............................................................................. 209 V Abstract The tourism–development nexus in southern Africa involves highly topical issues relat- ed to tourism planning, power relations, community participation, and natural re- sources. Namibia offers a particularly interesting context for the study of these issues due to its colonial legacy, vast tourism potential,