Abstract
The overall purpose of the current study was to investigate the contributions made by wildlife tourism in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to two communities living adjacent to the Park. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is the largest transfrontier conservation area in the sub- Saharan area of the African continent, with wildlife tourism having been conceptualised as a means of creating jobs, and of reducing poverty, for the communities residing adjacent to the Park. Following the adoption of a purely qualitative approach, the study used Askham (in South Africa) and Tsabong (in Botswana) as the case study areas. The research conducted included obtaining the views of the different wildlife tourism stakeholders, through interviews, as well as the views of the host communities, though focus group discussions, in which purposive sampling was utilised to select the relevant study participants. The study found that South African tourists composed the largest number of visitors to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, with international tourists comprising the smallest visitor group. The host communities engaged in wildlife tourism through the amalgamation of their culture and the natural landscape. Additionally, although wildlife tourism had made positive employment contributions to the communities concerned, the scale of wildlife tourism development in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park affects the scale to which communities can gain livelihood benefits from the Park. Moreover, the study found that, while the governing policies of South Africa and Botswana accentuate the importance of community inclusion in nature resource management, the institutional structures limited community participation in the wildlife tourism and conservation taking place in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The present study broadens the current understanding of wildlife tourism in the transfrontier conservation areas, by presenting the influence of the policies and livelihood dynamics present in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and their subsequent impact on the host communities concerned.
M.A. (Tourism & Hospitality)