Voices of local communities regarding their involvement and roles in the tourism development process in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mudimba, Talent , Tichaawa, Tembi M.
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Community voices , Tourism development and participation , Victoria Falls
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/248433 , uj:25826 , ISSN: 2223-814X , Citation: Mudimba, T. & Tichaawa, T.M. 2017. Voices of local communities regarding their involvement and roles in the tourism development process in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 6(4):1-15.
- Description: Abstract: In less developed destinations, rapid commercial tourism development has gradually suppressed local communities’ central participation in tourist activities. While the literature suggests a number of roles that local residents can play in tourism development, to date very little emphasis has been placed on how the locals themselves feel about the issue, despite it being explained in tourist destinations’ policy configurations. Based on the case of Victoria Falls, this paper’s aim was to understand the degree of community involvement in tourism development, with the intention of finding a way to advance host community stimuli in terms of policy formulation and implementation. Through the series of 270 household surveys and interviews with resource persons conducted, the findings revealed that the local community’s involvement and participation was mainly linked to economic activities and employment. Furthermore, the local communities wanted to be involved, and incorporated in, the prevailing systems when tourism policies are being made to influence policymakers in preparing a policy that meets their needs and protects their interests.
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Perceptions of local residents and authorities on human–wildlife coexistence in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mudimba, Talent , Tichaawa, Tembi M.
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Human–wildlife conflicts , Human–wildlife coexistence , Sustainable conservation tourism
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/396255 , uj:32892 , Citation: Mudimba, T. & Tichaawa, T.M. 2019. Perceptions of local residents and authorities on human–wildlife coexistence in Zimbabwe. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 8(4):1-17. , ISSN: 2223-814X
- Description: Abstract: Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) in human–wildlife coexisting communities have emerged as a direct impediment to sustainable conservation tourism in the protected areas (PAs). Despite the overemphasised prospects for conservation tourism redeeming worn-out economies in the human–wildlife coexisting communities, the resurgence of HWCs has resulted in the host communities’ resistance to human–wildlife coexistence (HWC). Subsequently, the community resistance to coexistence is a further deterrent to sustainable conservation tourism development. Based on the Victoria Falls case, this paper seeks to investigate HWCs affecting tourism development in human–wildlife coexisting communities, with the subsequent aim of suggesting policy and recommendations that promote symbiosis for sustainable tourism in terms of the communities residing in Zimbabwean PAs. Surveys and interviews were conducted with 265 household resource-related persons. The findings revealed that human population growth and urbanisation contribute significantly to HWCs in Victoria Falls. Furthermore, the results show that, despite the existing HWCs, the majority of the residents are open to HWC, if the processes of policy formulation and implementation inclusively embrace full local residents’ participation.
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