Towards Measuring the Economic Value of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa

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Citation
World Tourism Organization (WTO). (2014). Towards measuring the economic value of wildlife watching tourism in Africa - Briefing Paper. Madrid: UNWTO.

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Summary Set against the backdrop of the ongoing poaching crisis driven by a dramatic increase in the illicit trade in wildlife products, this briefing paper intends to support the ongoing efforts of African governments and the broader international community in the fight against poaching. Specifically, this paper looks at the wildlife watching market segment within the tourism sector and highlights its economic importance with a view to encouraging tourism authorities and the tourism industry to collaborate in strengthening anti-poaching measures and raising awareness of these issues among tourists. The analysis identifies key economic indicators and characteristics of wildlife watching tourism in African countries. This paper acts a first step towards a more systematic measurement of the economic value of the wildlife watching tourism market segment in Africa and in defining the role of the tourism sector in the fight against poaching. In its research, UNWTO followed a multilevel, participatory approach, collecting as much information as was available at the international, national and local levels and creating a network of contacts for potential future research.

This paper focuses specifically on non-consumptive forms of wildlife tourism which offer visitors the experience of observing wildlife in natural and non-captive habitats. Generally, the species of wildlife that can be observed through this form of tourism are the very same as those most often threatened by poaching and other environmental detriments. The research findings are based on a review of publications, economic data, case studies and other sources related to wildlife watching tourism, as well as on the exchange of experiences with international organizations working in the fields of nature conservation, tourism, sustainable development and wildlife crime. In addition, to address a scarcity of data and statistical information about the wildlife watching tourism segment and its economic value, a survey was carried out among African tourism ministries and authorities, protected area and wildlife conservation institutions, and international and African-based tour operators. This briefing paper was likewise prepared in collaboration with the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS), which played an especially important role in establishing contact with protected area and wildlife conservation authorities.

A total of 48 governmental institutions (tourism authorities and protected area and wildlife conservation agencies) from 31 African countries participated in the survey. The sample represents 63% of UNWTO African Member States. Additionally, a total of 145 tour operators selling trips to Africa from 31 different countries participated, 50% of which were tour operators mainly from Europe (generally the principal source market for Africa) and 50% were Africa-based tour operators. The survey findings confirm that wildlife watching is a very important segment of tourism for most African countries, representing 80% of the total annual trip sales to Africa for the participating tour operators, with that share only increasing. The survey findings also indicated that for the vast majority of the countries denoted in the paper, poaching is seen as a serious problem that has negative impacts on tourism that threatens the sector’s long-term sustainability and its development opportunities. For example, the employment opportunities generated for the local community in accommodation, restaurants and guiding, as well as the indirect benefits linked to the redistribution of protected area fees and community funds are at risk from the negative impacts of poaching.

Feedback from the survey also reveals a picture of where wildlife watching tourism is taking place and what kinds of activities travellers are taking part in. Wildlife watching tourism occurs mainly in protected areas; and nature, national parks and wildlife are considered the most important tourism assets for tourists travelling to Africa. While the regions that are most visited for the purposes of experiencing wildlife watching tourism are East Africa and Southern Africa, Central and West African tourism authorities are committed to further developing this type of tourism. Safari is the most popular kind of wildlife watching and is being offered by 96% of the participating tour operators. This is followed by bird watching, which is offered by 80% of the participating tour operators and seems to be combined frequently with other activities. In countries that are not considered classic safari destinations, the observation of great apes, marine wildlife and tracking of particular species are particularly important. The exercise has also been successful in identifying key indicators related to wildlife watching tourism that assist in measuring the segment’s economic importance and potential growth. For instance, a typical wildlife watching tour involves on average a group of six people, lasts 10 days, has an average daily price per person of US$ 433 and captures an additional US$ 55 in out-of-pocket expenses per person, per day. The findings also indicated the differences between standard and luxury segments with the greatest variation being in both average daily price per person per day (US$ 753 for a luxury package and US$ 243 for a standard package) and in out-of-pocket expenditures (US$ 59 for a traveller on a luxury package and US$ 44 per person per day on a standard package). Little variation was found between the segments related to the size of the group or the average length of stay which seem to be consistent characteristics of the wildlife watching product instead of factors directly related to the comfort of the experience. With regards to protected area visitors and receipts, results suggest that a total of 14 countries are generating an estimated US$ 142 million in entrance fees for protected areas. Because this figure covers only a small number of countries and is based on some inconclusive data, it can be assumed that protected area receipts are indeed much higher than the figure suggests. Fortunately for the purposes of future analysis, the research found that there are numerous ongoing efforts being carried out by African governments to monitor data that could be useful in estimating the economic value of the wildlife watching tourism sector. That being said, further improvements are needed as these efforts are often not consistent and commonly lead to inconclusive results. The data also indicated that while a majority of protected area authorities are involved in anti-poaching measures, the tourism authorities are only involved to a minor extent and most do not distribute information on poaching to tourists. Of the participating tour operators about 50% are funding antipoaching initiatives and/or engaging in nature conservation projects, however only a few are proactively taking the initiative to inform their customers on the issue. In conclusion, the findings suggest that guidance and capacity building in developing consistent monitoring of protected area visitors and receipts and subsequently putting together a framework for the analysis of these data are needed. In this regard, establishing a model linked to an overall assessment of the economic value of wildlife watching tourism in Africa that would connect data from protected areas with tour operators’ performance would be most useful. In addition, based on the experiences gathered and the network established through this exercise, such a model could be developed and tested with relevant stakeholders, namely tourism and wildlife conservation authorities at the national and local levels, and the tour operator community. Ideally, the model should be able to look at specific kinds of wildlife watching tourism (safari, marine, bird watching, etc.) in order to be applicable to the very different settings in which wildlife watching tourism takes place. Finally, while the involvement in anti-poaching initiatives by tour operators is not very extensive yet, the survey results suggest that there is potential for mobilizing the tourism sector in anti-poaching campaigns, which is significant in that the sector can play a key role in raising awareness and potentially financing (or co-financing) anti-poaching initiatives. Further research is recommended in order to assess the level of tour operators’ concern with nature conservation as well as their involvement with conservation and anti-poaching initiatives and other types of initiatives in place. Such research could be designed in close cooperation with the target group and not be restricted to European and North American travel markets but could also include emerging markets for outbound tourism to Africa like Asia.


Keywords
Africa, wildlife, tourism, poaching, value


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