View source for Towards Measuring the Economic Value of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa

'''Citation'''
<br> World Tourism Organization (WTO). (2014). Towards measuring the economic value of wildlife watching tourism in Africa - Briefing Paper. Madrid: UNWTO. 
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===[https://iucn2.cnr.ncsu.edu/images/9/90/Unwtowildlifepaper.pdf Download PDF]===
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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.

<br>'''Keywords'''
<br> Africa, wildlife, tourism, poaching, value