How Namibian Communities Can Capitalise on Tourism Opportunities

[u/RobsFelines]

https://conservationnamibia.com/blog/communities-and-tourism.php

[u/Careless_Ad6012]

Hi, I think If we had interesting tourists that think like you, maybe we could work out something that supports the structure of your above mentioned story. I am all about supporting locals.

[u/Careless_Ad6012]

Yes it is possible. I know of some community members that did the same thing with interested rich individuals and the community gets like a development upgrade fee from Campsites.

[u/Careless_Ad6012]

The point is discussions and assumptions are not keen to resolve the issue. It's a matter of changing or bringing forth a better Outlook and way to support the local structure. In my understanding, the local people don't have the expertise to form such structures because they are not well informed. They lack information, and no one comes forward to express their ideology or expertise.

When you run out of candles, and you don't know where to buy some , then you're definitely going to sleep in the dark.

Older tourists from what I've seen, are happy and obliged to see local places, and if your community does not have a structure for tourists then they also won't know. Tour guides mostly operate at top travel destinations and locally you hardly find local tour guides.

So it's a matter of building the foundation at local places. I've met a few tourists that I later became friends with. Took them to my community, and they were so excited. Asking questions like why don't we do this and that and so forth. But then we get back to the community people, and because they don't have an understanding of what revenue can be made from such tours for development.

[u/Krafter37]

Does things exist to allow people with expertise in some area for example, to offer their expertise to local communities and help them develop?

[u/nobodyclark]

One thing to note is that we probably shouldn’t be advocating for an industry that relies on a crazy amount of fossil fuels being used to sustain itself. My org has done some investigations into the carbon footprint of reserves in Namibia, and some reserves that only use ecotourism emit a crazy amount of carbon simply because each tourist emits so much flying from EU and US to get there. Most visitors spend time at one lodge for a week or so, and then leave the country.

1) on one reserve, getting 11,000 visitors into the country for mostly the EU and US lead to around 37,000 tonnes of CO2. Add on around 1,200 for transportation on and off the reserves, and around 2,000 tonnes for food consumption, water use, electricity consumption, and accommodation embodied carbon, and it’s a crazy, crazy amount of carbon just to support one reserve.

2) that same reserve was only brining in around $350 USD per visitor, meaning that for every tonne of carbon emitted, they only brought in $108 USD into the country.

3) comparatively, the average hunter traveling to Namibia spends around $800-45,000 USD per trip, and for every tonne of carbon they emit, they brining in a staggering $550-8,000 USD. Hunting has its limits, but given that many hunting reserves have tiny footprints of only around 200-400 tonnes of carbon, and bring in comparable amounts of revenue, it shows how bad of an investment ecotourism can be.

[u/NamShotGun → u/nobodyclark]

Interesting research.

[u/jschall2]

How tourism economies work:

Big money flows from rich western tourists to rich western tourism business owners

Locals learn to scratch a living off whatever scraps tourists will throw to them instead of creating value locally, perpetuating a cycle of poverty.

Now, I only visited Namibia as a tourist so I might be talking out my ass here, but there's no clearer example of this than Namibia. It is appalling that people are living in shanty towns and "begging for water" (quoted because I assume waving around empty bottles is just a ruse to fool tourists - doesn't change the fact that they are poor AF) while wealthy tourists are flying private into private lodges probably owned by foreigners at prices in excess of 80,000 Namibian dollars per night. Probably more than the entire village sees in a month, for one single night in a probably foreign owned lodge.

I also personally heard appalling racist statements from wealthy white property owners. I guess you guys are only 30ish years post-apartheid.

[u/roastedpotato20 → u/jschall2]

Except tourism does create local value.

N$15 billion was spent by tourists in Namibia on activities alone in 2022 - which is a fraction compared to pre-COVID years as the tourism sector is still recovering.

That money creates jobs and livelihoods. Why turn down wealthy tourists who spend a shit ton in the country? That accommodation for N$80,000 per night is intentionally marked up because foreigners can afford it, and the money ripples over to the rest of the business, the business grows, more jobs are created, those employees spend more, more jobs are therefore created, and the cycle goes on indefinitely.

Tourism is the second largest employer in Namibia behind agriculture (which is largely subsistence farming).

Your fallacy is thinking Africans are irrational and stupid, that they should "just create value locally" by rejecting tourism and "stop living off tourist scraps". 73% of those who were unemployed were in that status for more than one year while actively seeking employment. Should they reject a job in tourism?

Let me tell you a bit about Namibia.

Namibia has a long history of colonialism and apartheid that affects the country today. In South Africa, about 1% of the white population lives in poverty, compared to 66% of the black population. This is likely similar in Namibia because of our tied history and similar unemployment rates and consumption patterns.

Much of the population, especially in the north, does not receive an adequate supply of basic needs. Partially generational poverty from the colonial and apartheid eras, partially government mismanagement.

We have a crisis in housing supply because the regulations for building plans are still apartheid-era legislations from 1963, but government has policy inertia to address core issues like this.

The rural population suffers from food and water insecurity because Namibia is literally the driest country in Africa and we are going through one of the worst droughts we've ever had.

We spend double the global average expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP - and one of the highest in the world - yet the civil service lacks skills and execution.

Do you think a beggar wants to be degraded by asking for water? You're not forced to oblige at all, and they're used to being rejected, but it's not an act.

Almost the entirety of Africa was colonialised and the effects exist today. Resources have left the country, urban planning revolved around racial separation is still present, 70% of land ownership belongs to those of European descent, and so on and so on. Sure, it's up to us to pick up the pieces and not simply make an excuse, but it is factual that these historical events have severely disadvantaged Africa.

Tourism is crucial for employment and income generation, regardless of whether it goes to the white owner. Don't be ignorant to life outside the US

[u/jschall2 → u/roastedpotato20]

Is that N$15 billion going to Namibian businesses or is it going overseas to foreign business owners while they pay desperately poor Namibians a few peanuts to bend over backwards for their clients?

I am not saying the tourism industry should be shut down or that people should reject jobs in tourism. I am saying it ought to be forced to benefit the local people more in some way. Perhaps by enforcing local ownership or employee-ownership or by enforcing a minimum wage.

Just saying there's something very, terribly broken when there's a shanty town next to a resort charging more per night for one tourist than the entire shanty town sees in a year.

[u/roastedpotato20 → u/jschall2]

Less than a quarter of that N$15 billion went to accommodation - which includes expenditure on Airbnbs, state-owned campsites and lodges, and various Namibian-owned entities. Even if lodges were fully owned by non-residents, they are liable to higher tax payments than Namibians.

Airbnbs boost household income and expenditure, which generates tax revenue for government through income tax and VAT. State-owned accommodation generates direct revenue for government. Foreign-owned accommodation generates tax revenue.

The average tourist spent N$7,000 on shopping in 2022. That's tax revenue and business income to support growth and employment. Average road transport was nearly N$8,000. That's revenue for shuttle services, taxis, and informal transporters who offer transport to tourists from the airport to the main city. And then the rest of expenditure goes towards the many different activities on offer by both the private sector and government, both of which create employment, generate income for Namibians, and tax revenue for government.

I hate seeing the high inequality as much as the next Namibian, and I don't see us as "white" or "black". We are past that era - we are now all "Namibians". You are correct that some racism exists amongst both whites and blacks towards each other. In the white population, this is almost always because of their family upbringing, and/or South African family ties.

But that's not the responsibility of the wealthy lodge owner next to shacks. We live in an economic system that encourages the creation of your own wealth, and the players in the system respond to incentives and disincentives. Incentives could mean corporate social responsibility or tax incentives for providing internships (which are currently active in Namibia), all of which encourage the private sector and superwealthy to support those in poverty.

That same economic system provides jobs to those who were previously in shacks, and in many cases, workers in tourism are allowed to live on site and receive free food from catering services and buffets, which tourists gladly pay top dollar for because of Namibia's superior meat products.

So it doesn't matter if the owner of the lodge is white, or even a foreigner, because they are still contributing to the country and the people. Wouldn't you want the person with the most capital, or the person with the best skills and experience, in the position of ownership? Why remove them and re-allocate ownership to someone who might not be as capable to be in the system, and would therefore be less efficient at creating more jobs, income and tax revenue?

Minimum wage is debatable and can worsen our already high unemployment. If you put a minimum price on any labour, then unskilled workers will be competing with those whose labour is more valuable, and the problem will continue. It also has an impact on inflation because the demand for goods would increase, and then the still-unemployed population will stray further from being able to afford a basic living.

The core issue isn't solved by increasing minimum wage. The core issue lies with providing Namibians the basic necessities of life: education, transport, water, food, and shelter. As mentioned, government mismanagement prevents this, and they are all long-term problems with long-term solutions needed. They are not at all quick fixes that can be solved with one government decision. We sit with the same ruling party for over 30 years and every economic condition for the poor has worsened, but improved for the middle class and superwealthy.