Climate Change Adaptation Practices in Nature-Based Tourism in Maun in the Okavango Delta Area, Botswana: How Prepared are the Tourism Businesses?

Abstract

The tourism industry can contribute significantly to developing countries' economic development due to the increase in tourist demand that has occurred in recent decades. However, the industry is highly sensitive to the effects of climate change and destinations in developing countries, especially, should aim to ensure that their tourism operations and products are sustained through the implementation of suitable climate change adaptation strategies. The purpose of this article is to examine the existence and nature of adaptation strategies that have been adopted by tourism businesses in Maun (Botswana), in the Okavango Delta area in order to gauge their preparedness to the estimated impacts of climate change. This will be based on the tourism business operators' perceptions and knowledge about climate change. Qualitative data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and analysis of the results reveals that while tourist operators have perceived and expect negative environmental changes linked to climate, the majority of interviewees had not experienced negative impacts to their own business operations. As a result, the interviewed operators have not adopted climate change adaptation strategies. the continuation of this situation is a potential threat to the future success of nature-based tourism in Botswana, a sector of tourism that contributes the most to the industry, making it the second important economic sector in the country.

Nature-based tourism operators’ responses to changing environment and climate in Uis, Namibia

“…This contradiction between the ideas of climate change impacting tourism industry but not reducing the attractiveness of tourism products in the region can reflect the understanding of climate change as something that does not concern 'me' directly. Similar understandings have been reported in other studies, where the local industry has been considered resistant or immune to impacts (Hambira et al 2013; see also Saarinen & Tervo, 2006). In addition, since the majority of the respondents admitted they were unsure about the impacts caused by climate change, it is possible that they simply were not able to predict the ways in which tourism industry could be affected in their region.…”

Nature-based tourism operators’ perceptions and adaptation to climate change in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

“…For them the projected changes in 30, 50 or 80 years periods, for example, are probably too distant in future to consider in their business operations that often focus and depend on the next coming season or 2-3 years operational plans and management needs (Tervo-Kankare et al, 2018). Similar unconcerned views with a relatively short-term planning horizon have been observed in earlier studies conducted on perceptions and adaptations to climate change in the Global South and North (see Hambira et al, 2013;Kaján et al, 2014;Pandy, Rogerson, 2019).…”

“…The same applies for saving water as due to water supply shortages the businesses need to pump the wa-ter from boreholes by using generators. This kind of integrated mitigation and adaptation strategy is quite typical for nature-based tourism businesses in southern Africa (see Saarinen et al, 2013;Hambira et al, 2013), which calls for context-sensitive analysis and understanding the socio-economic conditions in which the tourism businesses operate. This contextual understanding would be highly crucial for a development of climate change and tourism policy that could respond to and prevent the short and long-term damages caused by changing climate, which need was strongly emphasised by the operators, and create long-term structural solutions for integrated adaptation and mitigation.…”

“…The focus on tourism operators' perceptions, preferences and decision-making has been noted as important in creating an understanding of how the tourism industry could aim to adapt to climate change impacts (Becken, 2013;Hambira et al, 2013). The business focus is crucial also due to the current modes of neoliberal governance, emphasising the key role of markets (i.e.…”

“…This involves a need to estimate the nature and scale of environmental changes in future, how different stakeholders perceive climate change impacts and their significance, and what adaptation (and mitigation) mechanisms are in place or considered among different stakeholders (Scott et al, 2012;Kaján, Saarinen, 2013;Pandy, 2017;Pandy, Rogerson, 2018). Existing research highlights the need to understand the level of climate change knowledge and perceptions among tourism operators and other stakeholders in order to establish suitable adaptation (and mitigation) strategies (see Saarinen, Tervo, 2006;Becken, 2013;Hambira et al, 2013;Tervo-Kankare et al, 2018). Studies have noted a relative lack of tourism and climate change research in the Global South (Saarinen et al, 2012;, Pandy, 2017Pandy, Rogerson, 2018, 2019.…”