Ecotourism in South Africa - Economic Benefits

Economic Benefits

Eco-tourism has the potential to alleviate poverty in South Africa through bringing money into the economy and creating jobs. Tourism in South Africa is booming. It is the fastest growing part of the economy.With tourism growing, now is a great opportunity to capitalize on eco-tourism to ensure that the people living in the areas being visited, are benefiting from the economic growth. Instead of just tourism where the local people's voices are not heard, it is essential for eco-tourism to be utilized through including the local people. The amount of money estimated to come into South Africa through tourism is around R62 billion rand a year. Reinvesting a portion of the earnings from eco-tourism directly in the communities living next to the tourist destinations would be a great start to alleviating poverty. The World Wildlife Fund believes that parks set up responsibly can be a great, "generator of jobs, income and overall economic livelihoods (Wildlife; Protecting Communities to Protect the Planet, 2003)". If the local people are involved in the park creation and maintenance there is great opportunity there for employment and sources of income. There are jobs in building the park structure and in giving toured guides of the land plus many other opportunities

One Specific area in South Africa, the Eastern Cape, has aligned its economic goals with that of the national governments and realized tourism is a way to grow their regional economy and create jobs. According to Milazi (2003), "For most of the Eastern Cape's 75 towns, tourism offers the only route out of poverty to economic growth and job creation." They predict that with their new tourism plan, they will attract over 100,000 visitors to their parks. This will bring in around R1 billion rand a year and create over 5,000 jobs in that area alone (Milazi, 2003). Through employing local people and bringing money into the local economy, this is one area eco-tourism is predicted to reduce the poverty rate.

One internationally known park in South Africa is the well established, Kruger National Park. In 2002, this park had over one million visitors. The park employs around 60,000 people. Because each park employee in turn uses goods and services from the surrounding region, the park as a whole supports somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 people.Eco-tourism and the inclusion of local people's employment have been growing in recent years. In some enterprises, local job creation and contributing to the alleviation of poverty have become goals and criteria for success. Another move in the right direction is, "a growing number of community led and managed tourism initiatives in which rural communities capture the bulk of the benefits.It is important that the money be used to help the poor people living in the areas the parks are created. The more power and involvement the local people have in the parks and tourist ventures in their areas, the more likely they will benefit economically. Another benefit gained by the people living where eco-tourism is utilized is better roads, hospitals, schools and communication.Most of the areas that eco-tourism is developed are remote areas where the people do not have access to these things. When eco-tourism is developed, there is necessity for roads, communication and schools for the travelers to visit and spend their money. According to Naughton-Treves et al. (2005), "Conservation cannot solve poverty, but it can significantly help to prevent and reduce poverty by maintaining ecosystem services and supporting livelihoods." Through the use of eco-tourism, ecosystems are conserved and local peoples can be supported through jobs and better economies.