tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/africa-tourism-23367/articlesAfrica tourism – The Conversation2023-03-15T19:56:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1925812023-03-15T19:56:59Z2023-03-15T19:56:59ZLooting and decay: how the pandemic wrought real damage to African heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513930/original/file-20230307-24-28xi43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C278%2C3321%2C1928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Street market and the Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, which was designated a world heritage site by Unesco in 1988. During the pandemic, the town was hard hit by illegal excavations and looting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101618250">Giv/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole, particularly among the elderly. A recent <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000377667&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_623bf641-f9e0-48fa-9e49-6f16e743308d%3F_%3D377667eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000377667/PDF/377667eng.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A138%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C842%2Cnull%5D">Unesco report</a> shows that it has also took a subtle yet large toll on our world heritage properties.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377667">new research</a>, world heritage sites in certain regions have suffered significant economic impacts of the pandemic, with those in Africa bearing the biggest brunt. In 2021, 52% of African world heritage properties reported Covid-related threats, including looting and insufficient materials to conserve sites. In comparison, 34% of properties in Asia and the Pacific reported similar issues, and only 15% of European and North American sites.</p>
<h2>Choked off conservation revenues</h2>
<p>The abrupt cut-off of tourism revenue is first to blame for these impacts. Several African countries are <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/34348/Rebuilding-Tourism-Competitiveness-Tourism-response-recovery-and-resilience-to-the-Covid-19-crisis.pdf">highly dependent on the sector</a>, with tourism accounting for 10 to 20% of GDP in Botswana, Gambia and Namibia and over 20% in Cabo Verde and the Seychelles.</p>
<p>In 2020, international tourist arrivals dropped by 97% compared to 2019, and by 2021 were still 73% less than pre-pandemic levels. At its <a href="https://wttc.org/research/economic-impact">worst point in the pandemic</a>, Africa’s travel and tourism sector lost $85.9 billion and 5.8 million jobs.</p>
<p>After global travel came to a halt, sites had to grapple with a sudden decrease in cash and an many temporary staff they could no longer keep on. Public subsidies, which cover the bulk of expenditures incurred by the management, staffing, conservation and maintenance of the sites, took a plunge in 44% of subsidized African world heritage sites. Only 8% saw their subsidies increase.</p>
<h2>Looted treasures</h2>
<p>Adding to the pain was the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/01/08/from-lockdowns-to-looting-how-Covid-19-has-taken-a-toll-on-worlds-threatened-heritage-sites">increased looting of world heritage sites</a> during lockdowns. In Africa, one of the oldest cities of the continent, Djenné-Djenno, Mali, which is known to have been <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Djenne-Djenno/">inhabited from 250 BC</a>, has been heavily affected by illegal excavations and the looting of statues and other artifacts.</p>
<p>The logic is simple: the loss of income during the pandemic exacerbated the situation of those already living in poverty. Although this did not directly affect cultural property, many lost their incomes and some resorted to subsistence looting to survive. In such instances, the pandemic was the epicentre of a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-cultural-property/article/from-the-past-to-the-future-protecting-afghanistans-cultural-heritage-progress-fears-and-hopes/2CDCD9DAFD262B3347DD9C076EB30E91">compounding impact on cultural heritage</a>.</p>
<p>The risk of looting and illegal trade of cultural objects was found to have increased significantly during the pandemic. In March and April 2020, “online illicit trade in looted objects spiked”, according to the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/01/08/from-lockdowns-to-looting-how-Covid-19-has-taken-a-toll-on-worlds-threatened-heritage-sites">Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research Project</a>. Insufficiently protected archaeological sites became an easy target for looting or <a href="https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/conservation-in-the-time-of-Covid/">other forms of illegal access</a>. The <a href="https://atharproject.org/">Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research Project</a> (ALTHAR), which monitors Facebook groups that serve as marketplaces for cultural antiquities – many often looted – found that many gained <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/illegal-excavations-and-online-trade-cultural-property-looted-midst-Covid-19">hundreds of thousands of new members</a> during the pandemic, raising concerns. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513932/original/file-20230307-18-44ru6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Konso Cultural Landscape is made up of dry-stone terraces that retain soil, collect and manage water and thus facilitate agriculture. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the fall in tourism and reduced security led to some of the terraces being scavanged for building supplies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1333/">Yonas Beyene/Unesco</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Beyond objects that could be looted, the Covid-19 pandemic also posed a threat to the world heritage sites themselves. For example, lockdowns brought a halt to 400-year-old social and cultural rituals for the maintenance of the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1333/">Konso Cultural Landscape</a>, which is made up of stone-walled terraces and fortified settlements in South Ethiopia’s Konso Highlands. Retaining the soil from erosion and collecting water that is vital for agriculture, the terraced fields represents not only a central cultural tradition, but also an infrastructural necessity. Prior to the pandemic, tourism as the largest income stream and even then, provided only the bare necessity of support. </p>
<p>The precipitous drop in tourism thus worsened the population’s already precarious financial situation. Because the price of building materials also climbed during the pandemic, locals began to use stones from the terraces for constructions. The dire situation was aggravated by absence of on-site site security, allowing some looting to occur.</p>
<p>The (mis)use of terrace stones for house construction in the Konso Highlands demonstrates the real threat to the preservation of cultural heritage sites posed by crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. It is worth recalling the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, in which all signatories recognised “that the task of ensuring the identification, protection and conservation of the cultural and natural heritage rests primarily with the state” (Art. 4).</p>
<h2>How to stop this from happening in future</h2>
<p>The severe impacts of the pandemic on tangible and intangible cultural heritage have highlighted the fragility of world heritage, especially in the Global South. To build the resilience required to manage future health crises, conflicts, and natural disasters brought on by climate change, a more sustainable approach is needed.</p>
<p>First, existing political and international legal instruments must be strengthened. At present, governments rely on a range of legislative measures to protect their World Heritage Sites. In 2017, the UN Security Council unequivocally condemned the <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000249838">looting and smuggling of cultural good during armed conflict</a> from Iraq and Syria. Nearly a half century earlier, Unesco’s 1970 convention on the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/about-us/legal-affairs/convention-means-prohibiting-and-preventing-illicit-import-export-and">Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property</a> prohibits the “illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property”.</p>
<p>Currently, 32 countries in the African region are parties to the 1970 convention, which is binding on all parties and requires that they abide by the legal standards set forth. However, its effectiveness depends heavily on local implementation and enforcement. Implementation through national laws and enforcement structures <a href="https://www.iccrom.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-11/iccrom_ics05_legalframeworkafrica_en.pdf">varies greatly from country to country</a>. Nevertheless, there have been efforts in the African region to strengthen and harmonize cultural policies, and thus also to <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/37305-treaty-Charter_for_African_Renissance_ENGLISH_digital_0.pdf">better protect African cultural properties</a>.</p>
<p>Despite being under a legal obligation to ensure the protection and preservation of their nation’s cultural heritage, in times of crises, states didn’t seem to be fully able to fulfil their duties. To fill the gap, international support programs and private initiatives have stepped in to support world heritage sites. The initiative <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/fr/actualites/2291">#SOSAfricanHeritage</a> by the German Commission to Unesco (DUK) has supported 34 projects in 22 African countries in 2020/2021 with up to 25,000 euros with the specific goal. Still, we must guarantee steadier public funding for sites, rather than relying on emergency responses. </p>
<p>As detailed, the Covid-19 pandemic had numerous negative impacts on cultural heritage. While primarily a health crisis, the pandemic hit cultural heritage hard, inflicting significant damage. during the pandemic period can be traced to the pandemic at its core and its social and economic consequences. Be it the neglect of world heritage sites, the decline and absence of tourism, or looting in its various forms.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/next50/">50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention</a> (16 November 2022): World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole. A recent Unesco report reveals that it has also took a large toll on world heritage sites.Clemens Schleupner, UNESCO Chair in International Relations , Technische Universität DresdenFelix Schmermer, Researcher in international law, Technische Universität DresdenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1938132023-01-05T19:23:08Z2023-01-05T19:23:08ZThe pandemic has shown Southern Africa can do staycations: could this momentum hold in the long run?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502552/original/file-20221222-4087-gglfc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C2488%2C1384&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Baluarte is just one of the attractions on Mozambique Island. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/599/gallery/">Francesco Monteiro/UNESCO</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the tourism industry worldwide. International arrivals dropped by <a href="https://www.unwto.org/impact-assessment-of-the-Covid-19-outbreak-on-international-tourism">74% globally in 2020</a> and tourist accommodations, businesses, borders and heritage sites had to close, resulting in a loss of income for those working in the tourism sectors. In Africa, the impact was deeply felt. In Kenya, tourist arrivals shrank from nearly 620,000 in April 2019 to 393,000 the following April. In South Africa, they fell from 10.2 million in 2019 to 2.8 million in 2020, and while almost 174,000 visited Tanzania in the third trimester of 2019, only 13,000 did so during the same period of 2020.</p>
<p>Yet is this situation been such a bad thing? A <a href="https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/574828">number of studies</a> have lamented that international tourism has often generated an unequal distribution of economic benefits, increased social disparities, marginalised local communities, and exploited local resources. This is particularly the case in Africa, where tourism has mainly benefited international and foreign companies and individuals, with the core tools of air travels and e-commerce concentrated in the Global North.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/gcdc-final-report-sustainable-development-poverty-alleviation-in-sub-saharan-africa-through-heritage-tourism-the-creative-industries/">part of our research</a>, we wanted to understand whether and how the Covid-19 pandemic has been and could be used to transform the tourism sector into a more sustainable field in Southern Africa. Particularly important for us was how tourism could be improved to meet the needs and expectations of local communities in terms of enhanced living standards and quality of life. Another aspect was to explore how to safeguard the environment for the health and well-being of locals.</p>
<p>Interviews were carried out with tourism professionals, local community members, and heritage site managers at the World Heritage sites of <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1055/">Lamu Old Town</a> (Kenya), the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silk-road-themes/underwater-heritage/stone-town-zanzibar">Stone Town of Zanzibar</a> and <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/403/">Kilimanjaro National Park</a> (Tanzania), and <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/916/">Robben Island</a> and <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1007/">Cape Floral Region</a> (in South Africa). Professor Labadi’s latest book <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/185111"><em>Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Development</em></a> (UCL Press, 2022), provides additional data and analyses.</p>
<h2>Changing needs and expectations</h2>
<p>The global health crisis has shown the negative consequences of an overreliance on international visitors as a <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377667?posInSet=1&queryId=bd741d77-d5ef-4c62-b83b-bfaf040b7b32">primary source of tourism-generated income</a>. It has shown how visits of heritage sites should be diversified to make the tourism industry more resilient and sustainable. A popular suggestion research participants made for overcoming this issue is to stimulate domestic tourism, and regional tourism from neighbouring countries. Some of the tourism professionals interviewed, particularly in Kenya, pointed out that since the country came out of lockdown in August 2020, domestic tourism has been blossoming, with many Kenyans visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve, and holidaying in Lamu and other coastal destinations.</p>
<p>Changing the profile of tourists is a long-term challenge. As explained by a lodge manager in Kenya, exclusive hotels would rather have a low rate of occupancy, rather than slash their prices and attract different, less privileged people and/or accommodate a larger number of people. Currently, offers target Western and international visitors through a focus on colonial history, particularly for cultural heritage destinations. Attracting local, national and regional visitors for “staycations” would require changing the tourism maps and attractions, so that they focus on regional, national and local history.</p>
<p>This will not happen overnight, and attempts to change those maps and destinations have already faced serious challenges. In the case of Namibia, the government and international community have sought to refocus tourism on the country’s war of independence and indigenous communities rather than German colonial history. These efforts have faced challenges, including lack of support from the private sector as well as inadequate infrastructures and facilities.</p>
<h2>Travel bounces back</h2>
<p>With wide-scale vaccination and reduced rates of contamination, international travel is on the rise again. Unfortunately, some projects funded by international aid have fallen back on recipes from before the pandemic, providing training and capacity-building activities so that locals can cater to the needs of international visitors. Instead of helping to change the narrative and build a more resilient sector based on local, national and regional visitations, the international community is back to promoting the unsustainable model that was dominant before the pandemic.</p>
<p>One positive aspect of the pandemic has been a greater environmental sustainability, the reduction of pollution, of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, and a decrease of international tourism. Considering that these benefits can help with tackling the climate crisis, the world post-pandemic and the future of the World Heritage Convention, should promote a world beyond tourism.</p>
<p>On Mozambique Island, a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/599/">World Heritage site</a> in the country’s north, governmental and international projects aim to promote and increase tourism. However, a university has recently opened on the island, so why not take this opportunity to provide goods and services based on local resources, to respond to the needs of students? Not only would this bottom-up approach fulfil several <a href="https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals">sustainable development goals</a>, including education, reducing inequalities and boosting gender equality, but it would also provide a function for historic and vacant buildings on the island, in dire need of a new life.</p>
<p>Such a move beyond tourism, that adopts a more systemic, integrated and bottom-up approach aligned with local needs would help World Heritage sites to be better aligned with the fight against climate change, environmental protection, heritage conservation, poverty reduction and health and well-being.</p>
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<p><em>This article was cowritten by Francesca Giliberto, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Leeds. Sophia Labadi’s latest book, <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/185111">“Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Heritage”</a>, has been released in open access by UCL Press.</em></p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485372/original/file-20220919-20-pguqfq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/next50/">50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention</a> (16 November 2022): World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation.</em></p>
<p>_</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Labadi a reçu des financements de Arts and Humanities Research Council from the United Kingdom for her research on Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Development. Sophia Labadi and Francesca Giliberto received funding from the University of Kent and the Global Challenges Research Fund for the research on Heritage beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.</span></em></p>The Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to make tourism more sustainable in Africa, improving the lives of local communities rather than just catering to international visitors.Sophia Labadi, Professor of Heritage, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964052022-12-15T14:32:18Z2022-12-15T14:32:18ZBenin is building a theme park to remember slavery – is history up for sale?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500715/original/file-20221213-16138-2k9x52.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A lifesize replica of a slave ship graces Project Marina.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozQKSPLJ8s">Screenshot/YouTube/Presidency of Benin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://anpt.bj/projet/9/la-marina-ouidah/">Marina Project</a> is a vast memorial and tourist complex under construction in Ouidah, a coastal town in the Republic of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Benin">Benin</a> in West Africa. The country hopes to <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/viatourism/5286?lang=pt">market itself</a> as a major destination for Afro-descendant tourists in the diaspora. Neighbouring Nigeria and its population of 220 million potential visitors also makes serene and diminutive Benin an enviable location for large scale tourist attractions. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozQKSPLJ8s">waterfront development</a> is located at what was the main slave port for the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bight-of-Benin">Bight of Benin</a>. From this region almost two million enslaved Africans <a href="https://www.manning.pitt.edu/pdf/1979.SlaveryDahomey.pdf">departed</a> during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/transatlantic-slave-trade">transatlantic slave trade</a>. At its height – from the 1790s to the 1860s – <a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Ouidah">Ouidah</a> was controlled by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Dahomey-historical-kingdom-Africa">kingdom of Dahomey</a>.</p>
<p>The future complex will include a <a href="https://halcyonhospitalityadvisors.com/marina---dhawa-ouidah-hotel--spa.html">hotel spa</a>, a lifesize replica of a slave ship, memorial gardens, a craft market and an arena for <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=zdFwDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">vodun</a> performances. Vodun is a religion practised in Benin and among the descendants of enslaved Africans in the US, Haiti and beyond. </p>
<p>The local <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/01/its-been-nearly-a-month-and-its-still-sold-out-the-woman-king-takes-over-benins-only-cinema">success</a> of the Hollywood film <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-woman-king-is-more-than-an-action-movie-it-shines-a-light-on-the-women-warriors-of-benin-190466">The Woman King</a> revealed a strong interest in this historical period, still neglected in school syllabuses. </p>
<p>The Marina Project could lead to a better understanding of the transatlantic slave trade. But it raises many questions. In its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozQKSPLJ8s">design</a> and scope it epitomises contested directions of slave heritage tourism. The commodification of heritage may debase the experiences of painful pasts. The spectacle of culture produced by the tourist industry is often met with contempt. </p>
<p>Anthropologists and “well-travelled tourists” often regard the likes of “tourist dances” as particularly tacky, according to US scholar <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3094939?seq=6#metadata_info_tab_contents">Edward M. Bruner</a>. And yet, fellow anthropologist <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/647237#metadata_info_tab_contents">Paulla Ebron</a> argues that heritage tourists may also be pilgrims and their commercial cultural experiences may be intimate and sincere. She <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/647237#metadata_info_tab_contents">notes</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Africa became sacred and commercial, authentic and spectacular.</p>
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<p>The Marina Project is also contested for other reasons. Some fear that mass tourism will have an adverse impact on an area known for its unique ecosystem and <a href="https://infonature.net/benin-alerte-sur-les-consequences-du-projet-touristique-marina-porte-du-non-retour-a-ouidah/">biodiversity</a>. Adding to concerns is the development of another gigantic seaside resort nearby, Club Med’s <a href="http://anpt.bj/article/11/le-club-benin-future-station-balneaire-avlekete/">d’Avlékété</a>. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wozQKSPLJ8s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>There are already numerous slavery <a href="https://www.cipdh.gob.ar/memorias-situadas/en/lugar-de-memoria/la-ruta-del-esclavo/">heritage sites</a> in Benin. These range from the <a href="https://slaveryandremembrance.org/articles/article/?id=A0120">European forts</a> in Ouidah to the royal palaces of the kings of <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/323/">Abomey</a>, <a href="https://momaa.org/directory/royal-palace-musee-honme/">Porto Novo</a> and <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1598711-d23849651-Reviews-Palais_Royal_D_allada-Allada_Atlantique_Department.html">Allada</a>. </p>
<p>It’s my view, as an anthropologist, that the latest developments are walking a fine line, balancing education and remembrance with crude commerce.</p>
<h2>Teaching slavery in Africa</h2>
<p>Slavery and the slave trade remained insufficiently taught in schools. In 1998, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) implemented the Transatlantic Slave Trade <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187641">education project</a>. Participating countries in West Africa like Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia helped address the issue.</p>
<p>On the beach in Ouidah, the <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/door-of-no-return">Door of No Return</a> is a concrete and bronze arch with poignant images of shackled bodies of enslaved Africans. It’s one of the city’s most notable landmarks – but only one among hundreds. The <a href="https://levoyageducalao.com/afrique/route-des-esclaves-de-ouidah/">road</a> from the slave market to the monumental gate was marked by two dozen sculptures and <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=HCM93pyDhMEC&dq=Fortun%C3%A9+Bandeira&pg=PA217&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Fortun%C3%A9%20Bandeira&f=false">symbolic stops</a> commemorating the march of the captives.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large archway facing the sea. It is cream and bronze in colour with stylised bas-relief sculptures on it showing chained human bodies and ships." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500998/original/file-20221214-5213-21pej1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Door of No Return in Ouidah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">jbdodane/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Unesco drive is part of the organisation’s flagship <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/fostering-rights-inclusion/slave-route">Slave Route Project</a> (renamed Routes of Enslaved Peoples), <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1995_num_35_137_2030">launched</a> in 1994 from Ouidah. It sparked the global development of research projects dedicated to studying slavery. It also set off new commemorations of slavery and the slave trade on the continent and beyond. In Benin, it transformed the memorial landscape.</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjXNJdKiNLo&t=11s">Da-Silva Museum</a> in Porto Novo, Benin’s administrative capital, opened in 1998. The private institution offers resources (exhibitions, documents, spaces) for school pupils to learn about slavery. Its founder, Urbain-Karim-Elisio da Silva, is a prominent <a href="http://acervoaguda.com.br/en">aguda</a> – part of an Afro-Brazilian community related to slave traders and former slave returnees. </p>
<h2>New memorials in a complicated landscape</h2>
<p>On my last visit to Ouidah in February 2022, the Door of No Return and museum were undergoing renovations. The sculptures had been removed while the road was rebuilt. The museum is to be reborn as the <a href="https://www.lescrayons.com/musee-international-de-la-memoire-et-de-l-esclavage-de-ouidah.html">International Museum for Memory and Slavery</a>. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://tourisme.gouv.bj/projects/31/projets-phares__autres-projets/home">Marina Project</a>, next to the door, is the most spectacular of the new developments. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozQKSPLJ8s">video clip</a> released by the government lists several of its buildings. Their names – “Afro-Brésilien”, “Bénin”, “Caraïbes” – acknowledge the descendants of enslaved Africans.</p>
<p>The new structures add to an already multi-faceted (and sometimes disputed) treatment of the country’s complicated involvement with the slave trade. Descendants of slave raiders and slave traders live alongside the descendants of enslaved people. Their competing memories and separate interests have led to differing memorial strategies. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A circular structure on the beach with a tree at its centre and seating all around it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501062/original/file-20221214-8925-hnc795.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The arena for vodun performances at the Marina Project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot/YouTube/Presidency of Benin</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Anthropologist C. Ciarcia cites <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/1170">two opposing stances</a>. In Ouidah, where tourism infrastructures are concentrated, forgiveness – through ritual atonement and commemoration – is sought publicly. In Abomey, the former capital of Dahomey and its slave raiders, narratives are less apologetic. For fellow anthropologist Anna Seiderer, the presence of vodun, in particular, has been important for tourists who are eager to <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/cm/116">imagine and enact</a> their roots.</p>
<h2>Slave heritage tourism and its discontents</h2>
<p>Slave heritage tourism in Africa caters mainly to the interests of foreign visitors, especially descendants of enslaved Africans in North and South America and the Caribbean region. Several Unesco world heritage centres curate these legacies for tourists: <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/26/">Gorée island</a> (Senegal), <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/">slave castles</a> (Ghana), and <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/173/">Stone Town</a> (Tanzania). To be sure, tourism development was always part of the slave route project, even before Unesco. </p>
<p>Ouidah’s new developments are featured in the <a href="https://presidence.bj/home/benin-revele/decouvrir-benin-revele/">Benin Révélé</a> – a grand development programme imagined by president <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/patrice-talon-1958/">Patrice Talon</a>. According to some <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1328951/culture/au-benin-un-chantier-patrimonial-et-memoriel-colossal/">detractors</a>, a lot of these projects will become white elephants, used by few.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/woman-king-is-worth-watching-but-be-aware-that-its-take-on-history-is-problematic-191865">Woman King is worth watching: but be aware that its take on history is problematic</a>
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<p>Another recurring criticism is that new museums, memorials and events are fashioned by foreign experts rather than local talents. The new sites are designed, built and staged by mostly French or Chinese architects, engineers and curators. </p>
<p>The Marina Project is one of many projects that memorialise Benin’s past. The combining of commercial and memorial goals doesn’t make them less able to teach history or offer intimate processes of remembrance. But the new trend in high end cultural consumption is seemingly more problematic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196405/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Somda receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.</span></em></p>A grand new memorial park walks a fine line - between teaching about slavery and becoming a tourist trap.Dominique Somda, Junior research fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1925052022-10-26T05:10:40Z2022-10-26T05:10:40ZCrime, COVID and climate change - South African tourism faces many threats, but it’s resilient<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490109/original/file-20221017-18-m33f7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A family of African elephants walk through the Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Jon Hrusa</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>South Africa’s tourism industry has been rocked by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/numbi-gate-kruger-national-park-closure-after-german-tourist-murder-2022-10">the murder of a German visitor</a> during an attempted robbery. The development resulted in negative media publicity, with a potentially adverse impact on the country’s image as a safe tourist destination. This comes at a time when the sector is recovering from the devastating effects of the COVID pandemic. The Conversation Africa’s political editor Thabo Leshilo asked Kaitano Dube, an expert in ecotourism, about tourism’s place in South Africa’s economy</em>.</p>
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<h2>How important is tourism to South Africa’s economy?</h2>
<p>Tourism is critical to South Africa’s socioeconomic development. It provides numerous benefits, including employment and entrepreneurship opportunities and much-needed foreign currency earnings. It also provides funding for conserving the country’s natural heritage in several protected areas. </p>
<p>In 2018, the <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Documents/Tourism%20Sector%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf">tourism sector directly contributed</a> 2.9% of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 725,000 jobs. Its indirect contribution brought the share to 8.6% of GDP and 1.49 million jobs. Foreign visitors directly spent R82.5 billion, equal to 9.2% of national exports – the second most important export sector. Local tourists spent another R9.49 billion. </p>
<h2>How has the sector grown – before and after COVID?</h2>
<p>South Africa’s tourism industry had been growing <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Arrivalsdeparturestravellerstravel2006%E2%80%932020.jpg">steadily</a> over the years before the outbreak of COVID in 2019. But the sector is vulnerable to disease outbreaks, economic downturns and other shocks such as climate threats. This was evident during the devastating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2020.100319">2018 “Day Zero” drought</a> in Cape Town.</p>
<p>There was a dip <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Arrivalsdeparturestravellerstravel2006%E2%80%932020.jpg">in 2009</a> due to the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/decade-after-global-recession">2008 global financial crisis</a>. Before the COVID pandemic, the tourist arrivals stood at about 5.1 million. They plunged to about 2.4 million in 2020 before sliding further to about 930,000 <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Documents/NDT%20insights%20report%20September%202022_v1.pdf">in 2021</a>.</p>
<p>Disease outbreaks on the continent also adversely affected the tourism sector around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IHR-05-2020-0015">2015 and in other periods</a> due to the <a href="https://wttc.org/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/2018/Impact%20of%20the%20Ebola%20epidemic%20on%20Travel%20and%20Tourism%202018.pdf?ver=2021-02-25-182521-103#:%7E:text=The%20impact%20of%20Ebola%20on%20Travel%20%26%20Tourism%20was%20immediate%20for,50%25%20from%202013%20to%202014">adverse impacts of Ebola</a> in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2020.100319">2015-2018 drought in Cape Town</a> also slowed tourism growth in the country, because the city is in one of the biggest tourism nodes. </p>
<p>As of the <a href="https://live.southafrica.net/media/298469/sat-performance-report-q2-2022-final-1.pdf?downloadId=412579">second quarter of 2022</a>, the domestic tourism market had recovered by 139% as compared to 2019 base year which translates into 9 million domestic trips. </p>
<h2>What are the main drivers of tourism in South Africa?</h2>
<p>A rich cultural and natural heritage makes the country a must-visit tourist destination. The wildlife in <a href="https://www.sanparks.org/">20 national parks</a> and 10 UNESCO World Heritage <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/za">sites</a> ensures that tourists are spoiled for choice. </p>
<p>The coastline is another draw card. And South Africa is a gateway to other African tourist destinations. </p>
<p>Most tourists who come to the country travel for holidays (40%). Others visit friends and relatives (36.9%). Business meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions account for about 8% of visitors. </p>
<p>Prior to the COVID pandemic, most African tourists came from Zimbabwe (1,1 million), Lesotho (827 000) and Mozambique (681,530). The <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Documents/NDT%20insights%20report%20September%202022_v1.pdf">most important international markets</a> outside africa were the US (183,134), Germany (149,531) and the UK (220,830). By the 2nd quarter of 2022 the domestic tourism market revenue grew to R24.4 billion representing a growth of 294.4% compared to 2019, while international market tourism spending went down to R11.1 billion marking a 36.4% decline.</p>
<h2>What are the main threats to tourism and how are these being addressed?</h2>
<p>The tourism sector in South Africa faces multiple threats, but nothing the country cannot handle. As noted earlier, <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-has-already-hit-southern-africa-heres-how-we-know-169062">climate change</a> is an existential threat. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/wp-content/uploads/WWA-KZN-floods-scientific-report.pdf">deadly floods in KwaZulu-Natal</a> province in 2022 also damaged the international airport and holiday homes and prolonged beach closures, with far-reaching implications for tourism recovery in the province and the country.</p>
<p>Diseases and pandemics remain a threat. The aftershocks of COVID can be seen in rising inflation, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/10/11/interest-rate-increases-volatile-markets-signal-rising-financial-stability-risks">high interest rates</a> and the fear of <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/09/15/risk-of-global-recession-in-2023-rises-amid-simultaneous-rate-hikes">global recession</a>. These threaten the sustainability of tourism in South Africa.</p>
<p>The political and social instability in the country, as seen in frequent mass protests and xenophobia, threaten the flow of African tourists. There is a <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Documents/NDT%20insights%20report%20September%202022_v1.pdf">clear decline in arrivals</a> from countries such as Zimbabwe and Lesotho, which have been the targets of anti-immigrant rhetoric by some politicians.</p>
<p>Such hate campaigns against African countries threaten South Africa’s attraction as a destination for tourists from such places. Other negatives include the instability caused by infighting within the governing African National Congress – which resulted in the deadly <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2022-02-07-anc-infighting-a-threat-to-sa-security-panel-finds/">July 2021 riots</a>. This taints the country’s image and brand.</p>
<p>Other critical challengers include the knock-on effects of the Ukraine-Russia war. It has created uncertainties that have harmed the global tourism market, with implications for South African tourism. These can be worsened and compounded by internal challenges such as energy security.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-economy-has-taken-some-heavy-body-blows-can-it-recover-183165">South Africa's economy has taken some heavy body blows: can it recover?</a>
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<p>The South African tourism market is quite resilient, but the issue of tourists’ security warrants attention. The country is generally perceived as a risky destination due to <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-bheki-cele-quarter-one-crime-statistics-20222023-19-aug-2022-0000#:%7E:text=From%20April%20to%20June%202022,and%20children%20who%20escaped%20death.">high crime levels</a>. </p>
<p>Other concerns pertain to air connectivity after several airlines went under due to <a href="https://doi.org/10.46222/ajhtl.19770720-99">mismanagement and the COVID pandemic</a>. Some local airlines were placed under administration or went insolvent – including <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/625510/goodbye-sa-express-final-liquidation-order-granted/">SA Express</a> and <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2022-06-14-comair-flies-into-liquidation-with-assets-of-r35bn/">Comair</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/airline-tie-up-for-kenya-and-south-africa-possible-rewards-and-risks-174628">Airline tie-up for Kenya and South Africa: possible rewards, and risks</a>
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<p>Mango, a subsidiary of South African Airways, is still battling to return to the skies <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/625562/as-sa-express-is-grounded-for-good-eyes-turn-to-another-troubled-airline/">after a severe cash burn</a>. </p>
<p>It is not clear what impact new airlines such as <a href="https://www.lift.co.za/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-rOaBhA9EiwAUkLV4oaSNilMKYnxLLSK0IX4N2Ldx5gUDM_i3qiwlrdLTmKiHZIy9MppXhoCFDsQAvD_BwE">Lift</a>, and the expansion of airlines such as <a href="https://www.flyairlink.com/en/za/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-rOaBhA9EiwAUkLV4qhSZ9YbFR671kUiWTj4iNJMU8Y0MNKhighjsEKYPiU9ap9h6h0WyRoCFCAQAvD_BwE">Airlink</a>, <a href="https://www.flysafair.co.za/">FlySAfair</a> and <a href="https://www.flycemair.co.za/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-rOaBhA9EiwAUkLV4tT7e8IMcrBBtwqJIbxCCjgajAYfvLKr3cv5nn5ivoe548MU2eY6xBoCOFUQAvD_BwE">Cemair</a> will have on tourist movements across the country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192505/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaitano Dube receives funding from the Vaal University of Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p>Political and social instability in the country, as seen in frequent mass protests and xenophobia, threaten the flow of African tourists.Kaitano Dube, Ecotourism Management Lecturer, Vaal University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1693672021-10-13T14:23:57Z2021-10-13T14:23:57ZYoung Ghanaians in Europe travel ‘home’ a lot: why their mobility matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425890/original/file-20211012-21-1xnydrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young Ghanaians in Europe visit home for different reasons</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Laura Ogden</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Young migrants make up <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/mig/Main-Indicators-of-Immigrant-Integration.pdf">over 20%</a> of the youth population across the European Union. In cities like Hamburg in Germany, half of all children and youth under the age of 18 have a migration background <a href="https://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/11364984/94362bc02852dbb54941652ac43d89d6/data/hamburg-integration-concept.pdf#page=8">(50.4%)</a>, meaning they or their parents were born abroad.</p>
<p>This means millions of young people across Europe have connections to places other than the countries where they live. They stay in touch with friends and family abroad through the internet. They are fluent in the languages of their country of origin and the country where they reside. And they get involved in the politics of the ‘home’ country through diaspora organisations. In other words, migrant youth live transnationally – their lives are a constellation of people, places, and practices around the globe.</p>
<p>People’s lives and identities are not necessarily bound to one nation-state. Migrants can be both integrated and connected to ‘home’.</p>
<p>Researchers have studied migrants’ transnational lives for decades. But one thing they have overlooked is just how physically mobile migrant youth are.</p>
<p>Recent research shows that migrant youth travel to their countries of origin with surprising frequency. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/imre.12084">More than half</a> of migrant youth in several European countries travel ‘home’ at least once a year.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.motrayl.com">research project</a> is taking a closer look at this mobility and how it affects the lives of migrant youth. We focus on young people with a Ghanaian background in Germany, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14733285.2021.1919998">Belgium</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1959304">the Netherlands</a> and Ghana. The project includes ethnographic case studies in the four countries and a large-scale survey of high-school students in Europe.</p>
<p>The ethnographic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17450101.2021.1935304">case study</a> in Germany included 20 young men and women (aged 15-25) who live in Hamburg. Some were born in Ghana, some in Germany, and all had been mobile between the two countries. The small sample size allowed us to follow young people’s lives for over a year. This way, we could explore their mobility and its effects in depth. This included accompanying them to Ghana to understand what happens on their visits and why this matters.</p>
<h2>Diverse mobility</h2>
<p>Our research is showing that young people’s movements – or what we call ‘<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1409107">mobility trajectories</a>’ – are very diverse. While many young people stay in Ghana when their parents migrate, some migrate to Europe themselves. Others grow up in Europe with parents who migrated. And many young people living in Europe visit Ghana frequently, regardless of their own migration history.</p>
<p>For the young people in our Germany case study, travelling to Ghana represents different things.</p>
<p>What it means changes over time, as young people travel back and forth. It also changes depending on where they go, who they visit, and what happens during their travels. </p>
<p>Akosua (19) was born and raised in Hamburg and has visited Ghana five summers in a row. She used to find her time there boring because she didn’t have any local friends. But on a recent trip, Akosua attended make-up school in a busy, urban salon. There, she befriended local young women. Together, they learned new skills and compared life between Ghana and Germany. Through this experience, Akosua got to know Ghana as an independent young woman. Her trip opened up new perspectives on what opportunities Ghana could offer her in the future.</p>
<p>Trips to Ghana also help young people reflect on their own development. Ella was born in Hamburg but grew up mostly in Ghana until she was 16. At age 20, Ella returned to Ghana for the summer. Family and friends commented on how much she had changed since she moved to Germany. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People said I’ve grown, I’ve become more independent, more serious with life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ella’s trip represented an important transition in her life: she realised she was no longer a child, but a woman. </p>
<p>Mobility also allows young people to connect with their family and heritage in ways they cannot do remotely. Esra (19) was born and raised in Hamburg and made her first trip to Ghana aged 17. There, she met relatives she had only seen in photos and visited her parents’ hometown. After her trip, Esra told me: “Before I was like, ‘Whatever, I know my mum comes from Ghana’. But now I know where my mother was in Ghana, where my father was in Ghana. It’s more real than when you hear (about) it”.</p>
<h2>‘Getting to know Ghana in another way’</h2>
<p>The young people in our study had various experiences travelling to Ghana – they went to rural and urban places, visited relatives and friends, felt out of place and right at home. Some visited Ghana every year, others every few years, while a handful had been once or twice.</p>
<p>All these trips shaped young people’s relationships to Ghana. They changed the way young people felt about the country and how often they wanted to travel there. And they shaped what role young people envisaged Ghana playing in their lives.</p>
<p>Akosua wanted to return to Ghana to volunteer and “get to know Ghana in another way”. Ella aimed to have an international career between Ghana and Europe. And Esra couldn’t wait to return to Ghana to spend more time with her family. They all imagined themselves living transnational lives between two – or even more – countries. </p>
<p>Migrant youth don’t just maintain transnational connections and activities from a distance. Their trips ‘home’ help them create and update their relationship with the countries their families come from. The people, places, and events they encounter on their travels give them inspiration, connection and opportunity – and teach us something about what it means to be mobile global citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura J. Ogden is a researcher on the MO-TRAYL project, which receives funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 682982).</span></em></p>Trips to their home countries by migrant youth help them create and update their relationship with the countries their families come from.Laura J Ogden, Researcher, Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development, Maastricht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1539812021-01-28T09:09:49Z2021-01-28T09:09:49ZHow former president Rawlings pioneered heritage tourism in Ghana – in his own words<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380970/original/file-20210127-19-1bx9ucu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tourists pose for pictures at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NATALIJA GORMALOVA/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1980s, Flight Lieutenant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/13/jerry-rawlings-obituary">Jerry John Rawlings</a> launched heritage tourism as a means to economic development in Ghana. Under his initiative, Ghana’s forts and castles – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-slavery-journey-widerimage-idUSKCN1UR4JV">where</a> enslaved Africans were forcibly put on slave ships to cross the Atlantic Ocean into slavery in the Americas – were turned into heritage sites for tourism. It united Africans and African descendant people living in the disapora.</p>
<p>Rawlings was Ghana’s youngest and longest-serving post-independence leader. He led military uprisings in 1979 and 1981 and served as elected president from 1992 to 2000. When Rawlings came to power in 1981, Ghana faced numerous <a href="https://asq.africa.ufl.edu/files/Adedeji-Vol-5-Issue-2.pdf">challenges</a>. Food was scarce, medicines unavailable, over a million Ghanaians were deported from Nigeria, and the economy was almost bankrupt. Rawlings understood the capital investment necessary to rebuild the economy. </p>
<p>However, Ghana’s 1979 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Ghana-1982-1992-Revolution-Democracy/dp/9988786816">revolution</a> had criticised the former regime’s ties to the West and Western imperialism, so private investment dried up. Eastern bloc nations gave minimal support. Rawlings was compelled to secure World Bank and International Monetary Fund assistance, a tactical acquiescence that proved pivotal for heritage.</p>
<p>Rawlings rarely gave interviews. This abbreviated <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1817929">interview</a> with him was the first time he spoke publicly on heritage tourism and development. It comprises several conversations in 2018 and 2019. </p>
<hr>
<h2>How did you arrive at this innovative idea – using cultural heritage tourism for development?</h2>
<p>I was always interested in culture and art. (He shows me his childhood artwork.) As a child, I was an artist. </p>
<p>At that time (in the 1980s), Ghana was politically stable. Cocoa, gold and timber were our major commodities. The tourism idea was unplanned. But I worked with many progressive-minded people. For instance, Valerie Sackey (Ministry of Communications) and Dr Ben Abdallah (Minister of Culture and Tourism) who approached me with the idea. They targeted cultural heritage, such as the forts and castles, natural heritage, performance and arts – for example <a href="https://panafestghana.org/">Panafest</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in an overall and shades reads a placard that says, 'Do Not Mind Foreign Intervention', a crowd of peoplein the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380896/original/file-20210127-15-q5onix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rawlings reading a placard at a 1981 demonstration in Nicholson Stadium, Accra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of the Rawlings Archival Foundation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Quite frankly, I was surprised by the response. I remember, when I was young, <a href="https://theconversation.com/kwame-nkrumah-why-every-now-and-then-his-legacy-is-questioned-120790">(Kwame) Nkrumah</a> was the star of Africa, and black Africa at that. I was acquainted with African Americans coming to Ghana. We had personalities such as <a href="https://www.georgepadmoreinstitute.org/Who%20We%20Are/who-was-george-padmore">George Padmore</a> and <a href="https://duboiscentreghana.org/">W.E.B. Du Bois</a>. I was familiar with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/books/malcolm-x-a-life-of-reinvention-by-manning-marable-review.html">Malcolm X</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr">Martin Luther King</a>. I expected those who visited would want to know Africa better. After all, I was a young student when <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer">Muhammad Ali</a> came to my school. Consequently, I saw all of this as part of a natural flow of events – even if it also brought some resentment. Many had a complex relationship with Ghana. After I left school, I observed this first-hand, when I used to ‘be-bop’ around town. African Americans struggled to come to terms with the fact that Africans participated in the transatlantic slave trade and sold their ancestors into slavery. It was a very mixed response. </p>
<p>So, when I was in office, I did not think African Americans travelling to Ghana was something to be revived. I left the matter to those who championed heritage tourism and the various ministries.</p>
<h2>Is it possible to describe you as a pragmatist, for trying to reconcile the revolution with ‘real world’ demands?</h2>
<p>We had little money to invest in what was important to provide stability – a stable climate, water, roads. But we did well, as tourism became our third largest foreign exchange earner – though we didn’t invest in tourism per se. Ghana was seen as a place where the black man had reason to feel proud and was not exploited by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/neocolonialism">neocolonialism</a>, so that was something in and of itself. The 1979 revolution also restored justice and respect… In our case, this pilgrimage … was a connection to blackness, to ‘Africanness’. </p>
<h2>Were there any challenges?</h2>
<p>Sure. The African diasporan presence raised the subject of citizenship and nationality. This created issues, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-west-is-morally-bound-to-offer-reparations-for-slavery-153544">reparations</a> for the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, which also created a polarisation between our own people and African descendants. Still, I would like to mention something interesting. Gradually, African Americans won recognition in various arenas, for example, sports and entertainment. But in the late 1970s and early 1980s, several were so disgusted at their treatment by the United States government that they offered to participate in the Olympics on Ghana’s ‘ticket.’</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A greying man with a beard and sunglasses sits in a brown chair looking ahead intently." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380902/original/file-20210127-17-1p4j12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rawlings later in life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alhassan Idrissu/Courtesy the Rawlings Archival Foundation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, soon after, African American perceptions of Africa altered with the <a href="https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/1980s-ethiopia-famine-facts">Ethiopian famine</a>. Whereas previously, they sympathised with Africa’s struggles and, in a defiant move, wanted to identify with the continent, that sentiment suddenly collapsed. Horrible scenes on the television – overwhelming images of Ethiopians covered in flies, with bloated stomachs, dissuaded lots of African Americans from identifying with Africa. </p>
<h2>As head of state, you worked and lived at Osu Castle. What was that like?</h2>
<p>Often, I was too busy to give thought to the (slave trade and colonial) past. I saw my fellow black man suffering. When I travelled up north, I saw my people did not have water to flush their toilets and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/guineaworm/index.html">Guinea worm</a> was everywhere. The pressure of economic and social injustice was on me! Don’t forget that I was not always at the castle. I was always on the move. So was (my wife) Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. I had water, electricity and a bed to sleep on. What more could I have asked for? Why would I spend money on renovating the castle? Many Ghanaians did not have basic necessities. I did not even have the money to buy bullets for my soldiers in Liberia, or to protect people during the violence in the north.</p>
<h2>How do you see the heritage tourism and development initiative today?</h2>
<p>As for Ghana, we receive people well. Over the years, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-year-of-return-2019-traveler-tourist-or-pilgrim-121891">the ‘return’</a> has become increasingly known. Ghana has enjoyed a unique position because of our history, independence, Nkrumah, the assertion of black people in Africa’s liberation struggle and black people generally.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-year-of-return-2019-traveler-tourist-or-pilgrim-121891">Ghana's Year of Return 2019: traveler, tourist or pilgrim?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We are aware of our responsibilities to ourselves, our fellow Africans, and those in the diaspora. I am not enthusiastic about (financial) reparations. Those taken during the transatlantic slave trade must decide. If they return, we should offer them land and dual citizenship as restorative and social justice … As for diasporans and development … they do not have the money to develop us in Africa. Let us give them the respect that they want, that is due. That is the beginning of it all. Then other things will follow. This way, they can also fight for the continent … help us gain access to what the continent deserves. You see? This is how it should be. </p>
<p><em>Postscript: President Rawlings passed away as this article was to go to press. It is published with support from the Rawlings family. Thanks to the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjht20/current">Journal of Heritage Tourism</a> for permission to republish.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153981/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a rare series of interviews, the late Ghanaian leader spoke of how the country’s slave trade was revisited as a vehicle for economic development.Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, Director of Christiansborg Archaeological Heritage Project, Associate Professor at Africa Institute Sharjah & Associate Graduate Faculty, Rutgers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067152018-11-15T14:47:24Z2018-11-15T14:47:24ZCounting the contribution of hunting to South Africa’s economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245739/original/file-20181115-194513-yptxbc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Buffalo in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hunting of wild animals is <a href="https://theconversation.com/hunting-in-africa-to-ban-or-not-to-ban-is-the-question-44269">an emotive issue</a>, drawing fire from anti-hunting organisations, environmentalists as well as many ordinary citizens. But it also has its supporters, some of whom argue that hunting, in particular, is a valuable source of income and that it contributes to conservation of wildlife, that can be used to protect threatened species and be put to other good uses.</p>
<p>Africa remains one of the most <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-hemingway-to-blixen-why-africa-still-attracts-hunters-52329">sought after</a> destinations for hunters. The North West University’s Tourism Research in Economic, Environs and Society <a href="http://commerce.nwu.ac.za/sites/commerce.nwu.ac.za/files/files/TREES/Research%20report/TREES%20Portfolio_2016.pdf">unit</a>, which I’m a part of, set out to establish what financial contribution hunting makes. This is a particularly important question given the poverty challenges facing the country. </p>
<p>From our <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/jefs/8/1/EJC170564">research</a>, conducted in South Africa, we established that hunting contributes immensely to economic development. We looked at two main groups of hunters: international hunters, also referred to as the trophy hunters almost all of whom are foreigners, and local hunters, known locally as the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235419550_The_Economic_Impact_of_Hunting_in_the_Northern_Cape_Province">biltong hunters</a> who hunt for meat (Biltong is a local dried meat similar to jerky). </p>
<p>The research found that hunters (consumptive wildlife tourist) spend double and more the amount than non-consumptive wildlife tourists. Non-consumptive wildlife tourism refers to bird watching, game viewing (safari’s) and trails, to name a few. </p>
<p>By our calculations trophy and biltong hunters contribute a combined R13.6 billion ($909 million) to the South African economy in 2016/2017 season. This is only the direct contribution. If one would like to determine the economic impact of hunting one also needs to determine the indirect and induced impact. We are still in the process of publishing this data. </p>
<h2>What’s spent and where</h2>
<p>An estimated 7600 trophy hunters visited South Africa in 2016. Their trips lasted, on average, 12 days, and on average they spent R262 000 (US$20 000) per trip. Based on these numbers we calculated that trophy hunting contributed close to <a href="http://news.nwu.ac.za/trophy-hunting-worth-r198-billion-south-african-economy">R2 billion</a> ($130 880 815.00) to the South African economy. Our calculations also show that between 70% and 80% of trophy hunters’ spending takes place in the area of the hunt. This includes the accommodation, game hunted and in some cases also the trophy handling and processing. </p>
<p>For their part, biltong hunters spent on average R58 000 ($4 000) per season. When multiplied with the number of frequent biltong hunters in South Africa (200 000), it totals R11.66 billion. What makes the spending of hunters so important is that hunting mainly occurs in rural areas, which are in dire need of job creation and economic development.</p>
<p>In addition, hunting creates jobs, particularly in rural areas where employment is most needed. <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2222-34362014000400002">Research</a> conducted in three of the top hunting provinces – the Northern Cape, Free State and Limpopo provinces – showed hunting created 31 500 jobs in the three provinces – 17 806 in Limpopo, 9 072 in the Northern Cape and 4 558 in the Free State. </p>
<p>Typical employment created directly includes guides, professional hunters, skinners, trackers, catering, housekeeping, maintenance, conservation management, anti-poaching and taxidermy, to name a few.</p>
<h2>Investment</h2>
<p>Most of the land used for hunting in South Africa was originally farmland used for crops, cattle and other farming activities. To transform the land for hunting purposes required spending on new infrastructure, including for example accommodation, staff accommodation, cooling rooms, slaughtering facilities and meat processing facilities. Recent research conducted from one of my PhD students found that the average spend by product owners on infrastructure is just over R7 million (US$ 490 000), with some even spending up to R30 million (US$ 2.1 million). This all adds up to infrastructure development in rural areas. </p>
<p>This again created an economic stimulus in these rural areas.</p>
<h2>Species conservation</h2>
<p>There is more wildlife in South Africa than there was 50 or 60 years ago. There are now estimated 19 million head of game in the country compared to the 1950 when there were less than half a million <a href="https://www.loot.co.za/product/peter-flack-the-south-african-conservation-success-stor/mfjr-1852-g960">individuals left</a>.</p>
<p>The reason for this is that there is more land under conservation in South Africa today than in the 1950s or 1960s, mainly driven by hunting which gave wildlife an economic value. It’s <a href="https://www.loot.co.za/product/peter-flack-the-south-african-conservation-success-stor/mfjr-1852-g960">estimated</a> that the private wildlife industry is managing an estimate 20 million hectares, compared to the +-6 million hectares owned by the state (national parks, provincial parks and others state-owned conservation areas). </p>
<p>These private reserves rely heavily on hunting to keep their businesses going and hunters need game to hunt. Therefore private reserve owners often need to breed game for this purpose. </p>
<p>One consequence is that species such as the tsessebe, roan antelope, sable, bontebok and rhino have been saved from extinction as private wildlife reserve owners bread with these species, as it has financial gain for them. Hunting, therefore, remains very relevant to South Africa, and southern Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peet Van Der Merwe receives funding from NRF and WRSA.
We conduct research for WRSA, SA Hunters and PHASA</span></em></p>The economic, social and conservation reasons why hunting remains relevant in southern Africa.Peet Van Der Merwe, Professor in Tourism, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/973302018-05-28T13:24:22Z2018-05-28T13:24:22ZWhen the poor sponsor the rich: Rwanda and Arsenal FC<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220617/original/file-20180528-80658-35bz8h.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Arsenal FC's new sponsor is Rwanda.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=Visit%20Rwanda&src=typd">Twitter/@Arsenal</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rwanda keeps surprising. Recently the Rwandan Development Board signed a <a href="https://www.arsenal.com/news/club-welcomes-visit-rwanda-new-partner">sleeve sponsoring deal</a> with London Premier League club, Arsenal. Over a three-year period, the 200 sq centimetre ad “Visit Rwanda” will cost the country USD$39 million. </p>
<p>President Paul Kagame is known to be a <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2018/05/23/rwanda-becomes-arsenal-s-first-sleeve-sponsor-in-3-year-partnership//">committed Arsenal fan</a>. Recently, he even tweeted that the club needed a new coach after Arsenal’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43846363">once invincible</a> league and cup winning manager Arsene Wenger’s poor record over the past number of seasons. One may suppose that it is a coincidence that the deal was struck just after Wenger’s retirement at the end of the 2017/18 season.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"992151058892902403"}"></div></p>
<p>Rwanda is the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD">19th poorest country</a> in the world with a per capita income of around USD$700. Arsenal is one of the <a href="http://www.cityam.com/257361/arsenal-chelsea-tottenham-and-west-ham-make-london-home">richest football clubs</a> in the world. It’s not surprising therefore that the nearly USD$40 million has upset quite a few people. </p>
<p>Dutch lawmakers, including some from the governing coalition, immediately <a href="http://ktpress.rw/2018/05/dutch-mps-annoyed-by-rwanda-arsenal-fc-deal/">reacted angrily</a> to the news that such a poor country receiving a great deal of aid from The Netherlands would sponsor one of the world’s richest soccer clubs. Similar reactions could be heard in the UK, Rwanda’s second largest bilateral donor. An MP <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa">described</a> the deal as “an own goal for foreign aid”. </p>
<p>In addition, those concerned with democracy and human rights think the deal is sending the wrong message about a country that has a strong <a href="https://theconversation.com/presidential-term-limits-slippery-slope-back-to-authoritarianism-in-africa-96796">authoritarian streak</a> running through it. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-rwandas-development-model-wouldnt-work-elsewhere-in-africa-89699">Why Rwanda's development model wouldn't work elsewhere in Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The question is: Is Kagame entering into a deal with his favourite club to promote tourism or has he done it to enhance his image and shield him from criticism? He appears to have made the <a href="http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/documents/BUdget_Management_and_Reporting_Unit/Budget_Framework_Papers/2017-2020_Budget_Framework_Paper.pdf">decision</a> off his own bat: the contract appears not to have been discussed in the cabinet and the money does not figure in the budget approved by parliament.</p>
<h2>Rwanda’s rationale</h2>
<p>For the Rwandan government, the deal is part of a broader strategy to develop <a href="https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2018/rwanda2018.pdf">tourism</a>, which in 2017 accounted for about 12.7% of GDP and USD$400 million of revenue. The country sees upmarket leisure and convention tourism as an important growth sector. It has a lot going for it: lush green landscapes, the mountain gorillas of the Virunga volcanos, the Akagera wildlife park, the tropical Nyungwe forest, idyllic Lake Kivu, and even genocide memorials – all compressed into a space of just 26,000 sq kms.</p>
<p>This strategy is integrated and makes sense on paper. The state has invested heavily in its national airline<a href="https://www.rwandair.com/"> RwandAir</a> and built the Kigali Convention Centre and high-end hotels. And the development of the new Bugesera International Airport, designed to become a major regional hub, is underway. </p>
<p>But there are doubts about the profitability of these ventures. For instance, RwandAir has yet <a href="https://www.afritraveller.com/single-post/2017/08/28/Aggressive-Marketing-RwandAir-Reduces-Losses-to-1million">to break even</a> 14 years after it was launched. The government <a href="http://www.therwandan.com/rwandair-bankrupting-rwanda/">keeps it afloat</a> with an annual grant of USD$50 million just for operations.</p>
<p>Investments in a constantly expanding fleet to cater for an ever growing network of continental and intercontinental destinations require considerable borrowing at a high cost. The fiscal <a href="https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1458768/rwandas-risky-bet-prosperous-economic-future">risk</a> involved in the government’s strategy is high, and economists wonder how sustainable these outlays will be in the medium term.</p>
<p>Calculations like these are for the Rwandan government to consider. But has Arsenal considered the signal it’s giving in light of Kagame’s human rights and democracy records?</p>
<h2>Risks for Arsenal</h2>
<p>Canadian investigative journalist Judi Rever recently <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-full-episode-1.4602119/canadian-journalist-challenges-rwandan-genocide-narrative-in-new-book-1.4602122">recorded in a book</a>, “In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front”, that the Rwandan regime has massacred tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, particularly in the 1990s. </p>
<p>And last year <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/rwanda">Human Rights Watch</a> issued worrying reports about human rights abuses. These included the rounding up and arbitrary detention of poor people in “transit centres” across the country, widespread repression in land cases, extrajudicial killings and unlawful detention and torture in military facilities. </p>
<p>In October 2017 the United Nations subcommittee on Prevention of Torture <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-41513811">suspended</a> its visit to Rwanda because of “a series of obstructions imposed by the authorities”. It was only the third time in 10 years the subcommittee has done this. </p>
<p>On top of this there has been widespread analysis and commentary on the state of democracy in Rwanda. The country is a <em>de facto</em> one-party state with no meaningful political opposition, no press freedom and no independent civil society. </p>
<p>Kagame’s grip on power is absolute and in August last year he was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/05/paul-kagame-secures-third-term-in-rwanda-presidential-election">reelected</a> with over 98% of the vote. A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/20/rwanda-vote-gives-president-paul-kagame-extended-powers">referendum</a> on a constitutional amendment in 2015 gave him the right to stay office until 2034.</p>
<p>Realising that battles are fought in the media as much, if not more than on the ground, Kagame’s party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) has developed a formidable information and communication <a href="https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno15-8-03.htm">strategy</a> stretching back to the civil war it launched in October 1990.</p>
<p>Kagame once <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=qMi8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA225&lpg=PA225&dq=Kagame+:+We+used+communication+and+information+warfare+better+than+anyone.+We+have+found+a+new+way+of+doing+things.&source=bl&ots=c02IPqnffm&sig=jxE09JPPgsHbjPXcOOR1tSB6-Lo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_wZiOkKjbAhVpBMAKHXPaADkQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=Kagame%20%3A%20We%20used%20communication%20and%20information%20warfare%20better%20than%20anyone.%20We%20have%20found%20a%20new%20way%20of%20doing%20things.&f=false">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We used communication and information warfare better than anyone. We have found a new way of doing things. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This has involved paying those who can help promote the right image, including <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=dX4LAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=Rwanda+W2+Group+at+the+cost+of+US$50,000+per+month&source=bl&ots=K_Itl3UI_t&sig=JYFJVP5vXlWUknNJaV3o1kYnd-0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj84q2kkKjbAhXJLMAKHVE5APkQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=Rwanda%20W2%20Group%20at%20the%20cost%20of%20US%2450%2C000%20per%20month&f=false">public relations firms</a>. </p>
<h2>Political ethics and sport</h2>
<p>True, political ethics and sports don’t match well. Until recently FC Barcelona agreed to a Qatar sponsorship that saw the country featured on the team’s jerseys. Qatar has a very chequered political record. Due to host the 2022 World Cup, it’s <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar/report-qatar/">known</a> for its notorious human rights abuse, especially when it comes to the rights of migrant workers and women. </p>
<p>Another example is Atlético Madrid which was controversially <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/04/football-sponsored-shirts-shame-atletico-madrid-azerbaijan">sponsored by Azerbaijan</a>, where the Euro 2020 football tournament will take place. This east European country has been <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/">flagged by Amnesty International</a> for its “crackdown on the right to freedom of expression, particularly following revelations of large-scale political corruption”.</p>
<p>Not that it should make any difference, but these two countries are very rich, while Rwanda is very poor.</p>
<p>And I nearly forgot: Many Arsenal fans were <a href="https://news.arseblog.com/2018/05/arsenal-reveal-sleeve-sponsor-for-2018-19-season/">opposed to the deal</a>, not because of Rwanda’s human rights and democracy records, but because they didn’t like the design of the sleeve print.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Filip Reyntjens does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Political ethics and sports don’t match well. The recent deal between Rwanda and Arsenal is potentially a case in point.Filip Reyntjens, Professor of Law and Politics, Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB), University of AntwerpLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/700622017-01-09T20:09:25Z2017-01-09T20:09:25ZSlave heritage is big business, tainting the diaspora’s bonds with Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151689/original/image-20170104-18644-h9u9qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghana's Elmina Castle was has been declared a World Heritage Site and renovated as a tourism destination</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Luc Gnago</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ghana’s meandering coast is dotted with numerous <a href="http://easytrackghana.com/tour-ghana_forts-castles.php">forts and castles</a>. These monuments were built between the 15th and 17th centuries by early modern European <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/chartered-companies.htm">chartered companies</a>. They were initially used for trading gold and other commodities. After Ghana became enmeshed in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1650 they were used as spaces to buy, torture and hold captured people before shipping them away from Africa. </p>
<p>Over the past three decades these landmark monuments have taken on another role. Ghana has developed a significant heritage tourism industry and the monuments have become tourist attractions. They particularly draw people of the original historic <a href="http://history-world.org/African%20Diaspora.htm">African diaspora</a>.</p>
<p>The descendants of Africans who were captured and enslaved in the <a href="http://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/africanpassageslowcountryadapt/introductionatlanticworld">western Atlantic World</a> return to the continent – and to the monuments – for a number of reasons. For many, it is a way to reconnect with their ancestry and find a sense of belonging in the African world. The memory of Africa can also be a source of strength, pride and identity.</p>
<p>Heritage tourism in Ghana provides an important opportunity for diasporic Africans to connect with their history and identity. But in the context of global neoliberal capitalism it also creates an uncomfortable continuity. Today the forts and castles of Ghana’s coast continue to fulfil one of the key purposes for which they were first built – making money. This trend has distorted the relationship between the historic African diaspora and the continent.</p>
<h2>From independence to neoliberalism</h2>
<p>The rise of Ghana’s heritage tourism industry coincided with a shift in its economic policy orientation. From independence in 1957 well into the 1980s the economy was largely state controlled. Its <a href="http://www.justiceghana.com/index.php/en/2012-01-24-13-47-55/6720-discipline-in-economic-management-the-key-to-sustainable-growth-and-prosperity?showall=&start=1">policies</a> included government interventions aimed at easing the people’s hardships. But by the end of the 1990s Ghana’s economic, social and political policies had, by and large, become aligned with the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NrLv4surz7UC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=neoliberalism&ots=Jv-AIN6IjK&sig=C4w1cd1CCNCXNp4b2a28BpSU-Yw#v=onepage&q=neoliberalism&f=false">global neoliberal agenda</a>. </p>
<p>The economic and ideological system of <a href="http://www.sok.bz/web/media/video/ABriefHistoryNeoliberalism.pdf">neoliberalism</a> is centred on the primacy of private property and private enterprise. Government intervention in the economy is discouraged. Neoliberalism operates on principles such as subsidy removal, social spending cuts and the privatisation of social services. </p>
<p>These free market and pro-business principles were <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=w0Z_AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=imf+conditional+lending&ots=AFE9HaYQoZ&sig=1UzOqv2sbyktxLFWbqGwLxCBS-o#v=onepage&q=imf%20conditional%20lending&f=false">imposed</a> on developing countries desperate to secure loans to salvage and stabilise their erratic economies. Powerful international agencies made loans conditional on countries adopting neoliberal reforms. The <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/bretton-woods-system-and-1944-agreement-3306133">Bretton Woods</a> twin financial institutions of the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/about">World Bank</a> and the <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm">International Monetary Fund</a> did the same. In this way they were able to reshape the economies of many African countries, including Ghana’s.</p>
<p>The ultimate objective was to make developing countries toe the line of profit maximisation in both public and private sectors.</p>
<h2>Tourism potential and profit</h2>
<p>Tourism was identified and bolstered by the government as a viable, reliable and productive source of revenue within the framework of global neoliberalism.</p>
<p>Ghana boasts an irresistible package of celebrated cultural heritage. In addition to its extant European castles and forts, it also has a number of old slave markets, slave routes and slave cemeteries.</p>
<p>In 1993 Ghana boosted its tourism attractiveness with a US$10m investment <a href="http://sova.si.edu/record/Accession%2099-111?q=*&s=0&n=10">project</a>. This was planned and implemented by the Ghanaian authorities in conjunction with the <a href="http://www.undp.org/">United Nations Development Programme</a> and the <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/">United States Agency for International Development</a>.</p>
<p>It involved, among other things, the development of the <a href="http://www.kakumnationalpark.info/">Kakum National Park</a> as well as the preservation and renovation of the <a href="http://www.capecoastcastlemuseum.com/">Cape Coast</a> and <a href="http://www.elminacastle.info/">Elmina Castles</a>. As if to glorify these sites, <a href="http://en.unesco.org/">Unesco</a> declared the castles and forts <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/africa/">World Heritage sites</a>. They were furnished with new museums and other tourist facilities.</p>
<p>The new policy targeted the massive patronage of the historic African diaspora, particularly those from the US, as effective partners in development. </p>
<p>Within the neoliberal framework, both the ideology of <a href="http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-pan-africanism.html">Pan-Africanism</a> and the legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade became marketable commodities.</p>
<h2>Tourists, customers and investors</h2>
<p>African Americans were invited to come back to their “roots”. But increasingly they became aware that they were regarded as tourists and customers in Ghana. Some were also encouraged to become stakeholders in the broader project of capitalist development. Land grants and other business incentives were promised to the diaspora. The objective was to encourage <a href="http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/Foreign-Direct-Investment-(FDI).aspx">foreign direct investment</a> in the economy’s various sectors.</p>
<p>The travel and tourism sector was one where some of the historic African diaspora entered and did brisk business. Those with the necessary resources and expertise competed with their Ghanaian counterparts. By forming tour companies, they facilitated travel to the country in appreciable numbers. Others also invested in hotels and beach resorts.</p>
<p>In 2015 tourism and travel directly contributed a total of around <a href="http://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202016/ghana2016.pdf">GHC4.5 million</a> (more than US $1 million) to Ghana’s GDP. This amounts to about 3.3% of national GDP.</p>
<p>This is good for business. But what does it mean for relations between the continent and the diaspora? Ghana’s forts and castles, among other things, were once used to make profit off African bodies. Today they continue to exist as money-making facilities. The legacy of slavery has been turned into a commodity and diasporic Africans are cast as <a href="http://search.proquest.com/docview/1770385210?pq-origsite=gscholar">tourists, investors, customers and foreigners</a> – rather than members of the <a href="http://search.proquest.com/docview/1677381295?pq-origsite=gscholar">African family</a> to which they belong.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kwaku Nti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the era of neoliberal capitalism, both the ideology of Pan-Africanism and the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade have become marketable commodities.Kwaku Nti, Assistant Professor of History, Armstrong State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/525042016-01-18T04:04:15Z2016-01-18T04:04:15ZHow scuba diving is warding off threats to its future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108038/original/image-20160113-10444-173vnqv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scuba diving must be done in a sustainable manner to preserve the industry.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scuba diving is an important tourism market, generating a <a href="http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcorals/values/tourismrecreation/">billion-dollar industry</a> worldwide. African countries are highly recommended for divers; 20% of the best dives in the world are located on the <a href="http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdiveslong.html">continent</a>.</p>
<p>Some of the most popular destinations include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the warm tropical waters of the Red Sea, which is home to <a href="http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/wreckdive.html#Thistlegorm">Thistlegorm</a>, and <a href="http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/sharmdive.html">Shark and Yolanda Reef</a> in Sharm El Sheikh;</p></li>
<li><p>the high latitude reefs of <a href="http://www.divewild.com/en/mozambique-scuba-diving/ponta-do-ouro">southern Mozambique</a>; and</p></li>
<li><p>the cold waters of <a href="http://www.divestyle.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=372:-the-top-5-dive-sites-in-south-africa&catid=8:local-travel&Itemid=20">South Africa</a> that host great white sharks, old mines, <a href="http://www.southafrica.net/za/it/articles/entry/article-miracle-waters-north-west">lakes</a>, and <a href="http://www.kznwildlife.com/marine-protected-area-kzn.html">marine parks</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Scuba diving has grown in popularity over the past two decades. This is evident from the rapid growth in the number of <a href="https://www.padi.com/scuba-diving/">certifications</a> issued worldwide. The number has grown to 23 million at a pace of about one million every year.</p>
<p>But the industry is not without its fair share of challenges. Some of these, such as environmental degradation and the effects of climate change, are threatening the industry.</p>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>The global <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/14/global-economy-slowing-down-recession-or-protectionism">economic downturn</a> has led to people cutting down on unnecessary expenses such as <a href="http://www.backpackingscubadiver.com/scuba-diving-expensive/">costly</a> leisure activities. This has had negative consequences for tourism destinations, scuba diving charters and diving schools. </p>
<p>Sociopolitical instability also affects diving. For example, political challenges in Egypt have affected the diving <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8317053/Egypt-crisis-the-charms-of-an-empty-Sharm.html">numbers</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4375815.stm">Natural disasters</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environment-tourism-environment-dc-idUSL0188388420071001">climate change</a> are also affecting diving destinations. Increasing water temperatures and coral <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/warming-coral.html">bleaching</a> events have <a href="http://travel.cnn.com/bangkok/visit/closure-18-dive-sites-413619/">deterred</a> divers from visiting affected destinations. </p>
<p>Divers and diving operations have a <a href="http://www.reefresilience.org/coral-reefs/stressors/local-stressors/coral-reefs-tourism-and-recreational-impacts/">negative impact</a> on the environment, causing <a href="https://www.divein.com/articles/a-scuba-divers-impact-on-a-coral-reef/">direct damage</a> as well as indirect damage through <a href="http://www.scubadiving.com/photos/clean-water-happy-reefs">pollution</a> and <a href="http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-marine-habitat-destruction/">development</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108041/original/image-20160113-10444-tbmi5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pollution is one of the problems affecting scuba diving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The industry has also been hit hard by <a href="http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Diving-ban-WWF-has-its-say-20071206">poaching</a> and <a href="http://overfishing.org/">overfishing</a>. Several sites have been <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/poachers-why-attack-law-bidding-divers-1.381856?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot">closed</a> and permit systems introduced, <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/poachers-why-attack-law-bidding-divers-1.381856?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot">frustrating</a> some operators.</p>
<h2>Solutions</h2>
<p>A number of initiatives have been taken locally and globally to address some of these issues. The scuba diving industry, scientists and decision-makers are all trying to work on solutions. </p>
<p>To manage the tough economic environment, the industry has begun to take steps to attract <a href="http://www.elitedivingagency.com/articles/6-types-divers-group/">different markets.</a> There are also initiatives to cater for different types of divers. This improves competitiveness. Divers are also being advised on how to travel in a tough <a href="http://www.travelworldnews.com/newsoffers/news_upload/Industry_20Events_2edb.scuba.pdf">economy</a>.</p>
<p>The diving industry has organised <a href="http://bobsummit.com/">summits</a> to address the issue of climate change and its consequences. Topics most commonly covered are eco-compatible business practices, how <a href="http://www.responsibletravelreport.com/sti-news/news/2241-scuba-dive-industry-addresses-global-warming-and-climate-friendly-diving">awareness</a> can be raised among divers about carbon emissions and the promotion of <a href="http://greenfins.net/">sustainable</a> resources.</p>
<p>Problems like overfishing, trawling, poaching, and pollution from boat traffic have been addressed with the establishment of <a href="http://www.mmmpa.eu/">Marine Protected Areas</a>. These are designed to pose restrictions and regulations on the industry.</p>
<p>And there are more initiatives to promote scientific research, to generate revenue for conservation, and to promote and control non-consumptive use of the marine resources including scuba diving. African governments have successfully established some of the largest and oldest <a href="http://isimangaliso.com/">networks</a> of marine and terrestrial protected areas for these purposes. </p>
<p>Some locations affected by natural disasters, as in Thailand, have managed to <a href="http://www.asiadivesite.com/news/thailand-250406.php">re-establish</a> themselves and <a href="http://www.miss-scuba.com/thailand.html">continue</a> their operations.</p>
<p>Proper scuba diver conduct is being promoted through marine conservation, environmental awareness and education initiatives and by involving scuba divers in conservation. One of the most popular is <a href="http://www.projectaware.org/">Project AWARE.</a> This is a global underwater conservation movement of scuba divers who tackle problems including marine litter and shark culling through education and participatory events. </p>
<p>There are numerous other initiatives and projects worldwide to educate, promote research and highlight the importance of sustainability. <a href="http://www.ghostfishing.org/">Ghost Fishing</a>, <a href="http://www.earthdive.com/">earthdive</a> and <a href="http://greenfins.net/">Green Fins</a> are all involved in such activities.</p>
<h2>What’s happening in Africa</h2>
<p>Divers and researchers in collaboration with the protected <a href="http://www.divestyle.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=410:mpas-in-sa-how-divers-can-help-&catid=912:news&Itemid=125">areas</a> and organisations are all actively engaged in initiatives and collaborations to promote research, education and sustainability. </p>
<p>Examples include projects like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.sst.org.za/">Sustainable Seas Trust</a>;</p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.marinemegafauna.org">Marine Megafauna Foundation</a>;</p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.sharkconservancy.org/">South African Shark Conservancy</a>;</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.jacarandachildren.co.za/diveforlife.html">Dive for Life</a>;</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.iucn-medmis.org/?c=About/show">MedMIS</a>; and </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.greenbubbles.eu/?lang=en">Green Bubbles RISE</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>In a backdrop of global change, the scuba diving industry seems to be strong enough to fight to stay alive. But this fight cannot be won until the value and potential of the industry is truly acknowledged. Enhancing the scuba diving industry can have a number of beneficial effects, direct and indirect, for the areas that support it. </p>
<p>This is particularly important for developing countries, where local communities may be not well integrated in the scuba diving system for various reasons. The scuba diving industry is capable of mobilising initiatives, actively engaging in conservation, education and poverty alleviation, managing diving destinations through entrepreneurship, and carrying out scientific research.</p>
<p>Perhaps this potential is due to the passion and dedication of many divers for the underwater environment. This urges them to fight for its survival and protection, and thus for the survival of their business. Whether selfish or not, this is reason alone to value scuba diving as one of the most powerful tools in educating society about the importance of our aquatic world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52504/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Serena Lucrezi works at TREES, North-West University (NWU), South Africa. She receives funding from TREES-NWU; the the National Research Foundation; and Green Bubbles RISE. Green Bubbles RISE has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 643712. This article reflects only the author's view. The European Research Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.</span></em></p>Africa has a number of excellent scuba diving sites, but these must be maintained sustainably to keep attracting different divers.Serena Lucrezi, Post-doctoral researcher in Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/526322016-01-13T04:32:29Z2016-01-13T04:32:29ZWhat islands can learn from Mauritius about tourism and entertainment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107011/original/image-20151224-27854-13h4fbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mauritius has used its natural beauty to draw tourists and develop its tourism industry. Other island nations could learn from this.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tourism remains incredibly important for island destinations - and that trend shows no signs of slowing down or reversing. The tourism industry provides business opportunities and contributes to economic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282252280_Entertainment_of_leisure_tourists_in_island_destinations_evidence_from_the_island_of_Mauritius">development</a> on islands.</p>
<p>But research shows that the tourists of the 21st century are more demanding and have <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272486780_Social_Entrepreneurship_as_a_tool_for_promoting_Global_Citizenship_in_Island_Tourism_Destination_Management">different needs</a>. Tourists are always in search of unique <a href="https://www.academia.edu/11233990/Engaging_Locals_for_Sustainable_Tourism_in_Mauritius">opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>Mauritius has adapted to tourists’ more sophisticated demands by diversifying its offering to them. The island has developed a variety of entertainment opportunities aside from the traditional beach tourism. As a result of this work, tourist numbers have risen compared to previous <a href="http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/StatsbySubj/Pages/INTERNATIONAL-TRAVEL-and-TOURISM.aspx">years</a>. For example, Statistics Mauritius shows that more that 1 million tourists visited Mauritius in 2015 compared with 934,827 in the year <a href="http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/StatsbySubj/Pages/INTERNATIONAL-TRAVEL-and-TOURISM.aspx">2010</a>.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that entertainment was the only reason for the rise in tourism. Between 2005 and 2010 tourism climbed from 761,000 to <a href="http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/mauritius/international-tourism">935,000</a>. That can be attributed to a number of things such as technological development, government support, pro-tourism policies and opening up air access to other airlines.</p>
<p>But according to our <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282252280_Entertainment_of_leisure_tourists_in_island_destinations_evidence_from_the_island_of_Mauritius">research</a> in the last five years we found that entertainment was the biggest pull factor. This means that tourism destinations and businesses should have better knowledge so that they can capitalise on this new form of diversified tourism.</p>
<h2>Tourism and entertainment</h2>
<p>Mauritius has, for example, begun to offer activities like scuba diving, parasailing, water-skiing, deep sea fishing and catamaran sailing. </p>
<p>These activities have been shown to attract more <a href="http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_15_special_edition_vol_4_(2015).pdf">tourists</a> as well as retaining them for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228289781_Integrating_Entertainment_Tourism_Heritage_and_Culture_into_the_Development_of_Cities_A_Case_for_Mumbai">longer</a>. </p>
<p>Integrating entertainment also helps to preserve natural and cultural <a href="http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4907/">resources</a>. </p>
<p>A country’s tourism and entertainment industries are mutually dependent on each other. Tourism is about relaxation, escapism and enjoyment. All of these are also key to entertainment. For example, traditional sega dances on a catamaran trip in Mauritius combine the two. </p>
<h2>Tourist entertainment in Mauritius</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_15_special_edition_vol_4_(2015).pdf">study</a> I conducted with a colleague set out to establish the link between Mauritius, tourism and entertainment. </p>
<p>Mauritius has gone through five stages of tourism entertainment since 1968. These are introduction, development, commercialisation, consolidation and revamping.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107012/original/image-20151224-27854-k20t6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many tourists travel to Mauritius for the sun, sea and sand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It has capitalised on its sea, sun and sand to market its offering. The study also revealed that nearly 90% of the tourists who visit the island are drawn by the water and beach activities. But Mauritius has developed a diverse set of attractions over the decades. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Cultural celebrations and festivals </p></li>
<li><p>Sports and competitions ranging from tennis competitions to beauty contests</p></li>
<li><p>Conferences, shows and exhibitions like concerts and musical shows</p></li>
<li><p>Water-based activities like deep sea fishing, catamaran, parasailing and scuba diving</p></li>
<li><p>Nature-based activities like trekking, paragliding and nature trail hikes</p></li>
<li><p>Heritage attractions like <a href="http://www.porlwi.com/home-en/">Porlwi by light</a></p></li>
<li><p>Wellness and spa services like aqua yoga, wellness and fitness programmes</p></li>
<li><p>Shopping, gambling and night life and,</p></li>
<li><p>Technology-based entertainment like 3-D, 4-D shows and films, drone aerial activities and interactive games </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These activities have resulted in tourists arriving from a more diverse set of destinations including Russia, China, Scandinavia and Turkey. Previously tourists visiting the island came mainly from Europe and India.</p>
<h2>Lessons from Mauritius</h2>
<p>African islands have similar resources and face similar challenges to Mauritius. </p>
<p>To succeed, they must adapt to changing tastes and needs. They must therefore acquire a deeper understanding of the need of their current and potential visitors, the type of experiences they’re looking for and the type of activities they want. </p>
<p>These islands must explore the potential of entertainment and study the possibilities of how it can be integrated into existing tourism activities. But this needs to be done wisely so that natural and cultural resources are not affected and commercialised. Tourists are always interested in experiencing authenticity.</p>
<p>African island destinations could diversify their tourism development with a variety of entertainment opportunities that are customised to modern tourists. But the crucial point is to adopt and implement a sustainable approach and planning of their natural and cultural resources. And let’s not forget the interests and aspirations of local communities. </p>
<p>Mauritius is doing this extremely well. For example, hotels in Mauritius give local artists the opportunity to perform traditional shows, like sega dancing. The island also supports community-based tourism where tourists visit local communities and consume traditional food and delicacies prepared by locals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Vanessa GB Gowreesunkar is affiliated with the African Network for Policy Reserach and Advocacy for Sustainaility. She is the Vice President. </span></em></p>Mauritius’ experience proves that making more entertainment offerings available is key to driving tourism for island destinations.Vanessa GB Gowreesunkar, Lecturer in Tourism, Marketing, and Communication, Mauritius Institute of EducationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/525032016-01-12T04:29:08Z2016-01-12T04:29:08ZWhy millions chose Africa as their safari destination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107506/original/image-20160107-13986-14209ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Africa is the go-to destination for tourists seeking animal safari trips.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-factsheet.pdf">30 million</a> tourists visit Africa every year. Over half of the international arrivals are for business purposes, and may partake in tourist activities as well, while 15% travel for pure tourism and 30% visit friends and family. </p>
<p>Tourists select the continent as a destination for wildlife viewing and to enjoy the sunny skies. Africa is the world’s number one destination for safaris which range from the exotic to the very simple. </p>
<p>The tourism industry is one of the most important for the continent: it provided 12.8 million people with jobs, directly and indirectly, in 2011. Tourism in 2012 contributed over US$36 billion or 2.8% of the continent’s <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-factsheet.pdf">GDP</a>.</p>
<p>The continent’s vast and diverse nature makes it complex and difficult to decide on the best region for a safari. But the east, central and southern parts of the continent are by far the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-extracted-figures.pdf">preferred choices</a>. These areas generally have well developed or fast developing tourism sectors. There is an abundance of wildlife as well as low to no visa requirements. Tourists to these regions mostly come <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Africa/Report/africa-tourism-report-2013-extracted-figures.pdf">from</a> countries like France, the UK, the USA, Germany and Portugal.</p>
<p>Below is a quick guide to some of the safari hot spots on the African continent.</p>
<h2>East Africa</h2>
<p>East African countries are strongly reliant on the tourism industry for generating income. Strong improvements in marketing and cooperation between these nations will help to ensure the success of this vital tourism <a href="http://www.eac.int/travel/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114&Itemid=85">sector</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.eac.int/travel/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=113&Itemid=84">Standardised criteria</a> for hotels, restaurants and other services across these countries will make it easier for tourists to find suitable services. These countries possess various natural and cultural resources that make tourism possible.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.expertafrica.com/tanzania/info/serengeti-wildebeest-migration">Serengeti wildebeest migration</a> is the main reason Kenya and Tanzania have become popular safari destinations. This migration sees millions of wildebeest, accompanied by various other animal species, move between Tanzania and Kenya. The best places to view this migration include Kenya’s <a href="http://www.masaimara.com/">Masai Mara</a> and Tanzania’s <a href="http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/serengeti.html">Serengeti National Park.</a> .</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107507/original/image-20160107-13983-64ru4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wildebeest crosses a river during the Serengeti migration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And while in the area, don’t forget to visit Africa’s highest mountain - <a href="http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/kili.html">Mount Kilimanjaro</a> in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro National Park.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ngorongorocrater.org/">Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area</a> is also a great choice with an abundance of <a href="http://big5.southafrica.net/#intro-video">big 5</a> - the African elephant, African lion, white/black rhinoceros, African leopard and the Cape buffalo - and will not disappoint.</p>
<h2>Central Africa</h2>
<p>Civil wars and terrorist groups have made it dangerous to travel to some countries in this region. Many tourists still take their chances, though, as Central Africa is an area of immense natural beauty. </p>
<p>The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda are great places to view the endangered <a href="http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/mountain-gorilla/">mountain gorillas</a>. The best places for viewing them include the <a href="https://virunga.org/">Virunga National Park</a> in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, <a href="http://www.ugandawildlife.org/explore-our-parks/parks-by-name-a-z/mgahinga-gorilla-national-park">Mgahinga Gorilla National Park</a> in south-west Uganda, or <a href="http://www.volcanoesnationalparkrwanda.com/">Volcanoes National Park</a> in north-west Rwanda.</p>
<p>Various factors have threatened the population of gorillas, including poaching, habitat loss, disease, war and unrest and poverty. Today, due to conservation efforts, the population of mountain gorillas is showing steady growth. The fact that many tourists want to get up close to these animals also drives conservation efforts, since with tourism comes economic improvement. </p>
<p>If you’d prefer to take part in Africa’s best on-foot chimpanzee encounters, visit <a href="http://www.kibaleforestnationalpark.com/">Kibale Forest</a> in Uganda.</p>
<h2>Southern Africa</h2>
<p>South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi offer very diverse wildlife. This is because of the variety of <a href="http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/vegfram.htm">biomes</a> in the region.</p>
<p><a href="http://chobenationalpark.co.za/">Chobe National Park</a> is home to the biggest concentration of elephants in the world - 70 000 of them. It lies between the Chobe River and the Okavango Delta in the north eastern parts of Botswana. Also in Botswana, the <a href="http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/destination/moremi-game-reserve">Moremi Game Reserve</a>, in the iconic Okovango Delta, is the first reserve in Africa to be established by local residents.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://etoshanationalpark.co.za/">Etosha National Park</a> in the northern arid region of Namibia offers great chances of spotting endangered black rhinoceros as well as flamingos in the salt pans.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/kruger/">Kruger National Park</a> in South Africa is in its own league because of its <a href="https://www.safaribookings.com/kruger/wildlife">diversity of animals</a> as well as advanced environmental management techniques and policies.</p>
<p><a href="http://isimangaliso.com/">iSimangaliso Wetland Park</a> was the first site in South Africa to be awarded World Heritage status. It contains most of South Africa’s remaining swamp forests and is Africa’s largest estuarine system, which is a partially enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers and streams mix with salt water from the ocean. The park borders Kosi Bay and St Lucia Lake which is the only place in the world where you can find sharks, hippopotamus and crocodiles in the same body of water.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/tourism/get_there.php">Addo Elephant National Park</a> in the Eastern Cape province is the only park where you can find the <a href="http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-the-big-7">Big 7</a>: the African elephant, Cape buffalo, African lion, African leopard, African rhino as well as whales and Great White sharks.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/kgalagadi/">Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park</a> consists of mostly unspoiled wilderness in the north of South Africa, crossing over into Botswana. This park is largely located in a desert area and is famous for animal species such as the <a href="http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-kalaharis-black-maned-lions">Kalahari black-maned lions</a> and the <a href="http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_gemsbok.html">Gemsbok or Oryx</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marco Scholtz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Safaris are a major tourist attraction for those travelling to Africa - and visitors are spoiled for choice on the continent.Marco Scholtz, Senior Lecturer in tourism at Tourism Research in Economic Environs & Society(TREES), North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/523292015-12-17T04:47:33Z2015-12-17T04:47:33ZFrom Hemingway to Blixen: why Africa still attracts hunters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106067/original/image-20151215-23202-1cnzp2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hunting for game at the Iwamanzi Game Reserve in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa is known as one of the best safari destinations <a href="https://www.mobal.com/blog/travel-talk/best-of-guides/the-worlds-best-hunting-destinations/">in the world</a>. Its vast grass plains, forests, deserts, mountains, big lakes and beautiful coastlines make it hugely attractive.</p>
<p>What makes it even more appealing is the abundance of game, such as elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and plentiful antelope species like gemsbok, kudu, eland and wildebeest. All have a certain allure for those wanting just to see them in their natural habitat, as well as those interested in hunting.</p>
<p>The main reason hunters hunt is not to kill animals, but to experience the thrill of hunting and nature. Nevertheless, hunting remains a <a href="https://theconversation.com/hunting-in-africa-to-ban-or-not-to-ban-is-the-question-44269">controversial pastime</a>. This has not diminished its appeal. In fact a number of countries use it to their advantage.</p>
<p>Funds generated by hunting in some countries are used for <a href="https://theconversation.com/trophy-hunting-is-not-poaching-and-can-help-conserve-wildlife-29938">conservation</a> and empower local communities. And if an economic value is placed on game, owners and communities are more likely to want them <a href="http://www.natshoot.co.za/uploads/documents/Hunt=Conserve%20SAHGCA2013.pdf">conserved</a>.</p>
<p>South Africa and Namibia are cases in point. Both countries <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-killing-lions-like-cecil-may-actually-be-good-for-conservation-45400">recorded growth</a> in their game populations in the last 20 to 25 years as a result of hunting and good conservation practices by government and the private sector.</p>
<h2>Europeans and Americans going back 200 years</h2>
<p>Africa’s variety of wildlife has been attracting great hunters from Europe and America since the early 1800s. This includes the likes of <a href="http://www.rhodesia.nl/nimrod.htm">Frederick Selous</a>, <a href="http://www.chuckhawks.com/bell_elephants.htm">William Bell</a> (later known as Karamojo Bell), <a href="http://www.africahunting.com/threads/baron-bror-blixen-1886-1946.3196/">Bror von Blixen-Finecke</a> (married to Out of Africa author Karen Blixen), <a href="http://www.africahunting.com/threads/william-charles-baldwin-1826-1903-big-game-hunter.3535/">William Charles Baldwin</a>, <a href="http://www.africahunting.com/threads/roualeyn-george-gordon-cumming-1820-1866-the-lion-hunter.3267/">Gordon Cumming</a>, <a href="http://www.booksofzimbabwe.com/ahrs3.html">William Finaughty</a>, <a href="http://www.africahunting.com/threads/john-alexander-hunter-1887-1963.3120/">JA Hunter</a>, <a href="http://www.ernesthemingwaycollection.com/about-hemingway/ernest-hemingway-in-africa">Ernest Hemingway</a> and even former US president <a href="http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/site/c.elKSIdOWIiJ8H/b.8344379/k.2B69/The_Hunter.htm">Theodore Roosevelt</a> to name a few.</p>
<p>Selous was a British officer and a good friend of both Roosevelt and Cecil John Rhodes. The well-known <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/199">Selous Game Reserve</a> in Tanzania is named after him. </p>
<p>Bell was named “Karamojo” due to his hunting in Karamojo in Uganda. He became famous for his ability to place the perfect headshot on elephants. He is reported to have hunted more than 1000.</p>
<p>Cumming, a Scotsman who hunted mainly in South Africa, was known as “lion hunter”. On returning to England, his trophies were shown at the <a href="http://www.africahunting.com/threads/roualeyn-george-gordon-cumming-1820-1866-the-lion-hunter.3267/">Great Exhibition</a> in London, weighing more than 27 metric tonnes.</p>
<p>Most kept a diary of their hunting experiences in Africa. These later became novels portraying their hunting safaris and expeditions <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/07/04/specials/hemingway-green.html">on the continent</a>, further fuelling its attraction.</p>
<p>The most popular hunting destinations between 1800 and 1950 were Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanganyika (Tanzania), Portuguese West Africa (Angola), South West Africa (Namibia), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), Bechuanaland (Botswana) and South Africa.</p>
<p>Not all are still open to hunters. And countries that still allow hunting are becoming fewer. The main destinations today are Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia.</p>
<h2>Prime attractions</h2>
<p>Namibia gives hunters the <a href="http://www.smj-safaris.com/bigfivehunting.htm">opportunity</a> to hunt the <a href="http://big5.southafrica.net/#intro">big five</a> – elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. There is also the opportunity to hunt various plains game like gemsbok, oryx, springbok and eland – of which gemsbok is the most famous among hunters.</p>
<p>Namibia’s hunting land varies. Sometimes hunters use private land which can vary from a few thousand hectares to millions of hectares. They also use state-owned hunting concession areas the <a href="http://www.huntersnamibia.com/an-overview-of-hunting-in-namibia/">country’s north</a>.</p>
<p>Zimbabwe and Zambia recently <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2735902/Zambia-lifts-ban-safari-hunting-attract-tourists-wildlife-authority-pushes-allow-lions-leopards-killed-cash.html">re-allowed hunting</a>. Both have vast game reserves, concessions and national parks. These still provide hunters with the challenge of hunting game in open, unfenced areas. Most encompass thousands of hectares of land where hunters still primarily hunt on foot. </p>
<p>Game is plentiful. And <a href="http://www.huntinginzimbabwe.com/">Zimbabwe</a> is home to the big five.</p>
<p>Zimbabwe and Zambia provide hunters with relatively easy access and good infrastructure. Hunting lodges have well-maintained camps. Accommodation in most cases is in luxury bush camps, called fly camps, erected for the <a href="http://www.safarisdemozambique.com/#!karambenda/c1zwn">hunting season only</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106004/original/image-20151215-23186-6clf8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Game lodges in South Africa give hunters a true African experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>South Africa also offers hunters the big five. What makes it particularly attractive is that it has more than 40 <a href="http://www.safaribwana.com/COUNTRIES/South%20Africa/sapages/sahunt.htm">different species to hunt</a>. The country is easily accessible and has better infrastructure than most competitors in Africa.</p>
<p>Accommodation ranges from rustic bush camps to five-star permanent hunting lodges. Hunting takes place mainly on privately owned land where game is well managed. Because game is privately owned, it has a value for owners. This has led to tremendous increases in numbers during the <a href="http://www.natshoot.co.za/uploads/documents/Hunt=Conserve%20SAHGCA2013.pdf">last 20 years</a>.</p>
<p>As in Zimbabwe and Zambia, hunting in Mozambique is conducted in state-owned concession areas. Mozambique nearly faced the extinction of some game species after its long civil war, but has shown some promising <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/gorongosa-park/wilson-text">recovery</a>. Traditional hunting areas near Beira were hit the hardest.</p>
<p>Today the best hunting areas are found in more remote areas, near Tanzania and close to Zimbabwe. Wildlife includes a variety of species, but sables can be hunted in most areas, giving Mozambique an advantage over other hunting destinations. Sables are one of the most sought-after animals for hunters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peet Van Der Merwe receives funding from the NRF.</span></em></p>Hunting remains a controversial pastime. But that hasn’t stopped it attracting hunters wanting to track Africa’s wide array of wild animals.Peet Van Der Merwe, Professor in Tourism, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/523122015-12-15T04:07:58Z2015-12-15T04:07:58ZTake a walk on the wild side: seven lesser known and ‘green’ spaces in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105774/original/image-20151214-9523-gaz1uq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Simien National Park in Ethiopia is home to globally threatened species.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa conjures up images of adventure, danger and to a certain degree romanticism. This is because it is one of the last untamed places on earth. Scenery from the rolling sand dunes of the Sahara to the lush forests of the Congo invites one to explore fascinating natural and culturally rich destinations. </p>
<p>Africa’s beauty spots should be on the bucket list of every traveller. For the adventurous, I have chosen seven lesser-known and out-of-the ordinary eco-destinations.</p>
<h2>1. Mount Nimba</h2>
<p><a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155">Mount Nimba</a> is on the borders of <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gv.html">Guinea</a>, <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html">Liberia</a> and <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html">Côte d’Ivoire</a>. The slopes of the <a href="http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154709/">Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve</a> are covered by dense forest. The foothills consist of grassy mountain pastures. It harbours rich flora and fauna, with native and threatened species like the <a href="http://www.arkive.org/african-viviparous-toad/nectophrynoides-poyntoni/">viviparous toad</a> and chimpanzees that use stones as <a href="http://www.onekind.org/education/animal_sentience/tool_use/tool_use_in_chimpanzees">tools</a>. </p>
<p>The park is part of Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. It is home to the most remarkable animal and plant populations on the continent. It is an isolated refuge covered with montane forests, which are more elevated than other forests, making the landscape of the <a href="http://global.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-Guinea">Gulf of Guinea</a> an exceptional ecological site.</p>
<p>Access is highly controlled and is only possible for organised groups with the proper permits.</p>
<h2>2. The Sangha River</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1380">Sangha Trinational</a> is in the north-western <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/places/congo-basin">Congo Basin</a> where <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cameroon">Cameroon</a>, the <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/search?q=Central+African+Republic">Central African Republic</a> and <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/search?q=congo">Congo</a> meet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105801/original/image-20151214-9511-1vl00k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sangha River flows along the border of Cameroon, with the Central African Republic, and then the Republic of Congo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much of the site is unaffected by human activity and features a broad range of humid tropical forest ecosystems with rich flora and fauna. This includes Nile crocodiles and the goliath tigerfish. Sangha is home to large populations of forest elephants, the critically endangered <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/lowland-gorilla/">western lowland gorilla</a> and endangered chimpanzee. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105802/original/image-20151214-9515-1yo59kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The critically endangered western lowland gorilla is found in the Sangha area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The site’s environment has preserved ecological and evolutionary processes on a huge scale as well as great biodiversity, including many endangered animals.</p>
<h2>3. Cape Verde</h2>
<p><a href="http://mynatour.org/destination/ecotourism-cape-verde">Cape Verde</a> is a chain of islands off the coast of <a href="http://answersafrica.com/west-african-countries-list.html">West Africa</a>. The idyllic, uncrowded beaches and attractive and familiar <a href="http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cape-Verde.html">Portuguese/Creole culture</a> are big draws. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105794/original/image-20151214-9494-1eo9u29.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Natural beautiful landscape of Cape Verde.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is a naturally beautiful country with landscapes ranging from volcanoes and mountains to lush valleys and barren, arid flatlands. This geographic diversity is ideal for trekkers and nature tourists. Nesting sea turtles and other wildlife bring another dimension to the country’s eco-tourism industry.</p>
<p>The tiny <a href="http://www.spinguera.com/">Spinguera Eco-Resort</a>, on the island of <a href="http://www.capeverde.com/islands/boa-vista.html">Boa Vista</a>, is the most overtly green spot in Cape Verde. The use of water and electricity is restricted, solar power is used to heat water and there are no TVs or air conditioners. Hiking, horseback riding, diving and bushwalking tours are all available.</p>
<h2>4. The Gambia</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ga.html">The Gambia</a> is surrounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It is known for its diverse ecosystems around the central <a href="http://www.accessgambia.com/information/gambia-river-info.html">Gambia River</a>. Wildlife in the <a href="http://www.thegambiawildlife.com/protected-areas/kiang-west-national-park/index.html">Kiang West National Park</a> and <a href="http://www.thegambiawildlife.com/protected-areas/bao-bolong-wetlands--reserve/index.html">Bao Bolong Wetland Reserve</a> includes monkeys, hippos and rare birds. </p>
<p>The Gambia hosts Africa’s longest running chimpanzee rehabilitation project. Established in 1979, the project is now home to over 100 chimps. Wild chimps disappeared from the country in the early 1900s but four separate social groups can now be found on <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-gambia/upper-gambia-river/river-gambia-national-park">Baboon Islands</a> where the project is based. </p>
<p>Gambia has taken steps to develop ecotourism such as Makasutu, a privately owned ecotourist reserve set within lush bush mangroves.
It was voted the <a href="http://www.accessgambia.com/information/makasutu-cultural-forest.html">best</a> world eco-lodge by Britain’s Sunday Times.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105807/original/image-20151214-9523-1ehdakf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Animals found in Gambia’s award winning Makasutu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Visiting groups are deliberately kept small to reduce their impact on the forest’s fragile ecosystem. Solar power provides energy, and local people play a vital role in running the reserve. </p>
<p>Another lodge, the <a href="http://www.sandele.com/">Sandele Eco Retreat</a> was winner of The Guardian’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/observer-ethical-awards">Ethical Travel Award</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Niger’s giant reserve</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13943662">Niger</a>, one of the poorest countries in the world, supports one of the largest conservation areas in Africa, the Air and Ténéré Natural <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/573">Reserves</a>.</p>
<p>The area considered a protected sanctuary makes up only one-sixth of the total reserve. It includes the volcanic rock mass of the <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/niger/northern-niger/air-mountains-and-tenere-desert">Aïr</a>, a small Sahelian pocket situated in the Saharan desert of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A9n%C3%A9r%C3%A9">Ténéré</a>. The reserve boasts an outstanding variety of landscapes, plant species and wild animals. The region contains the blue marble mountains which are aesthetically stunning.</p>
<p>The Reserve of Aïr and Ténéré is the last bastion of <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0713">Saharo-Sahlien wildlife</a> in Niger. The isolation of the Aïr and the fact that very few people live there account for the survival of numerous species that have been eliminated from other regions in the Sahara and Sahel.</p>
<p>Habitats range from fixed dunes to stoney gravel desert, cliff valleys, canyons, high plateaus and water holes. </p>
<h2>6. Salonga rain forests</h2>
<p><a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/280">Salonga National Park</a> is Africa’s largest tropical rain forest reserve. The park, situated at the heart of the central basin of the Congo River, is isolated and accessible only by water. It contains the remarkable evolution of both species and communities in a forest area. </p>
<p>The park plays a vital role in climate regulation and the capture of carbon. It also hosts numerous threatened species like the <a href="http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/bonobo/">pygmy chimpanzee</a>, the <a href="http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/mammals/african-bush-elephant.xml">bush elephant</a> and the <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=284">Congo peacock</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105809/original/image-20151214-9534-vollqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Congo peacock is one of the animals in the Salonga National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Salonga National Park represents one of the very rare existing uniform environmental areas catering to specific biodiversity in central Africa. It is made up of vast marshland areas and practically inaccessible gallery forests. Some have never been explored and may still be considered as practically virgin. </p>
<h2>7. Simien National Park, Ethiopia</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/9">Simien National Park</a> in northern <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> is spectacular. Massive erosion over millions of years has created jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500m.</p>
<p>The park holds global significance for biodiversity conservation because it is home to globally threatened species. These include, the iconic <a href="http://www.arkive.org/walia-ibex/capra-walie/">Walia ibex</a>, a wild mountain goat found nowhere else in the world, the <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gelada/">Gelada baboon</a> and the <a href="http://www.arkive.org/ethiopian-wolf/canis-simensis/">Ethiopian wolf</a>. The park’s spectacular landscape is part of the <a href="http://www.simienmountains.org/">Simien Mountain</a> range, which includes <a href="http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Ras-Dashen">Ras Dejen</a>, the highest point in Ethiopia. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105810/original/image-20151214-9540-enhpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The threatened Ethiopian wolf is found in the Simien National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The wave-like plateau of the Simien Mountains is exceptional and a feature of natural beauty at its best. The spectacular scenery is considered to rival Colorado’s Grand Canyon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martinette Kruger works as a full time Researcher at the Tourism Research Entity, TREES (Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society) at the North-West University. She receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Armand works at the tourism Research Entity, TREES (Tourism, Research in Economic Environs and Society) at the North-West University. He receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF).</span></em></p>There are several relatively unknown eco-friendly locations in Africa that adventure-seeking tourists would find delightful.Martinette Kruger, Professor of Tourism, North-West UniversityArmand Viljoen, PhD Candidate in Tourism Management, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/520962015-12-14T04:19:14Z2015-12-14T04:19:14ZA short guide to some of Africa’s best, and cleanest beaches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105468/original/image-20151211-8291-vynzgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anse Source d'Argent beach, La Digue island, Seychelles is one of Africa's finest beaches.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa has some of the best beaches in the world. Tourists will be flocking to them soon as those in the southern hemisphere take summer holidays and those from the north look for ways to escape their winter.</p>
<p>So where are Africa’s top beaches?</p>
<p>In drawing up the list I have taken both an objective as well as subjective approach. </p>
<p>For the objective assessment I have used the ratings of the <a href="http://blueflag.org.za/wessa/">Blue Flag awards</a> as well as my own <a href="http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/11545/Geldenhuys_L.pdf?sequence=1">research</a>. South Africa is the first country outside Europe as well as the first African country to implement the Blue Flag scheme. It currently has 39 fully complied beaches with another 30 in the process of <a href="http://www.wessa.org.za/what-we-do/blue-flag.htm">complying</a>. </p>
<p>For my subjective list I have drawn on my own experience and knowledge as well as experiences of friends and family.</p>
<h2>The top performers</h2>
<p>Africa has some wonderful beaches. A serious traveller or beachgoer should certainly visit at least one of them once in a lifetime. The list below is not in order of preference, but offers would be travellers different opportunities and experiences.</p>
<p>Most of South Africa’s Blue Flag beaches are in the Western Cape followed by KwaZulu-Natal and then the Eastern Cape. Blue Flag award beaches have to comply with 33 criteria including safety, cleanliness, environmental management and water quality. The award can be revoked if a beach does not comply.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105467/original/image-20151211-8302-1gzcyao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Clifton’s fourth beach in Cape Town is listed as a Blue Flag beach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The longest running Blue Flag beaches in South Africa and a must visit are Grotto Beach in the Western Cape, Humewood Beach in the Eastern Cape, and Ramsgate and Marina beaches KwaZulu-Natal.</p>
<p>From a more subjective standpoint I would recommend Tofo Beach at Inhambane in Mozambique. This is an 8 km stretch of beach that also offers diving and great sea life. Added benefits are facilities for rest and relaxation - as well as excellent prawns. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105458/original/image-20151211-22337-1ceskop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tofo Beach, Mozambique.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Namibia also offers tourists beautiful beaches. One of my favourites is the Skeleton Coast. It offers space and great marine life as well as ship wrecks. Crowded beach won’t be a problem. There might in fact be nobody around depending on when you visit.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105463/original/image-20151211-8291-6ax3e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shipwreck at Skeleton beach, Namibia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another country that offers wonderful beach experiences is Kenya. The beach I propose is Shela Beach in Lamu. It is also a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/">UNESCO Heritage Site</a> and is generally accepted as the country’s top beach.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105466/original/image-20151211-8302-z8yhxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shela Beach, Lamu, Kenya.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I also have to include Angola. This is the new kid on the block and I propose Mussulo Bay peninsula. This is for the adventure traveller, offering wonderful beach as well fishing.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105461/original/image-20151211-8304-ihb000.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ilha do Mussulo Beach, Luanda, Angola.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.skyscrapercity.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>And then the islands</h2>
<p>One of my ultimate favourites is Tanzania. I must admit I love Zanzibar. It offers great diving, snorkelling and swimming. This is a little piece of heaven on earth. Enjoying the locally produced gin is a treat as well.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105391/original/image-20151211-8335-ndyqit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://www.sand-and-land.com/html/english/ocean.htm</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If we move to Madagascar, my choice is Sainte-Marie Island. It offers beautiful sandy beaches with palm trees. Once again, diving and great sea life are on offer as well as good food.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105393/original/image-20151211-31729-c759ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.lelibertalia.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It would unfair if I didn’t include Malawi. My choice falls on Likoma Island, which is part of Lake Malawi. This is one of Africa’s jewels. Clear clean water, great for swimming, diving or snorkelling, and friendly communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105394/original/image-20151211-8302-b47ld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Likoma Island, Malawi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.ilovemalawi.blogspot.co.za</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And then there is the Seychelles’s Anse Source d’Argent, La Digue. It is regarded as one of the world’s greatest beaches, truly something out of this world.</p>
<p>I could add more beaches in the west and north of the continent. But this list at least provides a taste of what Africa can offer. Hopefully the Blue Flag award scheme will be implemented in other African countries so that the continent can get its lion’s share of beachgoers, one of the biggest generators of revenue <a href="http://www.asbpa.org/news/Beach_News/080814Houston.pdf">globally</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melville Saayman receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Africa has some wonderful beaches. A serious traveller should visit at least one of them once in a lifetime.Melville Saayman, Professor of Tourism Management and Economics, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.