SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

CASE OF KARIBA

BY: FARAI MUSHININGA (R082530X)

LECTURER: MR MARUNDA

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

TOURISM, HOSPITALITY AND LEISUIRE DEPARTMENT

OCTOBER 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1. Title page .....................................................................................1

2. Table of contents.........................................................................2

3 Abstract............................................................................................3

4. Introduction......................................................................................4

5. Background........................................................................................5

6. Problem statement...........................................................................6

7. Objectives..........................................................................................7

8. Methodology.....................................................................................8

9. Literature Review..............................................................................10

10. Findings.............................................................................................14

11. Conclusion........................................................................................16

12. Bibliography......................................................................................17

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3. ABSTRACT

Tourism plays an integral role in socio cultural issues in acountry. Kariba as a resort area has

not been spared from socio-cultural impacts of tourism development. The impacts can be

viewed in two ways, which are the negative and the positive impacts. In recent years

Zimbabwe has experienced an increase in economic growth and tourism as industry has

contributed a significant percentage to the growth of the economy.

In recent years culture has become a product on its own and many stakeholders are

investing so much into it and are fetching some dollars in the international market. Gone are

the days where people used to shun African cultures viewing them as something one not to

be proud of. Kariba as a resort area has benefited much from cultural tourism as it is near

Binga where another Zimbabwean culture inhabits. This culture is a typical of the late iron

age where people would survive by hunting and gathering a. This culture is very critical for

the tourism industry, but it is very difficult to maintain because of its destructive nature of

the environment. Activities such as hunting are very destructive as they are not future

centred. However responsible authorities have put in place measures which will ensure the

survival of both the environment and the culture itself.

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4. INTRODUCTION

As the travel and tourism industry continues to grow in Zimbabwe, the industry must face up

to serious and difficult choices about its future. The decisions made now will, for years, affect

the way of life, standards of living, and economic prospects of residents in the country. Based

on the attractions which Zimbabwe is promoting in order to differentiate itself regionally and

internationally, many of these decisions may be irreversible. Once Zimbabwe loses its

character, which makes it distinctive and competitive, all efforts of marketing it as a

destination will be in vain. Tourism industry survives on creativity originality.

Travel and tourism has taken over traditional industries and livelihood options in many parts

of the world (Goeldner et. al, 2000; Cook et. al., 2006; Biederman, 2008). In Zimbabwe, this

industry and its related services have emerged to become the second most important industry

over the last ten years. The industry has remained strong despite several economic

slowdowns in the country and the world as a whole and continues to be a key foreign

exchange earner, contributing to growth, investment and employment.

Although tourism development has its own kind of repercussions, the country has never

seized its efforts in developing structures and systems which promote tourism. Several places

in Zimbabwe are still going under developing stages, for except of Victoria Falls where the

effort has now been shifted to upgrading the current structures as the responsible authorities

are afraid of over developing to such an extent that the natural beauty of the falls may be

compromised.

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5. Background

Kariba as resort area is situated in the lowveld area north of Zimbabwe . In this area that’s

where the river Zambezi is found. In the era of colonialism before 1980 under the federal

regime, the area benefited from the construction of the dam known as Lake Kariba. The lake

has made this place a hive of tourism activities. The place has very high temperatures and

experience dry summer seasons which has made it to be a difficult area for any other

economic activity besides gaming. Zimbabwe does not benefit alone to the effects of this

lake as the other part of the dam is in Zambia, thus hence there is sharing between these

Southern African countries. However Zimbabwe has the largest share in terms of the view of

the dam wall and the lake itself.

Due to the mentioned terrible weather conditions, the area has become one of that which

inhabits the wildlife in the country. Inhabitants such as elephants, buffalos and other several

wild animals have been protected for some time and it’s paying off as these have become a

source of attraction to tourists and hence playing a crucial role in promoting tourism in the

area, where any other economic activity could have been difficult. This has seen

accommodation facilities and a town being built in this area hence impacting the community

on a developmental note.

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6. Problem Statement

Tourism as an industry has its own impacts, which may be economic, socio-cultural and

environmental. The researcher wants to ascertain the socio-cultural impacts of tourism

development in Kariba. After the discussion, the reader should clearly identify these impacts

in this region.

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7. Research Objectives

The researcher’s objectives were twofold as outlined as follows:

1. To analyse the socio-cultural impacts of tourism development in Kariba

2. To ascertain possible routes the country may take to curb the negative impacts if

any are found and also to enhance the positive impacts of tourism in Kariba.

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8. Methodology

The researcher is going to use desk research as major research tools for information

gathering. He is also going to use primary research through interviews with the residents of

Kariba via email and phone calls. Secondary source of information has been the back bone

of this research because of several limitations which will be discussed later in this chapter.

Primary Research

The researcher managed to interview residents of Kariba over the phone. The technique

used to select the sample to represent the population of Kariba was that he divided the

whole population into

Groups according to age. This can be seen from the following table.

Age groups 16 t025yrs 25 to 40yrs 40 to55yrs Above 55yrs

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Number of

participants

16 10 5 6

Overall respond Positive positive Negative negative

Table 1a

The researcher grouped the respondents into groups as shown above. The respondents

were asked 5 questions which were structured. They were structured in such a way that the

outcome will be either positive or negative. If the respondent answers 3 questions in a

positive way he/ she’s outcome will become positive.

Secondary Research

The researcher approached tourism authorities and other accredited sources of

information. The researcher was pleased because he had an opportunity to talk to Mr

Kaseke the chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. The discussion with

him was not limited to Kariba as a destination but Zimbabwe as a whole.

The researcher managed to have discussions with several stakeholders from both the

tourism and the hospitality sectors.

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9. Literature Review

There is an increasingly growing concern that tourism development is leading to

destinations losing their cultural identity by catering for the perceived needs of tourists.

Although they take longer to appear, the cultural consequences of tourist activity have the

potential to be much more damaging in the long term than environmental or social effects.

In many countries, tourists are not sensitive to local customs, traditions and standards.

Offence is given without intent, as tourists are short-stay visitors carrying with them their

own cultural norms and behavioural patterns. They are usually unwilling to change these

norms for a temporary stay – and may be unaware that these norms are offensive to the

host community. Commercialisation of traditional cultural events and customs is leading to

‘fake folklore’ for the tourists, but more importantly, with no cultural value for the local

population or the visitors. The issue is the potential conflict between the economic and

cultural interests, leading to culture being sacrificed for reasons of promoting tourism i.e.

creating an additional economic value at the price of losing a cultural value.

Nature of this encounter determines the extent to which negative social

impacts focus on immediate and visible whereas cultural impacts are

changes that occur over a longer period of time. The phrase socio-cultural

is used to describe the features which characterize the multi-facets of the

lives and beliefs of a society. William Gariner (1998) host cultures are

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susceptible to socio-cultural impacts because tourism takes place within

home environment, if tourists are not comfortable with experience of

visiting they can leave but host community cannot leave due to lack of

finance or ties that bring them to the host culture.

The positive impact, in the form of a better understanding between people of different

nationalities and cultures, is generally recognised and widely accepted (Holloway & Taylor,

2006). The 1963 United Nations Conference on International Travel and Tourism proclaimed

that tourism offered significant contribution to the promotion of international goodwill and

understanding and to the preservation of international peace an understanding. The idea of

tourism as a promoter of peace was also embedded in the 1980 World Tourism Conference in

Manila.

However, negative impacts are not few. Comparatively wealthy tourists to a tourism area will

attract petty criminals (Harper, 2001; Chesney-Lind & Lind, 1986), such as pickpockets and

muggers. Crime also may arise in the form of illegal prostitution (sometimes child

prostitution) in destinations such as Thailand (Cohen, 1988) and Cambodia (Leung, 2003) to

cater for tourist needs, such as in the case of sex offender Gary Glitter (BBC News, 2006).

Another socio-cultural impact is the “demonstration effect”, which refers to the situation

whereby tourists, who are comparatively wealthier to local residents, causing resentment or

envy amongst the said locals. The locals then try to acquire the standard of living and the

lifestyle of the tourists, which may in turn cause the abandonment of their own traditional

values and culture (Walland Mathieson, 2006).Locals might also be exploited as ‘tourist

objects’ when tourists desire to get a taste of local flavour, causing the locals a certain level

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of irritation – as has been extensively discussed (Long,Perdue and Allen, 1990; Murphy,

1985; Snaith and Hailey, 1994; D’Amore, 1983) and measured(Doxey, 1975). Irritation to a

community is exacerbated when tourists are ill-behaved, as can be

observed in “party resorts” such as Ibiza.

Tourists generally seek cultural experiences in the form of performances and artefacts. In

tourism, locals commonly cater to this demand by providing local cultural experiences in a

condensed and packaged form. For instance, in Malaysia, it is common for tourist-centred

restaurants to stage dances originating from different parts of the country, condensed into a

twenty-minute performance. Similarly, the demand for “airport art” by the tourist has given

rise to the mass production of imitation artefacts. In this way, culture may be in danger of

being commercialised and trivialised (Wall &Mathieson, 2006; Holloway & Taylor, 2006).

On the flipside, however, in many cases tourism has helped to regenerate an awareness and

pride in local culture and traditions (Bascom, 1976; May 1977), which might die out in the

course of society progress and time. Whichever way you look at it, sustainability of the socio-

cultural environment is an integral part of the tourism industry, and as transportation

(Inskeep, 1987) provides accessibility and linkage to the various destinations and connects

people to attractions, it is invariably linked to the development of tourism. In fact, public

infrastructure is the central factor in terms of both destination development and the

development of small tourism enterprises (Goeldner et. al., 2000; Lerner, 2000). As Malaysia

develops its tourism industry, it produces significant impacts on social systems. Butler (1991)

indicated that sustainability or conservation can mean very different things in different

environments and social circumstances, which make the practising of the concept even more

challenging. If Zimbabwe wants its tourism industry to succeed, it needs suitable public

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infrastructure to enhance the development of tourism. A large part of tourism is about travel

and the role of transportation (which transports the bulk of travellers and goods) in its

operation, is vital. In any case,it is largely due to the improvement of transportation that

tourism has expanded (Ayala, 1996). Bond(2005), Holloway (2006), Cheuk (2009) .

Summary of Social and cultural impacts of tourism development

Social Interactions

Generate cultural understanding and awareness between

societies

Generate resentment due to social comparison with tourists

Modify the rates of diseases and changes in health

Change in morality, sexual norm(prostitution) and behaviour

Cultural ways and activities

Increase appreciation of cultural artefacts and architecture

Breakdown of cultural activities and customs

Change in traditional role of language and foods among

residents

Day to day activities

Increased congestion and crowding

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Competition for local resources

Shifts in work patterns and methods(farming, services etc)

Adopted from Fridgen .D (1991), Dimensions of Tourism, Educational

Institute, USA.

10. Findings

After the discussion the researcher discovered the following socio-cultural impacts of

tourism development:

Positive effects

Increase in population considering that the conditions were harsh for human survival

hence depopulating other areas.

New jobs are created

Stimulation of social cultural life

Increase of pride in local products

Tolerance of other cultures

Increase in social mobility

Protection of natural resources

Revival of local arts and culture

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Negative impacts

Overpopulation of the area

Second home owners

Destruction of the population structure

Religion conflicts

Disruption of social networks

Erosion of local habits and culture

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11. Conclusion

Tourism development is crucial in any resort area, for it to be marketable to the

international buyers. Kariba as a destination has not been spared from these developments.

These developments have been necessitated by socio-cultural impacts of tourism. However

responsible authorities should exercise caution as the benefits must always out way the

costs

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Bibliography

Fridgen, D. J. (1991) Dimension of Tourism, Educational Institute, USA.

Cooper et al. (1998) Tourism Principles and Practices, 2 nd Edn , Prentice Hall, London.

Gartner, W. C. Tourism Development, Principles, Processes and Policies, John Wiley and

Sons, New York.

Goldner, C. R. Ritchie, J. R. and McIntosh, R. W. (2000) Tourism Principles, Practices and

Philosophies, 8 th Edn , John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Halloway, C. J. (1994) The Business of Tourism, 4 th Edn , Longman, England.

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Sharpley, P. Travel and Tourism, Sage Publications, London.

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