. Involvement in Tourism Activities and Perceived Benefits in Communities around Udzungwa Mountain National Park in Tanzania

Abstract

Tourism constitutes one of the fastest growing sectors in Tanzania. The industry is placed as one of the major means through which development of local communities can be achieved. There is, however, paucity of information on how local communities living close to the national parks are involved in tourism. A cross-sectional study was carried out in February 2013 in six villages adjacent to Udzungwa Mountain National Park (UMNP). The objectives of the study were (i) to examine the extent to which people living close to UMNP participate in tourism, (ii) to identify the determinants of individual involvement in tourism activities, and (iii) to assess the benefits accrued from tourism by local communities. Data were collected from 150 households using a semi-structured questionnaire. A 3-point Likert scale was used to obtain information on residents’ involvement and perceived benefits in tourism activities. Data were then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 20. Results show that almost all respondents (97%) were involved in at least one activity related to tourism. The activities include hotel and local restaurant services, agro-tourism, environmental protection, transport services, adventure tourism, local handcrafting, revenue sharing and walking safari. In most of these activities, residents’ involvement was rather moderate. Overall, findings show that tourism provides array of benefits that contribute to the wellbeing of people. However, lack of transparency on revenues from UMNP was identified as ingrained challenge that affected cooperation and trust between residents and leaders. These results underline the need for the Local Government Authority to contextualize governance challenges taking into account the social-political environment. These results underline the need for changes in social-political environment with emphasis on increased accountability and transparency. Addressing these challenges will build greater trust between community members, village leaders and UMNP authority in pursuit of economic development, conservation requirements and sustainability in tourism industry.