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Help or hindrance?
Celeste Hicks, BBC Focus on Africa
October - December 2007

It is said that there is little space for ethics when the cash starts to flow in. That may be bad news for some parts of Africa. There is no doubt that tourism is a huge earner, and recently some African countries have been doing extremely well. The UN World Tourism Organisation suggests that Africa has seen the biggest growth in the number of visitors of any region in the world recently and, in 2005/06, earned African countries $21billion in tourist receipts, with each visitor spending on average $590.

It is little surprise to hear that high up on the list of Africa-s most popular tourist destinations are Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa and Zimbabwe - all breathtakingly beautiful but, with the exception of South Africa, not renowned as beacons of democracy. Egypt has had a state of emergency in place for 26 years, giving the authorities the powers to detain those suspected of being a threat to its national security; Tunisia severely restricts freedom of information and opposition activity, and, of course, many column inches have been devoted to Zimbabwe-s economic crisis and clampdown on opposition activists.

So why do people go to these places? A survey by the British polling company Mintel in 2003 found that 35% of respondents agreed with the statement, "On holiday I want to be able to relax and not be bothered about ethical concerns." The possible deterioration in the political climate in their host countries seems to be far from the minds of many tourists, as was shown by some recent European visitors to Egypt who said, "I was a bit concerned about the human rights record, but there is so much to see here. I really don-t care as long as I-m not grabbed off the street by security personnel," and, "If Egyptians face human rights violations then they have to fight for their rights. It is not up to me to help them."

But it could be that, far from being innocent bystanders, these visitors are actually helping to sustain the life spans of questionable governments by boosting their economies and lending them legitimacy. Since 1996 the London-based campaign group Tourism Concern has called on tourists to stay away from Burma, arguing that their presence could help the military junta there. Perhaps the same can be said of Egypt, Tunisia or Zimbabwe. As Tricia Barnett from Tourism Concern Explains, "I would say that tourists are sustaining regimes. However, the picture is much more complex as some countries depend almost exclusively on tourist dollars for survival."

But in the streets of the capitals of Africa-s tourist magnets, some locals are of the opinion that visitors should just keep coming. Mohammed in Cairo is adamant about keeping the financial tap connected to the tourist market open. "Why should they care about our president?" he asks, "I am happy tourists come here because that means more money for everyone—it has no influence on politics." Lefny, also in the Egyptian capital, concurs, "If the world wants to help let tourists come here and pump money into the economy, I will settle for that."

More prosaically, it is also a question of where all these tourist dollars actually end up. Forty one percent of the respondents to the Mintel survey believe that tourism "benefits the local economy", but in more highly developed tourist markets that is rarely the case. Tourist hotels, resorts and restaurants are often owned by Western companies. Research carried out by the independent tourist operator-s organization Gambia Tourist Concern (GTC) investigates the world of package holidays where tourists, often from Europe and Northern America, pay in advance before leaving home for everything they will need on the trip, from airport transfers to food and accommodation—even local excursion. GTC-s research revealed that of 110,800 arrivals to The Gambia in 2005, 84 percent were on package deals. Justin Francis from Responsible Tourism, a company offering a selection of ethical holidays, says, "For the average holiday, up to 86 percent of the money paid by the tourist leaves the destination country."

So what role do the tour operators play in this? Tourism Concern says that only one UK operator - Virgin - had ever contacted them for information about the state of human rights in the countries in which they operate.

The question remains, though: should tourists just not go to these countries? Tourist have started to avoid Zimbabwe, which saw a 15,9 per cent fall in visitor numbers between 2004 and 2005, representing a 48.9% per cent fall in its tourist receipts. In 1995, it was earning $149 million, but by 2005 this was down to $99 million.

But some are still visiting. Suzy Harrison from the UK recently traveled to Victoria Falls as part of a trip across southern Africa - she believes that "the reality is the stall holders in the market in Victoria Falls don-t care about our moral dilemmas, they have children to feed".

And that assessment of the value of tourism to Zimbabwe is borne out by tourist operators. Brent Williamson, a Zimbabwean who runs Safari Par Excellence, says, "For us tourism is essential. We employ 155 local staff, but we-re almost operating at a loss. We-re taking 25 per cent of the bookings we were in 2001. Most of us find it frustrating when we hear that a tourist makes a moral decision not to visit." Dewa Mavhinga - the deputy coordinator of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum - says it is more complicated than that. "As long as the regime and its associates are financially secure they have no incentive to reform," he says.

Perhaps the solution lies somewhere in the middle, in what is known as ethical tourism. Rather than boycott a country completely, tourists now have the option of a holiday that directly benefits the country-s population. The Gambia - itself the bearer of a questionable human rights record - is, ironically, a shining example of this. Having tried to ban package holidays, with the result that the international tour operators threatened to pull out of the country, it realized small-scale operations are the answer. The Gambia is Good project was set up by local bodies in 2000 to teach farmers crop-management techniques and to help them access valuable tourist markets. By this year they have managed to secure contracts with 16 tourist hotels and 18 restaurants.

Tourism Concern believes that it is increasing consumer pressure that is creating these opportunities. Their Ethical Travel Guide now lists six recommended small operators in The Gambia and two in Egypt. "We never say that tourists should categorically not visit a place," says Barnett. "Many people do genuinely depend on tourism for their income, so we just want people to be conscious of what they are doing."

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