US embassy cable - 05GABORONE715

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GABORONE 000715 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BTIO, BEXP, ECON, ETRD, SENV, BC, Economy, TRADE 
SUBJECT: TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN BOTSWANA AND 
TRANSBOUNDARY ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT 
 
 
1. (U) Summary.  The Government of Botswana views 
the development of the tourism industry as a prime 
driver of its economic diversification strategy away 
from mineral dependence.  Currently, tourism ranks 
second as a generator of foreign exchange for the 
national coffers, but growth has been stifled by an 
approach codified in the country's historic tourism 
policy known as "high value, low impact".  This 
cable analyzes challenges and opportunities related 
to tourism development in Botswana as well as 
transboundary environmental management of the Chobe 
River and National Park, which surfaced during and 
along the sidelines of the Hospitality and Tourism 
Association of Botswana's (HATAB) official tourism 
season opening conference held last month in Kasane. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Tourism is the second largest generator of 
foreign exchange in Botswana.  It currently 
represents over 11 percent of GDP, and has been 
consistently identified by the Government of 
Botswana as a prime driver of its economic 
diversification strategy.  But several factors are 
inhibiting the ability of Botswana to develop its 
tourism industry beyond its existing capacity. 
Apart from the exogenous impact of exchange rate 
fluctuations and cyclical downturns in worldwide 
tourism, such as the after-effects of the September 
11th attacks, there are three key issues impeding 
the growth of the tourism industry in Botswana. 
First, investment barriers, including short-term 
land leases and the lack of open skies agreements. 
Second, overcrowding in the Chobe National Park and 
the difficulty in justifying growing numbers of 
tourists in the framework of a strategy aimed at 
"high value, low impact" tourism, while 
simultaneously managing Botswana's unique 
environment.  And, third, the overemphasis of the 
industry on up-market and low-market tourism without 
addressing alternative middle-market options to 
generate tourism revenue both inside and outside of 
the national parks. 
 
Investment Barriers 
------------------- 
 
3. (U) There are two key investment barriers to 
further developing the tourism industry.  The first 
is the short-term land leases-only fifteen years-- 
available to incoming investors.  These 15-year 
concessions are reviewed every 5 years for 
compliance, essentially degrading them to 5-year 
leases.  This contrasts with the regulations in 
other industries in Botswana, such as cattle 
farming, for which land leases of 25-50 years can be 
secured.  The CEO of HATAB, Mr. Odirile Merafhe, 
asked the Minister of Lands and Housing, Mr. 
Seretse, why tourism leases could not be extended to 
25 years, which is the typical lease for other types 
of businesses.  He stated that such a change could 
encourage new investment.  Minister Seretse's 
response was that after the 15-year concession 
expires, there is an "opportunity for citizen 
empowerment." 
 
4. (SBU) Without providing any details on what the 
Minister meant by this statement, it could be 
assumed that he was suggesting an expropriatory 
policy.  In a side conversation with Ambassador 
Huggins during last month's conference, Minister 
Seretse said that expropriation was not the intent 
of his comment.  However, the CEO of the Citizen 
Entrepreneurial Development Agency told EconOff that 
such an approach might be appropriate considering 
the growing pressure on the GOB to promote citizen 
empowerment.  In fact, a recent article in the 
government-owned "Daily News" outlined a growing 
divide between expatriate-owned tourism operators 
and citizen demands for increased preferential 
opportunities.  The article quoted one local 
entrepreneur as saying, "Government should . . .make 
the conditions friendly for us so that we also 
penetrate the lucrative industry." Interestingly, in 
the same article, a representative of the tourism 
operators (mainly expatriate), shot back with the 
comment that Batswana are not prepared to do the 
blue-collar work and put in the long hours required 
to succeed in the business. 
 
5. (U) The second investment barrier is the lack of 
adequate transportation infrastructure and options 
as well as their associated high cost.  This 
includes the constraint of inadequate airline seat 
capacity, given the infrequency of flights, which is 
often cited as a barrier to regional tourism 
development.  This problem could be addressed in 
part through the passage of open skies agreements, 
both regionally and internationally, to encourage 
competition and increase seat capacity.  But the 
lack of adequate transportation infrastructure 
extends beyond airline capacity, to road 
development, and utilities services provision in 
areas that could be developed as tourism 
destinations in Botswana.  Inadequate infrastructure 
to support the tourism industry acts as a barrier to 
investment by discouraging alternative site 
development. 
 
Overcrowding 
------------ 
 
6. (SBU) Botswana's tourism strategy has hinged on 
the framework of "high value, low impact" 
development, aimed at capturing high-end market 
travelers to pristine and well-managed ecosystems. 
The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, 
Mr. Kitso Mokaila, told Ambassador Huggins, that 
since he took over as the Minister in October, he 
has been trying, unsuccessfully, to get 
clarification on the definition of what "low impact" 
really means in a quantifiable form.  Minister 
Mokaila also said the tourism strategy is currently 
under review, but acknowledged the difficulty of 
harmonizing it with competing demands for growth in 
the tourism industry and protection of Botswana's 
natural resources. 
 
7. (SBU) A consistent theme along the sidelines of 
the HATAB conference, was the overcrowding of the 
Chobe National Park by both elephants and tourists, 
especially along the Chobe River front in the 
Caprivi Strip.  A contractor with the World Wildlife 
Foundation told EconOff that the overcrowding of 
elephants in the Chobe area is a very difficult 
issue facing environmentalist and policy-makers 
alike, because it diverges from the "Save the 
Elephants" slogan used so consistently in 
fundraising campaigns.  To make the complex argument 
that countries and donors should support such 
measures such as culling is difficult to sell 
politically. 
 
8. (U) The fact remains, however, that nearly 
everyone agrees that there is an overpopulation of 
elephants in the Chobe region, and the damage can be 
seen easily through the impact on vegetation, which 
appears sparse.  One solution that was discussed for 
easing the elephant population's impact is re- 
opening the historic migratory avenues which run 
through Angola and into western Zambia.  The 
principal impediment to this is the requirement to 
speedily remove landmines from southeast Angola. 
The overcrowding by elephants poses a dilemma for 
tourism development, not only from their impact on 
the environment, but also the possible danger 
overcrowding could cause to tourists. 
 
9. (SBU) Among the lodge owners in Kasane there is a 
keen awareness of the growing overcrowding of 
tourists along the Chobe River front and in the 
northern end of the national park.  Minister Mokaila 
entertained a suggestion from one lodge owner to 
restrict access to the national park for day- 
trippers, requiring that they spend a minimum of one 
night in Botswana to ensure that Botswana benefits 
financially from their entry.  This suggestion was 
aimed at curbing visitors who are staying at lodges 
in Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and which use the 
national park in their advertising.  The Minister 
said he recognized the impact this has and committed 
to making another trip up to the Kasane area to 
discuss the issue in greater depth with all of the 
lodge owners and operators. 
 
10. (U) While the problem of tourist overcrowding is 
a serious one, particularly given the "low impact" 
strategy, the proposal to restrict day-trippers 
could have a conversely negative impact on tourism 
development in Botswana if Zimbabwe and Zambia were 
to reciprocate concerning day-trippers from 
Botswana's lodges visiting Victoria Falls.  The most 
effective strategy for dealing with tourist 
overcrowding appears to be development of 
alternative sites, products, and services. 
 
Missing the Middle Market 
------------------------- 
 
11. (U) Botswana's tourism industry is heavily 
concentrated in the north of the country on the 
Kasane/Chobe area and the Okavango Delta, despite 
the resources of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, 
the Makgadigadi Pans, and other destinations, which 
cater primarily to camping and low-end market 
tourism.  These alternative sites also suffer from 
the lack of transportation and services 
infrastructure to support their development. 
 
12. (U) Botswana is also missing out on developing 
alternative products, such as those emphasizing 
cultural or uniquely African experiences apart from 
merely the wildlife attractions that dominate the 
nation's tourism industry in the north. In addition 
to generating new tourism products, this kind of 
strategy might also help increase the local content 
present at lodges and hotels, in terms of local 
outsourcing of supplies, services and equipment, in 
addition to crafts and goods to be sold in shops. 
This could in turn maximize revenue retention in 
Botswana. 
 
13. (U) Opportunities to exploit upcoming events to 
generate interest in these types of initiatives 
exist, such as the Soccer World Cup to be held in 
South Africa in 2010, but a clear strategy for 
targeting these opportunities has not yet been 
developed, and the range of tourism products does 
not adequately deal with the potential demand. 
Among the principal impediments to targeting the 
middle market is precisely the lack of a national 
tourism development plan, which could identify these 
niche markets and work with the private sector to 
develop them through incentive and infrastructure 
plans. 
 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
14. (SBU) There are obviously serious impediments to 
the development of Botswana's tourism market.  But 
Minister Mokaila seems to be genuinely committed to 
addressing these issues, if incrementally.  He 
recognizes the variety of competing interests 
involved in tourism development and environmental 
management.  The development of a national policy is 
required.  However, Minister Mokaila told the 
Ambassador that he lamented his ministry's inability 
to act quickly to implement environmental management 
policies and tourism development projects. 
 
Once Again, Overcentralization and Slow 
Implementation 
---------------- 
15. (SBU) Mokaila said the requirement to repeatedly 
request funding from the Ministry of Finance for 
each and every project slowed things down 
considerably, and said he wished they would simply 
allocate a budget to each Ministry for the projects 
identified in the budget speech and national 
development plan.  With Botswana facing recurring 
budget deficits, the Ministry of Finance seems to be 
holding the purse strings very tightly to maintain 
its well-earned national image of fiscal 
responsibility.  But the impact this has on the 
speed of project implementation appears to warrant 
reform. 
 
HUGGINS