Geographic Description

Botswana is a land-locked country in southern Africa, bordered by Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, Namibia to the north and west, and South Africa to the south and southeast. Geographically, the country is dominated by the Kalahari Desert; however the northwest region of the country is home to the world’s largest inland delta – the Okavango.

Tourism Policy Environment

Tourism development in Botswana is regulated by the following legislation:

• Tourism Policy, 1990
• Tourism Act, 1992, as amended
• Tourism Regulations, 1996
• Tourism (Licensing) Order, 1996
• Finance (Tourism Industry Training Fund) Order, 1996
• Financial Assistance Policy (FAP – Tourism), 1996
• Tourism Master Plan, 2000
• Botswana National Ecotourism Strategy, 2002

The National Tourism Policy and the Tourism Act provide the most important guidance for the sector and are briefly described below.

The general objective of the Tourism Policy (1990) is to achieve sustainably the greatest possible social and economic benefits from Botswana’s tourism products.

The Tourism Act (1992) makes provisions for regulating the tourist sector with a view to promoting its development and well being. It specifically:

• Regulates licensing of tourist enterprises and sets out the procedures in respect of applications, power of inspection, appeals etc.;
• Defines categories of tourist enterprises;
• Foresees the introduction of a grading system for tourist enterprises;
• Establishes a Tourist Industry Licensing Board; and
• Makes provision for the possible introduction of a training levy and the establishment of a National Advisory Council on Tourism.

The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism is mandated to enhance the environmental policy and manage forestry, meteorological services, tourism development and wildlife conservation.

The Botswana Tourism Board markets Botswana and manages the country’s quality assurance system.  It also provides tourists with information about travelling to the country as well as information about the country more generally.

The country’s Tourism Master Plan as well as the National Eco-Tourism Strategy  focus strongly on low-volume/high-spend tourism as a means of capturing value while minimising environmental impact.

The Tourism Master Plan (2000) establishes four guidelines for tourism development:

• Product diversification;
• Citizen/community participation/community empowerment
• Private/public sector partnership; and
• Ecological/economic sustainability.

Despite the Tourism Master Plan’s goals for product diversification (focusing less on low-volume/high-spend), tourism products in Botswana remain largely wildlife-based with a strong focus on luxury ecotourism experiences.

Botswana’s National Eco-Tourism Strategy (2002) sets forth a number of principles to ensure tourism planning and management is consistent with the country’s conservation and development goals, viz:

• Minimising negative social, cultural and environmental impacts;
• Maximising the involvement in, and economic benefits to, host communities;
• Maximising revenues for re-investment in conservation;
• Educating both the visitor and the local people as to the importance of conserving natural and cultural resources; and
• Delivering a quality experience to tourists.

Certification / Award Programmes

Botswana Tourism uses a comprehensive certification system to address all tourism services and facilities in the country.

The Botswana Ecotourism Certification System is designed to encourage and support responsible environmental, social and cultural behaviour by tourism businesses and make sure they provide a quality eco-friendly product to consumers. It comprises a set of performance standards, which are designed to meet or exceed basic environmentally responsible standards or legislation.

The system is built on the foundation of the Botswana National Ecotourism Strategy (2002). The five guiding principles from the Botwana National Ecotourism Strategy are:

1. Minimising negative social, cultural and environmental impacts.
2. Maximising the involvement in, and the equitable distribution of economic benefits to host communities.
3. Maximising revenues for re-investment in conservation.
4. Educating both visitors and local people as to the importance of conserving natural and cultural resources.
5. Delivering a quality experience for tourists

The Botswana Ecotourism Certification System covers more than 240 standards encompassing the following: environmental management, cultural resources, protection and community development, socio-economic responsibilities and fundamental ecotourism criteria.

Two sets of standards have been developed. All fixed tourism sites (accommodation facilities) will be assessed using the Accommodation standards. All mobile activities including ecotours will be assessed using the Ecotour standards.

The system uses a three-tiered structure (levels) designed to incorporate the broadest cross-section of tourism operations while still distinguishing an urban facility, from a true ecotourism product in a pristine natural environment. The three-tiered structure promotes progress and is designed to encourage operators to improve their performance towards achievement of the next higher level. Of the three levels, the simplest to obtain is Green followed by Green+ and finally the Ecotourism level.

• Green

This is the basic entry level and reflects all of the mandatory criteria that are necessary for all facilities to be considered for certification. The standards for this level deals primarily with the environmental management systems of the facility.

• Green+

This level has additional requirements and is of a higher standard than the Green level.

• Ecotourism

This level upholds the principles of ecotourism, as stated in the Botswana National Ecotourism Strategy (2002), and defines those facilities that have met all the principles of ecotourism. The level reflects the facilities’ commitment to and involvement with local communities in tourism development, nature conservation, environmental management and interpretation of the surrounding environment to guests.

Currently, the only other certificate operating in Botswana appears to be Greenstop.net, an international ecotourism certification initiative.

TFCAs

Botswana participates in the following TFCAs:

• Kgalagadi (with South Africa)
• Limpopo-Shashe (with South Africa and Zimbabwe)
• Kavango-Zambezi (with Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe)