Geographic Description

Lesotho is a small, mountainous kingdom that is often referred to as the “kingdom in the sky”.  It is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. The Sehlabathebe National Park is a remote and peaceful park located in the eastern part of the country that offers stunning landscape and views of rare species including the Maloti minnow (once thought to be extinct) and the bearded vulture.

Tourism Policy Environment

According to its official policy, Lesotho’s Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture is committed to promoting environmentally and culturally sustainable development and to the creation of an enabling environment for the private sector and community based tourism development (Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture, undated). The Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture’s stated aims are to:

• “Eradicate HIV/Aids infection in the ministry;
• Make Lesotho a quality eco-tourism destination for the betterment of the livelihood of Basotho;
• Reduce poverty;
• Create new jobs; and
• Deliver quality services efficiently. (Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture, 2009)”.

In 2002, the Government of Lesotho issued the Tourism Act. The Act’s main focus is to establish the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC), whose goal is to:

position Lesotho as a preferred adventure tourist destination, and a champion for development of a strong and vibrant tourism sector which contributes to sustainable economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation and protection of the natural and cultural heritage (LTDC, 2009).

The LTDC is in charge of regulating tourism sites and managing the environment as it relates to tourism development. Private sector and community participation is viewed as vital for tourism development in Lesotho (LTDC, 2009).

Lesotho’s Poverty Reduction Strategy highlights the role of tourism as a vehicle for poverty reduction, increased employment opportunities and stimulating the national economy (Government of Lesotho, 2004). Despite this recognition, tourism development in Lesotho would benefit from increased governmental support, as evidenced by the government’s relatively low budget allocation (refer to Figure 3).

Certification / Award Programmes

NA

TFCAs

Lesotho and South Africa collaborate on the Maloti-Drakensberg TFCA.