Community based tourism: Preparation is key

Earlier on this week, I had a conversation with my Community Based Tourism Students. They were worried if they chose the correct Degree after seeing what COVID- 19 did to the tourism and hospitality industry. Rumour has it that another wave is coming. In our conversation, we acknowledged that COVID- 19 has indeed impacted many industries and tourism might have been one of the hardest hit by this pandemic. One may wonder, what does this mean for community- based tourism? Studies in the past have highlighted that in Botswana, Community- based Natural Resource Management ( CBNRM) is prominent, and that while it has its successes and challenges in guiding Community Based Tourism, Project Management remains one of the most lacking skills in managing associated community- based tourism projects. Other business management skills and financial literacy skills contribute to these scarce skills. While cultural heritage tourism is also lagging behind at this moment in time, the crucial thing here is to prepare for the future in our quest to grow the industry. We can see that close- range travel seems to be the norm and might last for quite some time to come, given the unprecedented times we live in. Domestic, local and super- local travel seem to be the order of the day. These spell out an opportunity for community based tourism projects to grow and gain popularity in

Botswana – the sky is not the limit but only the beginning for viable projects in this space. Challenges facing community based tourism projects in Botswana include community definition problems, multi- stakeholder participation, diversity and heterogeneity, deficiency in business acumen, lack of income distribution plans as well as passive community participation among others. With these in mind, it is important to investigate how hard hit by Covid - 19 Community based tourism is as compared to other forms of tourism in Botswana. Will it be back to its old patterns once the pandemic subsides? Are there any lessons to learn that can be used to prepare for the future? How better can this form of tourism be improved while it has slowed down or completely halted in some areas. What measures or mechanisms can be put in place to ensure that once the industry gains full momentum communities will know what they need to do. Preparation is key.