The role of tourism employment in poverty reduction and community perceptions of conservation and tourism in southern Africa

Many rural communities in Africa are characterized by their remoteness, high levels of poverty and unemployment, low level of skills and education, and a high dependency on natural resources for survival (Ellis, 1999). The majority of high-end ecotourism camps are situated in such remote areas, with little development and very few other employment opportunities for local communities. New threats to traditional rural livelihoods posed by climate change mean that, now more than ever, there is an urgent need for alternative – and sustainable – income-generating opportunities, and the panacea is sometimes thought to reside in high-end ecotourism1 (Ellis, 1999; Nelson et al., 2009).