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Visiting US expert urges Malawi to invest in ecotourism

Building shopping malls, large condominiums, five star hotels, casinos, multiplex cinemas, amusement parks and golf courses in big city style with millions of dollars, tons of cement and incredible amounts of water and electricity can attract tens of thousands of tourists. But the opposite of all these is ecotourism which requires smaller capital and labor, tells a unique story and delivers more benefits to all involved.  Although a niche market, in the last few years ecotourism is encouraging imaginative ventures across Africa that are drawing tourists who would like to do more than just what mass tourism offers.  Other than focusing simply on maximizing economic benefits for the owners of the capital, ecotourism is concerned with spreading out a variety of benefits to all community inhabitants, both human and non-human.

The above sentiments were expressed by a visiting American wildlife sanctuary naturalist, bio-diversity conservationist, environmental educationist, zoo educator and interpretive guide trainer Jonathan Kohl.  Between June 22 and July 3, Kohl traveled the width and breadth of Malawi on a US Embassy-sponsored speaker program.  He visited tourist attractions and engaged with a wide variety of stakeholders, including top government officials, hospitality industry managers, and tour guides.

Kohl made a series of presentations on “Ecotourism: Jumping Hurdles to Environmental Protection and Local Economic Development.”  His presentations also addressed tourism product development, policy, market positioning, heritage interpretation and protection, community development through tourism, tourist management in protected areas, international competition, collaboration between communities and private sector and tourist attractions development.

Kohl said ecotourism is a touristic development that improves the conditions of a site for all of its inhabitants, both human and non-human. “It’s usually small scale, it benefits animals, plants and the rest of the community, its benefits are not just economic, people draw self-esteem and pride, people learn more about their own resources, they have better access to the information,” said Kohl.
Kohl, a graduate of Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, moved audiences with unique examples of ecotourism around the world that are small scale but with substantial social and economic benefits for all stakeholders. 

He said ecotourism ventures depend on the people’s level of consciousness, adding that people should tread carefully to ensure that they do not simply pursue the best return on the economic and ego investments but protect their environment as well.
Kohl encouraged Malawi to find its unique story and sell it to the world.  He said Malawi was in a big regional competition for safaris and something unique about Malawi had to be offered.  He cited Lake Malawi’s fresh water, exotic fish species and the peace that prevails in the country as some of the ingredients that would entice an overseas potential tourist.

Kohl said the media had a crucial role in telling the unique story of Malawi.  “The media should figure out where Malawi fits into the market, what makes it distinctive, what is its individual unique story that makes it different from South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania,” said Kohl.