Contribution of ecotourism to poverty alleviation in Nyanga, Zimbabwe

This paper assesses the contribution of ecotourism to local communities and the environment. Livelihoods of local communities are examined to understand the socioeconomic situation of people living in proximity to ecotourism areas and their participation in ecotourism activities. The impact of ecotourism on the environment in Nyanga is also examined. The paper employs both literature review (secondary data) and a field survey (primary data) to achieve these objectives. To gather socioeconomic data of households and tourist traits, questionnaires were administered to 120 households and 30 tourists in the study area. Key informant interviews were held in the survey to gather expert knowledge about ecotourism trends and environmental data in the area. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used for quantitative data while content and structural-functional analyses were used for qualitative data. The research revealed that ecotourism offers the highest salaries when compared to other sources of formal employment. Ecotourism activities were shown to positively impact the environment through the protection, preservation, and management of natural resources. The study concludes that ecotourism is a useful and sustainable poverty alleviation strategy which has not yet been fully exploited in Zimbabwe.