Tourism in a post-conflict situation of fragility

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Abstract

Whilst there are studies of tourism development in sub-Saharan Africa, almost none explicitly explore tourism in post-conflict societies. This study, co-authored between an African ‘insider’ and European ‘outsiders’, analyses tourism development challenges in Burundi, a ‘situation of fragility’ emerging from a 12-year civil war. Framed by hopeful tourism’s co-created knowledge, the field research had unique access to powerful elites and remote communities and encompasses interviews with a wide range of stakeholders (including the President of the Republic), field observations, and a feedback workshop. The paper identifies challenges to sustainable tourism development in one of the world’s poorest countries and evaluates tourism in a post-conflict situation of fragility under the themes of institution- and state-building and post-conflict challenges and transitional justice.

Highlights

► Explores post-conflict tourism development in a situation of fragility. ► Framed by hopeful tourism’s commitment to co-transformative learnings. ► Employs rapid situation analysis, accessing powerful elites and remote communities. ► Identifies the challenges to sustainable tourism development in sub-Saharan Africa. ► Discusses tourism, reconciliation, transitional justice and institution- and state-building in post-conflict settings.

Introduction

The guarantee of tourists’ personal safety is perhaps the most important prerequisite for any aspiring tourism destination (Mansfield & Pizam, 2005). Incidents of terrorism, crime, natural disasters and epidemic outbreaks all negatively impact on place image and pose major challenges to the tourism industry, especially as the global media reinforce such security fears (Anson, 1999). However, unlike short-term disasters, civil unrest can affect the image of a destination for years to come and so internal conflict is totally inconsistent with sustainable tourism development (Beirman, 2002, Morgan et al., 2011). This is a particular problem for many of the world’s poorest countries, most of which are heavily reliant on tourism (Cole & Morgan, 2010). Around 60% of the poorest countries have recently experienced civil conflict of varying intensity and duration; conflict that usually erupted after a period of economic stagnation or collapse (Kahler, 2007). Many of these states are so-called ‘situations of fragility’ (OECD, 2008, p. 1), a group of around 50 countries which are lagging 40 to 60% behind other low and middle-income countries in United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) achievement and which are defined as ‘states that are failing, or at risk of failing, with respect to authority, comprehensive basic service provision, or legitimacy’ (Stewart & Brown, 2010, p. 3).

For many of these ‘fragile’ or conflict-affected states tourism is often the vector for their integration into the global economy. The connections between tourism and sustainable development are well traversed (e.g. De Kadt, 1979; Britton, 1982; Ashley et al., 2000, Burns, 1999, Burns, 2003, Lea, 1988, Mitchell and Ashley, 2010, Sharpley and Telfer, 2002, Telfer and Sharpley, 2008). Moreover there is general agreement on the role of tourism as a potential contributor to the socio-economic development of less economically developed countries. Organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU), as well as national ministries, regional bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), view tourism as a potentially important tool for economic diversification and regeneration, poverty reduction, post-conflict stability, socio-economic recovery and multilateral integration and peace.

Whilst there is an established literature on tourism in the less economically developed countries of sub-Saharan Africa, almost none of these studies specifically focus on the role of tourism in conflict-affected or post-conflict societies-itself still a relatively new area of enquiry (e.g. Causevic, 2010, Causevic and Lynch, 2009, Causevic and Lynch, 2011a, Causevic and Lynch, 2011b, Gould, 2011). This paper makes a unique contribution to the debate over the position of tourism in less economically developed countries through an exploration of its potential role in the socio-economic recovery and stabilisation of Burundi in Central-East Africa, a country which is emerging from almost four decades of internal strife and a 12-year civil war. Co-authored between a Burundi ‘insider’ and European ‘outsiders’ and framed by hopeful tourism’s co-created, co-transformative learning (Pritchard, Morgan, & Ateljevic, 2011a), it identifies the challenges to sustainable tourism development in one of the world’s 25 poorest countries from the ‘inside’. We use Burundi as illustrative although not necessarily typical of the many situations of fragility in sub-Saharan Africa, which aspire to harness their tourism potential to aid economic growth and in institution-building. Tourism has consistently been identified in the IMF’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy Progress Reports (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) as a sector able to deliver development opportunities in this African state, but its complex state-society relations and ongoing internal conflicts are identified here as serious barriers to the realisation of this potential.

Section snippets

Tourism, situations of fragility and post-conflict development

Tourism is frequently described as a new source of wealth creation in deprived regions and less economically developed countries and to some, it is the most viable means of stimulating local development (Dieke, 2003). In recent years however, emphasis on tourism’s economic benefits has been countered by concerns over the uneven nature of such economic development, serious questions about its environmental sustainability and disquiet at its negative social and cultural impacts (Hall & Brown, 2011

The Research Setting of Burundi

The Republic of Burundi is a small landlocked country (27,816 km2) in central-eastern Africa (Figure 1). Home to 8.5 million people, it has one of the highest population densities in the continent (300 people per km2). It is also one of the world’s 25 poorest countries, with a gross national income per capita of US$110 and over half of its population living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2011). Once known as Urundi, the country was controlled by Germany during 1884–1919, and then by Belgium

Tourism development in post-conflict burundi

This section of the paper presents and analyses the 2009 RSA-based joint tourism development opportunity study. It discusses: desk research; in-depth interviews; field observations; reflections from the closing feedback workshop (Table 1). In structuring our analysis we recognise the value of Brewer and Hayes’ (2011, p. 7) suggestion that, “rather than approach post-conflict societies on a disciplinary basis, it is more valuable to emphasize analytical themes  [such as:] the management of

Conclusion

This paper has explored some of the key challenges associated with the post-conflict recovery process, taking Burundi as illustrative (although not necessarily typical) of the many situations of fragility in sub-Saharan Africa which aspire to harness their tourism potential to aid economic growth and advance institution-building. Framed by hopeful tourism’s call for co-created knowledge (Pritchard et al., 2011a), it has been co-written by insiders and outsiders and employed a participatory

Marina Novelli’s research focuses on: tourism policy and planning with specific focus on tourism and development in the developing world. Nigel Morgan’s (The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK. Email <[email protected]>) research interests are: destination reputation management; hopeful tourism; tourism, citizenship and social justice. Carmen Nibigira’s research focuses on: human resource development in developing

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    Marina Novelli’s research focuses on: tourism policy and planning with specific focus on tourism and development in the developing world. Nigel Morgan’s (The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK. Email <[email protected]>) research interests are: destination reputation management; hopeful tourism; tourism, citizenship and social justice. Carmen Nibigira’s research focuses on: human resource development in developing countries, including the management of knowledge, skills and competencies; the role of politics in tourism.

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