The role of tourism activities on poverty alleviation in Unguja, Zanzibar

Bakari, Amour Khamis (2015) The role of tourism activities on poverty alleviation in Unguja, Zanzibar. Masters thesis, The Open University Of Tanzania.

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Abstract

This study examines the roles of tourism activities on poverty alleviation in Unguja, Zanzibar. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Zanzibar. Its rapid expansion has been considered as an interesting possibility for poverty reduction. Tourism becomes a significant industry in both poor and rich economies because of its important impacts on economic, livelihoods and socio-cultural development. Zanzibar currently is a poor country, but it has a glorious tourist attraction and will have a glorious economy too if steps are taken in the right direction. One of the sectors where this country has a great future is tourism, which can play a very important role to alleviate poverty in rural areas. It is obvious that tourism development has the potential of directly contributing to poverty reduction through, among other things, the provision of employment opportunities to local people as well as creation of markets for locally made goods. The study adopts descriptive research design. The data were collected through Questionnaire, Interview and Observation methods, while Qualitative and Quantitative data analysis approach was applied. The study findings and analysis showed that tourism activities had contributed immensely in improving the general welfare of the local people through increased income. It has also reduced income poverty by increasing local purchasing power. On the other hand, the price of the commodities has increased due to the development of tourism and address some challenges faced poverty alleviation through tourism such as lack of credits, lack of awareness on how to invest in tourism, lack of qualification to work in the tourist hotel and ineffective local authorities. Finally, this study has come up with some factors addressing the challenges facing tourism in poverty alleviation in the local communities.

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