The effect of hard visitor management approaches on environmental sustainability in Ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania

Abstract

The consumption of nature-based tourism in many protected areas worldwide has led to adverse impacts on natural resources. To sustain natural resources for future generations, adopting appropriate visitor management approaches to inform the sustainability of tourism in protected areas is critical. Although both hard and soft visitor management approaches have been in use in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), there is a lack of information to inform the effect of hard approaches in achieving environmental sustainability. Thus, this study aimed at examining the effect of hard visitor management approaches on environmental sustainability in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). Specifically, the study examined; the effect of physical, regulatory and economic management approaches on environmental sustainability in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The study was guided by stakeholder’s theory and the strong sustainability model. The study adopted a concurrent mixed-method research design that involved collecting and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data at the same time. Four key informants, including the chief conservator, the Head of the tourism department, marketing officer and park ecologist, were purposively selected. Additionally, a sample of 384 visitors was selected from a target population of 538,440 visitors using a simple random sampling technique. While descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, content analysis was used on qualitative data. The multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect of hard visitor management approaches on environmental sustainability and test the study hypotheses derived from the specific research objectives. The results (Adjusted R2=0.276); explained a 27.6% variance of the effects of hard visitor management approaches on environmental sustainability. Further, the results showed that hard visitor management had a positive effect on environmental sustainability (F (3, 265) =35.104; P=0.001) whereby physical management approaches (β= 0.283, p= 0.001), regulatory management approaches (β= 0.290, p= 0.001), economic management approaches (β= 0.038, p= 0.510) at 99% confidence level, positively affected environmental sustainability. Findings from qualitative data revealed a variety of hard management approaches implemented to ensure environmental sustainability. Such approaches include setting aside areas/zones for different visitor activities, rules and regulations and price/fee differentiation. The study concludes that hard visitor management approaches were evident; however, their effect on environmental sustainability varied, with physical and regulatory management approaches being more effective than economic management approaches. It is recommended that the management of NCA should devise a mechanism for ensuring the visitor management approaches are implemented, such as controlling the number of vehicles, which will reduce congestion as well as mandatory for tour guides to take visitors to the information centre for quick customer education about NCA to ensure environmental sustainability