TO DO!99
Contest Socially Responsible Tourism

Award Winner

CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME
TANZANIA

represented by

Tom Ole Sikar,
Co-ordinator

Elisha Siyanga,
Guide

Co-ordination Office,
AICC Building, Arusha, Tanzania

Rationale for the Award
by Dr. Christian Adler

1. INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V. (Institute for Tourism and Development) the author of this report travelled to Arusha, Tanzania in November/December 1999 to assess the project of the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME (CTP) which was submitted to the contest. He visited the following locations: Longido, Ng’iresi, Mulala, Marangu, Usangi (Northern Pare Mountains) and Lushoto (West Usambara Mountains). There are six of the presently existing 14 "modules" through which the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME has been realised.

In accordance with the insights and knowledge gained, and in recognition of its objectives, working principles, activities and achievements, it is recommended to award the contestant with the TO DO!99.

2. LEAD-IN

The Tanzanian Tourism industry concentrates primarily on the safari tourism in the national parks Ngorongoro (Serengeti), Lake Manyara, Tarangire as well as on Africa’s attraction, the highest mountain in Africa, the volcano Kilimanjaro. Furthermore on the island of Zanzibar, characterised by the manifold colonial influences.

In 1999 about 500,000 tourists visited the country of which about 20,000 climbed Kilimanjaro. 60 percent of the visitors had booked a package tour. The rest are so-called back packers and other tourists who organise their trips independently. The turnover from these tourists amounted to 570 million US-Dollars in 1998. For 1999 a return of 620 million US-dollars is expected which amounts to 16.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (source: Tanzanian Tourist Board).

Tourism offers employment to about 132,000 people. There are 148 tourist agencies in Tanzania, 110 of which are concentrated in Arusha, the nearest town to the national parks. The tourism industry is in the hands of only a few entrepreneurs, mainly foreigners. Only 48 agencies are actually run by Tanzanians, mostly by local Indians, even less are owned by indigenous Africans.

For the majority of the population this industrial sector is of no significance since it concentrates on the national parks which have no human population. At best, some groups do experience the disadvantages of tourism. Because they are for instance exhibited as objects on photo-safaris. This relates particularly to the "proud warriors of the savannah", the Maasai which are depicted and marketed on colourful brochures. As a compensation they are given T-shirts, biros, sweets or a few Tanzanian shillings for one snapshot.

3. THE PROGRAMME

The CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME (CTP) is the successful attempt at offering direct participation to the population in the existing tourism industry. The CTP shows that it is possible to develop a completely new product, parallel to and without having to compete with mainstream tourism, a product whose profits go straight to the local project holders and through them also to the village communities involved. The initiators have succeeded in creating a socially responsible and sustainable tourism product which, through its attractiveness, is suited to being marketed by the established tourism industry and which should therefore be of interest to tour operators organising Africa tours.

From this point of view this programme can serve as model - also for a successfully realised development project in the sense of "help for self-help". After a pilot phase from 1994 to 1996 the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME was first put on the market in 1997. As can be seen from the increasing number of visitors (see appendix) the project is very popular with the customers and is well accepted.

4. THE SCOPE OF THE PRODUCT

The CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME is a network of local communities operating independently from each other, groups offering their individually developed tour package all over the country in different locations. The Tanzanians speak of so-called "modules".

The offers vary just as much as the groups and the different regions. Cornerstones of the various offers include hiking tours, trekking tours, imparting the knowledge about the cultural heritage of the Maasai tribes and their history. The tourists also learn quite a bit about the "wildlife" (also about the less spectacular but no less interesting African fauna), the flora and the way it is used for medicinal purposes, or simply about East African agriculture.

The visitors are shown whatever the surroundings can offer. The tourists can look at a cheese manufacture, or else visit a smithy where the Maasai spears are hammered, sometimes they are taken to a cattle market, to a local healer or even to modern development projects.

The "modules" offer programmes lasting from half a day to a full week’s stay. For overnight stays there are homestay possibilities, guest houses, hotels or camping sites. Accommodation is simple, clean and it is equipped with the basics needed.

An essential element of these programmes is the invitation to take part in the communal life. Sharing community life is one of the special highlights. What is meant by this is the encounter and the direct communication with the people in the respective villages, with the guides functioning as go-between and interpreters.

To the foreign visitor this offers the chance to meet the local people, to get to know their families, the village population and to experience their everyday life on a very personal and friendly level , with the understanding that this encounter is accepted by both parties. It does not take long, and the visitor will no longer feel like an intruder but like a welcome guest. Here one can experience something which travel brochures often promise but seldom keep: the very close contact with other cultures.

Different "modules" can be combined to an overall package. On the basis of brochures visitors (or travel agents looking for supplementary programmes) can inform themselves in advance about the various offers. They can choose the target regions and attractions and they get detailed information on the costs for each offer. Therefore, at the time of the booking, everybody knows what he can expect and also what he has to pay. He will neither be cheated nor disappointed. With this system there is no touting and no bargaining. Those coming to Tanzania as independent tourists will especially appreciate this advantage.

The guest pays his invoice on the spot to the respective service provider, travel agents contact the module co-ordinator. Service providers are the above mentioned guides (who receive the guests and who take care of them during their stay), but service providers are also the guest families, the hotels or women’s groups being in charge of the catering. Also included are some parts of the local population which are also involved as active participants in the package - e.g. during a visit to a "boma". This is the name of a compound where several Maasai families live together.

The guides - five to ten in each module - as well as all the other people involved are ordinary villagers. Farmers, teachers, students, housewives, men and women. The "and" needs to be emphasised since the Tanzanian society is so much dominated by men.

All those involved are paid according to performance. In addition, a compulsory village development fee is levied in all the projects. About 10 percent of the total sum is put into a fund which subsidises or finances communal endeavours.

5. THE ORGANISATION

Modules exist predominantly in smaller villages of less than 5 000 inhabitants, but also in the town of Lushoto. There is a contact office and a co-ordinator in each module.

The local bus and taxi drivers know where to take the tourists who don’t know the place, so that they will be sure to find the co-ordinators: this may be a remote farm, a lodge or a school.

Some of the co-ordinators I met were: an old Maasai who, through his higher schooling, seemed to be suited for this position, the director of a secondary school, a farmer, a woman from a women’s group, and last but not least a representative of an association running a tourist agency in Lushoto. This is the NGO "Friends of Usambara Society" which has been in existence for some time.

The CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME in Arusha is the central co-ordination office for all these modules with presently 5 employees. The idea was developed here, and the project is supervised and further developed from here. The office is mainly responsible for the communication between the modules and the intermediary agencies.

6. THE BACKGROUND

Tanzania’s chances for the further development of tourism are inherent in the multitude of attractions it is able to offer. The country offers far more than the commonly marketed stereotypes such as wildlife, Kibo (Kilimanjaro) or the "Spice Island" (Zanzibar). A large number of different ethnic peoples as well as changing landscapes and climatic zones - these are its resources. There are savannahs with scarce settlements next to densely populated mountainous regions, we find arid and wild stretches of land in the neighbourhood of purely agricultural and very fertile zones. Apart from the hot steppe there are cool, tropical forests, we find volcanoes, lakes, coastal strips and islands.

Adjusted to the respective landscapes and multi-facetted in their appearances are the societies living there - despite existing ethnic relationships (with Bantu and Maasai sub-groups). Tourism is unknown in many places or it has just sprung up in recent years. The people are very friendly, open and very interested in the foreign visitors. That is, if they are not molested; unfortunately this is commonplace, mainly in main tourist areas.

In the villages people don’t just pass each other. One stops, greets each other and exchanges information. For a European on his way to his guesthouse this may seem like "running the gauntlet" because he is not used to such sociability and empathy. Here, people take their time - even the time to sweep the dusty paths in the villages. Everything seems to be neat and tidy and well kept. And one can feel it: The village community is still absolutely intact.

But the people are poor, for the most part they are living in mud houses (network of twigs covered with earth) and their main dish is "ugali" made from maize meal. It is with great diligence that they try to shape their lives. The Tanzanians do not approve of the armed conflicts in the neighbouring countries. For them life is hard enough even in times of peace, they say. They work on their fields with their hands, they build terraces and cultivate, they are committed and they are innovative and future-oriented. They hope to be able to offer their children a better future. For instance through school education - which costs money here and which many families cannot afford. They take great pains, at least to enable their children to finish intermediate education - this is what they are working for.

In the villages one can hear people talk about land erosion, crop rotation, the advantages of terrace cultivation, about irrigation systems and production of biogas from cow dung, etc. But one does not only talk, a lot of these things have already been accomplished. Where there is no electricity, the simple principle of biogas is used both for cooking and lighting. Enquiries were made in far away Dar es Salaam on how to process milk, and now butter and cheese are produced. The local markets are colourful, offering a great variety of fruits and vegetable. The people are proud of their achievements and they do not hide their self-confidence when they show them to the guests.

But the situation is not like this everywhere. The cities here are no different from those in other poor developing countries. And indeed, Tanzania ranges among the poorest countries in Africa. In at least six of the 20 provinces there is presently a dramatic shortage of foodstuff, starvation is looming. This refers particularly to Mwanza, Shinyanga, Mara, Tabora, Singida and Dodoma. These are densely populated regions. (The total population is estimated at 30 million.) In early 1999 the situation was even more precarious, with 13 provinces being affected by serious food shortages. Tanzania, but also other parts of East Africa, up to the Horn of Africa, have over the last decade suffered from long spells of drought. (Source: www.africanews.org of 28/12/99).

Any means leading out of this poverty is highly welcome by the people. For this to happen they are gladly prepared to break new ground and to put in all their strength. And this is the drive which helps the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME (CPT) to be so successful. Of course, this small project will hardly bring about much change in the underlying conditions. E.g. in the unequal distribution of foreign exchange earnings from tourism. As explained by the project co-ordinators, the people participating in the programme are not so much interested to know whether the major share from the tourism business continues to go to the mainstream entrepreneurs; what they are interested in is the small share which they can earn themselves in order to improve their livelihood and that of their families.

7. THE DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION SNV AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE CTP

The acronym SNV stands for "Stichting Nederlandse Vrywilligers". The Dutch organisation supports economic ventures which are expected to bring about structural improvements, and which, through these, will usher in better living standards in the developing countries.

The CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME initiated by some Maasai in 1994 (a tourist-related "small-scale-project" with a maximum of local participation was planned) is exactly in line with the objectives of the development organisation and has therefore been supported since 1995. The SNV seconded an expert, took over the financing of the operating costs for the co-ordination office in Arusha (presently a staff of five), and it provides a few vehicles on loan. The concept for the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME has been developed, propagated and implemented in close co-operation with the national Tanzanian Tourist Board (TTB) and with the local population, until it had reached the present stage and the number of the available modules.

The SNV controls the expenditure and makes sure that the budget provided is strictly used for the earmarked purposes. Its staff in Arusha see to it that the quality of the modules is continually assessed. Moreover, they open up contacts with local agencies to propagate the programme, and they take pains to create additional modules and to continuously improve the products offered. SNV organises the training for the guides, it co-ordinates all organisational tasks in connection with the arrival of the tourists. SNV is not responsible for the product marketing. This component is taken up by the Tourist Board - as long as the CTP exists.

SNV just wanted and wants to help the project get off the ground, and after the end of a five year contract in the year 2001 it wants to withdraw its involvement completely. The budget has meanwhile been reduced for the year 2000 since the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME has succeeded in earning considerable income. In order not to jeopardise the continuation and sustainability of the programme, precautions for the time after the expiration of the contract have been taken. In February 2000 all the co-ordinators will meet with the aim of institutionalising the project. It is envisaged to found a co-operative which can control the programme centrally from Arusha and which is in charge of all the modules, and these modules will then finance the central co-ordination office.

8. APPRAISAL OF THE PROJECT

The comparison of the CTP activities with the TO DO criteria for a socially responsible tourism results in the following appraisal:

Contest criterion:
Involvement of the different interests and requirements of the local people through participation

Right from the start of the programme, workshops have been organised in order to balance and adjust the needs of the population on the one hand to those of the organisers on the other. The SNV and its staff have always tried and still try not to offer ready-made concepts without taking into account the prevailing realities, but rather to initiate a development process, giving it a chance to run successfully and autonomously so that the programme can really become a part of the people. Not only exclusively supported by them and with their own impetus, the programme remains alive because it is further developed through the ideas and inputs of the local population. In this context the co-ordination office in Arusha is offering inside "development" aid - it offers the know-how needed because the people often had the ideas and were prepared to do something, but they were lacking in experience with regard to the requirements of the tourism industry.

Also, the needs of those communities are respected which refuse any contact with tourists. There are still groups of hunters and gatherers which are determined to keep aloof from civilisation, but which cannot completely avoid contacts, which means that they are now and then molested by back-packers. One of these groups has in fact contacted the co-ordination office of the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME in Arusha and asked for their advice. There are also sub-groups and bomas among the Maasai which do not want to be marketed through tourism because they regard the encounter with the tourists as a nuisance. The guides know exactly which bomas they have to avoid. The tourists would not notice it.

Contest criterion:
Strengthening the awareness among the local people with regard to the chances and risks of tourism development in their everyday economic, social and cultural life

Since the coffers of the communities are replenished through the village development fee, the people living in the surroundings of the tourist modules are aware both of the chances and of the direct economic benefits derived from the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME. Over the last three years they have been able to experience the advantages their communities have enjoyed from this programme. Examples: In Longido a cattle dip was established. With this dip it is expected to keep the cattle of the settlement free from parasites. In Ng’iresi a small house was built to serve as an additional class room; from 2000 onwards the children of widows will be sponsored so that they can afford to attend school. The crudely stamped mud floors of the class rooms in Mulala have been concreted, the still missing windows and doors will be installed shortly. In the Usambara Mountains a small school building was constructed so that the farmers’ children are also able to attend primary school. In other locations roads have been repaired, a health clinic is financed, teaching materials have been purchased with the aim of creating an environmental awareness among pupils.

The villagers also see that those having been trained as guides or who have accommodated guests, have meanwhile earned quite a considerable extra income. This has led to a positive attitude towards tourism on the part of the local people which in turn effects and contributes to the well-being of the foreign guests. People are increasingly motivated to participate in this programme.

Another side effect is: In other parts of Tanzania the local people associate Tourism with "having plenty of money in the pocket". For an overnight stay in an absolutely sub-standard lodge they ask for up to 30 US dollars (Zanzibar coast) and they are surprised if the customer is not satisfied with the services offered in relation to the price. In this context the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME offers a more realistic conception and does not raise expectations which cannot be fulfilled.

People living in the vicinity of the modules also get to know the disadvantages, for instance irresponsible behaviour of tourists if these wear unsuitable clothes. As described further down in this paper, the guides can play a special role in this context as they are able to minimise the negative effects.

Contest criterion:
Participation of a broad local population strata regarding the positive economic, social and cultural effects of tourism

The programme would not function if it was not supported and carried by the entire village population. Even before the establishment of a module, discussions would go on on the idea as such, and the people would have agreed to implement it. There are committees everywhere with political representatives of the communes. Other members are entrepreneurs, representatives of women’s groups, teachers, farmers - a cross-section of the local society. The project is subject to a continuous assessment by the commune. Each villager is free to get actively involved in the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME if he or she so wishes. With one restriction: The CPT project does not reach the poorest since they, for the most part, do not have the necessary level of education and do not speak English. Still, even this section of the population - as described - will indirectly profit from the project due to the development fee.

One of the positive cultural effects is that the host, too, will have the opportunity to be in touch with a foreigner and therefore he will be able to engage in an inter-cultural exchange of ideas.

Contest criterion:
Guarantee of the attractiveness of jobs in tourism for the local people by improvement of working conditions in relation to payment, social security, working hours, education and training

In a country with a high unemployment rate job opportunities of all sorts will be welcome. So far, however, the programme does not offer permanent employment but only temporary jobs. Tourism in Tanzania is highly seasonal.

To gain an extra income through the programme seems very attractive for quite a number of people. Nevertheless, cattle raising and agriculture will remain the primary income source and basis of livelihood. But there is no danger that this main income earning sector might be neglected because during rainy season, the time when the farmers have to cultivate their fields, the tourism sector is in low season.

At the moment the programme with its 14 modules employs about 60 guides, in addition some 40 people are employed for other activities. They are all "on call" and are assigned their jobs according to need. The guides are chosen by the co-ordinators of the modules. The pre-requisites for employment are good knowledge of English, trustworthiness and reliability. Before they are entrusted with the tours they attend a guide training of several days in a private school in Arusha. To make sure that only people really interested in the programme participate in the course, only the training costs are paid for the participants, they are not compensated for the loss of working days. Those participating will only get their wages after they have rendered their services and according to a list of service rates.

The price structure for the services in the different modules and the amount of the development fee is determined by the people themselves in the respective locations. In doing so the particular situation of the region or culture is taken into account. Rates may therefore vary slightly. In Longido, for example, an additional "Boma gift" is common, a fee which was introduced to get away from the discriminatory biros and T-shirts, instead something more useful for the farms should be offered so that particularly the women may benefit from this. Or else the "warrior fee" which is levied when several tourists decide to go on a savannah tour where they need additional guides to be protected against wild animals.

In Longido a guide earns 5,000 Tanzanian Shillings (DM 12.50), in Lushoto 6,000 TSh (DM 15.00) per day. For a meal the women calculate 2,500 TSh/person in both places (DM 6.25). In Longido the co-ordinator is paid a one-off amount of 5,000 TSh, in Lushoto no payment is required. An over-night stay with a family in Ng’iresi, including supper and breakfast amounts to 6,500 TSh (DM 16.25), the camping site in Longido charges 2000 per night (DM 5.00). Everything inclusive will cost TSh 26,500 per day in Longido and in Ng’iresi 20,800 TSh

(DM 52.00), in Lushoto (cheap hotel incl.) 20,000 TSh (DM 50.00). Compared to the travel costs during a safari (80.00 to 120.00 US-Dollar per day) these are very modest charges.

The social security system in Tanzania is still very rudimentary. Here, the individual lives in the community of his clan, the extended family, which will help him in case of emergencies and which takes care of his needs when he is retired. The project cannot yet offer such kind of security.

Contest criterion:
Reinforcement of the local culture as well as of the cultural identity of those living in tourism destination areas.

Judging from the enthusiastic remarks of the visitors in the guest books or in the letters they send after their stay, the programme is very popular.

It probably fulfils the subconscious longings of the travellers coming from a highly industrialised world; wanting to go back to mother earth, striving for a simpler life in harmony with nature, feeling safe and comforted in the bosom of an intact community which does not know anonymity and loneliness. On the other hand, the Tanzanians involved in the project can sense the admiration and appreciation of the foreigners for something which they themselves regard as absolutely normal. They realise that their culture, their lives and the things they produce and the way they produce them, as well as their interaction in the community, is something special for the foreigner and is an attraction in itself. This fills them with pride and it strengthens them in their efforts to preserve their cultural characteristics.

Besides, one looks at the problem in a relaxed way. One Maasai said: "Who do the tourist think they are? We have had the German colonialists here, the English and we have the Tanzanian Government. All of them have tried to change us. But all attempts have failed. Why do you believe that the tourists will be more successful?"

Contest criterion:
Avoidance or minimisation of social and cultural damage caused by tourism in destination areas

The visitors are received by the co-ordinators and are looked after during their entire stay by a guide. Being locals themselves, the guides are held to respect the relevant "do’s and don’ts" of their culture to avoid conflicts with their own people. They see to it that access to and contact between the hosts and the guests work out well and they give the necessary explanations also to the foreigners.

Picture-taking is a very sensitive issue wherever you go. A Maasai once said: "Tourists don’t respect us, but what can we do? We are the poorest, they are the richest." The local people don’t appreciate that tourists take pictures of them, at best they will endure it. Mostly against payment. Asking for payment for picture-taking is a taboo within this programme. The guide explains when and why picture-taking is not appreciated. When children are involved, one of the guides told me that the parents had to be asked first. But he also told me in which cases it is possible to take pictures.

Unfortunately there are guests who do not respect the recommendations and who disregard the personality rights of the people visited. There is nothing one can do in such cases, said one of the guides. What one could do with this type of contemporaries is to take them to the forests and keep them away from the local people.

Contest criterion:
Application of new methods in qualifying partnership and co-operation between the external tourism industry and the local people

The CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME is further developed in close co-operation with the national Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) and is offered to local or international tourist agencies. In addition to marketing it at national and international fairs, the TTB also finances all the expenses for advertising measures. This saves the CTP quite substantial costs.

The programme promotes the partnership between the local population and the enterprises in the established mainstream tourism industry. Agencies which have integrated the CTP in their safari programmes are well aware of the valuable enrichment for their normal package tours - since their customers are not only interested in the country and its nature but particularly in an encounter with its people. A number of agencies are apparently also interested in an ecologically and socially responsible tourism. Therefore the CTP is really an improvement of the programmes the agencies have so far offered because it facilitates a socially responsible encounter with the population and much more intensive contacts than before. About 25 percent of the Tanzanian agencies have included the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME in their own programmes.

Hotel owners can also profit from the involvement in the CTP because the stay of the "only-safari" guests can thus be extended.

Those agencies or entrepreneurs wanting to join the programme are asked to sign a "Memorandum of Understanding" (see appendix). The entrepreneur declares his consent to recognise the principles of the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME .

Co-operation with the private sector in turn also entails a bigger turn-over for the communities, leading to a mutual and fruitful partnership between the established tourism industry and the ordinary citizens.

Contest criterion:
Creation of other favourable conditions for a socially responsible tourism development in destination areas

One of the special features of the programme is, as mentioned above, the introduction of a compulsory fee for communal development measures. (1.5 to 7.5 US-Dollar per day). It turned out that the very existence of such a development fee per se is an appealing feature of the programme. It helps the agencies to sell the programme because the customers feel good if they know that part of the amount they pay for the tour goes to the people in the country of destination and is used within the communities for a good purpose. A lot of guests do in fact book the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME (CTP) for this very reason.

Contest criterion:
Projects and measures entered for the contest must be in line with the principles of environmental compatibility

The local co-ordinators and guides who had accompanied the expert were all well informed about the negative environmental impact in their surroundings. For example the effects of burning charcoal, the over-exploitation of forests. Within the programme they are held to show environment-conscious attitudes, probably also because this awareness has already been raised in Tanzania through appropriate measures on the part of the government.

The project itself does definitely not cause any damage to the environment, apart from the kerosene or fuel used to bring the guests to their destinations.

There may probably be a different kind of impact the CTP has on the local people: The people realise that income can be derived through the marketing not only of their national parks but also of their surroundings from which they themselves can profit. Therefore, it is in their own interest to protect the existing resources. It is quite doubtful whether the deforestation of the still existing virgin forests can be stemmed. But this cannot be blamed on tourism. On the contrary, tourism, particularly in East Africa, has succeeded in safeguarding against damages and destruction in many instances.

8. CRITICISM

The expert was given a Training Manual of the Professional Tourguide School in Arusha, i.e. the basis for the training of guides for the CTP. This is a very modest paper and definitely not good enough to prepare local people who have so far never been involved in tourism for their future tasks. It is therefore quite a surprise that the practising guides - according to the experience of the expert - are much better than one would expect from the training material. Quite often I was amazed about their profound autochthonous knowledge (probably absorbed when they were growing up in their culture); in addition some were well versed in such matters as ornithology, botany, agriculture and forestry. The reason: Some of them had now and then been involved in a development project and they had carefully listened, others, being autodidacts, had educated themselves. It is quite astounding for a visitor that a guide manages within seconds to identify (from a big book) an unspectacular bird sitting in the bush. What is even more astounding is that in addition to being shown medicinal herbs, info-leaflets are distributed on which all the Latin names are given, together with the possible treatments and applications.

Another critical issue is that the modules unfortunately do not all offer a programme of the same standard and quality. Organising agencies complain that sometimes itineraries are not reliably kept. On the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro where a lot of tourists go, things have to improve to make the product more attractive. ("You can’t make an area more beautiful, but you can make it more interesting.")

In the encounter with the guests there is also the danger of doing far too much. Once the tourist has decided to participate in the CTP he knows that this is not equivalent to a luxurious five star accommodation. He or she does not really expect this. But hosts offering for lunch what they normally eat in whole week and who constantly ask "are you happy" (with what we offer), do not really trigger off feelings of happiness. They are loosing - and this is the decisive point - their own self-esteem. And this should not be the case.

How many visitors per week can be supported by a module? This is a question which must sooner or later be faced by the co-ordinators . There are definitely capacity limits in each module. But up to now this stage has not yet been reached; it is still a small-scale experiment.

CONCLUSION:

After having been involved with the CULTURAL TOURISM PROGRAMME one wonders why such networks do not exist in other parts in the so called Third World as well. Above all in places where competent people have probed deeply into community based tourism development and where a lot of experiments have been going on. The Tanzanian idea is simple, investments are modest, the overall programme is popular and it can still be expanded. It is a programme offering advantages to everybody: the travellers, the people visited, and the travel agents.

A case in point is Longido, a small place in the middle of the savannah. There, you will only meet playing children, no begging children. You won’t find stones being thrown at the tourist when he or she picks up the camera. If you walk through the village people will greet you. In the evening the travellers often sit in a boma right among the warriors. There are many questions and many stories to be told. You can hear the sound of laughing from afar. The glow of a flickering fire is shining on the black and white faces. To pass on this African fire can only be warmly recommended.

Organiser of the TODO!99 Contest:

Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V. (Institute for Tourism and Development)

In co-operation with:
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ; German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism
Katholisches Auslandssekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz
Klett-Perthes Verlag
Messe Berlin GmbH
Österreichische Entwicklungszusammenarbeit im Außenministerium/respect (Austrian Development Cooperation in the Foreign Ministry/respect)
Tourism Watch. Fachstelle des Kirchlichen Entwicklungsdienstes der EKD

with the support of:
AirFrance
Studiosus Reisen
VARIG Brasil
Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lübz GmbH
SWISSAIR

Appendix