Challenges facing community-based cultural tourism development at Lekhubu Island, Botswana: a comparative analysis

Community-based tourism is thought to carry the promise to increase, promote and provide improved livelihoods for rural communities. It is believed to empower local communities and enable them to harness the potential of resources found within the vicinity of their areas for survival. Therefore, it fosters a sense of ownership of the resources in question with the potential to promote their sustainable use and conservation by the communities. This paper examines Lekhubu Island project in the Boteti sub-district of Botswana to examine some of the challenges that may prevent some culture and heritage-based community projects from achieving the envisaged goals. Invitation to participate in the focus group discussions was extended to any member of the community aged 16 or above. While all eligible community members were invited, they were allocated different time slots for specific meetings. Among the challenges identified at Lekhubu are poor accessibility, limited income generation and heavy dependence on external donor funding, inadequate marketing, lack of capacity among Gaing'O Community Trust Board and Staff, as well as unsatisfactory involvement and limited capacity among Technical Advisory Committee members. Comparisons are made between Lekhubu situation and that of other CBT projects in the northern and central regions of Botswana.