Southern African Liberation Wars: The Halting Development of Tourism in Botswana, 1960s–1990s

In recent years, tourism has attracted the attention of many scholars in development literature. In Botswana, as elsewhere, the dominant theme in the literature has, invariably, been the emphasis on the argument that the tourism industry is a conduit of development of the rural economies and also enables developing countries to participate in the global economy. While this is not in dispute, the literature is silent on the history of the development of the tourism industry in Botswana with specific reference to the impact on the nascent industry of the southern African liberation wars in the Chobe area. The article argues that the political violence resulting from the liberation wars between 1966 and 1980 delayed the development of the Botswana tourist industry as the Chobe tourist destination was turned into a theatre of war. In having to pay more attention to the security threat, the Botswana government gave less attention to tourism development. Meanwhile, the local and international media made headlines about the war incidents in the Chobe District, painting a gloomy picture on the potential of the industry and deterring tourists.