Journal Article
In a few years it will be too late for the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia
Indigenous peoples at the bottom of the development value chain
Illustration © Pexels. Jens Mahnke. copyright license
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.
In the Lower Omo Valley of Ethiopia there is a clear need for a strategy of sustainable tourism that embraces development while respecting local cultures. A government focus on gas, oil and commercial agriculture appears to see indigenous people’s cultures as a source of tourist dollars and little more. Tourists are a willing party to this. It is an approach that ignores the indigenous peoples’ needs and interests and risks destroying their cultures in the longer term.
In the Lower Omo Valley of Ethiopia there is a clear need for a strategy of sustainable tourism that embraces development while respecting local cultures. A government focus on gas, oil and commercial agriculture appears to see indigenous people’s cultures as a source of tourist dollars and little more. Tourists are a willing party to this. It is an approach that ignores the indigenous peoples’ needs and interests and risks destroying their cultures in the longer term.
In a few years it will be too late for the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia
U-landsnyt.dk, 2014-10-16T02:00:00