Integrated rural tourism, resilience factor of landlocked territories: study of the village camp in the locality of Affiniam (Basse Casamance/ Senegal)

Abstract

Integrated rural tourism is an alternative type of tourism that places the local population at the heart of the initiatives, thereby promoting their development and enabling them to benefit from the economic spin-offs of the sector. It was launched in the 70s in Lower Casamance which offers different natural and cultural potentialities. The aim is to create cooperatives around the village camps in order to reduce poverty. This study analyzes the contribution of integrated rural tourism in the village of Affiniam which has long been landlocked and difficult to access. It uses a quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview and observation) approach to assess the population's perceptions.
The results show a satisfactory assessment in the sense that the installation of the village camp has enabled the local population to benefit from the spin-offs of tourism and to support the development of its locality. 100% of respondents say that the camp had contributed to the development of the village, and 94% say they participate in camp activities. However, 92% of respondents also note negative effects. Among these, 53% of the respondents mention the deterioration of the morals, 28% talk about disguised prostitution, 13% cite social perversion and 6% mention other effects (risk of disease, commodification of culture). Despite these negative effects, 83% of respondents consider the results to be positive, for 16% it is average and 1% think it is low.