African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD) December 2015 (Supplement 1), pp. 55-67. Community perceptions of a community-based tourism project: A case study of the CAMPFIRE programme in Zimbabwe TEMBI M. TICHAAWA 1 AND OSWALD MHLANGA 2 1 Department of Tourism, School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: tembit@uj.ac.za 2 Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Management, Walter Sisulu University, East London, South Africa. Abstract The objective of this study was to elicit community perceptions on the effectiveness of the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) programme, a community initiative, designed to benefit rural communities in villages around Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. CAMPFIRE aims to help rural communities to manage their resources, especially wildlife, while alleviating poverty in local communities. In order to meet the surveys’ goals, descriptive and bivariate statistical analyses were conducted. Villager s’ perceptions were measured on a five-point Likert-type scale. The results reveal that the overall mean score for perception items was 4.03, whilst the perception scores ranged between 3.42 and 4.56. The highest perception score was for the item: “CAMPFIRE has improved infrastructural development e.g. schools, clinics etc. The lowest perception score was for the item: “the community has benefited economically”. The findings suggest that the current model of eco-tourism in Zimbabwe is socially improving the livelihood base of locals and wildlife conservation. However, to change negative perceptions, the programme needs to economically improve the livelihood of locals so that the whole community benefits economically and villagers should be compensated for wildlife damage. This may help community members to fully support the programme. The study aids policy-making and formulation for government and non-governmental organizations that could fully empower local communities in managing wildlife resources. Keywords: Community perceptions, CAMPFIRE, villagers, poverty, wildlife, Zimbabwe. How to cite this article: Tichaawa, T.M. & Mhlanga, O. (2015). Community perceptions of a community-based tourism project: A case study of the CAMPFIRE programme in Zimbabwe. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Supplement 1 (December), 55-67. Introduction Eco-tourism is often impeded by conflicts between people and wildlife, particularly those communities residing close to protected areas containing large to very large herbivores (buffalo, hippopotamus, rhino and elephant) and large carnivores (Chigwenya & Chifamba, 2010). In Zimbabwe, the growing rural population has resulted in the increased demand of marginal land for subsistence agriculture which is occupied by wildlife (Gandiwa, 2011). Together with the presence of many species of large mammals, this has led to a high density of conflict between people and wildlife (Dunham, Van Der Westhuizen, Van Der