© Kamla-Raj 2013 J Hum Ecol, 42(1): 9-16 (2013) The Impact of Tourism Leakages on Local Economies: A Case Study of Nyanga District, Zimbabwe Leonard I. Chirenje 1 , Joseline Chitotombe 2 , Simbarashe Gukurume 3 , Bernard Chazovachii 4 and Leonard Chitongo 5 1 Department of Social Ecology, Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe Mobile: +263777317205, E-mail: leonchirenje@yahoo.com 2 Department of Social Ecology, Great Zimbabwe University, 3 Department of Social Anthropology, Great Zimbabwe University, 4 Department of Rural and Urban Development, Great Zimbabwe University, 5 Department of Rural and Urban Development, Great Zimbabwe University KEYWORDS Poverty Alleviation. Rural Livelihoods. Tourism Leakages. Tourism Employment. Community Participation ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of tourism leakages on the local economies. It draws results from a survey done in Nyanga District in Zimbabwe. Data were collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The quantitative analyses were employed to evaluate the level of leakages and its impact on local economies using monetary values. Content analysis was used to summarize community perception of tourism contribution to local economies. Results revealed that the most dominant type of leakage noted in the study area was internal/import leakage followed by external leakage and pre-leakage. Out of USD $187 that is spent by each tourist in Nyanga per day, the locals only get USD $24 which is 12. 83% and the rest, 87.17% goes to the service providers which are not owned by the local people. The leakage of money out of the country was however relatively low. The paper concludes that the low leakage out of the country is a result of limited number of international tourists. Reduction of leakages can only be achieved through the creation of strong and sustainable linkages of ecotourism with the other livelihood options, training local communities and strong local community participation in ecotourism activities. 1. INTRODUCTION The fundamental objective of this paper is to examine the impact of leakages on local com- munities in tourist resorts. Tourism can be a fea- sible option for cushioning the local communi- ties through the creation of direct and indirect employment or encouraging environmental pro- tection and conservation in areas where local communities have low incomes (Hill 2005; Scheyvens and Russell 2012; Synman 2012). However, as noted by Fennel (2003), when eval- uating the impact of money on the economy, researchers must consider the multiplier effect and the associated concept of leakage. Leakag- es in tourism result when revenues obtained from tourism economic activities in host countries are not available for circulation or consumption of goods and services in the same countries (Rah- man 2012). There is growing evidence that most of tourism receipts in developing countries have no impact on local economies because they are spent on imports or earned by foreign workers or businesses, resulting in high leakages (Blake et al. 2008). Diaz Benevides (2001) in Meyer (2007) argues that higher rates of leakages ranging be- tween 40–50% occur in most developing coun- tries while lower rates of between 10–20% occur in most advanced and diversified developing countries. Tourism leakages tend to be highest when the local community economy is weak and fails to produce the quantity and quality of goods and services demanded by the tourism industry and thus it is particularly high in small developing countries (Meyer 2007). If proposed tourism development is not empathic to local community’s needs, it will inevitably fail to sus- tain the resource base that it markets to its tour- ists (Loon and Polakow 2001). This study fo- cuses on leakages in the tourism industry in Zim- babwe with specific reference to Nyanga dis- trict in Manicaland province. Local regions that can minimise the amount of money leaving their economy will have more of the initial expendi- tures remaining to circulate in their economies (Fennell 2003). In agreement Lindberg (1996) and Lacher and Sanjay (2010) state that through iden- tifying the leakages, or conversely the linkages within the economy, the indirect and induced impacts of tourism can be estimated. This is im- perative for effective economic development of marginalised regions in developing countries. It