Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world. It is an increasingly important source of income, employment and wealth in many countries. However, its rapid expansion has also had detrimental environmental (and socio-cultural) impact in many regions. Tourism has been identified as a key strategy to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in the country and is considered to be the second largest contributor to economic growth next to mining. The Makgadikgadi Wetlands System (MWS) already has an incipient level of tourism taking place at present, although the main focus of tourism in the country to date has been around the Chobe and the Okavango Delta due to the presence of significant populations of large charismatic wildlife species. 1 It is therefore important to factor tourism into the Makgadikgadi Framework Management Plan (MFMP) as a key economic activity, carefully balancing the implications of promoting further tourism development against the impacts it might have upon the environment.