There's no doubt about the fact that tourism provides a lot of jobs in Malawi. At one place we stayed recently they had capacity to cater for 40 guests and employed 40 members of staff. That's 40 people who can help provide for their family and pay for food, education, healthcare and so much more. Without tourists these individuals would be unemployed. What sucks is when you see the money being spent by tourists not being used to help locals.
We recently stayed at Nkhata bay where we were right next to the lake. Also on the beach was a group of local guys who would try a whole range of tactics to try and sell you their products. They would pester you, flirt with you or just make a bracelet with your name on so you felt obliged to buy it. And then came the hard part- there is no such thing as a product labelled with a price. You have to barter and try and get a reasonable price- not one of my skills. It gets to a point where you are arguing over a pound and it seems insignificant when converted to sterling. At this point a common tactic is to start telling you about all the family they are trying to support in order to try and get more money. The issue is that with everything that is said you can smell the alcohol on their breath. As much as you want to help a struggling family you can't help bit think that the money is just being used to buy more alcohol. Tourists are bringing some great income to Malawi but it's a shame that so much money isn't going where it's needed.
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