Wouter Schalken is a Namibian based researcher specialized in a number of areas around strategic tourism planning, analysis and development.
Wouter has worked for a number of development agencies (such as the UNDP, SIDA, USAID, the GTZ, the World Bank and UNESCO amongst others) at project-specific, national and regional levels. He has worked extensively on the African Continent (in Southern Africa, Ghana and Sierra Leone), in the Middle East (in Yemen) as well as in island states (such as the Maldives) where he has been involved in the formulation and evaluation of particular tourism development projects and strategies.
Wouter's project-specific expertise is extensive and includes developing implementation and management plans for tourism projects in all areas, including in wildlife areas. He has been engaged in a number of new eco-tourism projects for which he has had to identify economic opportunities. Wouter has also had to develop capacity building and awareness-raising in tourism in the course of his career. Beyond project work, Wouter has helped decision makers in
the identification of barriers to development and investments in tourism at country-wide levels.