While tourism development beautifies community environment through preservation and conservation of
nature, the development is also a potential destruction of natural environment in the same community.
This study investigates the relationship between environmental impacts of tourism on people’s quality of
life in Maun, Botswana. The questionnaire was used to collect data from 400 households who were 18
years or older and have stayed in Maun for at least a year at the time of this study. The hypothesis
developed to measure the structural model was based on the social exchange theory. Analysis was
carried out using the AMOS 16.0 software. The estimated standardised coefficient for the path from
environmental impacts to people’s quality of life is -0.18 and statistically significant (p<.05) of which the
variance explained by the model is 26%. The significant negative relationship between tourism
environmental impacts and people’s quality of life could be associated with the identification of the factors
including drivers of environmental pollution and degradation of environment that poses health and safety
problems in the community. Therefore, the implications of the findings are that tourism policymakers need
a strategic plan to reduce the negative impact of environmental pollution including increased solid waste
and water pollution; and public place and degradation of environment for tourism development to be
sustainable.