The poaching also has influenced the behaviour of the wildlife. The community of elephants based around the Itechi Techi lake, an area exposed to more poaching, are noticeably more skittish than other populations. Despite the lack of wildlife management and the extensive poaching the park and its flora and fauna are an important resource with potential for economic development. At present tourism is under-developed within the Park. There are few lodges and a general lack of infrastructure.
Tourists are a rare, and rather curious, sight.
This is in contrast with other parks in Zambia, such as South Luangwe, where tourism is much more established. However it will not be easy to turn Kafue into an asset that generates foreign exchange for Zambia. Considerable investment is needed to turn the inefficient state run lodges into attractive modern enterprises that can compete with hotel accommodation elsewhere in Zambia such as South Luangwe, and Southern Africa. Other tourist infrastructure is also needed such as roads, tracks and vehicles. In addition as a result of the extensive poaching the wildlife is not habituated to human contact and will tend to either threaten or flee when encountered.