ACoST - 2014 (Sustainability in Tourism)

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11071/4927

Theme: Sustainability in Tourism
Venue: Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
Dates: 23/10/2014 - 24/10/2014

Conference Topics

Community and Ecotourism entrepreneurship
Ecotourism and Biodiversity conservation
Hospitality and Tour operations for sustainable tourism
Wildlife legislation and sustainable tourism
Education for sustainable development

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Community and ecotourism entrepreneurship in Kenya : sustaining tourism through valuation of ecosystem services
(Strathmore University, 2014) Ndung’u, James Mutimu
Tourism is a major driver for economic growth for developing countries. In Kenya Tourism contributes for about 12 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The main tourist attractions in Kenya are nature based ranging from the unique biodiversity and wildlife coupled with local traditional cultures. Some of the lands where these occur are owned by local communities whose livelihoods also depend. There have been conflicts over management of nature based Ecotourism products and proceeds between communities and other stakeholders in the past. This has resulted into loss of biodiversity and other tourist attractions. This may be addressed by determination of tourism values through valuation of ecosystem services to inform tourism pricing and negotiations for Ecotourism concession agreements. At the ecosystem level, other communities may benefit from concession fees even though not be directly involved in hosting the tourism attraction but who indirectly may devalue the attractions. This is achieved through Payment of Ecosystem Services (PES) and Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Valuation and Payment of Ecosystem services not only brings equity amongst the actors in the tourism value chain but also maximises the output from the land potential and reduces the social and visitor footprints. They form a basis for differential Ecotourism pricing resulting to product segmentation in the tourism market. This will result into a triple bottom line where the cumulative social, ecological and economic costs of tourism are paid for in a given unit visit thus sustaining tourism nature based tourist destinations.
Community based tourism as a strategy of collaboration and partnerships in protected area management : a case Tsavo National Park, Kenya
(Strathmore University, 2014) Kariuki, Albert
Kenya relies mostly on wildlife as her major tourism product. The country has a widespread protected area (PAs) system in place with 9 to 10% of her land area presently gazetted as national parks, national reserves or forest reserves. These critical biodiversity areas are the backbone of a flourishing tourism sector. It has become increasingly clear to park managers, planners, and academics that no one stakeholder can dictate the future of conservation in these PAs. PAs management must appreciate the power of collaboration and partnerships arrangements with all stakeholders, especially the local communities who neighbour the areas. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how community based tourism has been used a strategy collaboration and partnerships in PAs management in Kenya. Conservation in Kenya is a product of the global evolution of nature conservation efforts, this was started at Yellowstone National Park in the USA in 1872, followed by Banff National Park in Canada in 1885.The oldest PA in Kenya is Nairobi National Park which was gazetted in 1945, followed by Tsavo National Park in 1948 (the study area of the paper). The paper observes that collaboration and partnerships arrangements among stakeholders have becomes a central theme in sustainable tourism development, and recommends that community based (eco) tourism can be used to bridge the gap in conservation between PAs and local communities. The challenge has and will always be; how to provide the local communities with resources, knowledge and skills to manage the said business ventures and enterprises.
Community based tourism development - a framework for Kenya
(Strathmore University, 2014) Magayu, Makie
The ostensible failure of mainstream conventional tourism has led many governments of developing countries in Africa to take up alternative means of tourism development. Community based tourism (CBT) has been advocated for as the preferred mode of tourism that will serve as a key catalyst for economic regeneration and poverty eradication. Many developing countries in Africa have recognized the importance of CBT as a panacea to tourism development challenges, providing benefits to local impoverished communities. CBT is gradually gaining momentum in Kenya, a developing country, with tourism as one of its main foreign exchange earners. However, the feasibility of CBT development in Kenya remains questionable with the major hindrances and barriers that CBT is faced with. In addition, with the growing awareness of the importance of CBT, there is a need for community based conservation models and framework guidelines in Kenya and other developing countries where high levels of bio-diversity and population growth co-exist. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a CBT framework for Kenya, based on an analysis of selected successful initiatives across Kenya. To achieve this aim, a research analysis on selected community based tourism initiatives in Kenya was undertaken in order to establish the factors that lead to the success (and failure) of CBT initiatives. The research also obtained insights on the present nature of tourism development in Kenya, through secondary data collection. The analysis revealed that successful initiatives all share similar success factors. However, there exist political, economic, social-cultural, legal and environmental challenges that pose great hindrances to these initiatives and to community based tourism as a whole. By using this analysis, a community based tourism framework was created in order to provide best practise guidelines for tourism practitioners and stakeholders wishing to engage in community based tourism development. The main conclusions drawn were that CBT is a viable means of development for developing countries. However, for CBT to fully be exploited and for local communities to benefit from it, the hindrances to CBT must be dealt with and eradicated. However, this is a long term process where a „people centred‟ approach to CBT development should be adopted aiming at sustainability and diversity as opposed to conservation alone.
Community based tourism initiatives and sustainable tourism development : a case of Mwaluganje Elephant sanctuary in Kwale County, Kenya.
(Strathmore University, 2014) Musila, Paul; Kihima, Boniface; Kariuki, Albert
Sustainable tourism refers to tourism development that meets the needs of present visitors and hosts while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It emphasizes the balance between environmental, social, and economic aspects of tourism. The development of Community Based Tourism Initiatives (CBTIs) in the 1990s was fundamentally based on their potential to enhance local community support for the conservation agenda. However, for the model to be sustainable, they must provide better returns environmentally, socially and economically to the community. The purpose of this conference paper is to illustrate whether Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary (MES) was sustainably developed, as a business entity and as a community initiative. The paper findings show that that the formation of MES led to a reduction in the quality and quantity of natural resource available to the landowners and that the current resources are unsustainable. Both plant and animal diversity/populations have been noted to have reduced in MES due to illegal logging, invasive species, poaching and browsing by elephants. Landowners are unsatisfied with the benefits derived from the MES, due to low income generation and economic linkages. The paper recommends that landowners be educated on alternative livelihoods, and tourism product improvement activities in MES be supported by the government and community be involved in their implementation.

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