For half a century, the key vocabularies defining Kenya's tourism sector have been: safari, big ftoe, StWanna, Maasai and the coastal Swahili. Of the 52 national parks and reserves in Kenya, only 6 accounted for 70% of the total visitation in 2006. This leaves many conservation areas with hardly any tourism activity. While acknowledging that Kenya has not yet fully exploited its tourism potential, this paper puts into perspective efforts being undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in trying to popularize less frequented conservation areas since 2005. Indeed, a publication by the World Bank Group (2010) on the state of Kenya's tourism brought to the fore the fact that Kenya has an important 'jewel' that needs to be polished. Through an analysis of the brand names and images associated with different parks, this paper also explores the gaps inherent in achieving destination competitiveness at a micro level. Indeed, the branding exercise not only meant the rehabilitation of infrastructure but also a comprehensive community outreach programmes around the protected areas. Nevertheless, an analysis of the branding messages and intentions suggest that for the KWS, the brand names proposed limit themselves within the confines of the parks with no regard for the bigger picture of the surrounding environment within which the parks are found.
In Kenya, wildlife numbers have drastically declined due to land use changes (LUCs) over the past three decades. This has affected wildlife habitats by converting them into farmlands and human settlements. This study used remote sensing data from landsat satellite to analyze the changing land use patterns between 1980 and 2013 and their impacts on wild ungulates in KWE. The objective of the study was to map out LUCs, determine the possible causes of LUCs, and examine the effects of LUCs on wild ungulates. The results showed a noticeable increase in the size of farmland, settlement, and other lands and a decline in forestland, grassland, wetland, and woodland. The main possible causes of LUC were found to be agricultural expansions, human population dynamics, economic factors, changing land tenure policy, politics, and sociocultural factors. The main effects of LUCs on wild ungulates in KWE include a decline in wild ungulate numbers, habitat destruction, increased human-wildlife conflicts, land degradation, and displacement of wild ungulates by livestock. The study recommends land use zoning of KWE and establishment of an effective and efficient wildlife benefit-sharing scheme(s).
In most developing countries, tourism has been portrayed as a contributor to small scale enterprises, thus directly uplifting the standards of living as well as a catalyst for community development. As an extended form of local people involvement in tourism, the homestay concept aims to promote households to earn an income from tourism directly. Although homestays are purported to provide economic benefits to the local people, it is not clear whether the local people fully benefit from the venture. For instance, the majority of the people in Taita Taveta County still live below the poverty line despite the fact that the homestay concept has already been in existence in the county since 1989 and the highest number of homestay accommodation is found in this region. This research therefore sought to put the homestay concept into perspective: Identify motivational factors behind homestay operators' participation in the program and assess the socioeconomic benefits of homestay accommodation to host families. This research adopted cross-sectional research design and made use of both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected by use of researcher administered semi-structured questionnaires and an interview guide. Secondary data were gathered from books, newspaper articles, academic journals, the Internet, and other relevant documents related to homestay. Census technique was used for the homestay operators. Hence, all the 54 homestay operators in the county were used in the study. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test of significance were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that the major motivation for local people participation in the homestay program was income and most operators considered the programme a significant contributor to their socioeconomic well-being. These findings have important implications for the Ministry of Tourism to craft policies and legislations geared towards creating an enabling environment for the homestay accommodation sub-sector to grow sustainably.
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