Evaristus Irandu

The role of tourism in the conservation of cultural heritage in Kenya

Due to the declining fortunes in agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors, many developing countries have turned to tourism as a panacea to the numerous economic problems facing them. However, emphasis in Kenya has been mainly on beach and wildlife tourism, to the total exclusion of cultural tourism. This paper discusses critically the contribution of international tourism in the conservation of cultural heritage in Kenya. The cultural impacts of international tourism are found to be both positive and negative and much more pronounced at the coast and in Maasailand. Doxey’s irritation index (irridex) is used as the main theoretical framework in the paper. Although Doxey suggests that in the last stage of tourism development the local communities are likely to be antagonistic to the tourists, in the case of the Maasai, the relation between them and the tourists has been rather harmonious. This could be so because the local community is actively involved in tourism development and derives benefits from the industry. The issues discussed in the paper are relevant to other parts of the world including Asia Pacific region. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for proper visitor management through planning to minimize negative cultural impacts on local communities.Due to the declining fortunes in agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors, many developing countries have turned to tourism as a panacea to the numerous economic problems facing them. However, emphasis in Kenya has been mainly on beach and wildlife tourism, to the total exclusion of cultural tourism. This paper discusses critically the contribution of international tourism in the conservation of cultural heritage in Kenya. The cultural impacts of international tourism are found to be both positive and negative and much more pronounced at the coast and in Maasailand. Doxeys irritation index (irridex) is used as the main theoretical framework in the paper. Although Doxey suggests that in the last stage of tourism development the local communities are likely to be antagonistic to the tourists, in the case of the Maasai, the relation between them and the tourists has been rather harmonious. This could be so because the local community is actively involved in tourism development and derives benefits from the industry. The issues discussed in the paper are relevant to other parts of the world including Asia Pacific region. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for proper visitor management through planning to minimize negative cultural impacts on local communities.

Sustainable Tourism Development on Kenya's Coast: A Hospitality Sector View

ABSTRACT For about forty years, Kenyas Coast has experienced rapid and unplanned growth in the tourism sector with many diverse impacts. This paper is based on a research survey designed to assess the hospitality sectors view on the extent to which tourism on Kenyas coast is sustainable Butlers model has been applied to examine the growth of tourism in the study area. To assess the view of the hospitality sector, two sets of mailed questionnaire were sent to hotel managers or owners during the months of April and May 2002. The hotels whose managers were to fill the questionnaire were selected using a stratified random sampling method. In total, 43 hotels were selected, but only 28 of them responded. About 560 employees in local hotels that had responded were randomly selected by hotel management and asked to fill the second set of questionnaire. The surveys revealed that tourism development at the coast has some positive and negative impacts. Today, the coastline experiences serious environmental degradation due to tourism related pollution. Social ills such as breakdown of traditions and crime have been reported. The paper concludes by showing how the local population could be better integrated into the tourism process.

The Potential for Cruise Tourism in Kenya

ABSTRACT Today, cruise tourism is the fastest developing one in the travel and tourism industry. Yet, it is a neglected area with limited coverage in contemporary tourism literature. Cruise tourism has been concentrated in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean regions. However, operators in these regions are now facing stiff competition and are looking for alternative and more exciting destinations. The Kenyan coast and the rest of the Eastern African Coast provide such possible alternative destinations. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the potential for cruise tourism in Kenya. The paper is intended to provide valuable information to operators willing to develop cruise tourism in the region. It relies heavily on interviews, library research and personal observations in the field. In this paper, cruise tourism is considered as a system and Leipers Tourism System Model is used as the main theoretical framework. The model helps in the understanding of various elements involved in cruise tourism. SWOT analysis is used to discuss the current situation in the industry. From the discussion, it is apparent that a lot of potential for cruise tourism exists in the study area.

Challenges of sustaining growth in African aviation: the case of Jomo Kenyatta international airport

The average annual growth in African passenger traffic throughout the 1990s was 7% and in a region where only one in every 20 people have access to air travel, the prospects for further growth are substantial. However, the region faces significant challenges in meeting this growth including infrastructure development, financing, safety, security, public policy and regional liberalisation. This paper explores efforts at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya to meet these challenges and position itself as an East African hub.