Tourism Management 3700
Introduction
In Kenya, tourism provides the second largest source of revenue to the national government after agriculture; people travel from all over the world to visit tourist attraction cites. According to the assumptions of most of the Europeans and Americans who have never visited Africa, these assume that there are very many wild animals in the continent that people just mingle with them in the streets. The former part of this assumption is true. Yes, there are very many wild animals in Africa, especially in Kenya, but these wild animals are organized in places where tourists can view and learn about them. The culture of the Kenyan people, their sceneries and other interesting events and places attract the foreigners to view them. Additionally, the locals also travel from their homes to different parts of the country to view the interesting and attractive tourist attraction cites that are not available in their localities. Students also tour these sites in educational trips. The government manages most of the tourist attraction sites. However, some are private owned while others are community owned and managed. The most commonly viewed tourist attraction sites in Kenya include national parks, game reserves, the ocean and lakes, local communities, geographical features, and culture and lifestyles among others.
Tourism System in Kenya
Kenya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past years, millions of tourists have visited Kenya. It is endowed with beautiful and attractive tourist sites, striking geographical diversity, rich culture, and landscapes ranging from beautiful beaches, to animal parks and archeological sites (Kenya Tourist Development Corporation). There are several tourist destinations, which are well distributed all over the country to ensure tourists visit every part of the country in their tour visits. There Kenya has six properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, which include cultural properties and natural properties (Kenya Tourist Development Corporation). The inscribed cultural properties include Lamu Old Town, Fort Jesus Mombasa, and the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forest. The natural properties inscribed on this list include Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley, Mount Kenya National Forests, and Lake Turkana National Parks. Maintenance of the tourism information in Kenya is entitled to the Kenya Tourism Board. There are a total of 19 national parks and game reserves in Kenya. The country suffered a major setback in the tourism industry following the 2007/08 post election violence that led to loss of life, thereby branding the nation insecure for tourists. However, the country has recovered from this setback and many tourists still visit this destination.
Social Impact
The fascinating tribal culture of the Kenyan people, the rare wildlife including the big five (Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, and leopard), the warm climate with sunshine all round the year, and the beautiful scenery such as the savannah, forests, beaches, mountains, and coral reefs among others have attracted an average 700,000 tourists to Kenya every year (Meyer, 2013). During these tourist visits, the tourists and the locals interact resulting in some social and mutual understanding. There are both positive and negative impacts of these social interactions between the locals and the tourists. On the positive side of the social interactions, it helps in preserving the local cultures. For instance, the Maasai culture has been kept intact because tourists come to view their presentations such as traditional dancing during their visits. Additionally, tourism creates many jobs for young people, improves social infrastructure, as well as reinvestment of the income from tourism into the local community. On the other hand, tourism is seasonal thereby leading to seasonal unemployment to the locals. Even worse still, due to cultural differences between the tourists and the locals, some behaviors of the tourists might offend the locals. Additionally, wild animals require space away from human residence because of their dangerous nature; therefore, people are often evicted from their lands to give space for the game parks and reserves.
Impact on Destination Residents
Tourist destination residents are integral players in the tourism industry. The government of Kenya assesses the social impacts of tourism on these stakeholders in order to reduce the likelihood of backlash against the tourists and tourism development. The attitudes and behavior of these residents have sizable impacts on the success or otherwise of the destinations. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the nature of research into the social impacts of tourism on these destination residents have been base on quantitative rather than qualitative methods (Steinicke & Neuburger, 2012). This has brought the shortfalls of determining the specific social impacts of tourism on the destination residents.
One of the notable impacts on the destination residents is the interrelation with the tourists. When tourists travel to several destinations to view different events and sceneries, they interact with the residents at these destinations. These interactions have led to intermarriages between the tourists and the destination residents. The tourists intermarry with these residents thereby strengthening the relationship and ties between these two stakeholders. Secondly, some tourists from wealthy nations have been instrumental in the social developments of their destinations. For instance, in western Kenya, Nyanza province, tourists viewing Lake Victoria realized that the people around the lake had a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Upon returning to their country in Italy, these tourists solicited funds to construct a hospital in the region. The St. Camillus Mission Hospital has improved the access to care and treatment along the lake region (St. Camillus Mission Hospital).
Impact on Community
Kenya has reported a high rate of rural-urban migration to cities such Kisumu, Nairobi, and Mombasa. Nevertheless, tourism has played an important role in curbing the rural-urban migration. Most of the youth seeking employment secure these opportunities in the rural areas, which are the tourist destination. This reduces the congestions in the cities as well as empowers the community members instead of moving to the cities. Additionally, due to tourism, cultures and traditions of the local communities have been preserved. Local traditions are a major source of tourist attractions, thereby encouraging these local to maintain their cultures and transfer them through generations (Moore & Newsome, 2012). On the other hand, tourism has negative social impacts on the local communities. While it is believed that tourism helps preserve traditions, some locals imitate the tourists, and abandon their culture. For instance, Kenyans have adopted western lifestyles in their dressing, speaking, and eating habits.
Impact on Region
In the Sub-Saharan region, tourist has brought about great social implications. Due to tourism, there has been a great cultural understanding among the countries within these borders. Despite the cultural diversities of the locals, the governments have maintained peaceful relationships and always joined hands in maintaining shared resources, such as Lake Victoria that lie at eh border of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Impact on Country
Kenya values tourism since it provides revenue to the national government. However, the nation enjoys several social benefits from tourism. Being a developing nation, Kenya still struggles with the problems such as infrastructure, unemployment, and overcrowding cities. Due to tourism, citizens have secured job opportunities at tourist destinations, hotels, and government authorities dealing with tourism. Additionally, tourism helps in developing peaceful relations between Kenya and its partners in different continents such as Europe and America.
Conclusion
Kenya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several internationally recognized tourist sites in Kenya help the nation attract many tourists. Tourists travel to Kenya to experience the fascinating tribal culture of the Kenyan people, view the rare wildlife including the big five, enjoy the warm climate with sunshine all round the year, and the beautiful scenery such as the savannah, forests, beaches, mountains, and coral reefs among others. Tourism has several social impacts on the destination residents, the community, the region, and the country. The most notable social implications of tourism in Kenya include preservation of traditional cultures, reducing crowding in major cities by creating employment at the destinations, intermarriages with the local communities, and linkages in the region and the whole world. On the other hand, tourism also erodes culture as locals try to imitate the lifestyles of the tourists. In my opinion, the positive impacts of tourism in Kenya and the Sub-Saharan region far outweigh the negative impacts, therefore my conclusion that tourism socially benefits Kenya.
References:
KTDC (Kenya Tourist Development Corporation)., Retrieved from http://www.ktdc.co.ke/tourism/tourism-in-kenya
Meyer D., (2013). Exploring the duality of structure and agency – the changing dependency paradigms of tourism development on the Swahili coast of Kenya and Zanzibar. Volume 16, Issue 7-8. DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2013.785487
Moore A. S., & Newsome D., (2012). Natural Area Tourism: Ecology, Impacts and Management: Volume 58 of Aspects of Tourism, Second edition. Bristol: Channel View Publications.
St. Camillus Mission Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.karungu.net/hospital/hospitalshore.jpg
Steinicke E., and Neuburger M., (2012). The Impact of Community-based Afro-alpine Tourism on Regional Development. Mountain Research and Development, 32(4):420-430. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00102.1. Retrieved from http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00102.1
