What is the concept of ecotourism in Kenya?
What is the concept of ecotourism in Kenya? Kenya is a country found in East Africa which is known for its unmatched first class safari tours in Africa . According to last census done in 2019 ,Kenya has a population of 47.6 million people making it the seventh most populous country in Africa. Nairobi City is the capital city with the coastal town of Mombasa being the oldest and the second largest city . Mombasa which is found in Mombasa Island in the Indian Ocean was once the capital of the British East Africa protectorate, the other cities in Kenya include Kisumu and latest city being Nakuru.
Kenya’s borders are as follows: Tanzania to the south, South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Geographically, climatically, and demographically, Kenya is diverse; from the cold and snow-capped mountaintops (Batian, Nelion, and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with their expansive forests, wildlife, and fertile agricultural regions, to the temperate climates of the western and rift valley counties, and even farther afield, to arid, semi-arid, and absolute desert regions (Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).
Kenya’s tourist industry includes beach tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, and sports tourism. The highly publicised killings of multiple tourists in the 1990s contributed to a decline in the number of visitors to Kenya. But together with coffee, tourism is one of Kenya’s main sources of foreign cash. The 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis and the subsequent 2007 presidential election caused a 54 percent decline in tourism revenue in the first quarter of 2008.The amount dropped from KSh.17.5 billion/= in January–March 2007 to KSh.8.08 billion/= (US$130.5 million), with 130,585 tourists arriving in Kenya overall as opposed to almost 273,000 that year. China’s tourism revenue fell by 10.7%, whereas traditional revenue sources in the US and Europe increased by over 50%.
Eco-tourism
When individuals engage in ecotourism, they ethically visit natural regions while placing a strong emphasis on protecting the environment and way of life of the host nation. Mass tourism is not the same as this. Mass tourism is the organised and mainstream movement of larger numbers of people to specialised sites, or “popular destinations,” like resorts. In package deals, mass tourism frequently offers flights, lodging, activities, food, and other amenities all from a single provider. Ecotourism main objective is to improve the well-being of local communities while maintaining as little negative impact to the environment as possible on the environment. This kind of tourism typically prioritises business and money over concerns about climate change or the environment. Ecotourism has since recorded and increase by 10-15% a year globally, with travel to the global south accounting for 20% of the growth. Safari tour to third-world nations has increased by 6% annually. Kenya wildlife and the country scenic landscapes have drawn an increase in ecotourism. Kenya economy has been boosted heavily by foreign money from tourists. This has had both beneficial and negative effects on the country’s culture, ecosystems, and locals’ way of life.
Advantages of Ecotourism
Ecotourism has led to promotion of a more personal connection with the local environment and culture, making it a compelling substitute for the large flow in of tourists. Ecotourism has enabled Eco tourists to experience the natural world, natural resources, landscapes, and wildlife more fully and have a more natural experience than those who spend their free time inside resort walls. The Ecotourism has also encouraged the aspect recycling and offering eco-friendly products with the establishments hotels and lodges that encourage the use of more ecologically conscious products. The other great advantage of Ecotourism is providing a significant boost to the foreign exchange economies to host countries. Tourism also creates new job opportunities for locals such as tour guiding, food services, craft sales, and cultural performances. This helps lessen the demand for unsustainable activities like poaching and overfishing.
It has also created a higher standard of living for the local communities with the construction of new roads, hospitals, establishment of cleaner water sources, and electricity to accommodate incoming tourists. Ecotourism contributes to the preservation of a nation’s biodiversity and environmental integrity by creating an economic incentive to preserve native land and wildlife in the form of game parks and reserves, which help to protect endangered species. The money made from park in form of admission fees, safari tours, camps also help so much in many community projects.
Disadvantages of Ecotourism
As Kenya’s tourism industry grows and more opportunities for the country’s economy arise, the environment and the same ecosystems that are meant to serve as the primary draw for tourists are gradually deteriorating. The establishment of Kenya wildlife parks and reserves as a way to preserve environmental biodiversity is inherently contradictory because it necessitates the commercial destruction of the pristine area in order for it to exist. Deforestation has a great negative effect on the construction of wildlife areas and several types of accommodations for tourist, including housing, campgrounds, roads for safari excursions, houses, firewood, etc. Apart from causing a great loss of habitat for animal species, deforestation, damage of natural flora and other harmful effects on the environment, ecotourism too has had numerous adverse effects of ecotourism.
Kenya’s environment change can be attributed to inadequate training for tour guides and a lack of ethics and norms for visitors. It is possible for up to 200 guide vehicles to transport around or more than 700 people in and out of the Maasai Mara National Park in a day. The trucks have negatively impact to the soil by generating erosion, compaction, and mud pits, and they may also create significant traffic jams and backups when exciting events occur, such as seeing a leopard in the middle of the African jungle or during the great migration safaris. Some times drivers and tour guides break the rules to allow visitors to get a closer look at the wildlife by veering off the approved dirt trails and onto the foliage, this is illegally and against park rules.
This is causes damage to the small plants, and it could too cause a shortage of food for a particular animal species that depends on them. This also causes and puts a great amount of stress on the animal that is being watched and probably photographed by throngs of people.
