Factors Hindering Kawiru Community Participation in Tourism Development in Meru National Park,Meru County,Kenya
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Date
2013-03-20
Authors
Muthuri, paul m
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Abstract
This thesis examines reasons why Kawiru, a local community living around Meru
National Park does not play an active role in tourism development despite being a key
stakeholder in the conservation and tourism agenda of MNP. Local community
involvement in tourism activity is a pragmatic approach that endeavours to link the
development of sustainable tourism to the cause of alleviating poverty and improvement
of local community livelihoods. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development in the
Local Agenda 21 maintains thaiif industry and government are to protect and sustain the
social, cultural and environmental wealth that attracts tourists, they must build more
ambitious and committed partnerships to plan, manage and invest in this wealth. In the
National Tourism Policy document, the Kenya Government acknowledges that due to
historical inequities in the tourism industry, local people living in tourist host
communities have rarely been involved in sharing of benefits or planning of tourism
activities taking place within. their community. In view of the challenges posed by
poverty especially in the rural areas of Kenya, and the fact that tourism can effectively be
used as a tool for fighting poverty, the objective of this study was to understand reasons
why local communities living around Meru National Park are not able to take part in
tourism happening in their locality with a view to generating knowledge that could
inform initiatives aimed at enhancing local community participation in tourism
development. The area of study, Meru National Park, and the target population of Kawiru
Community was purposely chosen for the t.:~asonthat MNP is a premier park established
in 1968 and the residents of Kawiru community are the immediate park neighbours
situated along the main tourist route leading t~'the park. The research was designed as a
cross-sectional descriptive study which employed both qualitative and quantitative
methods. Questionnaires, face to face interviews and photography of features relevant to
the study objectives were employed as data collection methods. Since data collected was
mainly qualitative, thematic data analysis aligned to the research objectives was the
preferred analysis method. The findings were projected to have a far reaching impact in
stimulating among other things, formulation of a Community-based tourism policy to
provide a framework for encouraging and guiding local communities to access
opportunities in tourism development and share in the benefits of tourism activities taking
place within their community. Specifically, the study found out that for local people to
benefit from tourism development in their neighbourhood there is great need for
aggressive awareness campaigns to educate the community on the importance of tourism
as a viable economic option at the local level. Therefore, the study recommends
sensitization of community members by the relevant stakeholders on the benefits of
conservation and tourism and the role they can playas individuals and as a community in
tourism development.