Impact of culture to tourism development in Masaai Mara Kenya
Overview
The continued plight of tourist in Masaari Mara in the Southern district of Kenya had continuously threatened initiatives for wildlife conservation. Loss of wildlife habitat is taking its toll because of the increasing population of tourists who basically wants to have a close contact with Kenya’s natural environment. Onyeanusi (1986, as cited in Bhandari, 1999) long warned that constant interest in tourism development in the place will jeopradise natural vegetation especially in parks. Van der Zee (1992) also advises that the increased mobility and participation in recreational activities does not only threaten the nature but the quality of recreation itself.
Bhandari (1999) noted, on the other hand, that nature, culture, environment and development are intertwining elements hence the goal is to seek a balance among these elements. For him, nature and culture in particular have history that implicates the customs, norms, behaviour and values of the society and which are also directly related to nature. Bhandari (1999) argued that the cultural heritage of Kenya is based on nature. Tourism development, nonetheless, is an inherent social phenomenon which is tied with the wilderness of nature as well.
Statement of the problem
It is in this sense that the ethical concerns related to conservation of natural resources with the ongoing tourism development in Kenya are being raised. Simply, a cultural heritage as well as customers and traditions could be used, misused, abused and even exploited if there is no effective and sustainable tourism development scheme in place. As such, tourism development in Masaari Mara should uphold not just the conservation of nature but also the preservation of culture. The issue now is how culture impacts the tourism development in the place. Does culture dictates the developments in tourism in Masaari Mara or is it the other way around wherein the cultural heritage is being jeopardised all in the name of hard currencies?
Another question that will be addressed in this study centers on how the tourist inflow affects the conservation strategies that the local authorities of Masaari Mara are implementing. The nature-people interaction is a processual and inherently problematic which could lead in the negative impact of tourism in the place. To wit, the general purpose of this research is to analyse how culture contributes or detriments the tourism development in Masaari Mara. Specifically, it will seek to address the objective of evaluating how local authorities manage the cultural diversity with reference to tourism development.
Research methodology
The research will utilise a descriptive method. As a descriptive research, the paper will present facts that concern that nature and status of the situation. The study could describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (Creswell 1994) as well. The relationships and practices that exist, the beliefs and processes that are ongoing, the effects that are being felt or the trends that are developing could be also explore in descriptive researches (Best 1970).
In this study, primary and secondary research will be both incorporated. The reason for this is to be able to provide adequate discussion for the readers that will help them understand more about the issue and the different variables that involve with it. The primary data for the study will be represented by the survey results that will be acquired from the respondents. On the other hand, the literature reviews to be presented in the second chapter of the study will represent the secondary data of the study. The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from journals, magazines and newspapers, theses and related studies, books and the Internet.
References
Bhandari, M P 1999, Tourism Raised Problems in Masai Mara National Park Narok, Kenya,
Van der Zeem, D 1992, Recreation Studied From Above, Airphoto Interpretation as input into Land Evaluation For Recreation, ITC, Publication, no-12.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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