Responsible Tourism - Essay Example

This is the flora and fauna that sustain the lives in a particular geographical area. The local culture is the way of life of the community around the resort or tourist attraction site. This includes their food, song and dance, housing, political and social organization, and language. The tourism activities should ensure that they do not negatively interfere with the local culture and the environment to ensure the sustainability of the activity. (Cooper 2005, p. 124)

Ol Donyo Sabuk Game Park in Northern Kenya typifies responsible tourism activities. In this park, the game management has put up an electric fence around the park, but this has not interfered with the way of life of the local nomadic community. The surrounding community is made of nomadic farmers who mainly keep cattle and camels for food and wealth are allowed to graze their livestock in some parts of the resort. This is because some of the lands that are now converted into the part are formerly community land. The game park management encourages the community to practice arable farming to maintain some balance in nature. This is done by giving some piece of land on rotation to local farmers who plant crops and trees. They are to take care of the young trees in return for farmland and food security. In the Maasai Mara, in Kenya, The Maasai community who in themselves have maintained their culture and formed one of Kenya’s tourist attractions is a representation of responsible tourism. Many Game parks and Lodges around the Mara region such as the Sarova Mara have not interfered with the Maasai way of life. Instead, they have worked hand in hand with the community and the Kenya government via the Ministry of Tourism and wildlife to preserve and market the local community culture. This is done by the sale of artifacts from the community who earn some income from their traditional beading and fabric art activities. Their cultural dish, roast meat is not left out in the resort’s menu either. (Spenceley 2008)

In Tanzania, the Serengeti National Park is home to the largest wilder beast migration. The corridor runs from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Mara in Kenya. As part of the responsible tourism campaign, the two governments of Tanzania and Kenya have made a pact not to have tarmacked roads in the national parks so as not to interfere with nature’s course. This was manifest in the row between the two countries when the Northern Bypass road due for construction right through the migration corridor culminated in the diversion of the road route to another region.  This is done to preserve the corridors and thus conserve the wilder beast migration as one of the largest tourist attractions in East Africa (Wiley 1996).

Kanchanaburi in Thailand is another representation of responsible tourism for sustainability. Located along the riverside, tourists can only access the resort via a floating raft to go pay homage to the Buddha’s Footprint. No automated boats are used as the main mode of transport. This helps to conserve nature by avoiding air and noise pollution.