International Tourism: The Main Issues Affecting the Sector - Case Study Example

International Tourism: The Main Issues Affecting the Sector By ID Number Module and Number Date of Submission International Tourism: The Main Issues Affecting the Sector Introduction Some of the important issues affecting world tourism relate to the economic repercussions from the global recession, the threat of world-wide terrorism, and the outcomes on socio-economic progress both locally and globally. Sustainable tourism is influenced positively by the increased use of electronic and other technologies on the travel industry, and impacted by the rise in fuel prices and airline fees. Challenges faced by international tourism include the requirement for maintaining a destination’s social, cultural, natural, and built resources, and the impacts of natural and man-made disasters, besides political disruptions across the globe (Coles and Hall, 2008). There are increased challenges to the ecology and environment of the tourism destination with expansion in tourist activities from emerging nations. Climate change, and global warming create potential long term consequences on tourism. Conservation and protection of natural resources and wildlife habitats form an important part of the agenda. Similarly, sustainable solutions have to be undertaken to reduce the increased environmental pollution caused by growing tourist traffic. Bhatia (2006) reiterates that it is of critical importance for local and national leadership to carry out destination planning, management, and marketing strategies, and ensure international cooperation. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to consider the main issues affecting the international tourism sector, and examine how these have challenged conventional forms of tourist activity. Tourism in Kenya will be investigated as a case study, to assess the implications of a responsible tourism agenda, and its implementation. Case Study: Kenya as an International Tourism Destination Issues and Challenges According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), tourism is “a vehicle for economic development and poverty alleviation (EDPA) in developing countries” (Manyara, Jones and Botterill, 2006, p.19). The strategies for economic development and poverty alleviation include small enterprise development, with the help of governmental support. However, tourism in Kenya is foreign-owned, hence economic benefits are channelled out of the local economy. Tourism in Kenya focuses on safaris and coastal products, and “exploits the southern and coastal regions in an anachronistic and colonial model of tourism development” (Manyara et al, 2006, p.19). Ondicho (2000) states that the introduction of international tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa is comparatively recent. In Kenya, tourism development forms an example of a success story in terms of volume and value. However, despite significant progress in this respect in recent years, the international tourism sector in Kenya has been constrained by particular internal and external factors resulting in problems and difficulties in development, and challenges to the growth of the industry. To modernise conventional forms of tourism in Kenya, a new postcolonial model of tourism development “involving small indigenous enterprises, and promoting cultural products to new markets” (Manyara et al, 2006, p.19) is expected to help in economic development and poverty alleviation in Kenya. Kenya’s capacity to promote the development of indigenous enterprises, and the challenges to tourism entrepreneurship in Kenya, were examined, employing 12 indigenously owned Kenyan tourism enterprises and six support organisations. The 12 enterprises are categorises as: community-based enterprises (CBEs), and formal as well as informal individually owned enterprises (IOEs). The community-based enterprises utilized the services of competent managers to improve the skills of the workers in the enterprises, while increasing the community’s tourism awareness. At the same time, Manyara et al (2006, p.19) argue that “community tourism development is externally driven, often by nongovernmental organisations, and can be regarded as a form of neocolonialism”. Kenya’s draft National Tourism Policy promotes the development of community-based enterprises as a strategy to enhance connections with tourism. The authors assert that for formalizing tourism enterprises in Kenya, substantial governmental investment would be required to fund support mechanisms to provide sustainable tourism development opportunities for Kenyan communities. Similar to other developing countries, Kenya has turned to tourism as a remedy for the great number of economic problems facing the country. However, Irandu (2004, p.133) argues that “emphasis in Kenya has been mainly on beach and wildlife tourism, to the total exclusion of cultural tourism”. International tourism in Kenya can be increasingly developed in such a way as to contribute to the conservation of its cultural heritage. The cultural impacts of international tourism, however, are found to be both positive and negative, and much more pronounced at the coast and in Maasailand. Using Doxey’s irritation index (irridex) as the main theoretical framework, the evidence indicates that in the last stage of tourism development, the local communities may be antagonistic to the tourists. Contrastingly, in the case of the Maasai, their relationship with tourists has been rather harmonious. This is attributed to the active involvement of the local community in tourism development, deriving benefits from the industry. The same issues that challenge Kenya are stated to be relevant to other parts of the world including the Asia Pacific region. Irandu (2004) emphasises on the requirement for proper visitor management through planning and implementation of measures, to minimize adverse cultural outcomes on local communities. The country’s national parks and game reserves are key components of its tourism industry, with wildlife viewing and safari tourism forming critical generators of income and foreign exchange. Akama, Maingi, and Camar (2011) observe that in the mid-20th century, the establishment of pioneer national parks in Kenya followed colonial practices of ‘exclusion’ and ‘divide and rule’, thereby causing marginalisation of local communities in decision-making processes and initiation of tourism programmes and wildlife conservation initiatives. The government supported policies and programmes emphasizing on wildlife protection, and promotion of safari tourism also highlighted human-wildlife conflicts contributing to species loss and habitat fragmentation. Kenya’s wildlife conservation policies and safari tourism programmes have evolved over time, and “Kenya has privileged Western models of tourism development and wildlife conservation, with historic exclusion of indigenous communities still ongoing today” (Akama et al, 2011, p.281); however, some improvements are evident. The conventional postcolonial legacies of Kenya’s tourism development impact the political economy of tourism in relation to the Maasai in Kenya, creating unequal power relations. The development of future tourism certification programmes and indicators related to protected areas and safari tourism are necessary. Such programmes should be based on Kenya’s postcolonial context, and take into consideration social and cultural sustainability. These include “issues of inclusion, exclusion, and empowering local communities to participate directly in the management and ownership of environmental and tourism resources”, state Akama et al (2011, p.281). Ecotourism potentially provides a sustainable approach to development. It has beneficial outcomes with regard to enhanced appreciation of natural environments, for protection and conservation, educational value to visitors in relation to nature and conservation, and the assignment of additional natural areas for conservation. In the past three decades, ecotourism has grown substantially, however, Kenya has faced challenges in marketing this tourism product over the last decade. In the contemporary context of considerable pressure on the environment, “quest for benefits by communities, an increased search for interactive experiences by visitors” (Okech, 2011, p.19), tourism businesses are required to be highly innovative. Practices should improve connectivity between the partners of ecotourism development and management. Kenya is among the African countries and other developing nations to consider tourism as the pathway for development, because it does not require expensive investment to initiate and operate as a national business. Wadawi, Bresler and Herbst, 2011) conducted a study with the aim of developing parameters for elevating the competitiveness of a tourist destination. Thus, they formulated a structured, integrated conceptual framework for hotel product/ service, “quality based on the normative quality expectation of the tourists and Hotel Operators’ strategic quality designs” (Wadawi et al, 2011, p.121), and used descriptive qualitative research design. Information from tourist and hotel operators in two important tourist provinces of Kenya were utilized, with respect to normative and perceptive hotel product/ service quality. “Destination marketing managers employed by the only destination marketing organisation Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), were also surveyed to provide insight on Kenya’s destination marketing strategies” (Wadawi et al, 2011, p.121). Evidence from the research reveals that hotel operators and other destination management organisations have their individual vision of tourism development, and operate in their own fashion, while striving to build destination competitiveness for Kenya. It is proposed by the researchers that an integrated framework would serve to increase destination competitivenes, and would optimise the economic potential of tourism in Kenya Conclusion This paper has investigated the main issues impacting international tourism today, identified how they challenge conventional forms of tourist activity, and examined tourism development in Kenya as a case study to evaluate its tourism development. It is evident that Kenya is striving to modernise its postcolonial model of tourism, and to maximise its potential in the areas of wildlife, safari and coastal tourism, cultural aspects and community projects, ecotourism, as well as hospitality and hotel industry. The potential for international tourism development is extensive, and the outcomes beneficial. The various challenges and issues facing tourism entrepreneurship in Kenya can be alleviated with governmental financial assistance. This will help to eliminate foreign ownership of tourism development in Kenya, and to ensure that the local communities obtain the economic benefits of the industry.. For enhanced community development, poverty alleviation, and improvements in infrastructure, tourism development has to address the issues related to environmental pollution, consevation of natural resources, and protection of wildlife and their habitats. Bibliography Akama, J.S., Maingi, S. and Camar, B.A. 2011. Wildlife conservation, safari tourism and the role of tourism certification in Kenya: A postcolonial critique. Tourism Recreation Research, 36(3), pp.281-291. Bhatia, A.K. 2006. International tourism management. Edition 3. London: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Coles, T.E. and Hall, C.M. 2008. International business and tourism: Global issues, contemporary interactions. The United Kingdom: Routledge. Irandu, E.M. 2004. The role of tourism in the conservation of cultural heritage in Kenya. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 9(2), pp.133-150. Manyara, G., Jones, E. and Botterill, D. 2006. Tourism and poverty alleviation: The case for indigenous enterprise development in Kenya. Tourism Culture & Communication, 7(1), pp.19-37. Okech, R.N. 2011. Ecotourism development and challenges: A Kenyan experience. Tourism Analysis, 16(1), pp.19-30. Ondicho, T.G. 2000. International tourism in Kenya: Development, problems and challenges. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 16(2), pp.49-70. Wadawi, J.K., Bresler, N.C. and Herbst, F.J. 2011. An assessment of hotel product quality in Kenya as a basis for building destination competitiveness. Tourism Analysis, 16(2), pp.121-135. Read More