28.03.2017 Views

Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Kenya

LtG230a0fv9

LtG230a0fv9

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

• Modern popular culture expressions, e.g. pop music, shopp<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

fashion, media, design, technology;<br />

• Special <strong>in</strong>terest activities, such as pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, weav<strong>in</strong>g or<br />

photography.<br />

Many <strong>of</strong> the cultural tourism products outl<strong>in</strong>ed by Smith (2003) can be<br />

developed <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong> to help diversify beyond beach <strong>and</strong> wildlife tourism.<br />

Moreover, there are numerous early <strong>and</strong> late Stone Age archaeological<br />

sites <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong>, such as Olorgesaillie (Kajiado County), Kari<strong>and</strong>usi <strong>and</strong><br />

Hyrax Hill (Nakuru County) that can be developed as cultural heritage<br />

sites. Music festivals, carnivals <strong>and</strong> sport<strong>in</strong>g events can also be developed<br />

<strong>in</strong>to cultural heritage attractions for domestic <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />

tourism.<br />

<strong>Cultural</strong> heritage <strong>and</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>ability<br />

The quality <strong>and</strong> attractiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong> as a dest<strong>in</strong>ation results from<br />

many centuries <strong>of</strong> development. This development has been shaped<br />

by the prevail<strong>in</strong>g physical (natural l<strong>and</strong>scape) <strong>and</strong> socio-​economic factors.<br />

To susta<strong>in</strong> the attractiveness <strong>and</strong> competitiveness <strong>of</strong> the dest<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

requires recognition <strong>and</strong> development <strong>of</strong> the very factors that have<br />

shaped it –​the key to the development <strong>of</strong> cultural heritage, the real raw<br />

material for tourism​.<br />

Susta<strong>in</strong>able tourism has become a popular but ambiguous term. It<br />

is used to mean many th<strong>in</strong>gs, from recycl<strong>in</strong>g, waste <strong>and</strong> energy reduction<br />

to limit<strong>in</strong>g human impact on the natural <strong>and</strong> cultural resources.<br />

Countries <strong>and</strong> regions where the economy is driven by the tourism<br />

<strong>in</strong>dustry have become <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly concerned with the environmental<br />

impact <strong>of</strong>, as well as the socio-​cultural problems associated with, unsusta<strong>in</strong>able<br />

tourism. As a result, there is now <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g agreement on the<br />

need to promote susta<strong>in</strong>able tourism development to m<strong>in</strong>imize its environmental<br />

impact <strong>and</strong> to maximize its overall socio-​economic benefits<br />

at tourist dest<strong>in</strong>ations. The concept <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able tourism, as developed<br />

by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) <strong>in</strong> the context <strong>of</strong> the<br />

United Nations susta<strong>in</strong>able development process, refers to tourist activities<br />

‘lead<strong>in</strong>g to management <strong>of</strong> all resources <strong>in</strong> such a way that economic,<br />

social <strong>and</strong> aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g cultural<br />

<strong>in</strong>tegrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity <strong>and</strong> life<br />

158<br />

<strong>Conservation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Natural</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Cultural</strong> <strong>Heritage</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong>

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!