TOM, DONDICHO.
2000.
Environment impacts of tourism in Kenya.. In reflections on international tourism: Environmental management and pathways to sustainable tourism, Robinson, M.j. Swarbrooke, N. Evans, P.Long & R. Sharpley eds.. : New Castle: Athenaeum Press,
AbstractThis study examined issues of power and politics associated with Masaai community involvement in conservation-orientated tourism development in Amboseli, Kenya. Using two case studies of communities involved in community-based wildlife and cultural tourism, the study analyzed how and on what terms the Maasai were involved in tourism development, the nature of their engagement with external tourism stakeholders, the initiatives they have undertaken to gain closer control over the organization and economics of tourism, and the opportunities and constraints associated with this development process. The study found that competition and political rifts between clans, age-sets and political allegiances in the communities involved had prevented them from capitalizing on the tourism potential in the area which was instead exploited by foreign tourism investors and tour operators, the government and a few local elites. The research provides valuable insights into the vulnerability of indigenous communities in the face of global tourism.