ABSTRACT Tourism is an important activity for the economy of Kenya. Due to its rich biodiversity, Laikipia County, in the central region of the country, is a well-known destination for tour operators and visitors who want to enjoy wildlife and the traditional culture of various ethnic groups. The nexus of private, public and communal protected areas that create these tourism opportunities also help protect biodiversity . However, this also generates limitations forsome semi-nomadicpastoralist communities for a number of reasons, such as the loss of pasture for livestock.. In response, in the scenario for this project, some pastoralists communities organized themselves to build and manage community-based tourism enterprises (CBTE) as an economic alternative, taking advantage of conservation and wildlife opportunities for tourism. This research compares two CBTE’s that were created to benefit Maasai women, through income generation and promoting gender equality. In this study, qualitative research methods were used to collect information, based on semistructured interviews with a number of community members, and observations in situ. This studyaimed to provide an understanding community members’ perceptions of the barriers and benefits from CBTE, as well as how governance aspects influence the success and failure of two cases study
Key Words Tourism and conservation; Community-based tourism; Ecotourism; Governance; Maasai community; Community-based tourism in Kenya. |