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Nature interpretation has been advocated as a soft and non-obtrusive on-site visitor management strategy to enhance visitor knowledge and understanding of the resource, mitigate visitor impacts, encourage the conservation and improvement of attraction areas, and assist visitors in enjoying their visit. However, the way in which nature interpretation programs are implemented, and the subsequent attitudes created amongst visitors can pose a challenge to the effectiveness of nature interpretation as a visitor management strategy. The situation becomes more complicated with limited resources to implement, monitor, and evaluate nature interpretation in expansive wilderness areas like Masai Mara National Reserve (MMNR). The question therefore is, does nature interpretation in MMNR create favourable attitudes amongst wildlife tourists, consequently leading to enhanced visitor experiences and satisfaction of the support for conservations, or not? This research, therefore, sought to establish the extent to which the attitudes created by nature interpretation affect visitor satisfaction or the enhanced visitor experience and support for conservation, broadly termed as visitor management objectives in MMNR Kenya. Thus, Ho1 postulated that attitudes created by nature interpretation do not influence visitors’ support for conservation in MMNR, and Ho2, that attitudes created by nature interpretation do not enhance visitor experience and satisfaction in MMNR. This study used a structured questionnaire for the survey to collect data from a sample of 351 respondents as a proportion of visitors into MMNR. Research findings revealed that a moderate relationship between attitudes created by nature interpretation and support to conservation with rs = 0.426 and p = 0.000, thus null hypothesis H01 was rejected. Secondly, results showed that attitudes created by nature interpretation moderately affected visitor satisfaction rs = 0.478 and p = 0.000, while similarly, null hypothesis H02 was rejected. The research concluded that various forms of NI result in the formation of attitudes that moderately affect support for conservation and visitor satisfaction. The study concluded that enhanced nature interpretation training and awareness creation, along with continual improvement initiatives, could unlock its full potential as a visitor management strategy. This consistent, well-coordinated, and diligent implementation of nature interpretation initiatives by all stakeholders in MMNR would sustain a cumulative, long-term impact.
Leanard Juma; Izabella Bakos; Aniko Khademi-Vidra. Nature Interpretation and Visitor Management Objectives: A Survey of Tourist Attitudes at Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Sustainability 2020, 12, 7246 .
AMA StyleLeanard Juma, Izabella Bakos, Aniko Khademi-Vidra. Nature Interpretation and Visitor Management Objectives: A Survey of Tourist Attitudes at Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (18):7246.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeanard Juma; Izabella Bakos; Aniko Khademi-Vidra. 2020. "Nature Interpretation and Visitor Management Objectives: A Survey of Tourist Attitudes at Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya." Sustainability 12, no. 18: 7246.
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) has been pushed as one of the strategies for poverty alleviation and it might enhance the sustainability of marginalized regions and communities. However, tourism has also been argued to carry seeds for its own destruction and therefore presents a great dilemma and developmental paradox. This research sought to establish perceptions of the citizenry towards community-based tourism as a sustainable development strategy for rural regions in Kenya. The study focused on the awareness levels of CBT, and perceived contributions of CBT to the socio-economic and physical sustainability of rural regions in Kenya. A descriptive research design was adopted with a sample of 395 respondents. Data collected were collated and analyzed using SPSS 25 and Nvivo 12. Findings revealed that agriculture and other economic activities can be integrated with tourism and hospitality to deliver sustainable development in rural regions given the vast resources and attributes ideal for CBT. The majority of the respondents were noted to have a fair understanding of what CBT entails and thus calling for more capacity building, training and appropriate technical support to unlock the full potential of CBT as a sustainable development strategy. Overall results showed favorable perceptions towards CBT as a tool that can contribute to the sustainability of the socio-economic and physical environments in Kenya’s rural region.
Leanard Otwori Juma; Aniko Khademi-Vidra. Community-Based Tourism and Sustainable Development of Rural Regions in Kenya; Perceptions of the Citizenry. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4733 .
AMA StyleLeanard Otwori Juma, Aniko Khademi-Vidra. Community-Based Tourism and Sustainable Development of Rural Regions in Kenya; Perceptions of the Citizenry. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (17):4733.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeanard Otwori Juma; Aniko Khademi-Vidra. 2019. "Community-Based Tourism and Sustainable Development of Rural Regions in Kenya; Perceptions of the Citizenry." Sustainability 11, no. 17: 4733.