article · Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Tourism enterprise approaches around protected areas can provide alternative livelihoods, encourage conservation, and strengthen community resilience, though outcomes vary across contexts. A study of three communities neighbouring the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, comprising household surveys and focus groups with village elders, evaluated the impacts of tourism involvement. Individuals and communities engaged in tourism-related work demonstrated greater support for conservation efforts and reduced dependence on natural resources. However, the relationships between tourism and broader economic, social, and environmental resilience were mixed. The findings point to an optimal level of tourism development where moderate activity balances conservation priorities with local development needs. Furthermore, communities that secure equitable access to tourism opportunities and its economic gains tend to be more resilient and better equipped to connect enterprise-based livelihoods with lasting biodiversity preservation.
Balancing wildlife conservation with community welfare around protected areas remains a critical challenge. By identifying a potential sweet spot in tourism intensity, this research highlights how equitable community participation can prevent over-reliance on natural resources. It offers practical insights for conservation planners and local leaders seeking to design sustainable tourism initiatives that safeguard ecosystems while simultaneously improving local livelihoods and community resilience.
The findings offer guidance for ecotourism operators, park authorities, and conservation enterprises designing community-based tourism ventures. Applied at the field-research level, the evidence shows that successful enterprise models require moderate tourism volumes and equitable benefit sharing to maintain community backing and resource conservation. Commercial operators and development agencies can apply these insights to structure revenue-sharing agreements and community partnerships, although direct implementation requires adaptation to local governance frameworks.
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The tourism enterprise-based approach to conservation can diversify livelihood opportunities in and around protected areas while incentivizing conservation support and building community resilience. However, the use of tourism as a tool for integrated conservation and development (ICD) has produced mixed results, underscoring the need for adaptive management that accounts for local context. We used a mixed-methods approach to examine how individual and community-level involvement in tourism influenced support for conservation, reliance on the natural environment, and perceptions of governance and community resilience in communities around Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. During January 2017, we surveyed households in three communities (n = 197) with varying levels of tourism involvement and conducted focus groups with village elders (n = 28). Individuals and communities who engaged in tourism-related livelihoods expressed stronger support for conservation and reduced reliance on the natural environment. Links between tourism and environmental, social, and economic resilience varied. Results suggest the presence of a tourism sweet spot where moderate levels of tourism facilitate alignment of conservation and community development goals. Communities that achieve equitable access to and engagement in tourism and associated benefits may be more resilient and better positioned to capitalize on linkages between tourism-based livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1932927 .
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DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2021.1932927
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