Reasons Why I Love Kenya magazine

Page 25

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

KENYA

E

nvironmental conservation and tourism have co-existed and developed alongside each other for a very long time. As travellers became more enlightened on the need for environmental conservation, so has the concept of conservation become more popular across the tourism landscape. In some economies, tourism would hardly exist without the environment and nature because it entirely depends on it. In such cases, conservation becomes critical for the survival of the sector. The key issue is to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment while maximising the benefits to the surrounding community. Uncontrolled tourism can be detrimental to the natural environment. It can put pressure on an area and lead to challenges such

KTB / Game Watchers

A leader in sustainable tourism as soil erosion, increased pollution, increased pressure on endangered plant and animal species. It can also put pressure on natural resources like water which eventually leads to human-wildlife conflicts. Increasing tourism activities around the world also mean that carbon emissions due to more travel through air, road, and rail transport are also continuously increasing. It is therefore critical that tourism is controlled to ensure the environment can cope.

AWARENESS Tourism plays a major role in increasing public appreciation of the environment by spreading awareness of environmental conservation. This is as it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment which makes them more aware of

Reasons Why I Love Kenya

25


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