Seasonality Effects on Trends of Domestic and International Tourism: A Case of Nairobi National Park, Kenya

Tourism is a very important source for foreign revenue for Kenya, as well as the main supporter and rationale for wildlife conservation in the country.  But most of this revenue is from international tourists, which the government and stakeholders seem to invest and focus on more rather than domestic tourism.  However, international tourists cannot always support the tourism industry, especially in years of economic, political and social turmoil. A vibrant domestic tourism can cushion the industry from fluctuations in international tourists and bring stability and predictability in the industry.  This study sought to addresses reasons why domestic tourism is still low despite its importance, and suggest ways of improving it in Kenya.  The data for this study was gathered through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) tourism records, interviews with key stakeholders and players in the industry and interviews with local communities surrounding NairobiNational Park. About 64% of all tourists for NairobiPark for the last twenty years was domestic tourism, while only 35% were international tourists.  The level of education influenced the likelihood of the community to visit the parksand appreciate its conservation contribution.  Extra disposable income, lack of free time and low education were the hindrances towards local Kenyans visiting the park.  Therefore new marketing strategies, special holiday hotel rates for Kenyans and a more friendly hospitality industry for Kenyans would increase domestic tourism, especially for protected areas in urban vicinity. Key words: Domestic tourism, international tourism, Kenya, NairobiNational Park

Determining the Potential of Universities as Holiday Destinations: A Case Study of Chepkoilel University College, Kenya

As a response to government spending cuts in higher education, institutions of higher education have sought ways of diversifying their sources of income. This has made institutions of higher learning attract holidaymakers to exploit under-utilized campus buildings during student vacations. This is a well-established practice in the western world, United Kingdom, for example. This qualitative research was conducted in Chepkoilel University College to determine how well campus-based tourism (CBT) enterprise is known among the Chepkoilelian fraternity. Descriptive survey research design was adopted, and semi-structured interviews and focus- group discussions were used to collect data. Sixty (60) respondents were selected using stratified random sampling, of strata including students, academic, subordinate and administrative staff. Data was analyzed thematically where related topics were categorized into major themes identified through developing a coding system based on collected data, classifying major topics covered, re-reading the text and highlighting key quotations and finally placing the coded materials under the major themes identified. Apart from the need to determine the popularity of CBT, the study also sought to find out whether the University College has the potential for the development of this form of tourism. An opinion on the appropriateness of CBT enterprise was also examined. From the findings, it became evident that there are diverse attractions which can enhance the promotion of tourism such as the annual agricultural business fair, the annual cross-country and the farming activities as key attractions drawing visitors to the campus. If the information contained in this paper is anything to go by, then it can be argued that universities need not be wholly dependent on governments and donor agencies for research funding, instead they should set about floating small enterprises to help generate finances for their research projects, more particularly, utilizing otherwise idle resources during long vacations to provide additional income. The study provides crucial information that might be useful to decision makers in the Kenyan tourism industry, as well as institutions of higher education to develop alternative ways of generating income to support their mainstream educational activities. Keywords: Campus-Based Tourism (CBT); Holiday, Destinatio

Community Conservation Paradigm: The Case Studies of Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary and lLNgwesi Community Conservancy in Kenya

Conservation of biodiversity outside designated protected areas in Kenya, in the 21st century, is becoming increasingly difficult due to declining available land space, increasing human population, alienation of local people, lack of socio- economic incentives for conservation and lack of suitable models to be adopted. Although, the traditional national park model, led to the establishment of the key Kenyan parks and reserves, it cannot be adopted by any further study as it mainly emphasizes the wilderness and its biological resources, and places less emphases on expertise, needs and development of local communities (Wishitemi, 2008:103). Hence, the current network of protected areas is under many threats, unpopular and resented by local communities. As a result, the concept of community participation in tourism and other development initiatives has gained support since the 1980’s. Biodiversity resources outside Kenyan parks and reserves are under dangers of extermination unless communities are brought back to the center of conservation and appropriate community conservation areas outside this current network of Protected Areas are explored. Moreover, these community conservation areas must incorporate local wishes and succeed in working in lived landscapes that present a meeting place for human needs and conservation of local resources, especially in wildlife dispersal areas and pastoral communities of Kenya. Of necessity, community conservation initiatives must originate and be run by local people, and these projects should generate sustainable livelihoods, while securing dependable, sustained access to essential natural resources. Using the case study of Mwaluganje elephant sanctuary and Ilngwesi community conservancy, this study examines the efficacy of community conservation. Specifically, the study assesses how the development of community conservancies have contributed to environmental conservation and improved livelihoods of the local community. Finally, the paper discusses the development and future prospects of community conservation in Kenya. Keywords: Community, Conservation, Ilngwesi, Mwaluganje, Paradigm, Sanctuar

Mushrooming of Middle Level Tourism and Hospitality Training Colleges and Quality of Higher Education: A Case Study of Eldoret Town-Kenya

Education is a set of processes designed to transmit knowledge, skills and values to develop individual mental ability. In this regard, it is viewed as the gateway to social and economic advancement. As a strategy to achieve this social and economic development, the Kenyan government introduced the free primary education that saw the primary and secondary schools flooding with students. As a result, form four leavers who can neither be admitted in the public universities nor afford to privately sponsor themselves in either private or public universities have been on the increase. This scenario has prompted them to join affordable middle level colleges. With the ever increasing number of high school leavers, entrepreneurs have set to invest in the education sector by establishing numerous colleges across the country and Eldoret town is no exception.  Uncontrolled increase in the number of middle level colleges and a shortage of qualified lecturers is undermining the quality of higher education in Kenya. As a result, this study aims at investigating the impact of these colleges on the quality of education. As a concern, the government through its various bodies in charge of education should take swift measures to ensure that; while it provides adequate education for its citizens, this trend does not compromise the quality of education offered. Therefore, throughout the process of educational development and technology, the major element that should be considered is the quality of education standards. Keywords: Eldoret, Hospitality, Training, Tourism, Qualit

Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters were defined as the catchment area of between one and four village health workers employed by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. Women were eligible for inclusion if they permanently lived in clusters and were confirmed pregnant. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to standard of care (52 clusters), IYCF (20 g of a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement per day from age 6 to 18 months plus complementary feeding counselling; 53 clusters), WASH (construction of a ventilated improved pit latrine, provision of two handwashing stations, liquid soap, chlorine, and play space plus hygiene counselling; 53 clusters), or IYCF plus WASH (53 clusters). A constrained randomisation technique was used to achieve balance across the groups for 14 variables related to geography, demography, water access, and community-level sanitation coverage. Masking of participants and fieldworkers was not possible. The primary outcomes were infant length-for-age Z score and haemoglobin concentrations at 18 months of age among children born to mothers who were HIV negative during pregnancy. These outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We estimated the effects of the interventions by comparing the two IYCF groups with the two non-IYCF groups and the two WASH groups with the two non-WASH groups, except for outcomes that had an important statistical interaction between the interventions. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01824940. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2012, and March 27, 2015, 5280 pregnant women were enrolled from 211 clusters. 3686 children born to HIV-negative mothers were assessed at age 18 months (884 in the standard of care group from 52 clusters, 893 in the IYCF group from 53 clusters, 918 in the WASH group from 53 clusters, and 991 in the IYCF plus WASH group from 51 clusters). In the IYCF intervention groups, the mean length-for-age Z score was 0·16 (95% CI 0·08-0·23) higher and the mean haemoglobin concentration was 2·03 g/L (1·28-2·79) higher than those in the non-IYCF intervention groups. The IYCF intervention reduced the number of stunted children from 620 (35%) of 1792 to 514 (27%) of 1879, and the number of children with anaemia from 245 (13·9%) of 1759 to 193 (10·5%) of 1845. The WASH intervention had no effect on either primary outcome. Neither intervention reduced the prevalence of diarrhoea at 12 or 18 months. No trial-related serious adverse events, and only three trial-related adverse events, were reported. INTERPRETATION: Household-level elementary WASH interventions implemented in rural areas in low-income countries are unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia and might not reduce diarrhoea. Implementation of these WASH interventions in combination with IYCF interventions is unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia more than implementation of IYCF alone. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, Wellcome Trust, Swiss Development Cooperation, UNICEF, and US National Institutes of Health.The SHINE trial is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP113707); UK Department for International Development; Wellcome Trust, UK (093768/Z/10/Z, 108065/Z/15/Z and 203905/Z/16/Z); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; US National Institutes of Health (2R01HD060338-06); and UNICEF (PCA-2017-0002)