| dc.description.abstract | Private/public partnerships are today an integral part of the sustainable tourism thinking. Conceptualised as vehicles through which local people could benefit from tourism, these partnerships have been on the increase in many developing countries where tourism takes place in rural areas. In Kenya, the growth of these partnerships has been favoured by the presence of a large percentage of wildlife outside protected areas, in community land.
Tourism investors are entering into business agreements with local landowners to develop tourism ventures on community land with the promise of sharing benefits from tourism with the local people. Yet there are concerns on the efficacy of these partnerships in terms of involving communities and delivering benefits from tourism to local people as argued by its proponents.
This study examines one such partnership between the Maasai of EselenkeiGroup Ranch in Kajiado district, Kenya and Porini Ecotourism a not for profit organisation affiliated to tourcompany Game watchers safaris. The study considers the participation of the community in the conceptualisation, planning and execution (management) of the partnership to establishing how it benefits the community. It further analyses the views of involved parties with regard to benefits and benefit sharing, participation, equity while paying attention to and potential areas of conflict.
The results of this study reveal that private public partnerships in tourism have potential to bridge the disconnect between tourism earnings and poverty in destinations. However the efficacy of these partnerships are influenced by several factors including context of implementation, participation, leadership and governance, motivation of partners, capacity of partners, policy including lack of policy guidelines on these partnerships, nature of benefits, and models of partnership. | en_US |
