Preparing the case for a private ecotourism project in Kenya

1 Preparing the case for a private ecotourism project in Kenya Bernd Herbert - student ID #4305B. 2 1. Introduction 1.1. Report Structure 1.2. Tasks performed and information used 1.3. Book biographies 2. Economics 2.1. Patterns of global tourism: 2.2. Patterns of Tourism in Africa: 2.3. Tourism and development in Africa and Kenya: 2.4. Foreign exchange 2.5. Employment 2.6. Tourism and regional development: 2.7. Minimizing leakages and negative effects 2.8. Conclusions of the economical analysis 3. Ecotourism 3.1. Searching the right definition 3.2. Communities as an essential ingredient in ecotourism 3.3. The community development approach 3.4. Benefits of Ecotourism 3.4.1. Support of indigenous cultures and natural conservation 3.4.2. Community development 3.4.3. Development of new economic opportunities for the communities 3.4.4. A unique experience for the tourist – change of perspective 3.4.5. Cross culture learning 3.4.6. Women in ecotourism 3 4. Framework of Ecotourism 4.1. The need for a Concept of ecotourism development 4.2 Tri-level ecotourism framework 4.3. The assets layer – Physical assets and governance model: The roles 4.3.1. Physical assets 4.3.2. Governance model: The roles and responsibilities 4.3.3. Partnership models for the development of the tourism facilities 4.4. The business processes layer – Hotel business and support processes, tourism activities 4.4.1. Hotel business and support services 4.5. The measurements layer – Sustainable impact control and business performance management 4.5.1. Measuring the impacts of the ecotourism project 4.5.2. Measuring the sustainability of the business: business performance management 5. Vision and mission of my ecotourism project 5.1. The eco-lodge 5.1.1. Architecture and design 5.1.2. Involvement in expert circles and corporate social responsibility 5.1.3. New target groups 5.1.4. Specific attractions and events 5.1.5. Processes 5.2. A chain of ecotourism hotels 5.2.1. Leveraging the concept 5.2.2. The economies of scale and scope 6. Conclusion 7. References 4 1. Introduction Tourism has a major impact on local communities in tourism destinations. It can be a significant source of income and employment for local people and play an important role in reducing poverty in a developing country. At the same time, it can damage environments, stress societies and erode cultures and its values. Kenya is a longtime established tourism destination, which has gone through many lessons learned in tourism and managing these impacts is critical. On a larger scale these impacts have led to the recognition that tourism sectors need to incorporate the principles of sustainable development contained in the Agenda 21, which was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992. This has given rise to many different types of tourism with a sustainable approach. The assumption of this research paper is: if tourism is well planned and managed it can be a force for the conservation of culture and environment. Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping governments and tourism agencies in emerging destinations to develop blueprints for sustainable and responsible tourism and lay the foundation for feasible sustainable tourism projects. Many of the emerging destinations are therefore building new type of tourism industries that are designed to encourage other sectors of the economy and local communities to protect cultures from over commercialization and care for precious natural resources from degradation. These new types of tourism are for example nature-based tourism, ecotourism, community-based tourism (CBT) and pro-poor tourism. They might fall in the category of sustainable tourism which is growing and developing. Out of these new types, ecotourism focuses most on the issues mentioned above. Ecotourism is the topic of my research paper as I like the idea of a developing country like Kenya benefiting from tourism as a way to fight against poverty and at the same time keeping the culture and environment persevered. Developing countries are places to take advantage of these trends. As opposed to mass tourism these new trends of tourism will serve independent alternative tourists seeking natural beauty and unusual cultural traditions. During my visits as a tourist to Columbia, Peru, Mauritius, Rodriguez and Kenya I could explore the pro´s and con´s of tourism in the areas visited. Being married to a Kenyan we spend our yearly vacation in Kenya and it is there that the idea of a project with a sustainable business approach was born. This research paper builds a theoretical background and strategic framework for a sustainable ecotourism project. The approach is based on my economic and business perspective. It is understood that I will relate to the concepts learned during my MBA studies and that I will apply them to the topic of tourism where appropriate. My intention is to critically evaluate this idea of a sustainable tourism project and to start building a framework based on best practices with which this to be defined project shall be implemented. This research paper work (is still heavily paper work) has to be validated and enhanced with a local feasibility study and due diligence. Due to a heavy sickness I was not able to undertake this feasibility study onsite, but I can build on enough on the ground experience from former visits. Once the 5 feasibility is undertaken the next step would then be to define the business case and confirm a financial set-up and eventually start the project onsite in Kenya. 1.1. Report Structure This report is divided into six sections. The introduction explains my motivation for the topic, the structure of the research paper and how data has been collected. The second part provides the view of an economist on tourism development and its effects especially in Kenya. The third chapter introduces the subject of ecotourism, its definitions and varieties. I collect valid principles of ecotourism and explain how they are associated to local communities. The benefits of ecotourism are also reflected. Key elements of tourism are then gathered in chapter four into a framework for ecotourism: the tri-level view. The three levels – roles and responsibilities, business and support processes and measurements of tourism impacts and the business performance – are laid out in detail. Based on the principles and the framework, I discuss my own vision of an ecotourism lodge. This section five contains key business ideas and differentiators with which I want to establish a competitive and innovative ecotourism business. I close the research paper with the required next steps for my project and a brief summary. 1.2. Tasks performed and information used After identifying the target topic of ecotourism I have researched on the subject. Undertaking literature review before entering internet research enabled me to refine objectives, broaden understanding on the topic and find ideas on how to structure my findings. The literature used in this research paper is collected from publications, reports, research institutions, books and the internet. I have listed the resources and the used data at the end of the report. Some documents were available online, but the major reason for extensively consulting the web was to get up to date information and data. The internet was especially useful to learn about specific projects, their visions, marketing presences, experiences and customer appraisals. 1.3. Book biographies Ecotourism; Sustainable tourism, by David Weaver, Second edition by John Wiley, Australia 2008; First edition by Elsevier, UK 2006, - These books are the illustrative and instructive introductions into the topics. They provide definitions and structure to the forms of tourism, discuss their nature and forms, present key stakeholders, processes and impacts. Tourism and Sustainability: Development and New Tourism in the Third World, Second Edition by Martin Mowforth and Ian Munt, New York 2003, - The book traces the inception of sustainability within environmentalism and its extension into the realism of socio-cultural and economic thinking, policy and practice. The book offers plenty of sustainable tourism examples. There are also sections on: Third World development and tourism; the emergence of pro-poor tourism and a case study on a small-scale ecotourism program. 6 The Evolution and Impact of community-based ecotourism in northern Tanzania, by Fred Nelson, Arusha Tanzania November 2004, - This book illustrates the benefits of culture tourism, providing an understanding of why ecotourism projects are established. It gives an overview of the ecotourism situation in Tanzania. Parks beyond Parks: genuine community based tourism (paperback) by Marcel Rutten, www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/9181IIED.pdf - Offers examples and understanding of the conflicts which arise when tourism becomes more important than the indigenous people in a country (conflicts between Governments and the Maasai nomads in Kenya and Tanzania). It portrays the role and responsibilities of governments in supporting ecotourism. 2. Economics It is important to first analyze and understand the economic patterns of tourism in developing countries before entering the topic of any kind of sustainable tourism. With the economic view it will be possible to make conclusions and investigate the context further and finally define and design a proper tourism project that is sustainable. I would like to take Guell`s perspective of an economist at the start of the research paper to analyze tourism in Africa and in Kenya as I need to grasp the big picture first (Guell, 2007). According to key figures and criteria a critical view has to be developed to understand the current status with its externalities on tourism. The design of the future project must confront the negative impacts, avoid them and deliver at least improvements or in the best case try to stand as a benchmark within the industry. This Chapter examines the patterns of tourism development in Africa with special reference to the target market Kenya. It also discusses shortly the viability of tourism as a development strategy, using a number of performance indicators, namely, foreign exchange receipts, employment, government revenues and regional development. Tourism`s potential contribution to development has become especially important because of Sub-Saharan Africa`s declining economic performance. Many African countries initially tried (any many are still trying) to develop economically by expanding and increasing the range of primary exports from agriculture and mining. When this did not provide satisfactory result, some African countries turned into industrialization as a road to quick and sustainable growth. Contemporary Africa`s endemic economic stagnation and poverty suggest that these strategies have not worked for the entire continent (only South-Africa, Botswana and Nigeria are economically progressing as a country). It is in this context that attention has focused on tourism`s contribution to development. Kenya has been at the forefront of tourism development since the 1960`s. The achievements however need to be analyzed in detail because they rely on macro-economic point of views. This view does narrow the discussion to tourism`s economic contribution because it focuses only on the business of tourism – which is represented by transnational companies operating the tourism business supported by the government. The adapt analysis however should ask how tourism affects social structures or contributes to development at the local level. Development is not merely a rise in the per 7 capita incomes. It subsumes “reduction of poverty and greater equity to progress in education, health and nutrition, and to the protection o the environment (World Bank, 1991, p.4). Only environmental protection through effective resource management strategies can assure sustainable development. 2.1. Patterns of global tourism: Tourism began on a massive scale in the 1960s and has grown rapidly and steadily for the following 40 years in terms of the income it generates and the number of people who travel abroad. 760 million people were traveling internationally by the year 2004, generating more than USD 620 billion in earnings. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) predicts 1.6 billion international tourists by the year 2020, spending more than US $2 trillion annually, with the strongest relative growth occurring in parts of the developing world. International tourist arrivals to Africa are forecasted to grow, on average, by 5.5 per cent per year (United Nations Environment Program and WTO, 2005). Today tourism is the worlds` number one export earner, ahead of automotive products, chemicals, petroleum and food. It has a multitude of impacts, both positive and negative, on peoples´ lives and on the environment in accordance with the World Tourism Organization (WTO). One estimate indicates that one out of sixteen people in the world works in tourism (Richter, 1992). Without considering the quality of that employment, this figure points to tourism`s major significance in the global economy. The international patterns of world tourism show great differences in international arrivals and receipts. Europe and North America generate the greatest number of tourists. While Europe receives 61% of the arrivals, followed by the Americas (20%), Africa receives 3.3% (WTO, 1997). The tourism receipts appear to follow a similar pattern (WTO, 19997). These aggregate figures provide the macro picture of tourism patterns at the global scale. 2.2. Patterns of Tourism in Africa: Africa`s share of the world tourism market appears rather small for the geographical size of the continent and its population. International tourism arrivals increased from about 10 million in 1987 to 15 million in 1990 and 20 million in 1996. The international tourism receipts increased with the same leverage in this period. When these figures are viewed within the perspective of world tourism in general, they are comparatively low. While the arrivals as a proportion of the world total made up only 2.5 to 3.5%, the receipts from international tourism declined from 2.5% to 1.8%. These figures indicate that the absolute numbers of tourist arrivals are not necessarily reflected in foreign exchange earnings. Perhaps many of the visitors of Africa spend little money for reasons which are discussed later in this chapter. Overall, these figures show that Africa as a region for world tourism is rather poorly developed. In the case of Kenya it can be stated that this country belongs to the few countries on the continent that appear to have a well developed tourism sector, similar to Tunisia, South Africa, Morocco, Namibia, Botswana and Mauritius. 2.3. Tourism and development in Africa and Kenya: The case for tourism and development is somewhat different from other sectors of the economy. Because it does not produce goods and services, tourism`s contribution to development is indirect through generating revenues. It involves the creation of an 8 infrastructure of attractions, accommodation facilities, travel and transport, and communications which allow visitors to go to the source of an attraction. Thinking in economic terms and looking at tourism as an export industry is misleading as there is no actual transference of goods. The consumer of the export must go to its source, thereby requiring that certain arrangements be made. Such preparations include packaging the tourism product, accommodation, travel and local transportation. Because of the investment demands of tourism, the industry is well developed in only a few countries (mentioned above). Tourists are highly sensitive to political instability which could threaten their personal safety and security. So, apart from developing the physical tourism infrastructure, political stability must be cultivated as an important factor in attracting tourism. Also the issue of human rights, internal governance of a country and having terrorist action inside a country which seeks to attract tourists, is under scrutiny. Already, politically motivated travel advice from western governments appears to have a profound effect on would-be tourists. Only countries which practice democratic ideals adhere to the rules of law, and respect human rights will maintain political stability essential for tourism development. Kenya was one of these “ideal” countries in Africa throughout the 60 to 80s. However the terrorist attacks on the US embassy in Nairobi and various incidents on the coast (Mombasa) during the 90s have turned down tourism activity considerably. Another important source of decline for tourism in Kenya is the development of sustainable tourism products in other African countries like South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The new sites proved to be highly competitive compared to the Kenyan product. The new markets established ecologically friendly hotels avoiding any type of mass tourism while disposing of equally outstanding natural and wildlife attractions. In the new century Kenya did put up a massive marketing campaign to regain the tourism arrivals it had before. This effort and the image of “Magical Kenya” (the slogan of the Kenyan tourism board) were damaged with the struggle after the presidential voting in December 2007. Most Western countries travel advice had put Kenya on the list of no-go tourism destinations for several months. It is only now – in mid 2008 – that the marketing campaigns are bringing back the tourists. 2.4. Foreign exchange Tourism may appear to bring a large amount of hard currency into a country. Most assessments use gross foreign exchange earnings as a basis for their conclusions. But this is only half the picture, as the net tourism receipts may be relatively small, and tourism has many hidden costs. A more meaningful measure of foreign exchange receipts discounts the leakages from the gross receipts and arrives at a figure of net receipts from tourism. Many tourism enterprises in the Third World are owned and managed by western transnational companies. These companies, which monopolize the organization of international mass tourism, earn handsome profits by charging management fees, making limited direct investment and through various licensing, franchise and service agreements. This keeps the parent company in a controlling position which allows it to repatriate most of the foreign exchange. 9 The leakages from gross tourism receipts include money used in tourism promotion through advertising and maintaining overseas offices, international air travel and local transport. In addition, part of the foreign exchange must pay for direct purchases of food and drink from overseas, construction of hotels, roads and communications. A large proportion of foreign exchange reserves may be lost due to massive investments in infrastructure. The construction of an airport, for example, can consume investible surplus from tourism and other governmental resources, thereby minimizing the value of tourism to a country. Also, vehicles and spare parts are usually imported. Relatively large amounts of foreign exchange are lost to Kenya because of structural dependency created through widespread foreign ownership, control and management of tourism enterprises such as the African Safari Club, Hilton Serena Lodges and Tui Hotels. These large outflows put into question the profitability of tourism to the country. A little diversified economy like the Kenyan one which is based greatly on agriculture and tourism suffers of great leakages and obtains small benefits from tourism. This reduces tourism`s potential for generating broad-based development through economic growth. An effective way for Kenya is to diversify the economy more which will reduce the imports and retain more of the foreign exchange. Kenya is a frequently cited as one such positive example (Dieke, 1995). Kenya experiences serious leakages with packaged all-inclusive beach tourism involving little or no local travel within the country. The other tourist type is the high spending segment which though it does travel across the country it spends the entire money and time in luxury lodges owned by foreign investors or Kenyans with British derivation (equally holding a UK passport). Also, there are heavy leakages in international air travel because most tourists travel in chartered and scheduled foreign airlines. This shows the difficulty to measure net tourism receipts or net foreign exchange earnings of tourism and their net impact on the gross national product. Therefore the benefits of tourism to the economy are often exaggerated (Lea, 1981). 2.5. Employment Tourism is labor-intensive. People work in the various sub-sectors of the industry, including tour-guiding, nature and cultural interpretation, game viewing, travel and transport services, promotion, sport, and in the areas of food, beverage, service and accommodation. Other tourism-related employment is in entertainment, the arts and hand-crafted curios. Indirectly tourism creates employment in agriculture to produce food for the visitors. Infrastructure development such as road and hotel construction may provide many short-term jobs. Tourism supports other areas such as banking. It may also be mentioned (especially for Kenya) that tourism attracts a high number of activities in the informal sector. These include male and female prostitution, hawking of various merchandise, professional friendships, begging or simply following the tourists. There is also the issue of tourism and child prostitution (::). These linkages through employment tend to spread the income of tourism in a local area. The level of employment can be measured with the hotel bed-employment ratio. Interestingly this ratio is almost 1 for Kenya. This indication makes sense when considering the upmarket and mass tourism. In the literature it is argued that tourism creates greater employment than other forms of investment such as manufacturing (Elkan, 1975). This is used as justification for enormous investment in tourism. Tourism has a relatively high ratio of capital to labour. It 10 is proven that the larger Kenyan hotels were more expensive to build and had greater costs per bed. The conclusion is that it is generally more expensive to create a job in a hotel than in manufacturing. Therefore small-sized hotels would maximize on hotel employment. Another study (Summary, 1987) found that Kenya`s tourism industry pays rather low wages. It is argued that employment generated in tourism is below what would be expected, considering tourism`s share of the GDP. This is because of the structure of the country`s tourism industry which is foreign-owned, controlled and managed and which allows some of the employment to be generated abroad. Direct employment in tourism is criticized on two grounds: most of it is unskilled and its availability is highly seasonal. Lack of skills and seasonality are very intricately intertwined. Some estimates indicate that 75 percent of workers in tourism have no skills or training for the jobs they do (Gamble, 1989). This is a problem in as far as it affects the level of wages, security of tenure and the ability to influence better working terms and conditions. Also, the quality of productivity is affected by lack of training. On Kenya´s coast in the tourism centers of Mombasa and Malindi there is not one school offering typically required courses for basic and advanced hotel professions. These schools and universities are all private and in the capital Nairobi. Attending a course costs relatively high fees which are not affordable for a student by his own effort. Once a student financially supported by his family finalizes studies his job search can be a long way and his first wages (in the first years of employment) will not justify the high cost for the studies. International tourism in Kenya tends to be highly seasonal. The majority of the tourists from Europe and North America visit during the northern hemisphere winter. The numbers begin to dry up in April; the annual cycle commences again in August. The problem of seasonality affects all tourism destinations because the targets are all suffering attraction during rain season: the Rift Valley, the game parks and the beaches. During the low season, many employees lose their jobs. Because of the uncertainty to their employment, the bargaining clout for better terms and conditions of service is considerably reduced. In Kenya, people on casual terms of employment have no medical coverage, no housing allowance and cannot join a trade union. Many tourism workers tend to be trapped in a cycle of hopelessness. For skilled supervisory and management positions, tourism enterprises may not employ local people. Tourism businesses, competing to meet international standards to attract the institutionalized tourism market, may look for readily trained people. Such people may not necessarily come from the area in which a tourism enterprise is established, and this can generate conflicts with the indigenous people. In the local eyes, it is another instance of outsiders exploiting local resources for profits, while giving back virtually nothing. This denies tourism the goodwill of local communities. It does not speak well for an industry which is notoriously foreign-dominated in its management and ownership ranks. Supervisory and management positions are not equally open for competition among the residents who possess the required skills. It is important to point this out because key positions in hotels or other tourism enterprises are filled by expatriates because of the mistaken belief that the expatriates would raise the standard of service (Dieke, 1994). The 11 question that comes up here is: how can plans and businesses be sustainable if local people are excluded? Questions have been raised about the quality of jobs available for the local people in the tourism industry. Jobs are menial and tend to be servile. This has led to negative comments about tourism as “a final form of colonialism” where indigenous people are exploited by outsiders (Middleton, 1992). Such jobs include working as porters, laborers, gardeners, drivers, waiters etc. In contrast, jobs requiring skills and professional training tend to be held by expatriates. Beyond this, hotel workers in particular are expected to conform to alien attitudes and practices, sometimes against their own cultural values and norms, e.g. offering alcohol. As for the conflict of cultures between hotel workers and tourists, this is an inevitable consequence of tourism. Tourists come from varied backgrounds, hold divergent views, and visit for many different reasons. Their encounters with local people are somewhat businesslike, rather than personal. Contact between tourists and local people can only become smoother through sensitizing both the guest and hosts about mutual respect. 2.6. Tourism and regional development: The spatial or regional dimension of development is a way of assessing the impact of tourism on people. This idea focuses on whether tourism induces positive externalities for enhanced and balanced economic development in the country. The regional approach is useful for gauging the level of development using specific indicators. Ultimately, a pattern emerges which shows the differential impact of development across the landscape. This can then be used to make effective interventions at the local, regional or national level. In Kenya tourism is spatially concentrated. Deliberately or unwittingly, tourism tends to be developed in enclaves separated from local communities. In these enclaves the tourists lead their own lives in self-contained establishments with hotels, bars, discotheques, swimming-pools, massage parlors and other conveniences. Sometimes the tourist`s contact with local people is only through the attendants. In short, a kind of “tourist ghetto” is created to meet the requirements of the mass or institutional tourist who would like to enjoy his holiday without being disturbed. This way, tourism in Kenya has developed without the participation of the local people. The tourism enclave phenomenon makes contact between tourists and indigenous culture to be packages rather than spontaneous, contrive rather than original, whether in terms of organized exhibitions or mass produced artifacts. The spatial concentration of tourism leads to a similar pattern in the distribution of available jobs. Because of the seasonal nature of the employment only people who are close by are able to cash in on this. But this need not be so, especially in a country such as Kenya with intensive mobility and circulation of people across the national economic space (Sinclair, 1990). Tourism has sometimes opened up remote places by providing infrastructure such as roads, piped water, electricity, communication lines and by developing accommodation facilities. This may not always be articulated to serve local population centers. However, the Kenyan coastal ports of Malindi and Lamu, which had been on the decline for several centuries, were revived by thriving tourist industry over the past four decades. While Malindi has lost his appeal of an ancient fishing and dhow harbor by hosting a high number of tourist establishments, Lamu did remain the traditional and authentic Swahili island it always was. 12 First it were the Hippies exploring the island in the 70s, nowadays it is up-market tourism in various hotels using the ancient buildings. Private persons have also invested and restored buildings, which helps the village maintain its characteristics. Lamu island has been awared by the UNESCO as a cultural heritage site. This certainly helps to keep the image up but the majority of village buildings require restoration. In Kenya, the impact of tourism on regional development at the national level is only modest. As noted above, tourism is concentrated in the two cities of Nairobi and Mombasa, along the Indian ocean coast and in the national parks. Some 80% of the tourist accomodation is located in areas where only 10% of the country`s population lives; in addition most of the transportation business is concentrated in Nairobi and Mombasa. 2.7. Minimizing leakages and negative effects It is difficult to make a definitive assessment of tourism`s impact on Kenyan development because planning for tourism is very weak. Kenya`s regional planning for tourism is weak, in contrast to its high strategic ambitions for the sector. The national plan shows lists of expectations in the tourism sector rather than an agenda for implementation. The Kenya government statements call for one million tourists but do not go beyond that to say what will be done once that number has been attained. Also, they do not specify how the desired tourist arrivals relate to national development objectives. It remains unclear how tourism externalities on land use conflicts, environment and society shall be planned now and in the future. In order for tourism to be sustainable, its planning must be based on local capacities and community perspectives, without which it cannot succeed. Planning requires baseline information about the tourism sector, its history, its functioning, how it has been changing over time, its performance potential for further development and how optimal benefits can be obtained. Only in this way can the negative and positive contributions of tourism be pinpointed with a view to formulating policies and projects which could enhance the positive role and ameliorate the negative consequences. Also, these regions of tourism concentration experience certain negative socio-cultural consequences. The enclave nature of Kenyan tourism development takes western culture to remote communities which may have unviable livelihood systems. Soon, the indigenous people are encouraged to enter into some kind of relationship to make money or to escape from their objective material circumstances. Such relationships may range from begging, posing for photographs, performing dance routines, to casual or organized sex, all for money. At the Kenyan coast youths are increasingly dropping out of school and engaging in antisocial behavior including alcohol consumption, loitering, theft and other petty crime; others are hawking souvenirs and crafts along the beach. The beach boys and girls, as the youths are popularly known, offer services as prostitutes for tourists. Instead of regional development, tourism can lead to regional resentment. Tourist behavior such as scant dressing, public displays of affection between the sexes, etc. may clash with local tradition and culture and can result in local opposition to the tourism industry. Tourists become multipliers of the negative aspects of western culture. These problems could be minimized or mitigated with careful planning and management. 13 2.8. Conclusions of the economical analysis The before has shown the complexity of assessing the impact of tourism for a country. Both the levels of returns from and impact of tourism on the society and the environment are heavily influenced by government policies and types of tourism. Foreign exchange receipts and employment opportunities diminish considerably with large-scale developments in the tourism industry which lead to a large volume of imports. Tourism`s contribution to the Kenyan economy appears to be overestimated. The structure, organization and management of international tourism favor transnational corporations from the developed world, assuring a large outflow of the resources generated by tourism in Kenya. When the leakages of foreign exchange are discounted then net impact is rather small and the negative impact big. It is certainly in the hands of the government to provide a regional planning of tourism development and implement the provisions of tourism planning to ensure the country maximizes benefits from tourism. As transnational companies control the tourism enterprises the employment situation can hardly be changed. The answer to the problem would be a structural change of the ownership and control of tourism businesses in Kenya to allow progressive entry of local people into the management. Especially Kenya has a cadre of university-trained tourism professionals which rather leave the country to search for opportunities abroad. These people should be given the opportunity to manage Kenya`s tourism industry. Tourism in the context of Kenya`s development should therefore contribute towards poverty alleviation and the countries` overall economic progress. Perhaps a mix of strategies, including agricultural transformation, industrialization and tourism development is required to mobilize Kenya`s production forces by making optimal use of the existing natural resources. Carefully planned tourism development could provide crucial resources for the countries` economic transformation – in tune with the aspirations of the people. It is important to point out that the concept of community needs to have a central part in the definition of ecotourism. Tourism is connected to environment conservation and community development. The assumption is that by making local communities central in decisionmaking, environmental preservation will become a priority for people as they, and their communities, experience benefits through tourism activity. Unfortunately Kenya has decided to not focus on poverty alleviation with the means of sustainable tourism. The government leaves these initiatives to NGO´s and the private sector. 3. Ecotourism The typology and nature of ecotourism has the potential to realize the desired benefits in Kenya`s tourism businesses. However not every tourism business labeled eco is focusing (comprehensively) on these impacts. 3.1. Searching the right definition Ecotourism is a term that is quickly being adopted by many tourism enterprises, whether their activity is driven by values of conservation and preservation or not. The term includes 14 notions of sustainability which can embrace any tourism business. It is often referred to as the “feel-good” marketing term, which, in fact, can hide many sins. The term ecotourism has become jargon. Along the Kenyan coast most hotels having a webpage have a section on the sustainability or the ecotourism viability of the business. However there is only one enterprise being certified as an ecotourism hotel, which is Kizingo Hotel on Lamu island (and Kizingo has only achieved the entry level being bronze. Tourism is often sold as an activity that is interested in preserving natural lands and wildlife. It is quickly becoming recognized, however, that this may not be true. The section on economics has proven that tourism activities do have a profound negative effect on the environment, as well as on the local people and their culture. Other tourism enterprises are sincerely interested in the environmental situations that confront the human community and are attempting to introduce principles of environmental conservation in their activities. Tourism in Kenya has witnessed a move away from the gun to the camera over the last few decades. There is growing understanding among hosts and guests alike, that the resource base on which tourism depends must be protected if these sites are to last over the long term. Many tourists are becoming more sophisticated and reflect an ecological ethic in their needs and desires. In addition, local people and their cultures are gaining recognition as part of the ecosystem and as a consequence, their welfare is increasingly factored into the equation when considering development of new tourism destinations. The term “ecotourism” exists since 25 years. In 1983, Hector Ceballos-Lasurain, a Mexican architect, environmentalist and tourism consultant, first phrased the term and many countries in the world have made efforts to cater towards the growing number of travelers looking for a product abroad mass-tourism. But even after all these years a clear and common definition of ecotourism is hard to come by. The idea is constantly evolving and while generally it means environmentally-friendly tourism, it’s not just about nature and conservation. One generally accepted definition of ecotourism says: “Ecotourism is ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation” (by the Ecotourism Association of Australia). I believe this definition is vague in the objective of what tourism shall deliver as it does not mention the impact on the local people and it focuses on the demand side of ecotourism and emphasizes largely the ecological aspect. There are similar definitions which reduce the term to an unclear ecological approach which is why it gets adopted by marketing departments. One concern with this definition is certainly the lack of measurability of this type of ecotourism. This is not to say that there are examples of fully sustainable eco-lodges (mostly within national parks). The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) has a definition which is short but to the point: “Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” This NGO works to achieve its vision of becoming “the global source of knowledge and advocacy uniting communities, conservation, and sustainable travel.” The International Ecotourism Society says, “Ecotourism is about connecting conservation, communities and sustainable travel.” This definition includes a 15 concept of community involvement which has yet to be detailed out. It also assumes a supply and demand side of ecotourism. Another leader in ecotourism, the World Conservation Union defines it as, “Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local peoples.” This definition is the one I want to support as it includes all the elements a sustainable ecotourism should contain. This comprehensive definition reflects best the vision of a tourism project. What is more essential than a definition is to enhance on principles on which this vision shall be based. Those who implement and participate in responsible tourism activities should follow the following ecotourism principles:  conscientious, low-impact visitor behavior  build environmental and cultural awareness and respect  provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts  provide direct financial benefits for conservation  local participation in decision-making  educational components for both the traveler and local communities  provide sustainable financial benefits and empowerment for local people  raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental and social climate These principles should clearly advocate the benefits of ecotourism, advocating sustainability. Education on these principles in travel and tourism should stop the “greenwashing” (or the irresponsible use) of the terms green, eco and sustainable (Palmer, 2000). Ecotourism, when properly executed based on the above principles, exemplifies the benefits of socially and environmentally sound tourism development described also as "communitybased-tourism", “cultural tourism”, “rural tourism”, “ethno-tourism” or “pro-poor-tourism”. The term “community-based-tourism” however is commonly used to describe the type of tourism that (recognizing the significant social, environmental and economic impacts tourism can have) primarily focuses on tourism's benefits to local communities. "Community-basedtourism," therefore, strongly aligns with ecotourism, which fosters responsible practices where the local community significantly participates in the development and management of tourism, and empowers local citizens to utilize natural and cultural resources in a sustainable manner. In the literature the term community-based-tourism is frequently used to define a tourism project that is fully managed and owned by the community. A community based project is mostly initiated with the support of the government, NGO`s or a Foundation. 16 3.2. Communities as an essential ingredient in ecotourism What is often overlooked in the ecotourism development is the involvement of the local community and its culture. In fact, local culture, particularly in a developing country like Kenya, is often part of the ecotourism product but not necessarily considered when benefits from that product are being disbursed. However, it is quickly becoming recognized that to neglect rural communities, which are part of the natural environment and the ecosystem, is to neglect a large part of the ecosystem itself. If not completely left out of tourism development, local communities are asked to be involved at the implementation stage – but rarely at the beginning stage of the planning process. Proponents of ecotourism, as a sustainable and viable alternative to more exploitive uses of the natural resource base, have been quick to recognize that active involvement in the decision-making process by those who will be most affected is a critical component of successful and sustainable tourism development. Furthermore, it is equally recognized that benefits from this development must flow to the affected community as well as to the other actors in the system. The time should have passed when people living at or near the tourism development can be completely ignored, no matter how important the project may appear to be from the national or private perspective. Often, ecotourism activities are designed to replace traditional economic practices and are foreign to the local inhabitants. Integration of ecotourism into the dominant culture of the area, if thought desirable, needs to be planned using a grass roots approach rather than being imposed from the outside. If we expect people to change their lifestyle to accommodate a new enterprise, their active involvement in the design and management of that project change is crucial. Some argue that the basic decision to change historical practices should not be stimulated by outside forces at all, but should be left entirely to the local community. Additionally, a fundamental of ecotourism development must be to direct a good share of the benefits emanating from the project to the local area and to keep leakage of those benefits to a minimum. Often, what is considered to be a benefit at the macro level turns out to be negative at the micro level. Given the present trends in today´s global economy, however, these principles may no longer be realistic. At the present time, perhaps the best that can be hoped for is the full engagement of the local people to discuss the project`s feasibility and its desirable effects on the community and environment. On Kenya´s most northern island, Kiwayu, a small village is living completely isolated from a luxury lodge on its` island. While the local islanders go fishing and maintain a very basic lifestyle with no access to electricity or phone, the tourists pay USD 500 per night to enjoy a luxurious vacation. There is not a single staff member coming from that village. Proponents of ecotourism are learning that active engagement of local people in the planning process is a complex issue and not just a matter of selling communities on outside intentions. At its most fundamental level, it involves mutual learning and partnership development between local people and outside agents. Often, what gets passed off as participatory planning is pure manipulation of the local population by the outside planning and development agent. While this may not be the original intent of the planning process, it often 17 occurs because of the planners` lack of experience in community development practice or because of the historic relationship between the planning institution and the local community. This may be particularly true for Kenyan communities who have been subjected to colonial relationships. Old patterns continue even though new political leaders and systems initiated to overcome these barriers are being implemented. 3.3. The community development approach At the most basic level, community development practice is not essentially concerned with implementing a particular project, in this case ecotourism development, but is fundamentally designed to educate people through the process, forging the communities` capacity to facilitate lasting community autonomy and strength. Reid and van Dreunen (1996, p.49) suggest that community development “is a process for empowerment and transformation” of individuals and communities. The objective of community development is to build individual skills and community solidarity. It encourages the community`s self-reliance and builds confidence in the community`s ability to control its ultimate destiny. In a pure community development approach, the chief goal is to increase the capacity of the community using a concrete project such as the development of an ecotourism destination. All too often, the planners` chief objective is the ecotourism project itself, and community involvement becomes the method for achieving that objective. This usually occurs because the community has become a stumbling block to a proposed development and must be dealt with in some way. Of course, it makes for a much cleaner process to focus initially on the community and its needs, out of which the potential of an ecotourism project may be realized. Through a community development approach to planning, not only is the end product likely to be planned more comprehensively, but it is also likely to have greater local community support and lasting commitment than if planned using a more streamlined, top-down approach. Engaging the community in ecotourism development can proceed on many levels. Arnstein (1969) has presented a model of citizen participation which describes the various approaches. Figure 1: Levels of citizen participation (modified: Arnstein, 1969) This model suggests that community involvement in decision-making can stretch the continuum from pure outright manipulation on the part of the investor, to absolute 18 community control of decision-making. In all likelihood, an ecotourism project will fall somewhere in the middle of this continuum moving to the right. However, it would be difficult to characterize any project as ecotourism if the point of engagement is situated left of the mid-point on the continuum as indicated in figure 1. 3.4. Benefits of Ecotourism Despite the potential of tourism, the Kenyan people have received few benefits from tourism. Instead, they have suffered a variety of negative impacts that have damaged their natural resources and changed their society and culture in multiple ways. Therefore ecotourism seeks to address the question‚ how can tourism contribute to the process of community development? With time and care ecotourism projects have proven that communities can largely benefit from tourism. In the next section some benefits will be presented which deserve further elaboration. 3.4.1. Support of indigenous cultures and natural conservation Ecotourism promotes the respect of local cultures, their heritage and their traditions. A sustainable ecotourism project will enable the community members to maintain their traditional lifestyle while creating new opportunities of occupancy and interrelation with tourists. The economical situation of many communities in Kenya is exposed to impacts of overfishing, -farming, land erosion and climate change and to natural catastrophes. Even globalization effects hit a remote village when the people need to buy maize or wheat on the market in the next urbanization; prices have grown significantly over the last 10 years. This is due to the high demand of new emerging markets of China and India and the bio fuel industry. The indigenous cultures live in economically difficult situations and many are endangered to disappear if they don’t find alternative ways of living. Migration to the big city slums is one way to escape from the communities decline. Another way is offered by ecotourism. For many of the local cultures, especially indigenous cultures, money is not the motivating force behind resource and cultural preservation, its pride. People are proud of their forests, traditions, crafts and ideas. As a result, entire cultures and their ecosystems can be preserved on the basis of pride alone. The major benefit of ecotourism is to strengthen the efforts to protect cultural and natural landscapes particularly where the environment is one of the tourist main attractions or at the heart of the local culture. Ecotourism provides a sound reason to preserve natural resources and encourage people to pursue sustainable resource maintenance. It supports the preservation and transmission of cultural and historical traditions, which often contribute to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, the protection of local heritage and a renaissance of indigenous cultures, cultural art & crafts. It also helps raise local awareness of the financial value of natural and cultural sites and can stimulate a feeling of pride in local and national heritage and interest in its conservation. 19 Ecotourism underlines the people`s pride for their environment, traditions, arts and crafts because they recognize the high appreciation from tourists coming from far. The involvement of local communities in tourism development and operation appears to be an important condition for the conservation and sustainable use of the ecosystem. 3.4.2. Development of new economic opportunities for the communities Ecotourism has the potential to create jobs and generate entrepreneurial opportunities for people with a variety of skills and experiences. The average income of a remote village is very limited. Mostly there is only enough food and money to ensure the traditional way of life – a lifestyle that is considered by the United Nations as being below the poverty line. The people can hardly afford school education or medical needs. Saving money for times of sickness or dry/rain-seasons is sometimes impossible. Ecotourism offers an alternative means to gain income to sustain these basic securities and to keep a village above the poverty line. Ecotourism when successfully implemented – as a steady revenue resource – will improve the quality of life of the community members and the village. At the same time the community is enabled to earn an income without having to alter their customs or physical location (Edgell 2006). 3.4.3. Community development Moreover ecotourism can be a powerful tool for community development. Since the income generated is at the complete disposal of the community, the community is free to use the earnings according to their own development priorities. This empowers the community to truly take charge of their own needs. 3.4.4. A unique experience for the tourist – change of perspective Traveling, which has been done for thousands of years by our nomadic ancestors, was done to meet people, trade ideas, trade goods, explore new grounds for food and water and gain knowledge. These roots of traveling cannot be appreciated when confined to a tour package. Most of the ecotourism projects are situated close to the community life, offering the tourists a chance to talk to locals and watch, understand their way of life. They watch how locals perform their daily routines and learn something out of it or they may participate in the activities actively. The tourists gain on the lifestyle lesson of the community. In fact, usual hotels, tour operators, shops, airports, airlines and restaurants assure continuity of the schedule, routine and outlook of the life back home, no matter where in the world you are. In comparison, ecotourism aims to shelter the tourist from too much exposure to their familiar ways of life as it is not planned according to the daily habit of the tourist's home culture. While for a tourist one step outside his enclave can become a cultural shock, the ecotourist can benefit from his change of perspective. For many sensitive travelers this can be the most impressive and enduring experience of his ecotourism adventure. 3.4.5. Cross culture learning Both host community and the visiting tourists have the opportunity to share their respective cultures. This approach allows one to temporarily enter into a different culture and learn something new and learn the similarities and differences of the human condition. ecotourism 20 brings people into contact with each other and as this tourism has an educational element; it can encourage cultural understanding between different people with different cultural backgrounds. Because of this, opportunities are developed to increase mutual sympathy and understanding among people of different backgrounds and reduce their prejudices. This is a valid objective and cultural understanding is a keystone of ecotourism. 3.4.6. Women in ecotourism There is an evident gender inequality in developing countries and Kenya is no exception to this. Women have lower literacy rates (25 percent compared to men's at 55 percent), educational opportunities (children, especially girls are often kept home to help with the household and farming chores when families cannot afford the school fees), access to resources, control of assets, and decision-making powers (Walker, 2001). In the village, girls marry in their early teenage years and start bearing children shortly thereafter. They are relegated to domestic work and generally do much more work than men, including cooking meals, fetching water, collecting firewood and feed for the animals, cleaning and washing, tending livestock, as well as weeding, planting, harvesting and processing agricultural products. The challenges facing women in ecotourism are that they have a lower socio-economic status, a lack of higher education and low literacy levels, an inability to speak English and therefore don‘t communicate with tourists. There is also lack of self-confidence in dealing with outsiders, particularly men whereby in some cultures women have no contact to other men only their close family members. Women hold a wealth of knowledge and customs, such as preparation of local foods, wearing traditional ethnic dress, organizing religious functions, producing handicrafts, performing traditional dancing and speaking and singing in local languages. This knowledge can be enhanced upon and managed to attract tourists who are interested in that knowledge. Therefore the women are a backbone of culture and of high importance in ecotourism (Scott, 2001). With a bit of training for women in the community these skills can be turned into income generating opportunities that benefit those women in the community who fully depend on their husbands for their daily well being, thereby spreading the economic benefits of tourism. Women are especially skilled at and learn well by networking. Learning from peers can be one of the most effective activities for engaging women in ecotourism training. It is of special interest that it is mostly women knowing how to benefit of this opportunity. Appreciating women's strengths in ecotourism helps communities see women and their skills, and characteristics as assets for the development of community. Women's participation in ecotourism builds community self-reliance and a gender-appreciative in sustaining and managing ecotourism projects. In the process women become valued assets for ecotourism. 21 4. Framework of Ecotourism 4.1 The need for a Concept of ecotourism development When it comes to an overall concept of ecotourism development in Kenya, there is a lack of coherent regional plan for tourism development which specifically caters to ecotourism with a scope on community partnership. The rules with respect to community participation in tourism have not been sufficiently discussed and agreed on, as only some NGO´s are elaborating on community development programs. The sustainability on the ecology has been laid out by the western countries for their tourism products. But the topic of community involvement is still in its infancy. Uncertainty and a lack of guidance have resulted in a number of blockages. Equally, tourism which has been developed, particularly on communal land, has been ad hoc and unplanned, without reference to a guiding ecotourism development framework. The development of a successful ecotourism strategy depends on a number of crucial elements which must be incorporated into a well planned strategy. This is best done within a conceptual framework for sustainable tourism analysis. 4.2 Tri-level ecotourism framework This chapter proposes a framework within the current context of developing and managing an ecotourism implementation according to the principles. It conceptualizes the various elements that affect ecotourism and provides a focus for adopting a more integrated approach to the design and implementation of ecotourism projects. The framework is based on Schechters Tri-Level View (Schechter, 2002) – a framework for logistical analysis – which can be applied to a tourism project which is equally a delivery and highly customer and provider oriented business. As the business mission is service oriented Schechter describes a set of “customers” or stakeholders (our community people and related micro enterprise (ME) businesses) which need to be identified along the supply chain and whose needs have to be balanced and positioned. He calls them the companies` constituencies which need to be accordingly satisfied. This is a lesson learned from logistical history as well as from past tourism developments and understood for the constituencies: employees (from the country and the community), trading partners (from the community and surroundings) and end consumers (from abroad and from the country). The framework for ecotourism assessment consists of three layers: Asset layer – Physical assets and governance model: The roles and responsibilities Business processes layer – The hotel business and support processes, tourism activities Measurements layer – Sustainable impact control and business performance management 4.3. The assets layer – Physical assets and governance model: The roles and responsibilities 4.3.1. Physical assets The hotels` assets will be a relatively straightforward investment into an eco-lodge (facilities of main house, kitchen, guest houses and energy provision) with related transportation means. I leave out the issue of land property (which can be resolved with a leasing contract which is very common). Depending on the set-up the assets layer can cost from USD 100.000 to 2 22 million. This is an essential investment but the scope of ecotourism is not on physical assets but on people. 4.3.2. Governance model: The roles and responsibilities More relevant for the framework are the possible governance options as optimization factors. For the ecotourism project it is important to define the roles and responsibilities of all possible or desired actors which is why the various institutions have to be included in the view: Private investor, local community, state, private sector, NGO`s. The right set of roles and responsibilities will be defined based on the objective of the project, whether it is a tourism development, a sustainable project use of natural resources or community development. As this paper wants to focus on the later, the asset layer will follow only this objective. While this layered framework certainly provides structure it also wants to simplify and enable the development and maintenance of the project. For feasibility and startup of the business the view does serve as an implementation guide. During maintenance the optimization factors resulting out of the measurements layer have to be analyzed to serve continuous improvement guidance. The framework can help to identify the pain points in the structure of the project. It is also useful to understand in which areas a process or business can be outsourced to a local vendor to provide the service. This analysis is useful when a staggered approach has been chosen where the hotel is first put up to run and then successively processes/businesses are given to the local community for maintenance. This is mostly due to training or lack of financial means, skills and certificates: diving department, tour/village guide, kitchen, restaurant and food processes, etc. Community Community resources shall be involved into the tourism project, this includes the community`s participation in the design and decision-making process, in the management and administration of tourism and related activities and operations. This degree of involvement shall ensure an appropriate level of ownership by the community in the development process and operations. The community`s people shall be empowered to mobilize its own capacities, be social actors rather than passive subjects, manage their resources, make decisions and control the activities which affect their lives. The private sector Communities do not have the institutional or financial capacity to undertake ecotourism projects on their own. Private sector involvement in ecotourism is therefore essential. The private sector must be encouraged to involve itself in tourism development as tour operators, suppliers of services, developers or investors. Private sector developers possess sound business acumen and access to capital. Their business drive, combined with the Kenyan Wildlife Services` ecological and conservation expertise and the community`s resources, will optimize the balance between wise land use and economical development of resources. 23 Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) The Kenya Wildlife Services is a half-governmental authority established to manage conservation in the country`s national parks. To enable the conservation services to develop tourism into a commercially viable business, key strategies have been adopted: the establishment, control and maintenance of national parks, the maintenance of some very basic lodges at the park entrances. A complex park-entrance-fee system finances the KWS. Trust Companies Trust companies are usually formed to facilitate the formation of joint ventures between the local communities, private developers and the KWS. The trust companies in Kenya are mainly financed by expensive tourist lodges and redistribute the tourism benefits to approved projects which benefit conservation and local communities (typically for investments in schools or basic medical care centers). NGOs NGOs working in the fields of conservation and development can play a significant role in facilitating the development of ecotourism. A large measure of support must be given to those who lack economic and political power against local and outside vested interests. NGOs are seen as more neutral than government officials and therefore have the capacity to introduce trust among members of a community. They are less subject to political controls and intervention. NGOs could provide a range of support services which include capacity and institutional building, bringing stakeholders together, arbitration for conflict resolutions, access to funding, and the facilitation of negotiations between the involved parties. For ecotourism they are at the forefront of experienced implementers having substantial lessons learned. They can also leverage this experience across countries or continents. Their knowledge in capacity building and community training and involvement could be essential in an ecotourism project. 4.3.3. Partnership models for the development of the tourism facilities Various models designed to facilitate local participation in tourism projects have been proposed in the literature. These vary significantly among communities according to local conditions, needs and interests. A partnership agreement between the community and one or more of the other stakeholders is more suitable than one party attempting to do everything entirely with its own human, physical and financial resources. The conceptual models below draw on possible agreements between the private sector and the community for promoting local participation in tourism development projects. Lease agreement between the private sector and the community In this model, the private sector is mobilized by a lease agreement or a management contract to operate on the land owned by the community or to use facilities that have been developed by the community on communal land. The community in the later case is responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure, including mobilizing the necessary funds. The private sector is responsible for environmental management and for facilitating ME development and support. Two options exist for benefits that flow to the community. If there 24 is a lease agreement, a lease fee would be paid to the community on a regular basis. In the case of a management contract, all returns minus costs would be paid to the community. The management contract is difficult to realize because usually as stated before the communities do not dispose of the financial base to provide the infrastructure and do not have enough knowledge and experience to fit the infrastructure to the tourists` idea of an African hotel and maintain it. This option is therefore to be neglected until a community has the financial base and required skills to develop themselves. This option can successfully emerge when the community has run through a first partnership option. The lease contract is a very common form in Kenya where the private sector builds an ecofriendly lodge and manages the facilities itself. Community involvement is minimal in this example. However some benefits are distributed to a trust or directly towards a school. This option fulfills the ecotourism objective only halfway as the development potential is not comprehensively worked out. The win-win situation is not balanced out and the private sector gains more benefits than the community. Therefore the partnership would need to be defined differently. This leads to a second model. Joint venture between private sector and community In this model the private sectors enters into a partnership with the community to develop the tourism potential of the area. The private developer would be responsible for developing, operating and maintaining all tourism infrastructure and facilities, environmental management as well as community/ME development and support functions. The advantage of this model is it offsets some of the constraints facing the community. These include obtaining the necessary financing and addressing the need for institutional capacity to perform environmental management and ME development and support functions. The benefits that flow to the community include short-term concession fee payments based on a percentage of turn-over. It also offers the community a genuine equity share in the operations. The long-term vision in this scenario should be to transfer all ecotourism facilities into joint venture partnerships with the local community and the private sector, where feasible. This would then make it possible to tap the marketing and business acumen of the private sector, reduce revenue leakages from the region where this protected area contributes to socioeconomic management, stimulate more and continuous private sector involvement in rural areas, create jobs, support equity holding and entrepreneurial opportunities associated with tourism and create a sense of ownership and accountability among the local community for the environment. When entering into partnership, it is necessary to ask who represents the community. A mechanism is needed to represent the community`s interests in terms of equity share in the management and decision-making of various operations, as well as in terms of the distribution of benefits flowing to the community. It is proposed that a community trust be elected to represent the community. The community will elect a board of directors and this board will appoint a permanent management committee to be responsible for the following key functions: membership of the community trust, allocation of benefits that flow from community enterprises, identification 25 and prioritization of community projects, interaction with the private sector, interaction if desired with the state and NGO`s and capacity building. As part of an ecotourism project the locals do receive an environmental education, through a process of conservation by demonstration. The community will understand the viability of their natural environment for the tourism development and the dependency to their own wellbeing and cultural survival. Many community members will have migrated to other areas in search of a better life and the remaining members might struggle with a difficult daily life which might be a daily struggle for water and food. Once the basics are sustainably provided the community will benefit from school education for the children and medical aid. On top of these basic provisions for the entire community many involved tourism workers will find an employment and be able to overcome the daily struggle. They will connect this wealth with the desire to preserve the natural environment and support the tourism project. 4.4. The business processes layer – Hotel business and support processes, tourism activities 4.4.1. Hotel business and support services Viewing the community as competent and resourceful implies an assumption that they have access to information and resources which enable them to make informed decisions. This is not always the case, especially considering that a tourism project will be implemented in a relatively remote and little populated area implied by the location which is part of a natural attraction, being e.g. a national park or an attractive slice of the coast/island. Initially, due to the lack of experience, the community will not be competent to undertake most of the tasks required of it. Ecotourism will never be sustainable without adequate support services. It is the task of the private developer to see to it that such services are put in place. Areas that need special attention are training, capacity building, business skills, access to finance, negotiation skills, marketing, natural resource management, monitoring and evaluation of the tourism projects. Due to the long history of tourism in Kenya it should not be a big issue to find highly skilled people which originate from the targeted region/community. These people have left their community to search education and work in the tourism centers. This new tourism project gives them the opportunity to come back to their homeland and find a living there. A win-win situation can be created. This type of person shall have a high acceptance among the community and can also train the locals – his future team members of his area of responsibility in the hotel or in a related ME. The internal hotel departments are front office (reception and reservation), guidance (tour, village, sports, culture), kitchen, food and beverage, supply, house-keeping, marketing, finance and management. The external services include taxi and tour drivers, tavern owners, tour operators, trainers, booking agents, laundry workers, curio and craft sellers, construction workers, food producers (farmers and fishermen) and construction material producers (Kotler, 2005). This distinction is important to successfully structure and then start up the hotel business. Depending on the preparation time some functions need to be internal ones (in-sourced) from 26 the start. The internal functions must be perfectly working and training needs to be performed accordingly before opening the premises. The complexity of this approach suggests to start the business small to keep it manageable. Still all internal and external services must be fully working to provide the hotel operations with e.g. the required food and tour operations. But there are areas like in this case the food provision where the provider from the community still needs to set up his food production with time before this service is ready to be integrated into the project. For example the local farmer has to change his usual plantation concept and grow more and different plants and also modify his fertilization techniques to suit biological targets. Another idea could be that first the food is brought from a far market while in the next step new irrigation systems are established locally on ecological basis. Given that most remote places in Kenya do lack modern farming techniques the community could largely benefit from a sustainable farming and irrigation system. Most locals try to live from subsistence farming. In many areas tribes have moved away from farming and turned into cattle farmers. This could be balanced again for the favor of a system that provides not only food for all but quality food which wasn’t accessible before, like fruits and vegetables which are highly appreciated by the population. This example stands for all of the above services where either skills or functionality has to be prepared to achieve readiness. The basic idea however, is to build the hotel business with skilled and trained workers and then start out-sourcing to or bringing in services from the local community. 4.4.2. Tourist activities Local people often possess immense natural and cultural knowledge of their local environment. With some basic training, they can become efficient tour guides. Possibilities in this depend on the area and its natural and cultural heritage. Nature guides could obviously introduce the guests to nature paths in the local environment, explore fauna and flora, explain mammals’ habits, etc. Local traditions and festivals (ceremonies and dances) build an equal opportunity for the hosts to introduce the guests, provided the community is ready to welcome visitors to such events. For cultural or religious reasons this may not be accepted. Opportunities of this kind have to be agreed upfront by the community and then carefully planned and carried out with the objective that the traditions and ethics of the local people remain respected. Tourists will equally be informed with a manual/guide of local traditions and recommended behaviors with the goal to adapt their conduct to respect the local beliefs. Traditional Dhow sailing, fishing techniques, dolphin visits, whale watching, turtle nestling behavior should be of interest to tourists. The approach should be to create an opportunity for a local fisherman to build on his abilities and knowledge. The challenge for him is to guide tourists through the mentioned activities in an educative way. Under his responsibility could also fall the more typical tourist activities of diving, kite-, windsurfing and surfing. While the eco-lodge will not be able to provide formation for such sports it would certainly be possible 27 to provide the material. The local person would require a certificate for diving. These sports shall be supported by the hotel as they don’t jeopardize the environment if conducted well. It is also possible to allow the children of guests and hosts to interact after school. Interesting enough children do not have any language or cultural barriers. For the guests` children an individual guide can be useful to introduce them equally to the local environment according to their interests. Allowing this group of children to interact with the locals is certainly an interesting undertaking which can show results of surprising cultural interaction and understanding. This area could be supported by an expert in education who wants to elaborate a program for children or research according topics. Educational programs can also be thought of for adults. There is certainly required to dive deeper into the various local cultures of the more than 40 Kenyan tribes. Tours can be organized to visit tribes which have maintained completely their ancient lifestyles and not yet adopted to the modern world, e.g. Maasais (in the Maasai Mara/Serengeti), Samburu (in the Rift Valley), Pokot (at lake Turkana) or Swahilis (on the Coast in the Lamu Archipelago). The lifestyle of such ancient communities is not adapted to fit a tourism project within the community without creating a major change to their lifestyle. Tourist attitudes are also differing greatly from the locals` behavior. A very respectful tour program has to be established to include a visit to such tribes into the tour program. This program has to be more elaborate than the current ones where tourist busses are cruising through Maasai land, portraits are taken for money and traditional dances are performed for every arriving bus. This attitude is again an example of mass tourism which new forms of tourism shall avoid. 4.5. The measurements layer – Sustainable impact control and business performance management The measurements layer is essential to manage the tourism project: on one side to track the sustainability of the ecotourism objectives; on the other side to manage the business as such – the ecotourism lodge with all its departments and support services. 4.5.1. Measuring the impacts of the ecotourism project Even the most conscientious tourism venture can introduce new pressures into a local ecosystem and have an impact on local culture. Impacts may be classified according the intended objectives of ecotourism into environmental, social and economic. To determine the optimal level of tourism development for a specific destination area all of these must be considered. The negative impacts of tourism development can only be managed effectively if they have been identified, measured and evaluated. Thus, while tourism can be a lucrative source of revenue for a small area, it can also present a major management problem. The negative impacts of tourism development can only be managed effectively if they have been identified, measured and evaluated. Some of the more important impacts are outlined below. 28 Environmental Overcrowding, the misuse of natural resources, the construction of buildings and infrastructure, as well as other activities associated with tourism, affect the environment. In general, the impacts of tourism vary according to the number and nature of tourists and the characteristics of the site. The individual tourist normally has relatively little impact. Problems arise, however, if there are large numbers of tourists or the resource is overused. Social Socio-cultural impacts are the outcome of particular kinds of social relationships that occur between tourists and hosts as a result of contact. Often, the socio-cultural impacts of tourism on the local or host population are neglected, but they must be carefully monitored it tourism is to be considered a truly renewable resource. A history of removal and restriction on communal use of natural resources in areas declared as conservation lands has led to resistance on the part of some residents. Social impact assessment will be necessary to ascertain how communities are affected by, and respond to tourism development so that mitigating measures can be properly planned. Economic To assess the economic impact the following questions need to be asked: 1. How do financial benefits reach the community? E.g. direct payments to the community in the form of rent, gate fees, profit share. 2. To what extent are earnings, wages or shared community income distributed across the community? 3. How successful have these projects (hotel operation functions) been in creating employment? 4. To what extent has tourism development encouraged the creation of secondary income generating activities (ME`s)? Carrying capacity is a useful concept which measures impact. Environmental carrying capacity may be defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to support healthy organisms while maintaining its productivity, adaptability and capability of renewal. Tourism carrying capacity refers to the carrying capacity of the biological and social environment with respect to tourist activity and development. It represents the maximum level of visitor use and related infrastructure that an area can accommodate. If this is exceeded, deterioration of the areas` resources, diminished visitor satisfaction and/or adverse impacts on society, economy and culture of the area can be expected to arise. Although the concept of tourism carrying capacity is not very difficult to comprehend in theory, it is difficult to quantify empirically, as there is no single definition to apply for tourism. It is commonly recognized that there are no fixed or standard tourism carrying 29 capacity values. What makes sense is to make a decision for the tourism project to limit the carrying capacity from the start contingent upon place, facility design, user comfort/intended user experience, patterns of management and the dynamic character of the environment itself. This automatically limits any ecotourism hotel to a number of guests between 1 and 25 split into a maximum number of not more than 12 guest houses. Ecotourism planning should benefit from the attempt to define tourism carrying capacity for a specific site as this will offer an indication of the limits and limitations of tourism development. 4.5.2. Measuring the sustainability of the business: business performance management Measurement is also a key criteria to judge the quality of the tourism product and the business. Quality is the key differentiator for the final product. This is valid for any business and especially for the hospitality industry where the product is “only experienced” by the customer. Certification The ecotourism facilities will need to be certified according to an industry standard to be able to compete credibly in the market. An appropriate internationally accredited certifier has to be evaluated, because a common certification method and institution still needs to be agreed on for ecotourism. Once the project is developed according to the ecotourism principals an external company shall provide objectivity in their judgment in how far the product is ecotourism compliant. To ensure the sustainability there will also be intervals of recertification that have to be followed. It is only professional to familiarize with the certification criteria upfront to planning the facilities to fulfill the objectives during implementation. The approach should be to target the highest level of certification even if this might only be achievable in a staggered approach. It might be that at the starting point of business or after the first business season some criteria cannot be approved as they have not been fully measurable yet. Continuous improvement process In Chapman`s “The fundamentals of production planning…” (2006) the core elements of a service industry are named: evaluation, implementation and maintenance of planning and control tools. The business environment of ecotourism is less mass production, IT and databases driven, however the rules of production remain the same. Ecotourism is a management system that is reliable on customer service delivery and supply chain management. The application of this concept is therefore equally relevant to the hospitality industry. Chapman`s fundamentals can be applied as an assessment approach to the operational business where it will be necessary to analyze and map plan, processes and information flow. The operations of ecotourism rely heavily on human resources management. There are three basic areas that are affected of major management efforts: business processes, communication and resource planning and enabling. A process mapping of the business and operation processes is required across the tourism organization to 30 establish a business plan. This will also provide insight and identify areas for improvement (redesign of processes or additional training) once the hotel is operating. The ecotourism processes will have to undergo continuous improvement processes. In detail this means review of job designs, adjusting required skill sets, performance evaluation and preparing the teams` mindsets and expectations. One of the modern approaches presented by Chapman can also support this process: total quality management (TQM). TQM is a method by which management and employees can involve in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. TQM is a systematic approach to lower costs and increase benefits. This is essential to the naturally (and by definition) limited capacities of ecotourism. TQM has been evolving in the hotel sector since quality assurance was introduced in the 1980s. However, many hotels are still struggling to reach a real understanding of what is meant by TQM (Powers, 2006). TQM is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices. It is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. It is clear that the hotel organization need to adopt a TQM process and the critical success factors if they are to achieve business excellence. As service expectations of customers and potential customers are very high, ecotourism should consider the implementation of quality processes to be a vital competitive component. The benefits of offering higher service quality have influence on both hotel and customers. Hotels with successful quality assurance systems report improvement in employee satisfaction and increased working value, staff empowerment and involvement, communication and teamwork, commitment on the different parts of management, management leadership, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, profit margins and operational costs savings and sustainability of organizations. 5. Vision and mission of my ecotourism project The way I envision my ecotourism project is based on passed good and bad experiences mainly made in Kenya, Peru, Columbia, Mauritius and Rodriguez. Being conform with definition and principles given earlier in this paper I want to structure the project`s vision into two. 5.1. The eco-lodge I define an approach where a first ecotourism project shall give prove to the above framework. The experience and lessons learned of this project will be evaluated according to the criteria described. Provided the economical impacts and the financial sustainability of the project are achieved within 1-3 years a second phase shall follow. The vision is to build on the success of the first project a second one – the second one being an implementation approach for an ecotourism chain. The first project should be mainly invested, managed and 31 delivered by myself. This is a pilot for the chain but could also prove to be the limit of my efforts. The idea and rational of the ecotourism chain will be laid out later in this chapter. The following ideas serve as competitive differentiators and try to make ecotourism more attractive for tourists without jeopardizing the ideals. 5.1.1. Architecture and design A small number of guest houses (3 to 4) shall be placed in close neighborhood to the main house. The main house will contain the dining area, an area to meet and relax, I call it the living-room and finally a long bar for people to meet which is equally used as reception. The main house doesn’t have walls between the areas and might just separate the areas by putting them slightly on different levels. This is nothing new and I would just copy from many places which also look alike. Another two guest houses shall be situated within the village. I haven’t seen a lodge going as far as right into the village; they tend to stay in respectful distance. The main facilities would also be in respectful distance, with the exception of these two village houses. The position shall allow the guest to be 100% part of the village life. This home shall be in the same style as the village houses. Only inside the western standard will tried to be reproduced if possible. Another two guest houses should be design wise different from the other buildings. At the coast I imagine the possibility to put one or two houses into the water standing on sticks in the lagoon. I call them the honey-mooner suites. Another option can be to construct a house inside the roof of a baobab tree. These houses are separate from the main facilities and the extreme would be to even dispose of self-containing facilities in such a home. Call it the Robinson Crusoe home. These ideas for a housing concept have to be evaluated with an architect to suit the local design and materials while applying to western quality standards. The architectural set-up is on one side corresponding to the overall design of the local village, culture and nature. On another side the architectural design concept serves as a major marketing tool. I would like to follow the good experience of an outstanding eco-lodge on Sansibar island. The ??? lodge has received various architectural and hotel design awards (and did cost 500.000 USDs). The resulting advertisement effect was bigger than what the usual marketing activities through internet, tour operators and tourism fairs could achieve. Architectural design combined with a high level of certification should achieve special public attention on international level. Usually such awards are spread not only in architecture magazines but publications in other media is guaranteed in ladies and fashion magazines, tourism publications and normal newspaper pages in weekend specials on tourism products. This marketing would as such be for free. This is how I would like to see the new lodge being promoted as well; not only for its design but also for the delivery of outstanding ecotourism performance. 5.1.2. Involvement in expert circles and corporate social responsibility It is stated in the literature that private investors and managers are usually not part of the discussion circles and frequent expert meetings on sustainable tourism practice (NGOs, governments and such organizations as the United Nations maintain such expert circles). The 32 involvement in these circles can only lead to mutual respect and learning effects – I see this as an enrichment of the daily work. The hotel will target certification and should get automatically access to relevant organizations of interest. Such expert meetings should also be hosted by the new ecotourism lodge. I want to define the objectives of ecotourism for the hotel business also as a means of corporate social responsibility (CSR). I haven’t yet evaluated the power of the concept as such. But from what I have understood the ecotourism`s principles of supporting the environment, the employees and the well-being of the community fit perfectly into the frame of CSR. However, this relatively new concept of CSR could be a potential area to partner with companies from the target markets. There are realizations of CSR where companies support their motivated employees to take a sabbatical and contribute/participate in social projects in developing countries. At the root cause of these activities is the idea to create a win-win situation for a local project and the employee helping to deliver it. I do see potential to leverage this idea and identify areas within the context of the broader ecotourism project where this approach can be driven. This external person would certainly live inside the ecotourism lodge and the guests should be interested in the work and interaction with this person. The delivery of this CSR project would benefit the community with projects like school teaching, ME start-ups or environmental analysis. The marketing potential of the visitor shall be used as well, as he or she will report back to many people at home. It should be a natural gesture of the hotel to host his or her family when they come over to visit. As said before putting up the framework of ecotourism will require a lot of work and many experts will be required to bring the ecotourism to a level where it can perform. I can think of volunteers and students participating in the entire process from start-up to maintenance and investigating. The variety of sciences that can find interest in an ecotourism project reaches as far as ethnology, society, biology, geography, business and economics, IT, hotel management and mediation. Volunteers also fall into this group of people which can have an interest in joining the ecotourism. Volunteers are a relatively new and growing group in tourism. 5.1.3. New target groups I haven’t run through an analysis of the target market in this report but I noticed that many potential target groups are not travelling to Kenya and even others have a potential to be attracted by ecotourism specifically. I believe a new ecotourism has potential to attract new targets. Given the nature of the ecotourism being small and secluded there is the possibility to attract celebrity people to have a natural vacation without hiding in an elaborate hotel enclave where the stars meet. The ecotourism hotel is an opportunity to spend vacation without being bothered by other tourists and learn about a different culture. As ecotourism is labor intense there shouldn’t be an issue providing the usual five star services to such guests as the hotel will provide this attention to the other tourist anyway. It just requires the person to buy into the idea of spending an ecolabeled vacation. What is different in the eco-lodge is certainly the fact that everybody will know each other and that the atmosphere is very relaxed. The western standards in commodity cannot be achieved as for example on the coast the entire facilities will be built 33 on sand. But this is the charm of the hotel. Starting with targeting celebrities has a certain intention. Above I have described the honeymoon suite and the Robinson Crusoe home which would certainly suite this type of target group. But there is another thought which is to offer various price categories for the guests. While in the before example the hotel would charge the highest rate for service and secluded location there are other guest houses which are basic and can appeal to the student/backpacker type of tourist. Living inside the village appeals to his desires and the relatively low price of the guest house because of its lower standard can suit his budget. Backpackers are a target group left out of Kenyan tourism marketing actions. This is understood because the hotels designed for the international market are either enclaves on the coast or luxury lodges in the parks. Both do not suit the backpackers’ concept of a vacation which is to meet local people and experience the local culture at a low budget. On top of this travelling throughout Kenya is relatively unsafe and in the naturally most attracting areas – being the national parks – just not possible as an independent traveler. Here the ecotourism lodge can offer an alternative which matches the backpackers’ desires as well as his budget. This target group is part of the before mentioned potential people interested in making research work. Backpackers are also well connected and once they find a good place they spread the news quickly. The target groups are not yet complete without mentioning the domestic market. I haven’t found reference to the target group in the literature. Based on own experience I can reflect that domestic tourists frequent the tourism facilities especially for honeymoon, summer and Christmas vacation. But they are a minor tourism group. They should be targeted by the ecotourism to achieve their involvement into the tourist and host community as well. Special rates for domestic tourists are a standard in Kenyan tourism (the rate is 50% of the standard price for international tourists). 5.1.4. Specific attractions and events To approach specific target groups a concept of special event weeks could be established. One subject of interest supported by an experienced host can attract other interested people. For example within the area of music it can be an idea to invite a local or international artist who can introduce his musical instrument to the interested tourist. This type of workshop is quite popular in Europe and is also offered in the instruments` originating country back in Eastern Africa (e.g. kora, djembe, balafone). The same approach can work for cultural festivals where an expert will introduce and accompany the tourists during the events. Lamu island happens to host a very popular festival of Swahili culture. Other workshops can be thought of like traditional and modern dances, cooking lessons, traditional medicine and plants, dhow sailing trips, teacher events. While these workshops are clearly related to local cultures it might be an approach to bring the western culture to Kenya. Sports for example can bring tourists from abroad and host community together. Surf and sailing events during the strong wind summer period. 34 5.1.5. Processes The fact that local materials will be used to design hotel facilities in the local look has the disadvantage that the buildings require frequent restorations. This will be done mainly during rain season. One part of the employees can be involved in this activity which keeps them continuously on the job. Another part of the employees will undergo the next level of training and formation. It is understood that all the workers shall receive a proper contract including payment of vacation and medical aid. The skill intensive resource management will cover a greater portion of the hotel activities. There is training before and while starting-up the business and during ongoing business where the seasonal breaks are the welcome slots because there are not tourists in the facilities. (Most likely the researchers, volunteers and CSR workers will still be there.) One issue will be the lack of language skills. Kenya is an English speaking country which is a big advantage. But to communicate and attract European tourists the English language might be an issue; this is especially the case for travelers from the southern countries. One solution can be to provide language training to the employees. Another one can be to organize for employees to go abroad. Former guests may volunteer to host an employee so that intensive language courses can be visited and family life is experienced. For long-term and very motivated employees with academic skills I could think of sponsoring them to go to university in Kenya or abroad. But timing and financials will be an issue. Here I can see an opportunity to partner with universities like the Washington International University where the timing is not an issue (because it is distance learning) and the cost is relatively low. The pay back of having employees with a degree however justifies the investment. The creation of a quality manager function seems appropriate. Even the size of the project might be small this function should provide objectivity as the manager might be too much engaged in delivering the plan. Building the lodge has many challenges. I might find out that the challenges are too big and underestimated. 5.2. A chain of ecotourism hotels Provided this private project survives the initial phase and becomes sustainable, I do see a potential to face many of the challenges and issues successfully by upsizing the business. 5.2.1. Leveraging the concept Kenya has approximately 40 different cultures and many environmental attractions ranging from the coast and its islands to a last piece of rain forest (Kakamega forest), Lake Victoria and its islands, mythical Mountains (Mount Kenya and Mount Elgon), an abundance of national parks and wildlife and a very scenic Rift Valley with vulcanic lakes (Lake Naivasha, Bogoria, Baringo, Turkana). There is potential to establish a lodge in various places. The business idea behind is very simple. Going back to economics I learned that the tourists leave a big proportion of their budget with the airline carrier flying them in, then the interested tourist goes on a safari trip with 1 to 5 different locations across the country. Typically the last stop is on a beach on the coast. The entire trip can be targeted by a hotel 35 chain: the connecting drives or flights, the hotel, the organization, the tour guides. Achieving this portion of the market would mean gaining the entire business which is performed within Kenya. And if this package is reachable then it is only another step to conclude partnerships with an airline and tour operators abroad. Especially airlines are more and more sensitive to CSR and environmental travelling. They are one of the main producers of C02 and therefore in the critique which is why they are now trying to turn their image “greener”. We can offer an opportunity to contribute to CSR and ecotourism objectives. This is the big picture. (I have left out the fact that the intercontinental flight which is required by the tourist to fly in is a critical C02 driver as well, but I don’t want to stop the project for this argument). On the ground this means that the initial investment of the first eco-lodge serves as a pilot for future projects. Gradually more lodges could be planned. The framework and plan of the pilot are used as a template for the next project avoiding the issues of the first: a continuously improving framework. It is a fact that the profit growth previsions of a lodge are limited by definition of the approach. The balance of natural and cultural conservation is a must. The only way to enhance the business would be to open another one, with the same limitations. The concept would never maximize the profit of the investor but increases the benefits to the local population by engaging more communities. More business opportunities would be created to the local population in various regions. 5.2.2. The economies of scale and scope The economies of scale and scope will rise with every new lodge. A formation school for tourism business could be established. Job and physical workplace rotation would be possible. Career opportunities will evolve. The initial investment in human resources pays off. With one lodge there is always a risk that the newly skilled worker leaves the project because of limited career opportunities. He can now find a new job within the chain. During start-up many employees will have to be from abroad the community as inside there will not be sufficient skill. This employee can now find an opportunity in his area. In Africa and Kenya the migration of talent is an often discussed negative effect. Many well skilled individuals leave the country for their education and do never return to their homeland for work as job opportunities are not lucrative enough. Maybe a hotel chain can offer such an opportunity for managers who always desired to come back. They could now take a management position, work with the cultures they know best – from abroad and from home – and contribute to a CSR approach. Their lifestyle would also change and they might find a satisfying new way of doing business. This person brings the necessary management, cultural awareness and language skills. For the business it will become more efficient to invest or outsource a network of vehicles or services. The network of providers will also expand and intensify their activities. Already the continuous employment of the construction, furniture and handicraft workers was an issue. With a chain of hotels they can be employed the whole year through. Furniture and crafts can be produced on a bigger scale. They will be ordered by the tourist onsite but delivered later right to the tourists` home. 36 Concerning target groups it would then be possible to not mix target groups in one lodge (the issue might be mixing target groups and according price levels) but splitting the luxury tourists from the backpackers into each ones lodge with according attractions. I do understand that marketing for more lodges isn’t decidedly more expensive than for one of the same chain. The marketing pays off for all the lodges. An according branding concept will be necessary to establish the brands in the target countries. With a chain the attention of such a branding can also be leveraged and a higher investment in marketing is justified. Branding and business chains are always about signalizing and providing the same level of quality for the consumer. The ecotourism tourist of today is well informed and knows what he is looking for and takes a certain risk travelling in developing countries. There are many potential travelers which always had the idea of traveling to Africa and Kenya but are worried about everything bad they ever heard about the country: sicknesses, poverty, droughts, etc. We cannot resolve these. But branding the product, certifying it, giving it a green stamp and marketing and pricing it fairly and accordingly can attract many new customers who has been waiting for this opportunity. NGO´s and government will certainly be attracted for that size of business. New ways of cooperation and partnership can be created. Going to the size above one eco-lodge will require not only new ways of management but also financing and cost control. Venture capitalists are unlikely to support an eco-lodge where the initial investment is estimated with USD 0,5 to 2 million and they may dislike the limitations to profit. They start business partnerships mostly at above 5 million USDs. However new venture capitalists show interest in the small ME and ecological/social businesses. With a chain, both venture capitalist groups can come into consideration. Going back to the risks of doing business in Africa it is advisable to spread the risk across one country and also across country borders. Political instabilities, famine crises, etc. are a stable factor also in Kenya. The risk of one lodge being in a critical area might be covered by other lodges. There are also debates about continuing doing business in such areas affected by the macro-level issues. This is ethically a difficult question. I do believe that this question needs to be answered onsite and when the problem arises. Only at this stage the right decisions can be made. There is a conflict in giving up the business as it means taking away the means of sustainability of the population. On the other side the tourism demand will decrease immediately in any circumstance of crises as seen in Kenya in the recent postelection phase. In principal, the provided ecotourism framework provides enough flexibility in the roles and responsibilities layer to be exportable to other countries and continents. As explained before many potential tourists are sensitive to a reliable product offer that can overcome their prejudices of a country`s state. Branding and management systems will support the provision of consistent quality across all lodges. 37 With taking the ecotourism project to such an extent it shall also be possible to consider largely the oppressed groups with no lobby, the women and their children (this issue is intensified through HIV). Either they can be put high on the list of recipients of benefit funds. Or, they can be actively involved in the ecotourism project while the village and a nursery school/kindergarten maintained by the ecotourism is a home to the children. Maybe some of the children want to find a job in the field of tourism one day. 6. Conclusion In one report (Heher, 2003) I learned that 4 out of 5 ecotourism projects fail (Heher, 2003). The reason for this is the nature of motivation of the private investor. The owner of the business does focus on his own change of lifestyle and does not look after implementing the benefits for the community. The projects fail financially due to the lack of a proper marketing plan to attract sufficient tourist. Most businesses however, do remain active with this reduced scope – simply offering eco-friendly vacation – just maintaining the cost basis without recovering the initial investment. I therefore conclude that my next activities have to be to elaborate my business case and plan based on a proper investigation of marketing analysis (target groups, competition and prices), certifications, NGO support models, financial models and onsite research (onsite and abroad Kenya). Only then the framework can be detailed and finally laid out. Of course, I do have a preference already in the target community and site. If ecotourism is well planned and monitored, it can be an effective means of economic growth, cultural affirmation and environmental protection without compromising a region’s unique attractions. There have been quantitative economic improvements in the lives of many communities who are practicing ecotourism. More importantly is that there has been a qualitative human resources development of newly skilled people who can now work and earn a living. Being involved in the process and practice of ecotourism has given community members, including women and the youth the opportunity to develop new skills and new roles within communities. . The practice of ecotourism in developing countries reduces differences between the rich and poor, empowers poor people and alleviates poverty among the population. Along with mining, agriculture, fishing and manufacturing, tourism is one of the main economic sectors with the potential to move a poor country to a better economic development. Ecotourism should be a key sector within Kenya`s tourism industry for facilitating greater growth and equity in economically poor regions. 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