The tourism and hospitality industries are among the fast expanding industries in the world and are important top forex earners for Kenya. Kenya is endowed with rich faunal and floral biodiversity characterised by a myriad of terrestrial and marine plant and wildlife, natural and physical scenic features, and a growing diversity in the social-cultural heritage of the people.
To date conventional tourism has dominated the tourism sector in the region. However, the demand on land for agricultural use and other development activities is rising threatening the future sustainability of tourism resources.
The new tourism policy has put emphasis this on involvement of the local communities in managing tourism resources. The Government is determined to encourage and facilitate this approach. To achieve this the emphasis must be directed to sustainable ecotourism development as the core in this industry supported by expansion in the hospitality service sector. There is inadequate skilled manpower in this sector but the future of tourism needs product diversification, opening up of new tourist circuits, promotion of domestic tourism and provision of skilled manpower. The programme in Ecotourism and Hospitality Management is designed to train manpower to meet these challenges.
Development of ecotourism offers opportunities for diversification in tourism and haspotential to transform economies,conserve the environment and culture. This can be realised through increased involvement of all stakeholders in decision making and sharing of benefits. In order to actualize the above positive attributes of ecotourism, an expanded hospitality service network should be established.
This degree programme in Ecotourism and Hospitality Management at Egerton University provides competence to service providers in this industry by training new entrants or upgrading skills of those who are already in the industry. Tourism is a complex industry governed by the laws of supply and demand. The modern time tourist, especially ecotourists, demand more information and guidance on the tourism product‘s natural history than the amateur naturalist, who is sufficiently rewarded if he/she can see a great eagle soar across the sky or come upon a pride of lions resting in a thorn bush.
The programme will provide the competence needed to take the client to the next stage beyond identification i.e. to appreciate the ecology, behaviour and the tourism product‘s interrelationship with the environment. In the case of animals, behaviour is the most intricate and revealing part of an animal‘s natural history.
