THE EFFECT OF MIGRATION ROUTE ON SUSTAINABILITY OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARA-SERENGETI ECOSYSTEM: A TRANSBOUNDARY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development in the Serengeti-Mara region seemingly depends largely on the wildebeest migration phenomenon. Environmental management, resource use practices & other human activities on either side of the Kenya Tanzania boundary have begun to alter the spectacular nature of the migration. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of the wildebeest migration route on sustainability of tourism development. The study was guided by Tragedy of Commons Theory. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the field. A pilot survey at Lake Nakuru National Park was used to test reliability of the research instrument. Focused group discussion was also used. The research instrument was also subjected to scrutiny by subject matter experts to determine content validity. The target population for the study was 14983 individuals drawn from conservation agencies employees, business community and local community members. A strata sample size of 339 was adopted for the study. Qualitative and quantitative techniques was used which was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that management of transboundary resources ensured sustainability of tourism development.