Engaging Youth in Sustainable Tourism to Promote Conservation

A case study from Uganda

EIAT South Africa: Rainbow Nation 2008; Trends / Tribes 2009; World Cup Soccer: 2010; Namibia: NADM Project 2011; Uganda: Sustainable Tourism 2012

AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

NAMIBIA

UGANDA

Tourism In Uganda

Challenges for Tourism in Uganda

Need to diversify product offers

Need to improve level of service quality, namely in human resources

Need to improve biodiversity conservation to protect tourisms most valuable assets

Challenges Between Communities and Conservation Areas

Historically communities have had a tumultuous relationship with protected area managers.

Protected areas contain vital resources that communities want for survival, namely land.

Human-wildlife conflict through crop-raiding and cattle attacks by lions.

No incentive to conserve protected areas as communities reap little tangible benefits.

Communities and Conservation Areas

Improving Conservation through Community Tourism and Education

Increasing community understanding of tourism and conservation through trainings and sensitizations.

Working with local entrepreneurs to develop community tourism enterprises that create the incentive to conserve.

Involving youth, the next generation of leaders, in tourism and conservation.

Engaging Youth: Work and Play

Work: Tourism offers viable employment opportunities for youth and allows them to reap benefits from conserved biodiversity.

Play: Teaching the youngest generation about conservation and tourism through games fosters a more positive relationship with wildlife and protected areas.

Work: Youth and Tourism SMEs

Tourism Small /Medium Enterprises (SMEs) offer great employment opportunities to youth.

Youth most easily fill guiding, housekeeping and customer service positions in SMEs.

Youth often pick up foreign languages more easily and interact well with foreign visitors.

Example SME:The Batwa Trail

The Batwa Trail is located in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda where the Batwa people, a group of indigenous people, used to reside.  This nature walk tour introduces visitors to this African tribes life.  Visitors will learn about the Batwa's cultural heritage during this cultural encounter experience.  The funds from this tour are part of a give back program that supports the indigenous people's cultural heritage by helping them purchase new land, provide education and books.

The Batwa Trail

Product development

Market validation

Marketing

Partnerships

Legal rights

Business Management

Conservation Linkages

The Batwa Trail enterprise was supported with:

Youth and The Batwa Trail

The Batwa Trail project employs youth as guides and dancers.

The Batwa Trail also funds education programs for youth, paying school fees and buying books.

The Batwa Trail creates an avenue for Batwa youth to learn about their heritage and maintain cultural traditions.

Training Youth to be Guides

Ruhija Youth Dance Group

Foundation for Youth Development Agro-tour

Marketing Tourism SMEs

SMEs greatest weakness is proper marketing. The target markets of tourism SMEs often reside in other countries and use technology to plan trips. Rural communities in developing countries generally lack the adequate skills and resources to reach potential clients. Merging tourism SMEs under an umbrella brand helped leverage marketing capabilities so that SMEs have a voice. The umbrella brand, Pearls of Uganda, assisted SMEs with:• Branding• Content creation including

product descriptions, photos and video

• Brochure and other print material design and production

• Website creation and

maintenance• Email management• Social media marketing• Linkages with international

operators

Play: Teaching Youth About Conservation

Snapshot Safari Board Game teaches players about wildlife and conservation.

The game was played through the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda and reached over 160 schools in first year.

Game is also sold commercially to generate funds for new copies to sustain the program.

Snapshot Safari in Schools

The Role for Youth in Sustainable Tourism and Conservation

The tourism industry can offer good employment opportunities for youth.

Youth often perform tourism functions well because of their ability to learn quickly and understand cultural diversity.

Working with youth to entrench positive ideals of conservation and tourism is a way of sustainably protecting assets and opportunities for future generations.

Thank You!

www.pearlsofuganda.org