The contribution of community tourism and conservation on the development of the tourism industry in Uganda

Abstract

The study investigated the contribution of community tourism and conservation on the development of the tourism industry in Uganda” a case study of Bwindi Impenetrable National park. The specific objectives of the study were; to examine the contribution of community based ecotourism to the performance of the tourism industry in Uganda; to study the role of conservation to the development and performance of the tourism industry in Uganda and to measure community capacity for tourism development and performance of the tourism industry in Uganda. A total sample size of 40 respondents was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data was coded and later processed and analyzed and presented using frequencies, percentages means and standard deviation. From the study it was revealed that the rural communities equated benefits with simple monetary rewards and Uganda had taken great effort to preserve nature plus providing employment opportunities to the local people. It was further exposed that participation was crucial to the formation of community based tourism, communities were involved in decision making of community based projects and these projects reduced poverty in communities. From the study it was also discovered that capacity building process was centered on Parish Development Committees, communities were organized while making decisions, elevated capacity meant increased development and capacity building involved individuals and organizations to set their objectives. In addition to the above, it was testified that Africa is taken a country not a continent, Uganda is a safe and stable country with low crime rates and it is also a home to half of the mountain gorillas. Finally, it was recommended that the government should emphasize the employment of the local people so that they can improve their standards of living rather than employing foreigners. It was also recommended that the community members should xiv concentrate on capacity building where by in tourism development is seen as the capacity of people in communities to participate in tourism activities. Community capacity building leads to development in tourism industry.