Community partnership in the strategic planning for sustainable
tourism development in somalia.
The rich cultural
diversity is an integral part of our tourist attractions since it is
one of the main reasons why visitors travel to out laying rural
areas of Somalia. This product is therefore being developed and
promoted as this type of tourism can strength a society’s culture
and create employment at local levels thereby serving as an
incentive for young people to stay in rural areas rather than
migrate to urban areas in search of employment.
It is with the
foregoing in mind that it necessary that sustainable tourism
development be based on ethics of care and respect for the
respective communities’ culture. This approach ensures that the
development is both people oriented as well as conservation based.
Sustainable
tourism is in other words, means, using tourism constructively so as
to support the conservation of the environment, reinforcing the
cultural heritage of indigenous people as well as enabling them to
benefit directly from revenue accruing fro tourism and related
activities.
Somalia as a
tourist destination therefore adopts and encourages sustainable
tourism strategies in order to strike a balance between the needs of
the industry and those of the local communities.
Accordingly it has
been found necessary to find ways and means of ploughing back the
benefits accruing from tourism to the development of the local
population. The main consideration here is to improve their live
conditions, security, and their access to social services. Hence the
important issues being addressed in this context include: -
·Reducing vulnerability of exploitation of local
communities by un scrupulous people and;
·How to enhance retention of income accruing from
tourism by the local communities so as to plough back into community
based development projects.
