QUESTION 1
Since the time Kenya became a leading tourist destination in Africa in the1970s, it has come under increasing pressure from Westernization (Evaristus, 2004). The ways in which local communities such as the Maasai Tribes have been affected by and responded to the influences of Westernization gives an indication that the Masaai tribes indeed suffered changes over time. The transformation in the Massai attitudes may be interpreted through the Doxey's Irritation Index Model (1975) that justifies residents' behaviors at different growth stages of the tourist destination.
(a) Using the above exposé as an example, outline and explain the different stages of the Doxey's model.
(b) Several tourism impact studies indicate that residents are not homogenous in their attitudes regarding tourism development (Milman, 2004). With an appreciation of this statement, outline any 5 socio-cultural impacts that may have influenced the Masaai tribes to sometimes accept tourism and to, still some other times, resent tourism.
(c) Successful tourism management requires knowledge of exactly who the cultural tourists are and an understanding of their motivations. As a tourism planner, propose any five ways how you would protect the culture of the Masaii tribes whilst encouraging cultural tourism in Africa.
QUESTION 2
Cultural and heritage Tourism is a niche concept that is growing in popularity within the travel industry. As a tourism planner or consultant, discuss:
(a) Four main benefits of such type of tourism to the host community
(b) Practical ways for developing and promoting cultural tourism at a destination.
QUESTION 3
Culture and tourism were previously considered as being separate entities, undertaken by distinct social groups at specific times but nowadays, the barriers between culture and tourism are fast disappearing
(a) What do you understand by 'cultural homogenization' especially in the context of globalization?
(b) Describe the term ‘culturally responsible behaviour' and explicitly discuss the attributes and ways to promote such behaviour in the tourism context
QUESTION 4
Culture shock is one of the most recognized difficulties encountered by travellers to foreign cultures (Adler, 1975; Oberg, 1960)
(a) Critically explain what is meant by culture shock and discuss the symptoms of culture shock.
(b) Discuss and evaluate the different stages of culture shock that a traveller has to go through when experiencing a new culture.