Nature tourism in Uganda

1. Nature based Tourism
by KIRABO IVY MARTHA S20B63/001
NATURINDA BETTY S20B63/212

2. What is Nature Based Tourism?
• This is the tourism that typically happens outside and it
involves experiencing natural places. It is responsible
travel to natural areas, which conserves the
environment and improves the welfare of local people

3. Examples of nature based tourism that can be done
in Uganda
• Gorilla trekking at Bwindi
National park
• Bird watching
• Nature walking
• Star gazing
• Photography
• Visiting game parks
• Butterfly watching

4. DID YOU KNOW?
• According to statistical and Economic Analysis
of Uganda’s Tourism Expenditure and
Motivation survey 2019;
• Leisure tourists increased from 21% in 2012 to
25% in 2019 (from 89,000 to 126,000 tourists)
and now form the largest share of tourists,
followed by
• tourists visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (18
percent in 2012 and 24 percent in 2019).
• The increase in leisure tourists may reflect
successful promotion of Uganda nature tourism
in the intervening years.

5. Duties and responsibilities of a tour guide in nature
based tourism
• Weiler and Davis, 1993 developed a frame work depiciting the role of a nature
based tourism guide because Cohen’s, 1985 framework came under scrutiny for
failing to acknowledge the role of guide in ensuring an environmentally friendly
and culturally responsible tourism experience. Though it is important to note
sphere 1 and 2 are still based on his theory of leading and mediating

6. Weiler and Davis, 1993 added the third sphere (resource
management) which focuses on needs of host communities and the
environments. In this sphere the main role of a tourguide is acting as a
motivator i.e motivating and managing tourists behavior on site to
minimise on effect to the environment(both cultural and
environmental)and also fostering long term understanding and
appreciation and conservation of the environment through
heritage and nature interpretation

7. How can a tour guide manage tourist behavior on a tour?
• Jacobson & Robles 1992, state that a tour guide has the opportnity for
face to face contact with visitor and thus both the delivery of
sustainability message and the monitoring and influencing of visitor
behavior
Tour guides can manage tourist behavior by
• Engendering an appreciation for local products’ and assisting local
artisans to produce goods that meet visitors’ expectations(Pereira and
Mykletun, 2012)
• Jensen (2010) reported that local guides who had strong local ties and
social mediation skills were able to enhance understanding and social
interaction and thereby moderate the negative effects on communities
that can come from stereotyping. In addition, positive effects such as
self-esteem building among community members were observed as a
result of ‘visitors’ interest in their traditions and lifestyles framed within a
socially relaxed atmosphere where community members were happy to
share their thoughts and knowledge with their guests’

8. More roles of a nature based tour guide
• Black and Weiler’s (2005) review of 12 of
• these studies over a period of 22 years
(1979–2001) identified the following
• 10 key roles that are expected of guides (in
descending order of frequency
• of mention):
• (1) interpreter/educator,
• (2) information giver
• (3) leader,
• (4) motivator of conservation values/role
model,
• (5) social role/catalyst
• (6) cultural broker/mediator
• (7) navigator/protector
• (8) tour and group manager/organiser
• (9) public relations practitioner/company
representative
• (10) facilitator of access to non-public
areas.

9. Continuation
• The tour guide’s group management skills and level of knowledge
strongly influenced the visitor’s behaviour and potential impacts on the
environmental and cultural sites and visitor satisfaction. Scherrer et al
(2011). for example with coral reefs
• Guides also play an integral role in ecotourism success through
encouraging conservation (Ormsby & Mannle, 2006: 279–280)
• Henning (2008) looked in particular at the degree to which tour guides
communicate about local and regional sustainability issues and the
practices of land managers, tourism operators and governments
generally

10. Techniques and principles to employ to guarantee a
tourist the best experience
• The literature profiling nature-based tourists suggests that visitor satisfaction among this
segment is based on expectations of high-quality interpretation by knowledgeable
guides, minimal impact messages, a sense of authenticity and quality customer
service (Orams, 1996).
• Hughes, 1991 saw that they were three important components of guiding emerged from
this study: first, the ability of the guide to effectively interact with the group; second,
providing commentary of interest; and third, ensuring the smooth running of the tour

11. Techniques and principles to employ to guarantee a
tourist the best experience
• Professionalism is a technique i would employ to ensure a good
experience
1. Picking tourists up on time from the airport
2. Offering them extra services like offering them a glass of juice at the
airport
• Flexibility
1. Making stopovers when travelling to the different national parks for
example when going to Mburo National Park from Elizabeth National
park, tour guides can stop at Nkokonjeru tombs (burial grounds for
Banyankole kings), Obururuma waterfalls,KIWA heritage, Kazuma
lookout(camping grounds near Mburo with an amazing view),
Mbarara river rwizi falls

12. Techniques and principles to employ to guarantee a
tourist the best experience
• Involving tourists in some initiatives to create an
impact in the community.for example in some
countries like The European Union in partnership
with the office of the Minister of Finance, the
National Authorizing Office (NAO), have adopted a
baby Rhino born at the Uganda Rhino Sanctuary,
Ziwa Farm. His name is Europe Mukasa. When
adoption fee of 500USD is paid you are given a
certificate and daily uppdates on your new baby
rhino
• Being sustainable for example by using sustainable
materials for example use of paperbags, solar
power, energy saving stoves

13. Techniques and principles to employ to guarantee a
tourist the best experience
• Being knowledge for example on different areas in nature based tourism
for example knowledge on birds, flora and fauna. This is especially
important during activities like nature walks. A tour guide should have
something to say about the insects, the plants, the animals
• Involving tourists in different festivals in Nature based tourism like African
birding expo, Big birding day. This will make the tourists feel involved
and they will be happy to participate in activities were they are
contribtuing to the area they are visiting for example during big birding
day the number oird species in an area are counted and the information
is reorded

14. Techniques and principles to employ to guarantee a
tourist the best experience
• Giving off the books information to tourists for
example information like local names and
legends around different tourist attractions for
example the crowned hornbill is a brown and
white omnivirius bird during the breeding
season the female seals herself into a tree
cavity with her feaces and the male feeds them
through a small hole. If the male detects that
the female is being fed by another male he
leaves her in the cavity
1. WHY IS THIS SO BAD?
2. CAN’T THE FEMALE FREE
HERSELF?
3. HOW WOULD HE KNOW SHES
EATING FROM SOMEONE
ELSE?

15. Continuation...........
• Being proactive. Warning the tourists of the
different climatic canditions, of the clothes
they need to wear for example tourists are
normally told to bring warm clothes when
going to Mt. Rwenzori in Kisoro and light
clothes when going to warm places like
QENP
• Being flexible. Tour guides should be able
to do what makes the tour guides happy
during the trip if they have no interest in
what you have plannes you shold be able
to offer different alternatives
• Being responsive. Tour guides should be
able to answer the difficuilt questions
possed by the tourists during the trip. This
makes the tourists believe they are
learning and it makes them feel that the
trip is of great value to them
• Giving the tourists value for money. That is
to say doing everything you said you would
do wiith the tourists and if there are any
changes to the program the tour guide
should be able to compensate the acivity
with another in the same range of price
and enjoyableness
• The tour guide should be able to give full
information. that is to say the tourist must
be transparent about what the tourists are
to expect

16. References and sources
• Weiler, B. and Davis, D. (1993) An exploratory
investigation into the roles of the
nature_x0002_based tour leader. Tourism
Management 14 (2), 91–98.
• Pereira, E.M. and Mykletun, R.J. (2012) Guides
as contributors to sustainable tourism? A case
study from the Amazon. Scandinavian Journal
of Hospitality and Tourism 12 (1), 74–94.
• Black, R. and Weiler, B. (2005) Quality
assurance and regulatory mechanisms in the
tour guiding industry: A systematic review.
Journal of Tourism Studies 16 (1), 24–37
• Scherrer, P., Smith, A.J. and Dowling R.K.
(2011) Visitor management practices and
operational sustainability: Expedition cruising in
the Kimberley, Australia. Tourism Management
32 (5), 1218–1222
• Henning, G.K. (2008) The guided hike in Banff
National Park. A hermeneutical performance.
Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16 (2), 182–
• Jacobson, S.K. and Robles, R. (1992)
Ecotourism, sustainable development and
conservation education: Development of a tour
guide training program in Tortuguero, Costa
Rica. Environmental Management 16 (6), 701–
713.
• Jensen, O. (2010) Social mediation in remote
developing world tourism locations – The
significance of social ties between local guides
and host communities in sustainable tourism
development. Journal of Sustainable Tourism
18 (5), 615–633
• Ormsby, A. and Mannle, K. (2006) Ecotourism
benefits and the role of local guides at Masoala
National Park, Madagascar. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism 14 (3), 271–287.
• Hughes, K. (1991) Tourist satisfaction: A guided
cultural tour in North Queensland. Australian
Psychologist 26 (3), 166–171
• Orams, M.B. (1996) Using interpretation to
manage nature-based tourism. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 4 (2), 81–94.