Nature Interpretation and Visitor Management In Protected Areas

As a soft and non-obtrusive on-site visitor management strategy forms of Nature Interpretation (NI) have been pushed as a vehicle for the realization of protected area visitor management objectives. Indeed, NI has been envisaged to enhance visitor knowledge and understanding of the conservation area, minimize visitor impacts and promote the protection and enhancement of attraction sites while at the same time assist visitors to enjoy their visit. However unfavorable visitor attitudes can pose challenges to the effectiveness of forms of NI like tour guiding, visitor codes and orientation signage as visitor management strategies within conservation areas. It has also been observed that inadequate interpretation of natural attractions is one of the challenges facing Kenyäs tourism industry. The objectives of the study were; to establish if forms of NI influence visitors¿ attitudes towards conservation in Kakamega Forest National Researve (KNFR), to establish the influence of visitors¿ attitudes on visitor management objectives in KFNR and to establish the significance tour guides and managers attach to different forms of NI as visitor management strategies in KFNR.