Tourism is among the fastest expanding industry that contributes to government revenues and diverse career opportunities. Kenya is endowed with rich faunal and floral biodiversity, physical scenic features, and a dynamic social-cultural diversity. Currently mass tourism dominates the tourism sector in the region. However, the demand of land for agricultural use and other development activities threatens tourism resource sustainability. Tourism training must therefore address the need to integrate tourism with other existing land-use methods and community needs.

The Tourism Act has put emphasis on communities’ participation in managing tourism resources. To encourage community involvement, Kenyan government is determined to develop alternative tourism forms which are non consumptive. Ecotourism has therefore been developed as an avenue to enhance social, economic, and environmental benefits in participant communities. The current expansion of tourism, together with the changing external environment requires skilled manpower in order to manage the industry sustainably. This programme is designed to train manpower to meet these challenges.