Kuoni Destination Management Embarks on Ecotourism in Africa

Private Safaris and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based in Geneva, are working on a joint project to increase the capacity of conservation organisations that are setting up small scale tourism businesses in East Africa.

The project, which is being developed in East Africa, provides conservation organisations with business skills and marketing support to design ecotourism products.

Kuoni Travel Holding and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) have supported the funding of the project.

A kick-off workshop was held in Nairobi from 20 to 24 June to give conservation specialists practical information on key elements of the tourism market. More than three dozen participants from five countries attended.

Private Safaris not only made arrangements for all necessary logistics, such as transfers, accommodation, venue and meals, but was also instrumental at instructing two of the five main topics held during the four-day programme:

• Exploring the ecotourism potential of a site • Business planning • Ensuring sustainability • Health and safety • Marketing, sales & customer care for ecotourism business

The workshop gave participants a better understanding of the risks and opportunities of developing ecotourism. It will also enhance their capacity to design ecotourism products that are economically viable and positively contribute to the biodiversity conservation.

See recent travel news from: Travel News Asia, Kuoni, Africa, Safaris