Contribution of Tourism to Rural Community Livelihoods in the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda.

Abstract

Tourism is one of the growth sectors recognized for its role in socio-economic transformation and improvement in the livelihoods of rural communities in developing countries including Uganda. This study examined the contribution of tourism to the livelihoods of rural communities living around Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA) from 1996 to 2015. Data were collected using a questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to the data to show the link between tourism development and rural households’ livelihoods. The results reveal that tourism generates incomes and contributes to rural households’ livelihoods through direct benefits (factor mean = 0.753), indirect benefits (factor mean = 0.826) and multiple forms of economic support given to the local community (factor mean = 0.807). In order to enhance and sustain these benefits, there is need to enhance business skills of the local communities through vocational training in tourism related enterprises, enhancing of markets for local products, the establishment of community-based tourism enterprise groups and savings and cooperative organizations (SACCOs).

Keywords

• Tourism
• Rural Communities
• livelihoods
• Murchison Falls conservation
• Uganda