Leveraging tourism in Kenya through indigenous knowledge

Abstract

Abstract Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge or knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. It is an archive of the sum total of knowledge, skills and attitudes belonging to a community and passed down through many generations. The use of indigenous knowledge to attract tourists is known as indigenous tourism. This is a form of tourism in which the indigenous people are directly involved either through control and/or by having their culture serve as the essence of the attraction. Indigenous tourism gives indigenous communities an opportunity to tell their story to the world. It also gives tourists an authentic experience with the indigenous communities as well as their culture and environment which cannot be easily experienced through any other way. This chapter explores the use of indigenous knowledge to leverage tourism in Kenya through indigenous tourism. It demonstrates the value of indigenous knowledge in supporting sustainable national socioeconomic development. In the face of the prevailing cut-throat competition, indigenous communities in Africa can enhance their competitive edge by mainstreaming their unique indigenous knowledge in their tourism packages. Introductio