EXPLORING DIASPORA RESOURCES AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TOURISM- A case of Kenyans in Scandinavia

Limo, Dominic Kiptanui

4. term

Tourism, Master

2017

2017-05-31

60

This thesis examines how Kenyan diaspora communities in Scandinavia can serve as a knowledge resource for marketing and developing Kenya’s tourism sector through partnerships with social entrepreneurs. Using an exploratory design framed by theories of diaspora and tourism social entrepreneurship, the study draws on interviews, a focus group, and analysis of Kenyan policy documents (including Kenya Vision 2030 and the Kenya Diaspora Policy 2015). It maps key tourism-related actors across the Nordic region—including registered and virtual diaspora groups, social entrepreneurs, and the Embassy of Kenya—and identifies the channels they use for knowledge exchange. The thesis addresses three questions: who the relevant partners are, what means and channels support knowledge transfer, and what opportunities and challenges shape collaboration. Findings point to the potential of a diaspora-led knowledge transfer network to strengthen sustainable marketing and learning in practice, while also highlighting barriers such as weak coordination, the practical difficulties of sustaining social entrepreneurial initiatives, and heterogeneous interests within the diaspora. The study contributes to the emerging field of tourism social entrepreneurship by positioning diaspora partnerships as a pathway to inform policy and practice in Kenya’s tourism.

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan kenyanske diasporagrupper i Skandinavien kan fungere som en videnressource for markedsføring og udvikling af Kenyas turismesektor gennem partnerskaber med sociale iværksættere. Med et eksplorativt design og teorier om diaspora og socialt iværksætteri i turisme som ramme trækker studiet på interviews, et fokusgruppeinterview og analyse af kenyanske politikdokumenter (bl.a. Kenya Vision 2030 og Kenya Diaspora Policy 2015). Afhandlingen kortlægger centrale turismerelaterede aktører i Norden—herunder registrerede og virtuelle diasporagrupper, sociale iværksættere og Kenyas ambassade—og identificerer de kanaler, de anvender til vidensudveksling. Den adresserer tre spørgsmål: hvem partnerne er, hvilke midler og kanaler der understøtter vidensoverførsel, samt hvilke muligheder og udfordringer der præger samarbejdet. Resultaterne peger på potentiale for et diaspora-drevet netværk for vidensoverførsel, der kan styrke bæredygtig markedsføring og praksislæring, samtidig med at der peges på barrierer som manglende sammenhæng i indsatsen, praktiske vanskeligheder ved at drive sociale projekter og forskelligartede interesser i diasporaen. Specialet bidrager til den fremvoksende litteratur om socialt iværksætteri i turisme ved at positionere diasporapartnerskaber som en vej til at informere politik og praksis i Kenyas turisme.

[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

Diaspora community ; Social Entrepreneurship in Tourism

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