Wildlife Watching and Tourism: Effect of Two-Way Radio Communication on Wildlife in Kenya

Abstract

The two- way a radio has been used by safari guides as a communication tool between themselves and the office incase of emergencies while in the wilderness. Initially only a few large tour wholesalers were licensed to own some frequencies. This has now changed and most of the tour operators use the radio to differentiate their transport product. The use of these radios is no longer limited to emergencies but used as a tool to communicate with drivers on the location wildlife in the park, bringing about overcrowding and noise pollution among others. The study sought to evaluate the drivers’ awareness and perception on how the use of the two-way radio affects wildlife and the customers. The study adopted an exploratory design with a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings indicated that the driver guides are not aware of the effects of the two-way radio on the wildlife and customer experience. The study recommends that driver guides should be trained on the impacts of the two-way radio on wildlife and the environment and the policy on the two-way radio acquisition and usage should be put in place to guide the driver guides.

Keywords: Two-way radio, safari guide, perception, awareness, game drives