Kenya is one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa attracting about 6% of total arrivals to the continent (Kenya Government 1997). As such, tourism is a major economic and social phenomenon, accounting for over 12% of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product. However, although its major stakeholders (such as hoteliers, tour agencies, travel companies, and the state) benefit substantially from this industry, most often rural communities where attractions are actually located benefit the least from tourism. The Maasai are a case in point. Located to the Southwest of the country, they live adjacent to such world famous protected wildlife areas as Maasai Mara, Amboseli, and Tsavo (all originally owned by pastoral Maasai, but later protected game parks). These areas are well known for wildlife viewing and photographing in their natural setting; and thus over 40% of the international tourists who come to Kenya visit this region.

The Maasai are prominently featured in overseas tourism brochures, advertisements, electronic media, and other forms of commercials which market Kenya as a leading tourism “Mecca” in Africa. Scenes of the Maasai dressed in red ochre shuka and/or traditional regalia are juxtaposed with the “Big Five” (elephant, rhinoceros, lion, cheetah, and hippopotamus) and are promoted as ideal African wilderness attractions. The Maasai moran (youthful warriors), carrying traditional long spears and clubs, are projected in the media as people who “walk tall” amidst the deadly African “cats”. Scenes of Maasai livestock are also projected in commercials, grazing in harmony with other savanna herbivores such as antelopes, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and elephant.

However, these ideal wilderness images of harmonious co-existence between the Maasai and the savanna wildlife may have been tenable in the period preceding the creation of state protected game parks, and the establishment of tourism facilities and infrastructure on land previously owned by the Maasai. In reality, the Maasai are often in severe persistent and accelerating conflicts with park wildlife over grazing and water resources (the wildlife parks were created in important dry season grazing ranges). This social and economic scenario has been accentuated by state tourism and wildlife policies which focus narrowly on the protection of park wildlife for foreign tourists without any involvement of the Maasai in the management and utilization of these resources (Akama, Lant and Burnett 1996). The Maasai incur immediate and direct social and environmental costs from tourism development and wildlife conservation; they suffer damage by park wildlife and forego the opportunity of using this protected land for agricultural production; but insignificant amounts of the country’s tourism receipts trickle down to the Maasai in areas adjacent to the attractions. It has been noted that there is a major foreign presence in almost all of the country’s tourism subsectors, such as marketing and promotion, travel and transport, and hotel and hospitality service ( Akama; Dieke; Sindiga and Sincliar). In consequence, there is high leakage of Kenya’s tourism receipts. Therefore, insignificant amounts of the tourism revenues trickle down to the Maasai and other rural communities. This is despite the fact that Kenya’s most visited wildlife parks are located adjacent to Maasai settlements.

Moreover, most Kenyans who work in the tourism industry tend to occupy low unskilled and semi-skilled positions (Sindiga 1994). These jobs include tour guides, security guards, gardeners, housekeepers, porters, and waiters. These are servile, seasonal, and low paying positions. But even among these low paid jobs, the Maasai are least represented. However, it appears that the only area where there is a relatively high representation of them is security guard positions (watchmen). Not withstanding the fact that those who work as security guards do earn most sought-after income, these forms of jobs tend to reinforce existing stereotypes and perceptions concerning the Maasai. There is a general perception that since they live in the wilderness areas, where they share habitats and interact with dangerous and deadly wild cats, they are thus best suited to provide security and protection to tourists and hotel workers, against any form of real or perceived danger. Thus, whereas employees are safely camped inside well-protected hotels, the Maasai are supposed to stand guard at the entry gates to provide protection against any form of perceived danger.

Further, a few Maasai sell traditional handicraft and souvenirs such as bracelets, necklaces, swords, and head gear. They also perform traditional dances for tourists for minimal fees. However, the Maasai handicrafts and cultural performances have been removed from their authentic social and cultural context, and have been commercialized to suit the whims of mass tourism. These distorted handicrafts and contrived cultural performances serve to reinforce existing stereotypes and negative images of the Maasai, as a “backward and primitive people” who form an additional anecdote to international tourists keen for exoticism and adventure. Worse yet, incidents of tourists paying Maasai women and morans to strip so that they may take the “most exciting” photo have been reported (a recent front-cover photo in the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated Magazine attests to this). The visitors themselves acquire these forms of illusionary images and expectations from overseas agents who market these images, such as wild and darkest Africa, complete with roaring lions, trumpeting elephants, semi-naked and bare breasted natives in order to increase package sales. The tour operators and travel agents are often driven by the profit margin, and thus the tourism advertisements and commercials are aimed at creating an illusionary wilderness image to lure Western tourists keen for exoticism and adventure.

In addition, various forms of unwanted behavior and vices of mass tourism have been noted in Maasailand. They include incidents of prostitution, alcoholism, smoking, and drug taking. The Maasai youth are especially influenced by tourist behavior and are enticed to indulge in such deviant activities. There have been reports of prostitution as some tourists keep off the well-beaten track of conventional tourism and indulge in commercial sex with Maasai women. Health problems such as sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and dysentery that were uncommon in the widely dispersed traditional Maasai environment have increased in recent years, as they concentrate in cultural manyattas (local centers where the Maasai assemble to sell handicraft and perform traditional dance). Obviously these incidents of decadence and the breakdown of the social fabric of the Maasai as a result of mass tourism activities need further research and documentation.?