High concentrations of visitors at peak times of
year is a common feature of the MMNR, especially around entrance
gates and wildlife spectacles, such as river crossings or carnivore
sightings, and also at popular tourism attractions that have either been specifically
developed in the area, such as the picnic sites in the
CCTM section of the Reserve, or have developed more
informally as demand has increased (such as the
popular lunch spot at the hippo pools on the Mara River).
Visitor overcrowding and vehicle congestion has not
only impacted on the quality of the tourism product
that the Reserve is able to offer, but has also been the cause
of increased disturbance to the area’s wildlife
and environment. In contrast to many protected areas,
however, the MMNR is fortunate to have high densities of
easily visible wildlife distributed throughout the
Reserve, and there a number of strategies that can be
pursued by management to influence visitor use patterns and
to reduce congestion and overcrowding, with the
ultimate aim of improving the quality of the tourism
product the Reserve provides, while reducing the
environmental impacts from visitor use. These strategies
include: the improvement or development of new tourism
attractions within the MMNR to encourage wider use
of the area; upgrading the Reserve’s game
viewing track network; and improving interpretation facilities
and materials in order to help raise awareness of
attractions throughout the area.
In response to these issues, and to capitalise on
the untapped opportunities the MMNR presents, this
objective has been developed to improve the visitor
attractions, amenities and infrastructure provided for
visitors to the MMNR. Six actions have been developed to
achieve this objective.
