W AK ING U P TH E SL E E P I NG GI A NT - WHA T W ILL I T TA K E F OR M ID- R IF T T O B EC OM E T HE N EX T P R EM I E R T O U RI S M D ES T I NAT IO N I N K E NYA ?

In exploiting the Mid-Rift’s tourism potential, SNV and the WWF worked together with the local and regional leadership on a multi-stakeholder conference that brought different actors together to deliberate on the major constraints to tourism in the Mid-Rift and to design a carefully negotiated road map for the development of the destination. The actors included: private sector parties, Members of Parliament, Government departments, representative of the local community, athletes, and universities. This paper describes the process of mapping and understanding the constraints, developing consensus around requisite actions, and implementation. The activities undertaken included situation analysis, investment mapping, and the establishment of stakeholder platforms. The paper also highlights the key successes and the lessons learnt from this multi-actor process. This paper illustrates the need for shared understanding, joint planning and action by tourism stakeholders seeking to address bottlenecks in an emerging destination and create an enabling environment for tourism to thrive. It also demonstrates the need to link micro issues to national policy.