As part of the second component of the Blue Tourism Initiative, CORDIO East Africa led a training workshop in Diani-Shimoni, on the south-east coast of Kenya.

A team from CORDIO East Africa and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) led the five-day training workshop on building governance capacity for sustainable blue tourism, bringing together up to 41 participants, including 12 women.

The training covered:

• Community-based tourism planning and benefit-sharing;
• Sustainable tourism governance principles
• Collaborative resource management approaches.

This activity sets the stage for a series of actions designed to transform local tourism into a community-driven, eco-friendly development model.

During the following steps, the Component 2 activities of the Blue Tourism Initiative in Diani-Shimoni will include:

• Facilitating the complete development of sustainable community-based blue tourism activities;
• Investing in physical asset development to enhance infrastructure and enterprise capacity;
• Building market linkages to connect community tourism offerings with regional and global markets;
• Strengthening local governance mechanisms to ensure inclusive, long-term stewardship of natural resources.

These efforts reflect a growing movement toward a blue economy that works for people and nature.