November 18, 2020
Meet Kristin Westermann, sustainable tourism certificate student
My name is Kristin Westermann, and I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am starting a new business called Peak and Sea Africa.
I first visited the East African country of Tanzania in 2003 with my father, a Lutheran pastor. He founded a small nonprofit that provides scholarships for young Tanzanians to attend secondary school, vocational training and college. I have been working with this scholarship program and a Tanzanian school for children with physical disabilities since 2004.
Unemployment is a huge challenge in Tanzania, and often even well-educated young people struggle to find a job. Tourism is Tanzania’s second largest industry, and it is expected to grow rapidly. I decided that I wanted to create employment by helping tourists visit Tanzania.
My Tanzanian business partner is a former scholarship student who started his own successful tour company in 2013. Together, we plan to offer wildlife safaris, Mount Kilimanjaro climbs and Indian Ocean beach vacations. Sustainability will play a key role in our operation; we want to support local tourism businesses that share our concern for the environment and local communities.
ECU’s graduate certificate in Sustainable Tourism, focusing on case studies and practical projects, has been incredibly helpful as I develop this new business. I look forward to launching Peak and Sea Africa in early 2021.
I hope my company will help the Tanzanian tourism sector recover from COVID-19 and continue to grow in a healthy, sustainable way.