Determinants of access to marine cultural heritage assets for poverty alleviation in the coastal communities of Kilwa and Bagamoyo in Tanzania

The communities in the districts of Bagamoyo and Kilwa in Tanzania depend much on marine cultural heritage (MCH) assets for their economic well-being. This study aimed to establish factors that determined access to the MCH assets in Bagamoyo and Kilwa, and the way the communities benefited from them. Purposive sampling was used to get 161 respondents from four groups, including 24 local tour guides,76 fishermen, 22 singers-dancers and 39 crafters. Four village government leaders and one antiquity official were also involved in the study. The study collected data through interviews and a questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that the groups did not benefit from the MCH assets because of using poor technology, insufficient financial support, inadequate training and little community participation in decision making. The article recommends that the stakeholders should initiate efforts that will enable the communities to benefit from the MCH assets for poverty alleviation purposes.