Influence of Tourism Attractions on Tourism Sustainability in Selected Parts of Nandi County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2200/aerj.v5i2.251Keywords:
Tourism Attractions, Tourism Sustainability, KenyaAbstract
Tourists are satisfied when their needs are met in a destination. When destinations lack attractions, it is hard to be called a tourism entity. Natural beauty and climate among others are a vital aspect that influence vacationers to visit or revisit a given destination. These features entice individuals to the destination and also contribute to the general experience of the tour thereby sustaining tourism. The research intended to assess the influence of tourism attractions on tourism sustainability in selected parts of Nandi County. The results for the study could give a guideline to the improvement of tourism dimensions towards sustainability in Nandi County. The study employed a survey research design. The target population was 598 visitors with a sample size of 239. Questionnaires were used to gather data from tourists visiting the selected parts. Validity was realized through selection of study sample that was of the utmost representative group. Cronbach’s alpha was used as a measure of reliability. Descriptive statistics were employed in SPSS Version 2021. There were 6 tourist destinations visited in selected parts of Nandi County with 172 respondents sampled; 158 (91.9%) Kenyans, 4 (2.3%) German, 4 (2.3%) Indians, 2 (1.2%) from USA while 4 (2.3%) were either from New York, Nigeria and Brazil. In regards to gender, majority were male (65.1%). Most respondents (36.0%) were aged from 21 to 30 years. Majority of the respondents, (97.7%) had formal education. Out of the total respondents, 17.4% had visited Diguna falls, 3.5% Kaptumo Africa Native Court, 14.5% Koitalel Samoei Museum, 26.7% Ngaunat caves, 14.0% Eden spring guest house and 23.8% Chepkiit falls. The respondents were asked to state how valuable was cultural dimensions to their visit in Nandi County; 11.0% indicated that they were not very valuable, 9.3% not valuable, 22.1% undecided, 29.1% valuable while 28.5% very valuable. On natural attractions, 4.1% revealed that they were not very valuable 2.3% not valuable, 15.7% were undecided, 27.9% valuable and 50.0% very valuable. On built attractions, 5.8% opined not very valuable, 9.9% not valuable, 27.3% were undecided, 30.8% valuable while 26.2% very valuable. In conclusion, cultural attractions were found to be the most valuable to tourists visit in Nandi County. The findings revealed that tourism attractions have an influence on the tourism sustainability in selected parts of Nandi County. The study recommended more studies to be done to establish the influence of tourisms accessibility on tourism sustainability in selected parts of Nandi County, Kenya.
References
Al Shamaileh, M. H., & Alnaser, A. S. M. (2018). Measuring Customer Satisfaction with the Influence of Islamic Attributes of Destination in Jordan. J. Mgmt. & Sustainability, 8(1), 33 - 40.
Amanda, W. (2021). Sustainable Tourism: What is it, and Why Should We Care? Retrieved fromhttps://landlopers.com/2011/12/25/sustainable-tourism-definition
Ariya, G., Wishitemi, B., & Sitati, N. (2017). Tourism destination attractiveness as perceived by tourists visiting Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. International Journal of Research in Tourism and Hospitality 3(4), 1-13
Asmelash, A. G., & Kumar, S. (2019). Assessing progress of tourism sustainability: Developing and validating sustainability indicators. Tourism Management, 71(3), 67-83.
Babbie, E. (2012). Social research counts. Cengage Learning. Wadsworth
Boniface, B., Cooper, R., & Cooper, C. (2016). Worldwide destinations: The geography of travel and tourism. Routledge. Boston: Pearson Education.
Carrillo, M., & Jorge, J. M. (2017). Multidimensional analysis of regional tourism sustainability in Spain. Ecological Economics, 140 (1), 89-98.
Chen, C. M., Chen, S. H., & Lee, H. T. (2011). The destination competitiveness of Kinmen's tourism industry: exploring the interrelationships between tourist perceptions, service performance, customer satisfaction and sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19 (2), 247-264.
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage publications.
Dupeyras, A., & MacCallum, N. (2013). Indicators for measuring competitiveness in tourism: A guidance document. A Guidance Document”, OECD Tourism Papers, 2013/02, OECD Publishing, Paris. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k47t9q2t923-en
Fazenda, N., da Silva, F. N., & Costa, C. (2010). Douro Valley Tourism Plan: The plan as part of a sustainable tourist destination development process. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.
Gisore, R., & Ogutu, H. (2015). Sustainable tourism in Africa: Standards as essential catalysts. Sector Standardisation Needs Review, 9 (3), 1-26.
Talam, J. J., Ariya, G., & Makomere, J. (2021). Influence of Accommodation Destination Dimension on Tourism Sustainability in Selected Regions of Nandi County, Kenya. African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 6 (4), 121-132.
Kombo, D. K., & Tromp, D. L. (2009). Introduction to Proposal writing (2nd Ed.). Nairobi: Pauline Publications.
Marinao, E. (2017). Determinants of Satisfaction with the Tourist Destination. In Mobilities, Tourism and Travel Behavior-Contexts and Boundaries. IntechOpen.
Matarrita-Cascante, D., Brennan, M. A., & Luloff, A. E. (2010). Community agency and sustainable tourism development: The case of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Journal of sustainable tourism, 18(6), 735-756.
Muskat, B., Hörtnagl, T., Prayag, G., & Wagner, S. (2019). Perceived quality, authenticity, and price in tourists’ dining experiences: Testing competing models of satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 25 (4), 480-498.
Neupane, P. C. (2021). Tourism Governance in the aftermath of COVID-19: A Case Study of Nepal. The Gaze: Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 12 (1), 44-69.
Page, S. J. (2014). Tourism management. Routledge. UK
Pantano, E., Priporas, C. V., & Stylos, N. (2017). ‘You will like it!’using open data to predict tourists' response to a tourist attraction. Tourism Management, 60 (1), 430-438.
Quinlan, C. (2011). Business Research Methods. UK: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Ramseook-Munhurrun, P., Naidoo, P., Seebaluck, V. N., & Pillai, P. (2016, July). The impact of
destination service quality on tourist satisfaction and loyalty: Evidence from Mauritius. In Proceedings of the International Academic Research Conference on Marketing & Tourism (MTCI16 Paris Conference) (pp. 1-3).
Ramukumba, T. (2018). Tourists revisit intentions based on purpose of visit and preference of the destination. A case study of Tsitsikamma National Park. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7 (1), 1-10.
Sánchez‐Rivero, M., & Pulido‐Fernández, J. I. (2012). Testing Heterogeneous Image in Cultural/Non‐cultural Tourism Markets: a Latent Model Approach. International Journal of Tourism Research, 14 (3), 250-268.
Swarbrooke, J., & Page, S. J. (2012). Development and management of visitor attractions. Routledge.
Teeroovengadum, V., Seetanah, B., & Nunkoo, R. (2018). The Influence of Travelers' Satisfaction with Destination Tertiary Services on Loyalty. Tourism Analysis, 23 (4), 567-570.
Um, S., Chon, K., & Ro, Y-H. (2006). Antecedents of revisit intention. Annals of Tourism. Unpublished Masters’ Thesis, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences.
UNWTO, U. (2008). Climate change and tourism. Responding to global challenges. Madrid, UNWTO.
UNWTO (2014). International tourism on track to end 2014 with record numbers. - Retrieved from http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-12-18/international-tourism-track-end-2014-recordnumbers
UNWTO. (2017). International tourism on track to end 2014 with record numbers. Retrieved from http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-12-18/international-tourism-track-end-2014-recordnumbers
Vengesayi, S., Mavondo, F. T., & Reisinger, Y. (2009). Tourism destination attractiveness: attractions, facilities, and people as predictors. Tourism Analysis, 14(5), 621-636.
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis. (2nd ed.). New York: Harper and Row.
Yan, T., & Tourangeau, R. (2008). Fast times and easy questions: The effects of age, experience and question complexity on web survey response times. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 22 (1), 51-68.
Zar, J. H. (2013). Biostatistical analysis: Pearson new international edition. London: Pearson Higher Ed.
Zikmund, G. W., Babin, J. B., Carr, C. J., & Griffin, M. (2010). Business Research Methods (8th ed.). Hampshire, UK: Cengage Learning.
