The impact of tourism on housing;The Impact of Tourism on Housing: A Case Study of Malindi Town

Abstract

Studies on Tourism have been done by several scholars in developed and developing Countries. This has been related the positive and negative effects of Tourism on individuals and Country level, studies on housing have also been done by several scholars. However, no effort has been done to illuminate the relationship between growth of tourism and housing This study is aimed at finding out the impact of tourism on housing using a case study of Malindi Town, a tourist town in the Kenya Coast. The setting of the research is Malindi, a Coastal Town in Kenya that is heavily dependent on tourism with approximately 90% of the population estimated to work in the industry. The research started with interview with Managers of ten (10) Hotels selected from the 46 hotels found in Malindi Town, three officers from the Municipal Council of Malindi, (Town Clerk, Municipal Engineer & Municipal Planner), Malindi District Physical Planner, Malindi District Tourism Officer, Malindi District Housing Officer, Lands and Estates agents, Small Scale Enterprises, Tour firms, Construction firms and the general Public on the impact of Tourism on housing. The study established that growth of tourism has an impact on housing development on housing stock, cost, affordability, physical infrastructure and house design.