An analysis of the factors inhibiting the growth of domestic tourism and the level of awareness about domestic tourism amongst middle level income employees in Kenya: The case study of Nairobi city.

Abstract

This study investigated the low level of domestic travel amongst middle level income employees in Nairobi in relation to the lack of a holiday culture and the tourism sector's attitude towards the domestic· tourist. The main ideology in the research was that sustainable development in tourism can only come from a focus on domestic tourism that is not affected by unforeseen circumstances as travel advisories and insecurity. Never has this situation seemed more relevant to Kenyans than now, in the aftermath of the post election violence that saw international tourists abandon the country after violence broke out. Domestic tourism would be minimally affected by adverse travel advisories as people would be traveling in their own borders. Domestic tourism has the potential, over time, to match and even outstrip the revenues from international travel and yet since the onset of domestic tourism in the 1990' s, its growth has been very minimal. This paper studied the factors influencing the growth of domestic tourism amongst middle level income employees in Nairobi. The research was guided by four objectives; to determine the relationship between lack of a holiday culture and the low level of domestic tourism amongst middle- level income employees in Kenya, to establish the relationship between the attitude of the tourism sector to the domestic tourist and the low level of domestic tourism amongst middle-level income employees in Kenya, to establish the level of awareness amongst middle-level income employees of the benefits of domestic travel as a strategy towards sustainable development of tourism in Kenya and to determine whether perception of cost affects holiday culture and thus contributes to the low level of domestic tourism amongst mid level income employees. The design of this research was descriptive. Questionnaires were used to collect data amongst middle level income employees in Kenya, who were the target population. Data was analyzed and the research found that there is no significant relationship between holiday culture and the low level of domestic tourism in Kenya as the target group have a holiday culture and have been on holiday within Kenya at least once in the last three years. The study also found that middle level income employees have a positive. attitude towards taking holiday. The attitude of the tourism sector towards middle level income employees was measured and it was discovered that there is a significant relationship between the low level of domestic tourism amongst middle level income employees and the attitude of the tourism sector. The study also revealed that the level of awareness about domestic tourism and its benefits is quite high amongst middle level income employees in Kenya. The research process and the findings are presented in this research report.