Strategies applied to attract tourists by Isiolo County in Kenya

Abstract

This study was conducted to empirically analysis tourism destination competitiveness from the tourism stakeholders’ perspective. The study provides the structural relationships among the following five strategic constructs through a series of analyses:-1) perceived tourism development impacts, 2) environmental attitudes, 3) place attachment, 4) development preferences about destination attractions/resources, and 5) support for destination competitive strategies. The principle guideline of this study was that the support of tourism stakeholders for tourism planning and development is a key element for the successful operation, management, and longterm sustainability of tourism destinations. Tourism stakeholder’s solid knowledge and experiences in tourism management and industry, professional involvement and participation in tourism planning and development, and long-term community observation and interactions have played an important role in tourism destination management. Structured questionnaires were used to collect empirical from randomly selected tourism stakeholders in the county of Isiolo. From the results, tourism stakeholders’ preferences about tourism attractions/ resources development are a function of perceived tourism development impacts as well as place attachment. The more stakeholders’ preference for developing tourism attractions/resources, the more likely they were to support destination competitive strategies such as marketing efforts and activities, and destination management organizations’ role. An additional finding that was not hypothesized indicated that tourism stakeholders, who have perceived benefits from tourism development, particularly in its economic and cultural aspects, are likely to support enhancement strategies for destination competitiveness. The implications of these findings can be applied to the enhancement of tourism destination competitiveness. Results also showed that a firm’s competitive advantage comes from its resource capacity (superior resources, unique capabilities and solid relationships) and a mix of activities that respond to the competitive context. Stakeholder management can thus have significant influence on resources advantages as stakeholders play important roles in the process of value creation. They are the providers who supply valued resources to the firm and, as such, can act as catalysts or hindrances that either facilitate or impede the generation of valued resources. Successful stakeholder management strengthens a firm’s resource profile and thus enhances its resource advantages, as stakeholders are relevant activities and drivers that determine cost and differentiation. Moreover, stakeholders, as stated above, are key players in the competitive context, who help to shape competitiveness of the firm. In a global climate of increased competition and greater visitor demands for professionalism and service, planning emerges as one of the most valuable tools that attractions can use to differentiate themselves from competitors. Planning can provide competitive advantages by allowing attractions to manage their strengths and weaknesses and to anticipate opportunities and threats in the environment..