Influence of Sports Events Hosting on Tourism Development in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya
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Date
2024-06
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
In the 21st century, tourism destinations, including Kenya, use sports events hosting
to enhance their tourism sectors. Hosting sports events helps Kenya revitalize its
tourism industry, communicate revitalization plans, and align with Vision 2030 goals
for long-term tourism development. However, the empirical study on the viability of
hosting sports events as a tourism product in Kenya has been overlooked. Thus, the
current study examined sports events hosting influence on tourism development in
Uasin Gishu County-Kenya. Three specific objectives guided the study: (i) to
determine the influence of the local community involvement in sports events hosting
on tourism development in Uasin Gishu County, (ii) to assess the influence of sports
events hosting as a branding identity tool on tourism development in Uasin Gishu
County, and (iii) to identify the influence of sports events' hosting challenges on
tourism development in Uasin Gishu County. Social exchange theory was adopted in
this study. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. The study’s target
population was local community members living in Eldoret and its metropolitan areas,
and key informants were drawn from hotels, event-organizers, and sports and tourism
county officials. A simple random sampling approach was used to sample the locals
and sports tourists, while a purposive sampling technique was utilized to select key
informants. The sample size of the study was 552 respondents, consisting of 384 locals,
152 sports tourists, six (6) event managers, eight (8) hotel managers, and two (2)
tourism county officials from Uasin Gishu County. Questionnaires and interview
schedules were used for the collection of data. The quantitative data was analyzed
using descriptive statistics of percentages, means and standard deviations statistics of
correlation and regression analyses. Qualitative data followed a text/content analysis,
after which the responses were grouped as theses and integrated into the discussion of
quantitative findings. The findings revealed that local community involvement
(r=0.723, p=0.000), sports events hosting as a branding identity (r=0.534, p=0.000),
and sports events hosting challenges (r=0.480, p=0.000) exhibited a positive and
statistically significant relationship with tourism development in Uasin Gishu County.
Further, although the three variables positively influenced tourism development, local
community involvement was the most adamant predictor (R²=52.2%), and all three
dimensions of sports events hosting caused a 57.2% variation in tourism development
in Uasin Gishu County. The study concludes that hosting sports events influenced
tourism development in Uasin Gishu County. The study recommends using a macro approach to involve locals and a thorough global benchmark on the best’s sports events and hosting practices. Further, the study recommends a multi-agency approach to
curbing corruption, doping, mismanagement, and inadequate training facilities and
financial resources in sports events hosted in Kenya. There is a need to nurture sports
events to be hosted as a tourist product, recognized, and marketed to diversify Kenyan
tourism products’ portfolio and increase the competitiveness of Uasin Gishu County
as a preferred sports tourism destination
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Science in Tourism Management in the School of Business, Economics, and Tourism of Kenyatta University June 2024
Supervisors;
1. Elijah Gitonga Rintaugu
2. Jane Jebet Bitok