Assesment of Slum Tourism Product:The case of Kibera in Nairobi,Kenya
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Date
2013-03-20
Authors
Chege, penina wanjiku
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Abstract
Thestudy was conducted in Kibera slum in Nairobi. It focused on assessing slum tourism
as a viable tourism option. The objectives were to: determine the main tourism attraction
in Kibera slum, establish the perceptions of Kibera's slum dwellers, Kenya Tourism
Boardand Victoria Safaris towards slum tourism, determine the benefits of slum tourism
to Kibera slum dwellers, establish measures to be taken to promote slum tourism in
Kibera and to determine the viability of slum tourism as a tourism product. The
exploratoryand descriptive survey research design was used. The target population of the
study was 800,000 residents of Kibera slum who live in a total of 12 villages, 160
employeesof Kenya 1:d.urism Board (KTB) and 38 employees of Victoria Safaris. The
samplesize was 472 respondents, 384 from Kibera, 50 from KTB and 38 from Victoria
Safaris.Simple random sampling was used to select 6 (50%) villages in Kibera. Snowball
samplingmethod was then used to select respondents in those six villages. The initial
subjectswere identified using purposive technique. The subjects from the KTB were
selected using convenient sampling method while all subjects from Victoria Safaris
participated.Data was collected by the use of questionnaire. A pilot study was run in
KisumuNdogo slum village. Reliability of the instrument was determined during the
pilot study using test re-test technique. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS)was used to analyze data. Data was then presented in tables and figures. The
resultsof the study showed that slum tourism is a viable tourism product as majority of
the respondents, 435 (92.2%), affirmed this. There was a strong liking for slum tourism
acrossall categories as majority, 396 (83.9%), view it as beneficial to the slum residents
in improving their living conditions. Poor understanding of slum tourism concept and
lackof involvement of residents was the major challenge while lack of policy was the
secondmajor challenge. Observing=residents' life style and taking photographs were
identifiedas major tourist activities" in Kibera slum while improvement of security and
involvementof residents in tourism activities were identified as key ways for promoting
slum tourism. The 'study recommends that there should be a deeper participation of
residents in running and making decisions on slum tours to increase benefits to the
residents.There is also need for government to develop a policy whose aim is to guide on
waysof conducting slum tours. There is also need for Ministry of Tourism to educate the
residentson how to take advantage of the venture and open up businesses like tour firms
andhowto provide other services in order to reap the benefits of slum tourism.