Homestay Tourist Accommodation as a Concept to Boost Rural Economies in Kenya: A Case of Taita Taveta County
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Date
2013-12-23
Authors
Kimaiga, R. K.
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Abstract
The economic potential of tourism in less developed countries has been identified as an
important contributing factor to global tourism growth. In most developing countries,
tourism has normally been portrayed as a contributor to small scale enterprises directly
uplifting the standards of living as well as a catalyst for community development. As an
extended form of community participation in tourism, the homestays concept seeks to
empower individual households earn an income from tourism directly. Due to the
potential of the home stay program to provide additional income and employment for the
local people, the government of Kenya through the Department of Tourism in the
Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism (MEACT) conducted a
mapping and identification exercise for homestays throughout the country in 2012 and
identified 331 homestays. This was done with the objective of developing a criterion for
licensing and regulation of homestays which will go a long way in creating a level
playing ground and a conducive environment for homestays development. This implies
that there is demand for homestay accommodation. This demand may be explained by the
recent global social and cultural changes resulting in greater interest and appreciation in
cultural heritage, lifestyles and environmental concerns. Although homestays are
purported to provide economic benefits to the local people, it is not clear whether they
fully benefit from the venture. For instance majority of the people in Taita Taveta County
still live below the poverty line despite the fact that the homestays concept has been in
existence in the county since 1989 and the highest number of homestay accommodation
is found in this region. This research will therefore put the homestays concept into
perspective; identify motivational factors behind local people's participation in the
program; assess the socia-economic benefits of homestay accommodation to host
families; identify host families knowledge and skills in their participation in the program;
examine factors which influence tourist choice of homestays and formulate ways
homestays can be further developed and positioned to enhance their contribution to host
families and the community with specific focus to Taita Taveta County. This research
will adopt both exploratory and descriptive research design and will make use of both
primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected by use of researcher
administered semi-structured questionnaires. Probability proportional to size (Pl'S)
sampling technique will be used to select the sample for tourists visiting homestays
where a total of 95 tourists will form the sample size. Census technique will be used for
the homestay operators hence all the 54 homestay operators in the county will form the
sample size. Descriptive and correlation analysis will be used to analyse data. The
findings of this study will lead to the formulation of strategies which the homestay
operators and the government can apply to optimize tourism's economic benefits to host
families and the community hence improve their livelihoods