Missionary Guesthouses as Community-Based Tourism Enterprises in West Pokot County, Kenya
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Keywords
Community Based Tourism, programmes, awareness, missionary guesthouses, local participation
Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the role of missionary guesthouse in West Pokot County, Kenya, concentrating on their impact on local livelihoods, community awareness and participation. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory introduced by Freeman (1984). Exploratory research design was adopted. The study targeted 7,103 household from Pokot Central, South, West and North in West Pokot County. The sample size of 369 households were arrived at using Yamane sample size formula. The households were sampled using simple random technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that missionary guesthouses are relied upon by households from different regions, though this is more pronounced in North Pokot than in South Pokot. Whereas awareness of missionary guesthouse activities within the membership has been rated as relatively high, participation in the same is rated as neutral, hence, there is some discrepancy between the level of awareness and actual participation in the process. The respondents also view missionary guesthouses positively as vehicles for socio-economic development, noting that missionary guesthouses play a role in capacity building, local business linkages and accountable resource management. It is recommended that West Pokot County should create more awareness and training programs in an effort to spur better involvement in missionary guesthouse-related activities.
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Jonathan Plimo Ng’oriarita , School of Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management, Moi University, P. O. Box 3900 - 30100, Kesses, Eldoret, Kenya
School of Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management, Moi University, Kenya
Damiannah M. Kieti , School of Business and Economics, KCA University, P. O. Box 56808 – 00200, Nairobi, Kenya
School of Business and Economics, KCA University, Nairobi, Kenya
Jacqueline Korir, School of Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management, Moi University, P. O. Box 3900 - 30100, Kesses, Eldoret, Kenya
School of Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management, Moi University, Kenya