VISITOR’S PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE CAUSES OF SEASONALITY IN THE KENYAN TOURISM INDUSTRY: A CASE OF NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK, KENYA.

Abstract

Seasonality presents a number of issues that require special attention and strategies. In particular, seasonality affects the number of tourists to a region and therefore may threaten the viability of tourism enterprises and regions whether severely or mildly. Seasonality causes the fluctuation in tourists and visitor numbers to a destination. Consequently, some destinations at certain times have more tourists and visitors than they are able to accommodate, while other have few tourists and visitors to the region. Kenyan tourism industry has in recent years suffered low tourist receipts especially at the coast. The main objective is to establish the visitor’s perceptions towards the causes of seasonality in the Kenyan tourism industry, specifically, the causes of seasonality at the Nairobi National Park (NNP). The target visitor population at the NNP was 448 visitors for August, 2017, (KWS, 2018). The formula by Miller and Brewer (2003) was used to get the sample size of 205 respondents. Data was collected

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using questionnaires and interviews, then cleaned, edited and analyzed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed by use of content analysis. Descriptive analysis test used means, percentages and frequency distributions and charts. Inferential analysis used correlation and regression analysis including ANOVA and X2-square test to establish the level of relationships between the research variables. The findings indicate that the NNP experiences seasonality. Out of 64 respondent’s majority strongly agreed both natural and institutional seasonality that weather season both natural and institutionalized seasonality account for 80%; Calendar influence, natural and institutionalized seasonality 51%; Timing decision, natural and institutionalized seasonality 77% finally, Social pressures, natural and institutionally seasonality 50%. All the predictors were statistically significant at α=0.05 since p-values are less than 0.05. The study recommends that the government to give incentives to domestic tourists to visit the park regularly, in order to reduce the negativity of institutionalized seasonality. Further studies be done on the strategies to mitigate the causes of seasonality at the NNP. Keywords: Tourism, Tourists, Seasonality, Nairobi National Park