Challenges of Tourism Initiative on Local Community Empowerment in Kakamega County, Western Kenya

Abstract

Community empowerment is concerned with how members of a group are able to act collectively in ways that enhance their influence on, or control over decisions that affect their interest. Local residents, particularly the indigenous people, who live around tourist sites in Kakamega County, are of low economic status, they are not empowered despite the many tourist attractions in the region. The study intends to ascertain the challenges of these initiatives on local community empowerment in Kakamega County, Western Kenya. This research examined the study objectives by use of survey research design. The research targeted a population of 53325 in surrounding 6 tourism destinations. The sample size was 397 respondent sampled through stratified, simple random sampling and purposive sampling method. Self-administered questionnaires and interview were used to collect data.  Data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics, using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 for analysis. The findings were; cultural festivals and artefacts were preferred by tourists, earning the locals income. In  nature  tourism  forest  trek, bird watching ,cool weather and forest herbs  were  major  attractions  earning  the  locals  a  good  income  as  tour  guides  and  language  translators. In recreational tourism  the  tourists  enjoyed  the  camping  sites  and  forest  resorts where  the  local  community worked. The  sturdy  recommends  promotion  of  cultural  tourism  in  the  region  because  of  its  rich  culture  that  boosts  the  economy  of  the  residents. Kenya  tourism  board  to  develop  and  empower  local  community  in  sustainable  use  of  tourism  resources. It  therefore  suggested  a  study  on  recreational facilities to  be  established  as  an  attraction  of  many  tourists to  bring  foreign exchange.