The Role of Tour Operators’ Sustainable Environmental Practices on Visitor Choice Behavior in Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

In Narok County, which hosts the Maasai Mara National Reserve, tourism is a major earner important for Kenya’s economy overall. Nonetheless, the rise in tourism operations in this ecologically sensitive area has caused environmental degradation, endangering the sustainability of the region's natural heritage. Narok County is thus the epicenter of this study. The objective of this study is to examine the contribution of tour operators' sustainable environmental practices on the choice behavior of the visitors. The research design used was mixed method research design. The target population was 314 tour operators and sample population were 176 tour operators that are registered by Tourism Regulatory Authority, are member of Kenya Association of Tour Operators and have access to Narok county. The target population of visitors were 76,217 and sample population was 397 visitors visiting attractions in Narok County. simple random sampling technique was employed to select the tour operators and visitors. Questionnaires were issued to visitors and tour operator staff to collect primary data. Interviews schedules and observation checklist were used to get information from high ranking official of tour operators. Data was analysed using statistical package for social science SPSS software version 20.0. The value of R square was 0.259, an indication that 25.9 percent of visitor choice behavior is caused by tour operators’ sustainable environmental practices. The coefficient of tour operators’ sustainable environmental practices had a positive and statistically significant effect on visitor choice behavior (β=0.557, P<0.05). The beta estimate suggests that a unit change in tour operators’ sustainable environmental practices result to 0.557 units change in visitor choice behavior in Narok County, Kenya. The outcomes of the study lead the to the conclusion that the sustainable environmental practices of tour operators have an impact on the decision-making behavior of visitors. The study recommends for the need of the government to actively involve tour operators in key decisions regarding achieving sustainable tourism in destinations.