Integrating the role of sports associations in the promotion of sports and recreation tourism at the destination level: creating a partnering framework for Kenya

International Journal of Tourism Sciences, Volume 11, Number 3, pp. 21-35, 2011 Tourism Sciences Society of KoreaIn Kenya, tourism is the second most important earner of foreign exchange after agriculture. It has had a great impact in the direct employment of local population as well as in generating opportunities for other business activities such as accommodation, food service, transport, retail, and other auxiliary services. In the recent past, Kenya’s tourism has faced numerous challenges which may have slowed tourist arrivals and growth considerably. The challenges have been driven by climatic and environmental changes that maybe interfering with the ecosystem. Kenyan tourism faces significant challenges also from intense regional competition, political instability, poor governance, corruption, negative travel advisory by the governments of source markets, poor security at the destination, dilapidated infrastructure within the destination, poor product/ service innovation, and inadequate market and customer value perception of the destination. In this regard, a need to examine possible ways of reinvigorating and diversifying Kenya’s tourism offerings has emerged and one area that holds a great potential is Sports and Recreation tourism. This paper therefore carries out an exploratory assessment of the awareness of the members of the various sports associations regarding the significance of sports tourism to Kenya’s economy. Club representatives duly registered within ten selected sports associations that represent popular sports in Kenya were surveyed to achieve this objective. This research proposes an integrated approach to the creation of a partnering role amongst sports associations to help promote sports and recreation tourism in Kenya.In Kenya, tourism is the second most important earner of foreign exchange after agriculture. It has had a great impact in the direct employment of local population as well as in generating opportunities for other business activities such as accommodation, food service, transport, retail, and other auxiliary services. In the recent past, Kenya’s tourism has faced numerous challenges which may have slowed tourist arrivals and growth considerably. The challenges have been driven by climatic and environmental changes that maybe interfering with the ecosystem. Kenyan tourism faces significant challenges also from intense regional competition, political instability, poor governance, corruption, negative travel advisory by the governments of source markets, poor security at the destination, dilapidated infrastructure within the destination, poor product/ service innovation, and inadequate market and customer value perception of the destination. In this regard, a need to examine possible ways of reinvigorating and diversifying Kenya’s tourism offerings has emerged and one area that holds a great potential is Sports and Recreation tourism. This paper therefore carries out an exploratory assessment of the awareness of the members of the various sports associations regarding the significance of sports tourism to Kenya’s economy. Club representatives duly registered within ten selected sports associations that represent popular sports in Kenya were surveyed to achieve this objective. This research proposes an integrated approach to the creation of a partnering role amongst sports associations to help promote sports and recreation tourism in Kenya