Commercial Home Accommodation as a Tool for Rural Tourism in Uasin Gishu County in Kenya

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which commercial home accommodation could contribute to growth of rural tourism and the acceptability and challenges in providing commercial accommodation. The study was undertaken in Uasin Gishu county in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey design which targeted 500 potential entrepreneurs. Cluster sampling was used to select the study area while judgmental, convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify the respondents. The sample size comprised of 120 potential entrepreneurs of commercial homes. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data. The results revealed that entrepreneurs believe that home accommodation can be instrumental in the development of rural tourism as the cost of investment was relatively low and does not put great demands on the entrepreneur. However, it was clear that entrepreneurs are reluctant to embrace it for fear of exposing their families to external influences and deprival of privacy. Entrepreneurs were also uncertain about their ability to meet and satisfy tourists in terms of hospitality and communication, although they are willing to meet the challenge for economic gains. The findings may be beneficial to entrepreneurs in Uasin Gishu county as they can exploit the opportunity as the county government benefits from increased revenue from taxes.

Keywords: Home stay; Commercial homes; Uasin Gishu; Rural tourism