A Sustainable tourism indicator model for lodge facilities within Maasai Mara National Reserve

Abstract

Maasai Mara National Reserve has been identified as a flagship project of Kenya's Vision 2030's premium park initiative whose mandate is to provide premium park experience by the year 2030. Nevertheless, there has been escalating pressure from tourism development which has resulted in the decline of the quality of tourism product, experience and' <he environment thus putting in doubt the mandate of the vision 2030 flagship project. In order to address the problem, the current study applied the Dublin Institute of Technology - Administration, Community, Heritage, Infrastructure, Enterprise, and Visitor (DIT-ACHIEV) model of sustainable tourism management. The model was developed by the Dublin Institute of Technology and has been tested for applicability in the developed world but not in a developing world context. The DITACHIEV model conceptualizes sustainable tourism as comprising six fields, namely: heritage, infrastructure, enterprise, community, visitor and administration. Thus the main objective of this study was to test the applicability of the DIT-ACHIEV model in Kenya with a view of reducing the existing tourism sustainability challenges in lodge facilities in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design where quantitative data was collected and analysed once. The population of the study was made up of all guests visiting Ecotourism Society's eco-rated lodge facilities within Maasai Mara for a period of 4 months. A total of 136 guests were sampled using census sampling technique where all guests who visited the lodge facilities within the data collection period were given 3. chance to participate in the study. Data were collected using self administered questionnaires. The data were then analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included the use of means and normal distribution (percentages and frequencies). Inferential statistics included use of principal axis factoring and linear regression to confirm key factors. The results of this study confirm the applicability of the DIT-ACHIEV model of sustainable tourism in Maasai Mara National Reserve, though with few amendments. To fully practice sustainable tourism and realize its full. benefits thereof, the study recommends the adoption of the amended model generated from this study. Further studies should however be conducted to establish indicators from the perspective ofother tourism stakeholders and comparisons made.