Triple bottom line impacts of cruise tourism on coastal destination diversification in Mombasa county

Abstract

Coastal destination diversification involves expanding tourism offerings beyond traditional beach activities to attract a wider range of visitors and reduce reliance on single-product tourism. This involved developing new attractions, activities and infrastructure that cater to diverse interests and demographics, helping destinations become more resilient to changes in demand and economic fluctuations. The cruise tourism industry in Mombasa county has evolved from small-scale, luxury adventures for the affluent to large scale, all-inclusive resort experiences. However, the economic contribution of cruise passengers’ expenditure in destination ports has been lower compared to environmental and social impacts due to limited destination diversification. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the triple bottom line impact of cruise tourism on coastal destination diversification in Mombasa County. The specific objectives were to; establish to determine the influence of economic, environmental and social impacts of cruise tourism on coastal destination diversification. The study was anchored on Sustainable Development Theory. The study adopted an explanatory and descriptive research designs. The target population was 4569 respondents comprising of 3340 local community, 430 tour operators, 39 tourism officers and 760 tourists. A sample size of 489 respondents used. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select 357 community members with sub-county being the stratum. Purposive sampling was used to select 43 tour operators, 13 tourist officers and 76 tourists. Questionnaires and interview guide were used to collect data that was analysed using multiple linear regression and thematic analysis respectively. The results indicated that 67.3% (R 2 =0.673) of the variation in coastal tourism destination diversification was explained by triple bottom line impact of cruise tourism. The β coefficients indicated that there was a positive significant influence of economic (β 1 =0.337, p=0.001), environmental (β 2 =0.002, p=0.001) as well as social impact (β 3 =0.375, p=0.001) and coastal tourism destination diversification in Mombasa County. The study concluded that economic, environmental and social impacts of cruise tourism had a significant influence on coastal tourism destination diversification. The coastal businesses have benefited from cruise passenger. The cruise passenger propensity to visit attractions depend on tour guides, marketing brochures and access to public and hired transportation to travel. This study recommends collaboration among the local businesses to promote attractive onshore activities. The county government of Mombasa and Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife should develop robust policy guidelines and toolkits for measuring and tracking the economic, environmental, and social impacts of cruise tourism on the local community. This data will drive better decision-making based on triple bottom line approach and help align cruise tourism strategies with the needs of local communities as a result of destination diversification.