dc.description.abstract |
Several tourist destinations in Kenya have remained underutilized as evidenced by the
limited number of visitors. Decline in the number of tourist visits is felt across the
country where many of the tourists have continued to cancel their trips while others
have limited their duration of stay. This has been pointed by UNWTO, stating that there
has been a negative decline in tourism growth reported for years 2016 to 2017 by 5%
to 7% respectively. Not to be ignored from the other factors affecting tourist attraction
and growth is the role of tourist guides. This is because not much have been talked
about on their role and influence on tourism. Tour guides play important roles such as;
enhancing the social environment, language interpretation, addressing tourist concerns,
ensuring travelers’ comfort, and promoting a safe environment for tourists. In addition,
tour guides serve as essential frontline workers that provide the ‘moment of truth’ for
holiday-makers, and are critical for tourists’ satisfaction. Tour guides competence in
interpretation of information is key in enhancing visitor satisfaction. Previous studies
have identified a crucial need for research on the influence of tour guides’
communicative competencies on tourist satisfaction. With Rimoi National Reserve,
Kenya as a study area, this research assessed the contribution of tour guides competence
in interpretation of information on tourist satisfaction. Specifically, the study objectives
included; To determine the tour guides’ knowledge level in interpretation of
information on tourist satisfaction at Rimoi National Reserve, Kenya, to establish the
tour guides’ communicative skills in interpretation of information on tourist satisfaction
at Rimoi National Reserve, Kenya, and to examine the tour guides’ attributes in
interpretation of information on tourist satisfaction at Rimoi National Reserve, Kenya.
The study was guided by the communicative model of competence. The research used
descriptive case study research design, and targeted 1,280tourists from which a sample
of 128 tourists were selected through stratified and systematic random sampling
techniques. Closed-ended questionnaires were issued to the tourists to collect primary
data. Both inferential and descriptive statistics were undertaken. Descriptive statistics
were presented through mean and percentages while inferential statistics included
multiple regression analysis. From the regression model R 2 =0.717 which indicates that
competency of the tour guide explains 71.7% variance in tourist satisfaction. Results
indicate that knowledge level (r=0.798 p=0.001), communicative skills (r=0.83,
P=0.001) and tour guides attributes (r=0.85, p=0.001) contribute significantly to tourist
satisfaction. In conclusion the study revealed that the tour guides knowledge level rating
was lower than the communicative skills and tour guides’ attributes. Therefore, the
study recommends that the stakeholders especially tour companies and the Rimoi
National Reserve Management to enhance tour guides’ knowledge level through on-
job training. The study also recommends the encouragement of tour guides to
collaborate with their employers when they encounter a new issue for better decision-
making when solving problems. |
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