Abstract:
Rural tourism promotes the local economy, socio-cultural changes and life style of the
people residing around the tourist locations. Rural tourism in the Mara triangle has been in
existence since the establishment of the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in 1961
although few studies have been done on its contribution to the local community livelihoods.
Hence, this study was conducted in the Mara Triangle to establish community perspectives
of the contribution of rural tourism initiatives to the local community’s capital assets.
Specifically, the study examined the contribution of rural tourism initiatives to financial,
social, natural and physical capital assets of the community living in Mara Triangle. Both
descriptive and explanatory research designs were used. Primary data were collected
through the use of questionnaires and focus group discussions. The target population
comprised of Mara conservancy staff, the staff of the tented camps i.e. Kichwa Tembo, Mara
West and Little Governors and the local people living adjacent to the park up to 3 km away
from the reserve boundary. A sample of 100 respondents was randomly selected for the
survey and 18 respondents were purposively selected for focus group discussions. Three (3)
focus group discussions, each comprising of 6 respondents were held while quantitative data
was analyzed using both descriptive statistics and multiple regression and qualitative data
was analyzed by the use of content analysis. The study findings revealed that rural tourism
initiatives have significant positive contribution to financial capital asset (P= 0.0000),
natural capital (P= 0.0002), physical capital (P=0.0000) and social capital assets (P=
0.0049), The findings further showed that rural tourism initiatives contributes to direct
employment of the local community (Mean= 3.80 ± 0.10 ), construction of schools
(Mean= 3.84 ± 0.12 ), community empowerment (Mean= 3.92 ± 0.13 ); and
conservation of natural resources (Mean= 3.70 ± 0.12 ). The study concludes that rural
tourism initiatives contribute significantly to all the elements of capital assets of the local
community. However, to sustain the contribution of rural tourism initiatives to the local
community capital assets, there is need to promote cultural tours and community-based
projects, improve on the products and service offered in the cultural manyattas among
others and step up the fight against charcoal burning.
