Abstract:
Trends in tourism over the last decade have shown that sports tourism has emerged as
a very significant segment of the global tourism market. The participation of tourists in
sports related activities is eminent in the International Visitor Survey (2004). There’s a
lot of potential for promoting this segment of the tourism industry. Sports tourism if
properly developed and planned with the commitment of all relevant stakeholders
should bring about economic, social, and community benefits (Zauhar, 2004). The
priority segment for the North Rift region in Kenya is the sport- related type, and
therefore, it is necessary to develop the existing athletics events in the region as well as
develop others. Destinations with a wealth of resources may sometimes not be as
competitive as a destination with lack of resources. The most important is the ability of
the tourism sector to add value to its products. This study sought to determine the factors
that influence the competitiveness of the North Rift region in Kenya as a sports tourism
destination. The specific objectives were: To determine the core resources and
attractions available for sports tourism; to determine the range and level of supporting
factors available for sports tourism; to examine the destination management practices;
and to establish the situational conditions existing in the North Rift region. The study
adopted a descriptive survey research design and was guided by the integrated model
for destination competitiveness by Dwyer et al (2004). The target population included
all the athletics camps as well as the tourism facilities in Uasin Gishu and Nandi
districts. Simple random sampling was used to select 25 athletics camps from which 50
athletics officials were selected using simple random sampling techniques. Simple
random sampling was also used to select one manager from each of the tourism firms
selected for the study, making a total of 35 tourism firm managers. Primary data was
collected by use of structured questionnaires, while secondary data was collected
through critical examination of public or private recorded documents that are related to
the study. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical
techniques which included frequencies, means, modes, standard deviation and
percentages and multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship
between the independent variables used in this study and the dependent variable and
also test the hypotheses. The study found out that the North Rift was endowed with a
good climate, natural wonders, flora and fauna, unspoiled nature as well as some
national parks and reserves. There were improvements made in terms of infrastructure
and availability of other services in the region such as banking, health facilities and so
on. Further, the positioning and marketing activities of the destination were found to be
poor. The region is losing the potential premium for the comparative advantages. The
region received a fair rating in terms of the general business environment and a good
review in terms of political stability and tourists’ safety and security. It is hoped that
the findings of the study will be useful to tourism policy makers and other interested
stakeholders in designing strategies and policies, as well as support them to make
relevant decisions regarding the North Rift region as well as sports tourism. The
methods used in this research can be replicated to other destinations, or even to the
North Rift region itself, when investigating other types of tourism or source markets.