Abstract:
This study sought to determine the extent to which demographic characteristics of
residents influenced their domestic tourism participation behavior. This was achieved
by establishing the relationship between seven demographic characteristics and
participation behavior, followed by a comparison of the demographic characteristics of
respondents participating and those not participating in domestic tourism. The purpose
was to identify the segments with greatest potential for conversion from nonparticipation into participation in domestic tourists. The study targeted Nairobi
residents aged above 18 years. Questionnaires were administered to 337 domestic
tourists and 339 non-tourists. Chi square cross tabulation indicated that domestic
tourism participation behavior was dependent on all the demographic characteristics of
the respondents. Chi square goodness of fit test exhibited significant differences
between tourists and non-tourists across all attributes of gender and level of education.
For the other characteristics (namely age, occupation, income, marital status and family
life cycle), the test revealed significant differences across some of the attributes while
registering no significant difference across others. The segments with no significant
difference were; Age (31-40), Occupation (students and retirees), Income (those earning
Ksh.200,000-300,000 and above 300,000), marital status (the widowed and divorced),
and family life cycle (those with young children and empty-nesters). The study,
therefore, concluded that these were the segments with the greatest potential for
conversion to domestic tourism participation. It further recommended the targeting of
the segments identified above for domestic tourism in addition to the existing
marketing efforts.
