Abstract:
Nakuru County is located in the central rift and has a diverse range of tourist attractions for investors and tourists. Although
the attractions have economic benefits attributed to park entry fees already stipulated by the national and county governments
and income from food and accommodation, there are non-financial values that are associated with intangible benefits that
come with a conductive environment and conservation. The research employed qualitative and quantitative research methods
to collect primary and secondary data on tourist socio-economic characteristics and their willingness to pay for the conservation
of the destinations. The research used a sample of one hundred and ninety-six tourists, selected using simple random sampling
technique. The study collected and analyzed primary and secondary data through descriptive and inferential statistics, while
regression analysis was used to verify constructs that were adopted as scales for willingness to pay more. Tourists' choice of
destinations and willingness to pay more for conservation efforts within the tourist destinations varied between international
and domestic tourists; and were determined by tourist characteristics such as age, education level, country of origin, income,
and length of stay in a given destination. The results show that 71.90% of the sampled tourists were willing to pay more for
the conservation of the destinations, and particularly, more domestic tourists were willing to pay more for the conservation of
the destinations than their international counterparts. The results showed that more female tourists (49%) were willing to pay
more for conservation than male tourists (8%). The findings provide useful insights to the County Government of Nakuru to
focus on promoting attractions and conservation programmes that target female tourists and recognise the less documented
benefits with a focus on the landscape lens.
Keywords: Tourist attractions; Ecosystem services; Environmental practices; Contingent valuation; Natural resources
