THE AVAILABILITY OF INTERPRETATION MEDIA AND TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION WITH MOVIE INDUCED TOURISM IN KENYA

Purpose: This paper is anchored on the findings of a study that sought to assess the availability of interpretation media in movie induced tourism and its effect on tourists’ satisfaction in Kenya. Methodology: The study adopted explanatory and descriptive research designs. The study targeted 1,318 tourists from Karen Blixen Museum where the movie “Out of Africa” was filmed and Samburu County where the movie “The White Maasai” was filmed. In addition, a total of 658 bloggers airing their views on the filming locations were targeted. Simple random sampling and convenience sampling techniques were used to sample 345tourists and 221 bloggers, respectively. Structured closed-ended questionnaires were employed in collecting data. Main Findings: Findings from regression model showed that interpretation services had a positive and significant effect on tourists satisfaction (β = 0.647, p< 0.000).Based on the study findings and subsequent discussions, this paper concludes that the availability of interpretation media is effective in enhancing tourists’ understanding and appreciation of the destination being visited. Specifically, availability of guards in Karen Blixen Museum and Samburu and other interpretation media enhanced tourist experience and a majority were satisfied.  Implications: The findings can be used to improve practice by encouraging tour guides to have a clear knowledge of a destination to be able to guide tourist and facilitate the offering of quality products. It is therefore important to have interpretation services since they contribute to tourist satisfaction. Novelty: The study contributes to the creation of additional knowledge to the field of movie-induced tourism thus enhancing the understanding of the nature and characteristics of movie-induced tourism

Determinants of the Level of Revenue of Tourist Enterprises within the North Coastal Region of Kenya

Revenue of produced goods and/or provided services is determined by the volume of sales, prices of particular products, variety of products, ways of invoicing and period of payment. The current study was carried out at the north coastal region among tourist enterprises to establish factors that influence the amount of revenue they generate per year. The target population involved all enterprises relying on tourists for their business. They include hotel accommodation facilities, curio shops and tour companies. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a final sample of 97 enterprises, whose owners were given self administered questionnaires. Afterwards a regression on determinants of revenue by tourist enterprises was expressed as Y= ?o + ?1X1+ ?2X2+ …?n Xn+ ?; Where: Y – is the dependant variable; X1-n – are the independent variables; ?0 – is the constant ?1-n – are the regression coefficients or change induced in Y by each X,         while ? is the error. The results indicated that the net monthly income of enterprises was determined by the age of the enterprise (? = 0.169, p = 0.001), the location of the business (? = 0.149, p = 0.038) and the number of employees within the enterprise (? = 0.703, p < 0.0005). Therefore findings indicated that the main determinants of revenue for tourist enterprises at Kenya’s north coast were the age of the business, business location and the number of employees. Keywords: Tourist enterprises; Determinants of revenue; Firm; Tourist expenditure

An African dilemma : pastoralists, conservationists and tourists - reconciling conflicting issues in Kenya

Kenya is facing irreconcilable tensions by competing interests from conservationists, tourism developers and pastoralists. Concerns arising from the well-being of flora and, in particular, fauna by conservationists; tourists and commercial tourism; and the increasingly restricted use of traditional lands and herding animals by pastoralist indigenous communities, have populated the discourse of land use in Kenya. In this paper, we look into the varying perceptions of each group of stakeholders and seek to analyse the current narrative that gives priority to wildlife protection and the commercial exploitation of wildlife through high-end tourism development to the detriment of the rights and interests of pastoralism. As pastoral land becomes more appropriated, our analysis shows that the antagonistic relationship between conservationism, commercial tourism and pastoralism is likely to deteriorate. We therefore propose a more participatory model of tourism development that will allow pastoralist communities to have a voice in the process

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Determining the relationship between psychological empowerment and commitment in selected star rated Hotels in Kisumu City, Kenya

This study sought to assess the relationship between psychological empowerment and commitment in selected star rated Hotels in Kisumu City, Kenya. It adopted both descriptive and explanatory research designs. 1372 employees and 130 managers from 34 star-rated hotels made up the target population. Thirty-one non-managerial employees and thirteen management personnel made up the study’s sample. Random and stratified sampling was used to select the respondents. Surveys and interviews were used to gather data. Expert judgment was used to assess the validity of the questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. In addition to this, inferential statistics included linear regression and hierarchical multiple regression, whereas descriptive statistics include things like mean, frequency, and standard deviation. According to the findings, psychological empowerment and commitment to perform their duties in certain star-rated hotels have a substantial positive link. The study found that employee involvement in particular hotels was influenced by psychological empowerment and commitment. Employees should be able to utilize their own principles and standards to accomplish organizational objectives