Traditional Rituals and Cattle Rustling Influence on Tourism Development in Baringo County, Kenya
Abstract
Baringo has a rich variety of cultures and is an ideal definition of social and cultural diversity. With increasing supply of cultural attractions in Baringo there is stiff competition among attractions at the local, regional and international level. The study sought to investigate the influence of traditional rituals and cattle rustling on tourism development in Baringo County. Exploratory research design utilizing mixed method that is both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target unit of analysis was the 7 resort managers, 3 county government officials, 399 Community members and 395 tourists. The sample size to was 804 respondents. Data was collected by administration of questionnaires and interview guide. Data were analyzed mainly by use of content analysis and SPSS. The statistics generated were descriptive statistics and inferential statistics which are the Pearson correlation and regression. The findings established that traditional rituals and tourism development were positively and significantly related (r=0.129, p=0.001). However, cattle rustling had a negative effect on tourism development in Baringo County (r= -0.024), p=0.497). The regression analysis indicated that traditional rituals and cattle rustling had a negative influence on tourism development. The other factors that attracted tourists to Baringo County included Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Lake Baringo, rugged terrains and beautiful valleys. Tourism development is influenced by cultural practices which if well developed, it could lead to fast tourism development in Baringo County. Based on the results of the findings and the conclusions drawn from the study,the study recommended that traditional rituals whose permission is granted should be developed for tourism attraction e.g. rain making process and traditional cleansing ceremonies. Cattle rustling should be fully eradicated to avoid tourism migration.
Keywords: Traditional Rituals, Cattle Rustling, Tourist Development and Baringo County, Kenya.
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