Tourism Diversification in Kenya: Tea Tourism

Abstract

Tea tourism is a new form of tourism where people visit tea plantations and tea factories. This study sought to investigate the benefits and challenges in implementation of tea tourism in Kenya’s tea estates. The study was a descriptive survey. The population of the study was drawn from four (4) organizations. These were Karirana Tea Estate, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), the tour operators in Kenya and the Tea Board of Kenya. The study used multistage sampling to arrive at the sample size of 60 respondents. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire and in depth interviews. Data was analyzed using univariate analysis and also using Chi Square tests. The study found that the level of awareness on tea tourism issues is low among the stakeholders. Plantations were found to be one of the main player as well as schools and other institutions of learning. The study found that tea tourism would have several benefits if effectively implemented. All the stakeholders including the farmers, the tea estates, the tour operators as well as the government would all earn extra revenues through tea tourism. The tea plantations were set to gain from the exposure as tourist would gain more information on tea farming and processing of the Kenyan tea. The study also found that tea tourism would boost tea consumption as it would shed light on the tea farming and processing. The study established that the major challenges that faces adoption of tea tourism in Kenya is lack of information on tea tourism issues. Another challenge was found to be lack of cooperation amongst the stakeholders. There is also lack of government support to the tea tourism stakeholders. The study recommends that for the tea industry to reap the benefits and overcome the challenges in the adoption tea tourism in Kenya, information be compiled and disseminated on tea tourism. There is also need for cooperation among the players in the tea sector to promote tea tourism.