Index

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to find out the diversity of potential cultural attractions in Nairobi urban tourism destination. Today cities are tapping into diverse sources to increase international visitor arrivals as well as their spending. Cultural tourism and urban entertainment are the greatest motivation for urban tourism since culture is a fundamental component within the tourism system. The subjects of interest in this study for quantitative data consisted of foreign departing tourists through Kenya’s biggest airport - Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) located in Nairobi. To get a complete picture of the research, the study also employed qualitative approach, specifically; in-depth interviews with public and private sector stakeholders to answer questions on key areas. The research found out there was a weak motivation to cultural attractions despite their proximity to the CBD. Thus, Nairobi urban cultural tourism destination managers should ensure that urban cultural attractions have the highest score if a definite visitor appeal is to be created, realized, and maintained for continued and repeat visitor visitation. The findings of this research have provided invaluable understanding on the opportunities available to cultural attractions available in Nairobi. This information can be used by private and public stakeholders to develop clear policies and collaborations on urban cultural tourism development.

Keywords: Diversity, Cultural tourism, Attractions, Urban destination.

Received: 17 April 2020 / Revised: 6 October 2020 / Accepted: 22 October 2020/ Published: 13 November 2020

Contribution/ Originality

It contributes to urban managers on the diverse cultural tourism attractions found in in Nairobi urban destination. Their roles and opportunities available for all stakeholders to develop clear policies for their continued development.


1. INTRODUCTION

Tourism and Travel (T&T) sector has steadily continued to grow over the past five decades. In 2016, international tourist arrivals reached a record 1.2 billion, that is 46 million more overnight visitors who traveled globally in 2016 as compared to 2015 (UNWTO, 2017b). This growth has also been witnessed in urban tourism. According to Giron (2015) international urban tourism remains the most vibrant tourism form, since it is a crucial driver of this industry, accounting for over 20% of all global trips. These urban trips have seen an impressive growth rate of almost 60% over the last five years, outgrowing safari tours, beach & relaxation. The author further notes, in addition to the 20% market share, cities are visited all year round including during holidays, sometimes mixed with other forms of tourism such as sun and beach holidays. City travel is strongly correlated to the short-breaks market since almost all stay only involve spending 1 to 3 nights and sometimes less. London and New York are the leading and most successful destination cities in the world. These destination cities have a much lower visitor to resident ratio because of their sizeable resident population (MasterCard, 2016).

WTM (2016) report with regard to Middle East & Africa, Dubai was rated as the top ranking destination city with 15.27 million international overnight visitors and third with 7.59% in growth after Abu Dhabi 15.0% and Casablanca 14.5%. Dubai’s overnight visitor numbers are over three-fold of the second-ranked Riyadh at 4.59 million. Johannesburg, in third and is the most prominent destination city in Sub-Sahara Africa with a growth of 6.2% Table 2. This puts the Middle East city entirely in a league of its own in the region. MasterCard (2016) report indicates the top three cities in Africa are Johannesburg & Cape Town in South Africa and Casablanca in Morocco. Johannesburg received 4.3 million international overnight tourists in 2014 and tops international visitor expenditure in Africa, with amounts in excess of US$3.2 billion in 2014, as compared to US$3.06 billion in 2013 (MasterCard, 2014b). According to MasterCard (2016) these cities are tapping into diverse sources to increase international visitor arrivals as well as their spending.

Kenya had over a third 32.6% of its population living in city areas with an annual growth rate of 8.5% in 2016 (United Nations., 2016) . Within East Africa countries, Kenya has the uppermost percentage of the population living in urban areas, as well as highest urban population growth rate (NCPD, 2013) . The stakeholder's development of tourism industry in Kenya has by tradition exploited tourism infrastructure on a few large attractions (high impact sites) such as wildlife and beach attractions. The development of marginal sites especially (potential impact sites), such as cultural sites in urbanized areas has rarely been exploited(Wambalaba & Wambalaba, 2009) . Kenya’s capital city and business hub-Nairobi, received 618,506 international visitors in 2014, an 8.1 percent increase from 2013’s 568,266 visitors. Travelers to Nairobi spent US$ 317 million in 2014, compared to US$281 million in 2013 (MasterCard, 2014) . This shows disparity and low tables compared to destinations within the region and internationally.

Cultural tourism and urban entertainment are the greatest motivation for urban tourism since culture is a fundamental component within the tourism system. These disparities in tables prompted the researcher to find out the diversity of potential cultural attractions in Nairobi urban tourism destination. The cultural products majorly consumed by international visitors while in Nairobi are National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and Karen Blixen.  NMK mandate is the preservation of Kenya heritage collection of monuments, cultural, sites and ecological and fossils exhibits which are exceptional in Sub-Saharan Africa and bio-conservation and biomedical research (National Museums of Kenya, 2009) . Karen Blixen museum was opened to the public in 1986 following the popularity of the 1985 movie, ‘Out of Africa’ as one of Kenya's national museums (Thangwa, 2017) . Cultural attractions are the core and fundamental attractions of urban tourism.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Urban Cultural Tourism

The necessity of revitalization of cities action plans was first proposed by the Local Agenda 21 enshrined in the 1992 Rio Convention (Cotter & Hannan, 1999). Later in 2002, the concept of sustainable development was resumed at the World Summit in Johannesburg and the Rio + 20 in 2012 (Alpopi, Manole, & Colesca, 2011). Cities are fundamental in communicating tomorrow’s social, environmental and economic benefits. The Rio 2012 summit resolved on planning and building sustainable cities and urban settlements while promoting an integrated approach through supporting local establishments, increasing public understanding and enhancing the involvement of urban residents while including the local communities in decision making (United Nations, 2012). This requires innovative changes in cities that require an urgent need to integrate urban revitalization in our planning policies, co-integrate social and cultural aspects; ecology and nature and human economic development. Social and cultural aspects or elements activates and carries on urban revitalization processes in historical city centers through protection and preservation.

Culture is a fundamental component within the tourism system (Richards & Wilson, 2006; Urry, 2001). On the other hand, cultural tourism is regularly said to be the leading and one of the fastest and largest budding segments of international tourism. According to Iordache (2013) cultural tourism and urban entertainment are the greatest motivation for urban tourism, they contribute to urban leisure with almost 40%. Cultural tourism growth has been witnessed from mid 1990s twice growing quicker than the general growth of tourism industry (WTO, 2004). Cultural tourism has been defined by a number of authors including (Alzua, O'Leary, & Morrison, 1998; Littrell, 1997; McIntosh & Goeldner, 1994; Richards, 1996; Richards, 2003). To the authors cultural tourism activities include the movement of people to cultural attractions, their intentions is to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs. However the most adaptable definition comes from World Tourism Organisation (1985) to include "movements of persons for essentially cultural motivations such as study tours, performing arts and cultural tours, travel to festivals and other cultural events, visits to sites and monuments, travel to study nature, folklore or art, and pilgrimages". Cultural tourism plays a vital role both in rural areas as well as in urban areas in ensuring sustainability of resources in a number of ways that include socio-cultural, economic as well as environmental. Different communities in Kenya have different cultural resources to include - Kisii Stone Carvings, the Maasai Bracelets, Beads, the Kenyan Kikoi, the Akamba Wood Carvings and Traditional Baskets weavers (Dorothy, 2012). Majority of these resources are displayed in the Nairobi maasai market. The market moves around the city visiting different malls and locations seling their wares. Visitors can buy and view different art designs made by Kenyans and mainly to do with Kenya.

Cultural tourism is in the development phase but has already designated itself as one of the highest growing segments of tourism in the world and to Aranburu, Plaza, and Esteban (2016) the fastest growing form of tourism in Europe especially in cities. Thus, tourism and culture in cities has as a consequently become key to many growth plans internationally (Ashworth & Page, 2010).  Many regions especially cities are aggressively using their cultural assets both intangible and tangible as means of comparative advantage to promote strategies for development, while creating local uniqueness in the global era through development of socio-economic (Andriotis & Vaughan, 2003; Ray, 1998). To García-Hernández, la Calle-Vaquero, and Yubero (2017) visitor influx in Europe tends to be concentrated in urban centres, which overlap unevenly with historic centres. Culture performs a fundamental function in shaping the tourism environment while meeting the needs of customers. Undeniably, the steady growth of cultural tourism (of art, food, fashion, and music) and the immediate industries that cater to it has increased the economies of different cities (Ray, 1998; Zukin, 1995).

Urban culture on the other hand, is the analysis of a variety of resources by a large base of consumers: its significance is not only on the historic attributes of built environment and spatial features of cities, but on the life of local community (Orbasli, 2000). Cities have gradually over the years moved from ‘production’ of products to ‘service’ and lastly to ‘experience’ (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). Thus, tourism has played a large part in the economic revitalization of cities than ever before. WTM (2015) report indicated the key motivations for city trips around the world tend to be similar.

These motivations are mainly enjoying the city atmosphere, visiting cultural attractions, shopping, eating out, and sightseeing. The development of cultural locations according to Richards and Wilson (2007) is emerging as new budding scenery for urban tourism, leisure, and recreation market, within the broader cultural districts. According to Reutsche (2006) the core attractions and activities in an urban setting that includes a) cultural amenities and services: museums and art galleries; theatres and movie business places; as well as other related attractions; b) sports activities: indoor or outdoor; and c) entertainment activities: casinos and lotteries; organized cultural events; festivals. Nairobi city has a rich historical and cultural background since 1900, which then boosts and establishes its image as a core historical tourism destination in Kenya. This initiative is supported by the effort to designate the zoning of land use specifically for recreation purposes. For example, Nairobi National Park (NNP) was the first national park to be established in the country in the year 1946, and the only city wild park in the world. There is also an attempt to maximize the potential of historical and cultural resources since the formation of the county governments in 2012 (GoK, 2012). The city also has a diverse culture attractions base. These attractions range from; (1) Monuments and old buildings from the colonial era since 1900; (2) Antiquities (especially from the Colonial era) and; (3) Many other modern innovative forms of tourism development features such shopping malls, MICE tourism centers, and modern culture.

2.2. Tourism and the Urban Environment

This association between tourism and urban environments has been researched by many authors who differentiate several attributes of the city environment including (Law, 2002) and Van den Berg, Van Der Borg, and Van Der Meer (1995). The widely used criteria expressing the association between tourism and the urban environment belong to (Law, 2002) Table 1.

He categorizes the attributes of urban tourism based on the reasons for which visitors are attracted to a destination. These include primary attributes like cultural, historical, amusement Parks and Social uniqueness.  They also include secondary attributes like accommodations, food and beverages, malls and other supporting leisure and socio-cultural facilities. Finally, there are additional attributes like accessibility and parking facilities, tourist information offices and guides. A broad variety of critical attractions located in a reasonably small area, in addition, a variety of lodging facilities, cuisine facilities, accessibility to tourist destination and a large base of tourist information centers support the growth of tourism experience in the urban environment. These diverse attributes within a small accessible tourist area offer a complex and heterogeneous character to the urban tourism product (Gârbea, 2013).

The diversity of existing and unexploited tourism resources in urban environments and tourist consumption trends may be illustrated more as those key attractive areas such as the business attractions, cultural attractions, entertainment facilities, and shopping malls. Delineation of all the striking urban areas provides a sure way that a city will attract many visitors who have various aspirations, expectations, and motivations. Thus, visitors are in search of diversity, novelty and a variety of a broad range of activates likely to be amalgamated during an urban destination vacation of a few days.

Nairobi destination is unique with the only urban park, marketing and promotion makes it stand out, not only in the region but the continent.  The county government of Nairobi and Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) are in consultation to develop an urban tourism product that appeals to short trips associated with business tourists. In addition, KTB has published a handbook to visitors ‘48 hours in Nairobi’ detailing what visitors can do within 48 hours while in Nairobi, although these diverse attractions are immense, it’s impossible to do them within the 48 hours. Therefore, Nairobi destination in the league of its own with all kinds of attractions, JKIA, Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus, and supporting industries within a radius of 20-30 kilometers from the CBD.

2.3. Nairobi Urban Attractions

According to Kenya Institute for KIPPRA (2009) tourism activities are concentrated mainly in the coast region (63%) followed by Nairobi (20%) and 27% distributed within Kenya. As the second leading tourism center in Kenya, Nairobi provides a comparatively helpful and representative image of urban tourism in the country. Its development regarding tourism growth, residents population, and urbanization justify choosing this area of study.  Nairobi has diverse cultural attractions despite a majority of them not frequented by international visitors Table 2. Major cultural attractions in Nairobi include; African Heritage Pan African Gallery, African Heritage House, August 7th Memorial Park, Bomas of Kenya, Karen Blixen, Kenya National Archives, Nairobi Botanic Garden, Nairobi Gallery, Nairobi Railway Museum and Nairobi Snake Park. These cultural attractions are diverse; they provide opportunities for diversification of the tourism offering. There is need to understand the varieties from which international tourists choose from.

Table-1.  Elements of urban tourism.

Primary Elements
Facilities for Activates  Factors of Leisure and Relaxation
Cultural facilities
  • Theatres
  • Concert halls
  • Museums and art galleries
  • Exhibitions
  • Cinemas
Physical characteristics
  • Historic streets
  • Structures of interest
  • Religious buildings
  • Parks and green areas
  • River channels
  • Ports
Sports facilities
  • Stadiums
  • Multipurpose halls
Leisure facilities
  • Casinos
  • Nightclubs
  • Organized parties
Socio-cultural characteristics
  • Language
  • Customs and traditions
  • Security
Secondary Elements
  • Hotels and restaurants
  • Commercial facilities
  • Markets
Additional Elements
  • Accessibility and parking facilities
  • Presence of facilities created for tourism purposes
  • Information offices, tourist guides.

Source: Adapted from Law (2002).

Table-2. Trends of Cultural visitors to Nairobi urban attractions from 2012-2016 (‘000).

Name of Museum
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Nairobi national Museum
184.7
130.9
52.5
264
278.7
222.9
Karen Blixen
54.9
44.7
45.2
25.9
35.8
42.4
Bomas of Kenya
-
-
-
-
-
-
Kenya National Archives
-
-
-
-
-
-
Nairobi Gallery 
-
-
-
-
-
-
Nairobi Railway Museum 
-
-
-
-
-
-
African Heritage house 
-
-
-
-
-
-
Maasai Market 
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total
239.6
175.6
97.7
289.9
322.5
265.3

Source: KNBS (2017).
Note: *Provisional.

3. METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this article was to find out the diversity of potential cultural attractions in Nairobi urban destination. The subjects of interest in this study for quantitative data consisted of foreign departing tourists through Kenya’s biggest airport - Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) located in Nairobi. Departing tourists have divergent views on the diversity of urban attractions. The choice of departing visitors through JKIA is also crucial because of JKIA as the chief point of entry to Kenya by air is found in the County (NCC, 2014). The population under study was defined by the tourists who selected urban destination attractions in Nairobi County and at least spent one night in the destination in the period under study January to April 2016. Quantitative data collection method was employed to analyze the empirical data which was collected using questionnaires. All respondents were approached personally at JKIA which resulted into 231 usable questionnaires that were further analyzed. The questionnaires measure used a likert scale ranging from 5 ‘very satisfactory’ to 1 ‘very unsatisfactory’. To get a complete picture of the research, the study also employed qualitative approach, specifically; in-depth interviews with key stakeholders were conducted to answer the research questions. The in-depth interviews lasted 40-60 minutes. Twelve relevant stakeholders from two clusters of tourism stakeholders including public sector, and the private sector, were chosen for the study. Two urban planners from the ministry of tourism and wildlife, tourism departments, and County Government of Nairobi, were interviewed for the study.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Profile of the Sample

The age brackets that preferred the urban cultural attractions were majorly between the age brackets of 36 to 55 years with 54% followed by 12 to 35 years. Cultural enthusiasts also spent on average 1-10 days in the destination. Majority of the visitors were first time visitors to urban destination.

Table-3. Demographic information.

   
Total
%
Age 12-35
62
27
  36-55
124
54
  56-70
32
14
  71 and above
13
5
   
231
100
Visitation frequency <1
112
48
  1-5
75
32
  6-10
19
8
  11 and above
25
11
   
231
100
Holiday Planning- the decision to visit Nairobi destination Less than a month ago
32
14
1 to 3 months ago
105
45
More than three months ago
94
641
   
231
100
Travel behavior No one
66
29
Partner
66
29
  Family and relatives
41
18
  Friends
38
16
  Co-workers
12
5
  Business partners
7
3
  Others
1
<1
   
231
100
Travel information I already knew of it through travel
86
37
Friends and relatives
74
32
  It was part of the Package
23
10
  The internet
21
9
  Travel agency
9
4
  Media
8
4
  Others
8
4
  Books and Guides
1
0
  Fairs and/or exhibitions
1
0
   
231
100
The Cost of the destination Within what was planned
173
75
Higher than planned
45
19
  Lower than planned
13
6
   
231
100

Visitors were requested to indicate how long it took them to decide to visit the destination. Majority made the decision between one to three months. The respondents indicated that when visiting cultural destinations, they preferred travelling individually while others preferred travelling with their partners, family & relatives, friends, co-workers, and business partners. Majority of respondents knew the destination through travel while those who knew the destination through friends and relatives were 32%. The respondents also indicated that cost of the destination was within their planned budgets, while only 9% indicated that the cost was higher that their planned budgets. This could be attributed to the proximity of urban cultural attractions which are within the radius of 20-30 kilometers from the CBD (Mwangi & Kibiro, 2018).

B. Cultural Tourism Attractions

Factor loading, Cronbanch Alpha, and means were conducted for this study. All factor loading of items met the minimum requirements of 0.40 (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). They ranged from 0.77 to 0.49 while the Cronbanch Alpha values are used to estimate the internal consistency between items of each factor. Hair et al. (2010) and Pallant (2007) notes that Cronbanch Alpha values above 0.60 are considered acceptable while the more acceptable values in social science should exceed 0.70.
The overall feeling of the respondents’ on cultural tourism attraction while in urban attractions is relatively positive Table 4. Out of the five lists of cultural tourism attractions, three were above the mean of 3.90 indicating that respondents agreed with the majority of cultural tourism attractions in creating a positively image of the destination. Tourists visit NMK due to its collection of monuments, cultural, sites and ecological and fossils exhibits which are exceptional in Sub-Saharan Africa and bio-conservation and biomedical research while others visited Bomas of Kenya (BOK) due to its cultural bonanzas that bring Kenyans together from diverse cultural backgrounds, to display their abilities in dance, music, theatre/drama, comedies, games, fashion show, seminars and poetry/recitals, exhibitions, and sports. Others attractions on Kenya National Archives, African Heritage house, Nairobi Gallery and Maasai Market were rated poorest among cultural attractions with a xof 2.04 indicating that a number of the respondents were “unsatisfied’ about the cultural tourism experience. Their unpleasant experiences could be attributed to the nature of international tourist rarely visiting a museum due to its preservation of a countries rich history through photos, print and audio tapes such as what is depicted in Kenya National Archives (KNA). This indicates that respondents’ associated themselves with some of Nairobi cultural attractions while considering urban destination. Such associations determine in the creation a positive urban experience.

Table-4. Cultural tourism attractions.

Items
x
Factor Loading
Cronbanch’s Alpha
Cultural tourism
0.81
Karen Blixen
4.32
0.77
Bomas of Kenya
4.29
0.61
Nairobi national museum
3.90
0.59
Kenya National archives
2.54
0.57
Others (Kenya National Archives, African Heritage house, Nairobi Gallery, Maasai Market)
2.04
0.49

For qualitative data, respondents on cultural tourism had divergent views:
The potential of cultural tourism is enormous since Nairobi is a modern multicultural city; the choices available for consumers are endless TP1 (Tourism Planner 1) and TP2. Respondent TP3 noted that except the known cultural sites known by many including but not limited to NMK and KNA; Nairobi has some unexploited cultural sites including Jewish Synagogue and French cultural centers. According to TP4, Nairobi has many cultural sites that are marketed abroad by KTB in consultation with Nairobi County government, these include but not limited to the Karen Blixen and BoK which is known for showcasing Kenya’s culture. To TP8 and 12, noted KTB has documented attractions, galleries and monuments, recreation parks and picnics, golf courses, shopping places, hotels and restaurants, festivals and events, cabs and tour operators and guides in a short guide to the magical city dabbed ‘48 hours in Nairobi’. To TP 6, New York Times on its travel page lists some activities to do while you are in Nairobi for 36 hours. According to Nytimes (2016) Nairobi has a strong multicultural vibe, a big international business and yet you can still feed giraffes and elephants within the city limits.

C. Discussion on the Significance of Cultural Tourism

Pearson correlation analysis was employed to find out the significance of cultural tourism in Nairobi urban destination. Results from departing visitors revealed the results were significant at (r - 0.17, p = 0.01). There was a weak motivation on cultural attractions, according to the tourists a unit change increase in cultural attraction does not necessarily lead to a better cultural tourism product. To the tourists, the destination was not addressing an inclusive urban cultural product development. The finding was supported by some previous researches and reports. According to Zamfir and Corbos (2015) in their study on Bucharest visitation found out that majority of respondents at 45% chose “museums,” trailed by “buildings” with a “historical facilities,” each representing 19% of the respondents. At the contrary side, the “parks” were only favored by 4% of the visitors. Further, a study conducted by LaMondia, Snell, and Bhat (2010) on European Union Traveller Behaviour and Values Analysis found out that cultural pursuant respondents for culturally related activities such as exploratory architecture, examining natural reserves, or touring an exhibition center or museums gallery were considerable predictors of holiday choices of destination travel. Possibly, this could be attributed such kind of activities are present in the majority of European Union countries. A study by Aranburu et al. (2016) titled ‘Sustainable cultural tourism in urban destinations: Does space matter’ found out that in the urban destination, the top attribute were those of culture and museums in the case of The Guggenheim Museum and the City of Bilbao. The study results imply that majorly tourists visit urban destinations for culture and related cultural products. Dessein, Soini, Fairclough, and Horlings (2015) on the other hand, found a contrary opinion that culture is the key element of sustainable tourism development in urban destinations. The authors argued that all human choice and decisions are as a result of cultural affiliations and as an overriding concern in sustainable development philosophy, it facilitates sustainability and culture to become jointly entangled so that the differences between the social, environmental, and economic disparities of sustainability begin to fade.

WTO (2012) global report on city tourism acknowledge the position of cities in the development of international tourism and its function in contributing to the health of quality on the environment and cultural uniqueness of city residents internationally. All the 21 participating cities, were participating in selling their unique urban cultural environment for visitors consumption including but not limited to Buenos Aires, London, Madrid, Melbourne, New York City, Quebec city, Shanghai, Vienna and Cape Town in South Africa. UNESCO (2002) on cultural diversity as a factor for development notes that the diversity broadens the choice of alternatives open to individuals as it is the core root of development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence. Further UNESCO, addresses the relationship between culture and sustainable development through a twofold means: firstly, the development of the cultural system (i.e., heritage, creativity, cultural industries, crafts, cultural tourism); and secondly, ensuring that culture has its rightful place in all public policies, particularly those related to education, the economy, science, communication, environment, social cohesion and international cooperation. UNESCO (2002) on cultural policies as catalysts of creativity notes that cultural policies must create conducive conditions for the production and dissemination of diversified cultural products through cultural industries that have the means to declare themselves at the local and global level while ensuring there is free circulation of ideas and works. To build on this, article 11 states that the market forces alone cannot guarantee the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity, which is the key to sustainable human development. Thus the need for public policy to partner with the private sector and civil society

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Visitors to Nairobi urban destination attraction consider cultural attractions while considering urban destination, these help in determining a destination to visit while creating a positive urban experience. Karen Blixen, NMK, and BOK are the most preferred urban cultural attractions by international visitors, despite the opportunities presented by African heritage house, Nairobi gallery and Maasai market. These potential cultural tourism attractions could be developed through public-private collaborations. Clear urban tourism policies should be developed with the help all urban stakeholders. Clear urban policies will not only develop the urban product equitably but will harness the development within the region. Development of urban tourism product will motivate the urban tourist to the destination. The destination cost of development is in line with the development of SGR, which has a slight effect on the urban destination. Direct flights to the USA granted to Kenya’s main airport JKIA starting March 2018 according to Wa’kesho (March 2017) and will also have a positive effect on the urban product since the majority of the tourists come from the USA. The prominent result of the findings shows that the tourism destination should be willing to undergo cost of development that will result in more positive attitudes, perceptions and expectations of visitors.  Thus, Nairobi urban cultural tourism destination managers should ensure that urban cultural attractions have the highest score if a definite visitor appeal is to create, realized and maintained for continued and repeat visitor visitation. Further, the cultural tourism should be developed by all players in the tourism in line with the guidelines of UNESCO.

Funding: This study received no specific financial support.  

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgement: All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study.

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