Abstract:
The study focused at analysing the contribution of tourism industry on economic development
of communities in Nkweshoo village Machame Ward. Specifically, the study examined the
type of activities undertaken by tourism industry in the study area, assess the contribution of
tourism activities on economic development of communities in Nkweshoo village and lastly
the study examined the relationship between tourism industry and economic development of
communities in Nkweshoo village. The study adopted cross section research design, were data
were collected once. A sampling size of 198 respondents was adopted through a simple random
technique and purposive sampling technique was used to get the required sampling population,
which included the communities and village leaders in Nkweshoo village. Data collection
techniques involved household survey, key informant interview, and documentary review. Data
were analysed through descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and regression analysis and
t- test. Moreover, qualitative analysis was also used. The study found that the main tourism
activities under Nkweshoo village were tour guiding, transportation, hotels and
accommodation, food and beverage, entertainment, culture, sports and recreation. The study
also found that the industry contributes to economic development of local communities mainly
in the following ways namely; employment creation, increased households’income, increased
asset ownership, improved infrastructure and transportation, conservation education and
community support. The study concludes that there is significant contribution by the tourism
industry on economic development of communities in Nkweshoo village. The study
recommends that there is a need to establish a strong linkage between communities and key
players in tourism in order to promote economic development of communities.
