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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                                 

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 

License. 

 

 

Events and Tourism Review                                                        
 
June 2021                                                                                                                                                 Volume 4 No. 1        

   

Sports Tourism Events and Socio-economic Well-being of the Host 

Communities: Motivations and Benefits from an Emerging Destination 

 

 

 

Lilian Wanyonyi 

 

Joseph M. Njoroge  

 

Richard Juma 

 

Murang’a University of Technology  

Correspondence: alicialily0@gmail.com (L. Wanyonyi) 

 

 
 

 

 

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Recommended Citation 

Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021). Sports Tourism Events and Socio-economic 

well-being of the Host Communities: Motivations and Benefits from an Emerging Destination. 

Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42.  

 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

31 

Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Abstract 

 
Travel and tourism industry has been considered as a major catalyst for local community 

development. As an alternative way of involving the host community in tourism activities directly, 

sports tourism aims to enable the hosts to earn income. Host community is an important stakeholder in 

tourism, their wellbeing is directly proportional to sustainable tourism. Nairobi city has hosted several 

sports tourism events for decades, but little has been documented on how such events promote the 

socio-economic wellbeing of the host community. This research sought to put sports tourism events 

into limelight by looking at the perceived motivational factors behind hosting of sports tourism events 

and to assess the socio-economic benefits of   hosting sports tourism events. A cross-sectional 

research design was used in the study with a total of 404 respondents. Questionnaires and interviews 

were used to collect data from informants in three stadia. Descriptive, thematic analysis and 

inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The major motivating factors for hosting sports 

tourism event were good infrastructure, expected benefits and availability of accommodation 

facilities. The main benefits of hosting sports tourism events were identified as employment 

opportunities and increased trade for local businesses. A number of recommendations were made. 

 

Keywords: Sports Tourism Events, Community, Sustainable Development 
 

 

 

Introduction 

 

The travel and tourism industry is among the highly developing sectors in the world 

experiencing a growth in tourists’ numbers, huge employment opportunities and huge investments. 

WTTC (2018) established that, the travel and tourism industry brought US$8.8 trillion to the 

economy worldwide this equating to 10.4% of global GDP. It contributes to more than 319 million 

jobs annually, representing 10.0% of all employment worldwide. In most developing nations, it has 

turned out to be a major driver of social and economic progress. Kenya receives the largest number 

of international tourists each year followed by Uganda and Tanzania. Tourism contributes about 

10% of the Gross Domestic Product in the country each year (KIPPRA Report, 2018). Tourism 

arrivals in 2018 were recorded at 2,029,206 and ksh 157 billion tourism receipts (KTB report, 2018) 

thus making the tourism industry a major backbone of the economy. However, the increased poverty 

levels are still evident in different parts of the country which has been associated with unequal 

distribution of tourism benefits (Kieti & Akama, 2007). In Kenya, 36.1% of the population still live 

below the poverty line compared to other African countries like Ghana and South Africa (World 

Bank Report, 2018). 

In its Vision 2030 blueprint, tourism in Kenya is a major pillar that the government has 

prioritized as a way of alleviating the poverty index and providing economic growth. The country 

aims to focus on niche tourism products  and to be among the leading destinations globally 

providing quality, diversified and   unique tourists’ experiences than her competitors GOK, 

(2008).To achieve this, the country has come up  with different development projects among them  

the launching of Kenya National Tourism Blueprint 2030 that  has strategies on product 

diversification  to boost its tourism profile globally and the initiative to build state of the art stadia 

across the country that will boost Kenya’s ability to bid and host regional and international sports 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

tourism events. This will be a focal point in improving the quality of lives local people’s lives (GoK, 

2013). 

Sport and tourism has become a vital element of tourism in Kenya. The country has actively 

participated in local, regional and international sporting tourism events that has given it popularity. 

For instance, Kenyan sports men and women have often performed exceptionally globally during 

events. The country has also attracted renowned world sport stars who have helped to promote and 

boost sports talents in the country. Kenya has frequently hosted numerous spectacular sports tourism 

events like the annual Standard chartered Marathon, Lewa Marathon, the IAAF championships, 

KCB Safari rally, the cricket Championships, Rugby Safari Sevens Series, Confederation of Eastern 

and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) Championships and Open golf championships 

which have attracted both local and international participants (Ng’oriarita, 2013). 

Nairobi County is a hub of tourism in Africa. The county is enriched with both cultural and 

natural tourism attractions such as Mamba Village, Karen Blixen Museum, Nairobi National Park, 

Giraffe Centre and Bomas of Kenya. Since the inception of devolution, the county has bid and 

hosted some spectacular sporting events which include the annual Rugby Safari Sevens Series, 

IAAF World under 18 Championships, AFCON qualifiers championships, African Volleyball 

Championships, Ice Stock Sports Africa, WRC Safari Rally, East Africa military games and African 

Deaf Athletics Championships. The city has several stadia that host different events which have 

made the city ideal for sports enthusiasts. 

Despite hosting these events, it is unclear whether the host community in Nairobi gains from 

the events. Hosting of sports tourism is regarded as part of community development but there exists 

dearth of studies basing on this within the Kenyan Context. The link between sports tourism and 

counties is still under researched (Njoroge et al, 2017). Furthermore, Peric (2018), Herbold, Thees 

and Philipp (2020), and Boonsiritomachai and Phonthanukitithaworn (2019) opine that the host 

community is important in any tourism process and no form of tourism should be held at the 

expense of the locals. To sum up, Wise 2016, argues that most research have put focus on events 

while the focus on the host community is missing. From this basis, the study will endeavor to fill 

this knowledge gap by addressing key concern in Kenyan perspective. 

Devolution and growth of sports events tourism in Kenya 

Devolution refers to a decentralization of political powers and economic resources to the 

local divisions. The Kenyan Constitution in 2010 enshrined devolution. The constitution enabled the 

formation of forty-seven counties that are governed independently (Khaunya, Wawire & 

Chepng‘eno, 2015).  County governments have continued to strive towards promoting economic 

welfare to improve the GDP of the country. According to World Bank report (2019), county 

governments contribute 5.7% of the overall GDP in the country. Tourism is among the sectors that 

have attracted the attention of these devolved units as they have realized the benefits of its 

promotion. Devolution has opened up remote places through equitable allocation of resources to the 

counties. These counties have embarked on mapping of tourism resources, tourism product 

development and marketing. As a way of developing tourism products, some counties have been at 

the forefront of developing sports facilities that have made them host spectacular sports events. 

Njoroge, Atieno and Nascimento (2017) pointed out that, with a centralized system of 

governance, tourism developments in some parts of Kenya were disregarded, a priority was given to 

the coastal region because of the serene beaches and wildlife. However, these led to a lack of 

diversification in tourism products offered by the country. They further explained that the counties 

have led to the development of new destinations with diverse tourism products which have enabled 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

the country to curb seasonality which was majorly caused by overreliance on beach and wildlife 

tourism. 

 

Motivation for Hosting Sports Tourism Events 

 

  Many published pieces of literatures have concentrated on marketing, managing and 

evaluating of political, cultural and environmental effects of sports tourism (Kasimati, 2003; Zhou 

& AP, 2009; Gelan, 2003; Waitt, 2003). There is scanty of research attention on motivations for 

governments, cities or states to involve in these  sports events. Studies on motivations and reasons 

for hosting sports events are very limited. (Ap, Bauer & Zhou, 2012). 

The bidding process has become a common aspect of destinations that rely on events as the main 

tourism product. Destination Management Organizations, governments and businesses have taken a 

lead to bidding for the rights to host events in their areas as an initiative to rip the expected benefits 

(Berridge, 2010). Different cities in the world are embracing MICE by improving their facilities, 

infrastructures and spaces to enhance their ability for bidding for different types of events. (Getz, 

2012). 

 

Socio-economic Benefits of Hosting Events on the Host Community 

 

  Developing nations   considers tourism as a means of alleviating poverty by boosting 

sustainable developments for the locals. (Paul, 2012). Sports tourism events have effects on the host 

communities. In relation to sustainability, sports tourism events have economic, social and 

environmental impacts on the receiving communities (Weaver, 2006).  The popularity of hosting 

sports events has been associated with the fact that they contribute huge impacts to the livelihood of 

the host community (Wanyonyi, Njoroge &Juma,2021). This relies on the size of the event being 

hosted, (Peric, 2018). Ntloko and Swart (2008) state that, sports tourism events provide direct and 

indirect linkages with other industries whenever they are hosted. New opportunities are created for 

improving the standards of living for the locals. 

Several studies have based on the economic impacts to the host destinations. Examples of 

economic impacts include the provision of employment, boosting the local economy, diversification 

in tourism products and rise in investments (Kayat, 2010; Njoroge et al 2017; Herbold, Thees & 

Philipp, 2020), improvement in revenues, supplementary income, and enhanced quality of life 

(Dimitriadis et al., 2013). Conversely, on the negative side of effects there are economic challenges 

like a rise in the cost of living through an increase in prices of commodities and unequal allocation 

of accrued benefits (Andriotis, 2005) 

Though much has been done on the impacts of hosting events, Camacho, Duclos and Don 

Santos (2018) opine that assessment of social impacts in sports tourism events is important to 

ascertain if they pose any effect to the host residents. This is to curb the adverse effects and 

maximize on the benefits received.  Majority of the past studies comprised of impact-based studies 

that sought to investigate the impacts of sport tourism events on specific destinations. Therefore, 

there is scarcity of studies looking on socio-economic returns derived from hosting sport tourism 

events and how local economies benefit from the hosting of events in their proximity (Nyikana &  

Tichaawa, 2018). 

 

 

 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

Methodology 

 

The objective of this paper was to identify the motivational factors behind hosting of sports 

tourism events and the benefits of sport tourism events to host community. Purposive sampling was 

used to identify the three stadia namely Moi International Sports Complex, Nyayo stadium and 

Nairobi City Stadium that frequently host events in the city. A cross-sectional research design was 

used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Questionnaires were used to collect 

quantitative data from the host community and sports tourists in the stadia. Descriptive statistics 

were used to analyze the Likert Scale type questions from the questionnaire. To measure the socio -

economic benefits   derived from events, the variables that were deemed to contribute to the socio-

economic well -being of the hosts from the literature review were put on a Likert scale and the host 

community were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with 

the statements. The scale used ranged from 1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree. To this end, the 

ordinal scale of measurement was used where a value of “1” was considered the highest while “5” 

was the lowest.  

The perceived motivational factors for hosting sports tourism events from literature, were 

also put on the Likert scale and respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed or 

disagreed with the statements. Ordinal scale of measurement was used, and means were calculated 

for the variables. A factor analysis was used to categorize the motivational factors for hosting events 

into three groups “facilities”, “support factors” and “favorable factors”. Correlation analysis was 

used to establish the relationship between variables of the study. Interviews were also administered 

to host community and sports stakeholders (sport associations, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife 

and Ministry of Sport). Descriptive, thematic analysis and inferential statistics were used to analyze 

data. 

 

Results and Discussions 

 

Quantitative Data Analyses 

 

Four hundred and four questionnaires were issued to the sampled respondents. The 

questionnaires were administered to the respondents at the three stadia during Ice Stock Sports 

Africa, World Rally Championships, East Africa military games and African Deaf Athletics 

Championships events that were hosted in Nairobi City in 2019. Three hundred and seventy-three 

questionnaires were returned. The response rate was 92.33%. The questionnaire yielded over 60% of 

the response rate which is satisfactorily according to Mugenda and Mugenda (2008). 

Table 1. Factor Analysis Results with Varimax Rotational of Motivational Factors 

  F1 F2 F3 Mean Communality 

Factor 1—

Facilities 
     

Good 

infrastructure 
0.81   4.201 0.689 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

Well-developed 

sporting 

facilities 

0.738   4.472 0.554 

Availability of 

accommodation 

facilities 

0.513   4.134 0.518 

Availability of 

social amenities 
0.607   4.1314 0.636 

Factor 2: 

Support Factors 
          

Support of 

sponsors 
 0.698  4.5952 0.537 

Support from the 

government 
 0.689  4.3619 0.635 

The hospitality 

of the host 

community 

 0.594  4.378 0.577 

Factor 3: 

Favorable 

Factors 

          

Conducive 

weather 
  0.588 3.82 0.522 

Security     0.919 4.005 0.895 

Eigenvalue 2.124 1.844 1.194   

Variance 

explained (%) 
23.599 20.494 13.269  Total:57.361 

Cronbach’s 

alpha (α) 
0.869 0.771 0.7   

Number of items 4 3 2     

 

From Table 1, Factor 1 contained four items with the highest eigenvalue (2.124) and the 

greatest individual variance (23.599% and 23.563% of the variance before and after rotation, 

respectively). The motivational factors items included in this factor were “good infrastructure”; 

“Well-developed sporting facilities”; “Availability of accommodation facilities”; and “Availability 

of social amenities.” These four motivational factors items were related to infrastructure that is 

needed during the hosting of sports tourism events. Absence of facilities in a destination may hinder 

a city from bidding process. 

Factor 2 was named “Support Factors.” It explained approximately 20.494% of the variance 

and had an eigenvalue of 1.844. Three items were also included in this factor, namely, “Support of 

sponsors”; “Support from the government”; and “hospitality of the host community.” The items in  

 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

this factor play a key role in enhancing the success of hosting an event. 

The third and final factor generated was “Favorable factors,” which comprised 2 items 

“Conducive weather” and “Security.” This factor accounted for 13.269% of the variance, with an 

eigenvalue of 1.194.  

Scholarly studies related to this finding point out that availability of facilities, security and 

hospitality of the host are the highest ranked motivators identified amongst sport tourists and sports 

participants during an event (Motlagh, 2013). 

Table 2. Correlations of the study variables 

                                  Variables SEW PMF CandO SEB DH 

Correlation 

SEW-Socio-economic wellbeing 1.000     

PMF -Perceived Motivation .624 1.000    

SEB-Socio-economic Benefits .543 .348 .411 1.000  

DH -Determinants of Hosting .614 .455 .485 .472 1.000 

 

From Table 2, the combined correlation of two independent variables namely perceived 

motivation and socio-economic benefits and the dependent variable were computed to determine the 

strength and direction of the associations between variables. The findings in this table showed that 

all independent variables had a positive relationship with the dependent variable. Perceived 

motivation r = 0.624, Socio-economic Benefits r = 0.543. In the performed test of significance, each 

independent variable yielded p-value of 0.000 at the level of significance 0.05 two tailed. Therefore, 

there is a strong positive correlation between the dependent variable and the independent variables. 

The study concluded that, from the independent variables investigated in the study, perceived 

motivation has the highest correlation to socio-economic well- being followed by socio-economic 

benefits. 

The study conducted a multiple linear regression involving the two independent variables 

against Socio-Economic Wellbeing. The results are as shown in Table 3. 

Table 3. Multiple Regression for Hosting of Sports Tourism Events Variables 

Model R R 

Square 

Adjusted 

R Square 

Std. Error of 

the Estimate 

Change Statistics 

R Square 

Change 

F 

Change 

df1 df2 Sig. F 

Change 

1 .744a .553 .550 .25974 .553 152.300 3 369 .000 

a. Predictors: (Constant), SocioEcon_Benefits, Perceived Motivation 

 

The multiple regression analysis in Table 3 above showed that R value measures the 

goodness of prediction of the variances. In this case R value of 0.744 is a good predictor of the 

socio-economic wellbeing by the independent variables: perceived motivation for hosting sports 

tourism events and socio-economic benefits of hosting sports tourism events. On the other hand, the 

R2 is the coefficient of determination which is the dependent variable that can be explained by the 

independent variables. In this case the R2 value of 0.553 means that 55.3% of the corresponding 

variation in the socio-economic wellbeing can be explained by the independent variables perceived  

 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

motivation for hosting sports tourism events and socio-economic benefits of hosting sports tourism 

events. However, there are other variables not covered by the study which account for 44.7% of 

socio-economic wellbeing. This outcome shows that socio-economic wellbeing can be enhanced by 

the predictors, perceived motivation factors and socio-economic benefits, the more the value of the 

predictors, the more effective and efficient socio-economic wellbeing. This is in line with Mc Comie 

(2016) and Ntloko and Swart (2008). 

Perceived Motivation for hosting sports tourism events and Socio-Economic Wellbeing 

The study conducted a multiple regression analysis involving perceived motivation for 

hosting sports tourism events against socio-economic wellbeing. The purpose was to establish the 

contribution of perceived motivation for hosting sports tourism events on socio-economic wellbeing. 

The results are as shown in Table 4. 

Table 4. Multiple Regression for Hosting of Sports Tourism Events Variable 

Model R R 

Square 

Adjusted 

R Square 

Std. Error of 

the Estimate 

Change Statistics 

R Square 

Change 

F 

Change 

df1 df2 Sig. F 

Change 

1 .624a .390 .388 .30272 .390 237.031 1 371 .000 

a. Predictors: (Constant), Perceived Motivation 

 

The simple regression analysis in Table 4 shows that the R2 value equals to 0.390 means that 

39.0% of the corresponding variation in the socio-economic wellbeing can be explained by the 

independent variable perceived motivation for hosting sports tourism events. This implies that by 

improving perceived motivation for hosting sports tourism events on its own; there will be an 

improvement in socio-economic wellbeing. Improvement in facilities such as good infrastructure, 

sporting facilities, accommodation facilities and social amenities would result into increase in the 

number of sport tourism events hence socio-economic wellbeing. Further, increase of support from 

the government and sponsors would improve socio-economic wellbeing as a result of hosting sports 

tourism events. Besides, favorable factors such as security and conducive weather would increase 

the number of sports tourism events hence socio-economic wellbeing. 

 

Thematic Analysis 
 

  An interview with various stakeholders showed a general agreement on motivations of sports 

tourism events as noted by a local hotelier: 

 “The hosting of sports events in Nairobi has made impressive strides due to increased 

marketing of Kenya as a sports destination by KTB, Good performance of Kenyans 

participating in international events, increased number of sports tourism facilities in the 

country and improved infrastructure for example the Thika Superhighway, direct flight to 

USA from Kenya and the completion of Standard Gauged Railway has made movements 

within the country efficient.” HOT1 

  This is an indication that these factors have facilitated the growth and popularity of sports 

tourism in the country as a potential niche product   for the enabling socio-economic returns to the 

hosts. 

With regard to the effect of these motivation factors on the socioeconomic wellbeing of the 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

host community, the respondent felt that, 

“the motivational factors increase the image of the country both locally and abroad for 

instance the recent performance of Kenya at the international stage has put the country 

on the global map i.e. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge has served many valuable lessons on 

tapping the benefits accruing from sports tourism, sports tourism enthusiasts across the 

world have now started flocking the country to seek the answers on why the country is 

such a dominant force in the middle and long-distance running. Besides, the conducive 

weather and availability of world class accommodation facilities have made Kenya be an 

ideal host of many events thus accruing benefits to the hoteliers, local businesses, tour 

firms and the government at large this would mean higher economic returns to boost the 

socioeconomic wellbeing of the hosts whenever they are hosted. Therefore, motivational 

supports like sports leadership, organizational support and level of security should be 

highly put into consideration to enhance more economic returns to host 

destination.”CG3 

As a suggestion on how to improve motivation for hosting sports tourism events, the 

participant had this to say: 

“We need to encourage a high level of security in this wake of terrorism, sports facilities 

on the other hand need to be increased and elevated to international standards to boost 

their competitiveness when bidding to host major and mega sports tourism events, the 

government should enhance their marketing visibility to enhance their recognition 

locally and abroad”. MOT2 

In addition to this, infrastructure, organization support, the good will of the sponsors should 

be encouraged and supported to boost the successful hosting of sports tourism events in the county. 

This finding concurs with the findings by Yusuf (2016), Njoroge et al.  (2017) and Gitari 

(2016) but differ with the findings of Nezakati, Chin and Akhoundi (2013), that showed interest in 

sport, age, ethnicity, structural constraint and interpersonal constraint were influential factors for 

hosting sports tourism events. 

Assessment of the Benefits of Hosting Sports Tourism Events in the Host Community in Nairobi 

County 

 

For this objective, the sports stakeholders affirmed that the increased hosting of sports 

tourism events in Nairobi has contributed to the social, economic and environmental benefits to the 

locals. 

 “The increasing number of domestic and international tourists participating in sports 

events in Nairobi has stimulated the local economy. Participants contribute to the local 

economy through spending on accommodation, retail outlets, and restaurants, while 

increasing the demand for local labor.” TO 4 

In addition to that, sports tourism events have led to that. 

“Development of infrastructure for instance, Thika Superhighway has made Moi 

International Sports Complex more accessible during events. These events have led to 

employment of people before, during and after the events. There has also been increased 

media attention during events for example, IAAF Championships that placed Nairobi on 

a Global Map. Further, community pride has been enhanced as local people’s identity 

during hosting is increased, Hosting of events has also led to development of sports 

facilities in Nairobi and other counties. “MOS 1 

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Wanyonyi, L., Njoroge, J. M. & Juma, R. (2021) / Events and Tourism Review, 4(1), 30-42. 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

Based on the economic benefits of hosting sports tourism events, the respondents stated that,  

“Hosting has led to increased employment opportunities among the hosts, boosting of 

local business, attracting of investors in sports sector and improved infrastructure. 

Therefore, the government should put more efforts in sports development in order to  

continuously host events that spur economic development to the country but also play 

economies of scale to the local community. COG 1 

Based on the social impacts of hosting sports tourism events, the respondents stated that. 

“Events contributes to socio-cultural exchange, community consolidation, boosting of 

the image of the country, great media attention, external exposure of host country, urban 

renewal and development, knowledge and entertainment. Though these effects are 

intangible, the legacies they have during events change the perception and acceptability 

of hosting events among the locals”. SA7 

On the contrary, despite these positive social and economic impacts, the sporting events have 

been on the focus due to negative social impacts associated with hosting events. The events are 

associated with immoral behaviors among the attendees. Few instances were reported especially 

during the IAAF Championships and East Africa Military Games. One respondent stated that, 

 “One of the negative sides of these events hosting is traffic congestion, traffic diversion, 

too much and underage alcoholism, parking issues, crime and immorality especially 

during the night events organized in the sidelines of the main sports events”.  

Another respondent stated that, 

 “Noise and a large amount of litter have posed a great environmental concern in areas 

around the stadia.” TO3 

Other concerns raised were hooliganism, vandalism and fear of terrorists’ attacks that target 

sports events with a huge number of attendees and wide media coverage. 

It is evident that hosting of sports tourism events has both benefits and costs associated with 

them. County and national governments need to give a consideration in promoting sports tourism 

events as a niche product to enable a sustainable sports tourism development. 

The findings on this variable concur with the findings by Njoroge et al. (2017), Peric (2018), 

Ntloko and Swart (2008) and Yusuf (2016). This finding however differs with the findings of 

Oshimi, Yamaguchi, Fukuhara and Taks (2021) only based their findings on social impacts as 

benefits that the host community gets from hosting of sports tourism events.  

This thematic analysis agrees with the quantitative results that challenges and opportunities 

positively affect the socioeconomic wellbeing of the host community. 

 

Socio-economic Wellbeing of the Host Community 

 

The stakeholders gave their opinion regarding to the dependent variable and the hosting of 

events and said that, 

“To enhance sustainable tourism development all stakeholders must actively participate 

to enhance long term benefits to the locals. Events can help alleviate poverty among the 

locals through allowing them to actively participate in planning before and during 

events”. Tourism has improved the livelihood of the local community hence sports 

tourism may not be an exception. The growing number of both inbound and outbound 

sport tourists participating in sports events stimulates the local economy. Event 

participants contribute to the local economy by spending on accommodation facilities,  

 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

transport, retail outlets and restaurants while also increasing the demand for local 

labor.” MOT 2 

This in turn leads to improved socioeconomic wellbeing. 

Besides the economic benefits, sports tourism events are catalysts for other forms of 

development, for instance urban regeneration, local community capacity building and promotion of 

marketing thus leading to a long-term legacies for the  host cities. This creates a unique city brand 

that could attract many tourists in the future.  

However, for sports tourism events to serve as a means of strengthening economic 

development, the size and duration of hosting should be put into considerations to be able to 

leverage more benefits for the locals. In addition, it very necessary to develop the host community 

support and participation for events. 

  In summary, this finding supports the prevalent view that sports tourism events can be a 

viable approach to the economic development of local communities (Getz & Page, 2016; Nyikaana 

2018; Boonsiritomachai & Phonthanukitithaworn, 2019). 

 

Conclusion and Recommendation 
 

Sports tourism events is one of the dynamic sub-sectors in sports tourism known for creating 

socio-economic changes across the local communities. Its role in diversifying the tourism products, 

provision of employment and establishment of sports facilities, cultural exchanges and 

environmental protection contributes to sustainable development. It’s beyond doubt that sports 

tourism events present lots of benefits and opportunities for host cities. Therefore, to enhance this 

segment of travel, the findings will be useful to the government (policy makers) in crafting policies 

and relevant legislation to create an enabling environment to encourage the growth and development 

of the sports tourism. This will ensure that sports tourism develops within specified guidelines and is 

well regulated for the benefit of both the host community, sports tourists, and planners who 

coordinate these events. Further, creating an enabling environment for the growth of the sports 

tourism sub-sector will greatly contribute to the government’s initiative to reduce poverty from the 

counties. 

These findings also have vital implications for the need of proper financing of counties in 

order to facilitate sports and recreational infrastructures throughout the country under the leadership 

of county governments. This will make counties to be active in bidding and hosting of sports 

tourism events. Additionally, public and private sectors participation in sports should be enhanced. 

The collaboration among stakeholders of sports will eventually improve the sporting activities in the 

country. Furthermore, there is need for a holistic plan which takes into consideration sport tourism 

development issues at the same time incorporates all role players in events to promote success of 

future events. This will be key in strengthening a sustainable sport tourism industry in the country 

by limiting the challenges and maximizing on the benefits.  

The study also identified opportunities that come as a result of hosting sports tourism events. 

These include a chance to offer more experiences and satisfaction with regard to the complementary 

nature of sport tourism events to other tourism attractions, promotion of domestic tourism and 

counteracting tourism seasonality. Through sport tourism, events can be organized at different times 

of the year to curb overreliance on safari and beach tourism. This aspect has an implication on the 

destination marketers in this case Kenya Tourism Board (the state corporation charged with the 

mandate of marketing Kenya as a tourist destination both locally and internationally) in developing 

 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021), 30-42, DOI: 10.18060/24924                                                                                               

               Copyright © 2021 Lilian Wanyonyi, Joseph M. Njoroge and Richard Juma 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

branding strategies to create a distinct image of sports tourism to make Nairobi an ideal destination 

for sports tourism.  

 

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