"ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING STRATEGIESADOPTED BY KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE.A CASE STUDY OF ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK.RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FORTHE CONFERMENT OF BACHELOR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM ANDHOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT AT THE INSTITUTE OF TOURISM ANDHOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT OF DEDAN KIMATHI UNIVERSITY OFTECHNOLOGY.1 ACNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to extend my gratitude and sincere appreciation to Dedan KimathiUniversity Department of sustainable Tourism and hospitality management, myUniversity Supervisor, Mrs. Josephine who has generously dedicated her time andexpertise and skill fully co-ordinate the detailed effort of reviewing this study pack.. Ialso acknowledge my great indebtedness to my friends, roommate and fellowclassmates for their support and sharing of knowledge during this research proposalundertaking. ABBREVIATIONSMTEs...Small and medium tourism enterprisesDMOs...Destination management organisationsNTOS..National tourism organisationsKWS.. Kenya wildlife service iii ABSTRACTMarketing is very essential in any management business within a destination in orderto achieve its objectives profitably. Specifically research will to investigate waysthrough which customer flow within the destination can be increased and maintainthis level. The research investigated the cause of reduction in tourists flow inAberdare national park as well analyzing how marketing strategies used wereeffective in increasing tourists. The study was conducted in Aberdare national parkwhich is located in Nyeri County. Descriptive research design was used to collect theinformation. Questionnaires were administered to both tourist and marketers inAberdare national park marketing department. Both primary and secondary methodswere used. In order to gain further insights into the matter of the study, the researcherinterviewed tourists from the park and marketing department involved in marketingAberdare national park. About 25 tourist and 5 employees from marketing departmentwill be interviewed. The data collected was the analyzed and presented in tablesgraphs and pie chats.iv ContentsABBREVIATION .................................................................................................................... iiiList of figures ......................................................................................................................... 1CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 2INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 21.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 21.2 Problem statement ............................................................................................................ 31.3 GENERAL OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................. 4To assess the effectiveness of the marketing strategies adopted by kws. .............................. 41.4 Specific objectives. ...................................................................................................... 41.4 Purpose of the study ......................................................................................................... 41.5 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 41.6 Limitation of the study ..................................................................................................... 4CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................. 5LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................... 5MARKETING TOOL ............................................................................................................ 62.1.1 Product .......................................................................................................................... 62.1.2 Promotion ..................................................................................................................... 72.1.3 Place .............................................................................................................................. 82.1.4 Price .............................................................................................................................. 92.2.6People .............................................................................................................................. 102.1.5 Process ........................................................................................................................ 112.2 MARKETING AND SMTES ........................................................................................ 112.2.1 Product Mix ............................................................................................................ 122.2.2 Pricing Policy .......................................................................................................... 122.2.3 Distribution policy .................................................................................................. 132.2.4 Sales Policy ............................................................................................................. 132.2.5 Promotion Policy .................................................................................................... 132.3 FORMULATING A STRATEGY ................................................................................. 142.4 THE MARKETING PROCESS .................................................................................... 142.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 15CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK ....................................................................................... 17v CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................. 183.1 Study area. ..................................................................................................................... 183.2 Research design ............................................................................................................. 183.3 The target population. ................................................................................................... 183.4 Sampling strategies. ....................................................................................................... 193.5 Research methodology .................................................................................................. 193.6 Equipment and data collection method. ....................................................................... 193.7 Data analysis. ................................................................................................................. 203.8 Data presentation .......................................................................................................... 20CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 214.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 214.2 Data Analysis and Results ................................................................................................. 214.2.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents. ............................................................... 214.3 Marketing mix tools. .......................................................................................................... 234.3.1Product ......................................................................................................................... 234.3.2 pricing ......................................................................................................................... 244.3.3Process ......................................................................................................................... 254.34 People .......................................................................................................................... 264.3.5 promotion ................................................................................................................... 264.3.5 Promotion strategies .................................................................................................. 274.4 Challenges encountered during marketing ....................................................................... 28CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................... 305.0 SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECCOMMEDATION ........................................... 305.1.0 To identify the marketing strategies adopted by kws to market Aberdare national park.................................................................................................................................................. 305.1.1 Assessment of the effectiveness of the marketing strategies used by kws. .............. 305.1.2 Ways of improving the marketing strategies .............................................................. 315. 2 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 315.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 31Appendices 1 ............................................................................................................................ 33 vi "