Abstract:
As one of the oldest forms of tourism, domestic tourism remains vital for any destination especially in this post Covid-19 era when tourists are extremely sensitive to cross-border travel. Therefore, an understanding of how marketing communication channels affect the motivation, consumption behavior and satisfaction of domestic tourists is crucial in promoting this form of tourism. This study aims to investigate the influence of marketing communication channels on the motivations, consumption behavior and satisfaction of domestic tourists visiting Machakos People’s Park, in Kenya. To achieve this, a survey was conducted on a sample of 258 domestic tourists visiting Machakos People’s Park. Quantitative data was collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. Explorative factor analysis was performed to distinguish the push and pull motivation factors, and descriptive measures were determined. Thereafter, cross-tabulation and chi-square determination were performed to test the associations between marketing communication channels and the other variables in the study. An alpha level of .05 was used for these statistical tests. The findings revealed that marketing communication channels had a significant influence only on the consumption behavior of domestic tourists but not on their motivations and satisfaction. These findings are instrumental for the marketing communication and management of Machakos People’s Park, and similar domestic tourist destinations.
