Antecedents to Kenyan Coast Hotels' Purchases of Agricultural Products.

The paper investigated tourism and agriculture linkages by determining the local agricultural products purchased by hotels, purchase considerations and antecedents to purchase of agricultural products. The study was conducted in Coastal Kenya which is a major tourist destination. A census survey of the hotels was undertaken. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and logit model. The results indicate that the local agricultural products purchased by hotels were eggs, meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits and milk. The purchase considerations were price, quality and supply reliability. Age of the hotel, bed capacity and number of employees influenced the proportion of local agricultural products purchased by the hotels. The results have implications for enhancing tourism and agriculture linkages to improve rural livelihoods.