Potential contributions of white water rafting to adventure tourism development in Jinja district .case study Itanda falls

Abstract

The intention of this report was to explore the whitewater rafting industry on the Upper White Nile. Although the White Nile is widely considered one of the greatest stretches of whitewater in the world, there is little actually known about the industry itself? As a result the following research investigates the potential contributions of whitewater rafting to adventure tourism development in Jinja. Additionally the research investigates the role played of whitewater rafting to adventure tourism development. And to find out the challenges affecting whitewater rafting. Finally the strategies for promoting whitewater rafting were also examined in this report. Through this research a vast amount of information was gained on the nature of this industry. Two survey instruments were used for data collection from 70 respondents who were considered, questionnaires were designed and interviews were carried out. Data collected from the respondents was entered, coded and managed in Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 17.0). The results revealed the contributions of whitewater rafting to adventure tourism development in Jinja. The findings proved that the roles played by white-water rafting to adventure tourism development are both positive and negative and these affect the social, economic and environmental structures of the local communities. The findings also showed the challenges affecting white-water rafting and also presented the strategies used to promote white-water rafting in Jinja district. In conclusion, the objectives of the research were met and effectively exposed new information about the rafting industry. The research proved the potential contributions of white-water rafting to adventure tourism as social, economic and environmental in both positive and negative ways The researcher recommended the rafting companies for example Adrift, Nalubale, NRE to improve on their marketing tools, customer service and also government involvement in the rafting industry either through provision of incentives for example tax holidays or in regulatory processes in order to maintain and manage the authenticity of the rafting business.