Economic Impact of Lamu Cultural Festival 2016

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT
OF THE LAMU CULTURAL

FESTIVAL
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DISCLAIMER
The content contained in this study report; THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT
OF THE LAMU CULTURAL FESTIVAL, is the sole work and property of Burac
Insight and Lamu County Government. All excerpts taken from this report
must properly cite the above named entities.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................... a
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... b
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................... i
FOREWORD ................................................................................................. ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................... iii
TECHNICAL RESEARCH TEAM ..................................................................... iv
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
About Lamu Cultural Festival ................................................................... 1
Festivals as per the Lamu Island of Festivals Calendar ............................ 2
Objectives of the Survey .......................................................................... 3
Limitations of this Survey......................................................................... 3
WORLD PRACTICES ..................................................................................... 4
METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 6
Common Approaches ................................................................................ 6
Our Approach ........................................................................................... 6
Sampling ............................................................................................... 6
Sample Size ........................................................................................... 7
Level of Confidence and Error ................................................................ 7
FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY .......................................................................... 9
SURVEY I.................................................................................................. 9
Passengers Arrivals: Complete Break Down ............................................ 9
Passengers Arrived by Road .................................................................. 9
Passengers Arrived by Air ................................................................... 10
RESULTS OF THE SURVEY II ...................................................................... 12
THE ATTENDEES FINDINGS ....................................................................... 12
Knowledge of the Festival ...................................................................... 12
Social Media Segment.......................................................................... 13
Television Segment ............................................................................. 14
Radio Station Category ........................................................................ 15
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Newspapers Segment .......................................................................... 15
Reason for Attending the Festival .......................................................... 16
Attendees Anticipation: Set 1 Questionnaires ........................................ 17
Concerns about Event: Set 1 Questionnaires .......................................... 18
Most Enjoyed Activities: Set 2 Questionnaires ........................................ 19
Areas to Improve on: Set 2 Questionnaires ............................................ 20
LOCAL BUSINESSES SURVEY ..................................................................... 24
Level of Satisfaction ............................................................................... 24
Average Earnings by the Local Businesses ............................................. 25
Challenges Encountered ......................................................................... 26
Products offered by the local businesses ............................................... 27
Scale of the local businesses .................................................................. 28
PARTICIPANTS SURVEY ............................................................................ 29
Amount of income generated ................................................................. 29
Most Liked Event .................................................................................... 30
Areas to Improve ................................................................................... 31
EXHIBITORS SURVEY ................................................................................ 33
Challenges Experienced ......................................................................... 35
The Products Exhibited .......................................................................... 36
Scale of the Exhibiting Enterprises ......................................................... 36
LOCAL COMMUNITY SURVEY ..................................................................... 38
Benefit to the Community ...................................................................... 38
Nature of Benefits .................................................................................. 38
The Income Benefit ............................................................................. 39
Areas for Improvement .......................................................................... 40
HOTELS SURVEY ........................................................................................ 42
Hotel occupancy ..................................................................................... 43
Nationality of guests .............................................................................. 44
Challenges Encountered ......................................................................... 45
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 46
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Structural changes ................................................................................. 46
Administrative........................................................................................ 47
Resources .............................................................................................. 47
References ................................................................................................ 49
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Burac Insight would like to acknowledge the assistance and cooperation of the
Management of Manda Airport, Lamu Tourist Police, the Lamu Tourists
Association and the County department of Trade, Tourism and Culture.
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FOREWORD
This is a study conducted by Burac Insight with the main aim being to establish
the impact of the 2016 Lamu Cultural Festival to various socio-economic
indicators in Lamu County and going as far as observing and accessing their
level of satisfaction. It focused on all stakeholders of the Lamu Cultural
Festival. These consisted of; Festival attendees, Local business community,
Event participants, Exhibitors, Local community and the Hotels industry.
It also went further and assessed the arrivals at major entry points of Lamu
town so as to establish the proportion of passengers arriving specifically for
the event. It is our belief that this report will put the county department (which
intends to sell Lamu as the Islands of festivals) in a better place to better
plan for, and manage similar events in the future.
We hope you have an insightful reading.
Sincerely,
Salim M. A. Mzamau
Managing Partner Burac Insight
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
KTB Kenya Tourism Board
LCF Lamu Cultural Festival
LCPG Lamu Cultural Promotion Group
UN the United Nations
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UIS UNESCO Institute of Statistics
SEIA Socio-Economic Impact Assessment
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TECHNICAL RESEARCH TEAM
NAME AREA OF EXPERTISE
1. Salim M. A. Mzamau Economics and Statistics
2. Christopher Mwanjala PR and Administration
3. Daisy Mukami Communication and Marketing
4. Fatma Said Omar Tourism and IT
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Burac Insight Research Consultancy Impact of the Lamu Cultural Festival
INTRODUCTION
About Lamu Cultural Festival
The Lamu cultural festival has been conducted in Lamu Island for the 16th
year in a row. In each subsequent year, the event has been bigger than the
previous one, suggesting a growing interest in the event. It is one of the
biggest events in Kenya and has attracted diverse international attention. The
resources for the event are usually drawn from donors and well-wishers who
channel them through Lamu Cultural Promotion Group - an organized group
that initiated the festival (LCPG, 2015).
Lamu Cultural Festival is a celebration of both the past and the future,
and the beliefs and traditions that are the heart and soul of the Lamu
community. Most visitors to the island fall in love with this relaxed and
peaceful lifestyle, and visiting during the Lamu Cultural Festival is a chance
to experience Lamu life at its most exuberant and joyous.
Magical Kenya (KTB)
This years festival was well attended, attracting a larger audience than the
previous one. The festival attracted high profile visitors as well. This included
foreign ambassadors and heads of mission, county governors, members of
parliament, and parastatal chiefs among others.
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Festivals as per the Lamu Island of Festivals Calendar

Besides the Lamu Cultural Festival, other festivals in line with the Lamus
calendar of events are as follows:
FESTIVAL TYPE DATES
Eid-ul-Fitr RELIGIOUS 25 26 June 2016
Eid-ul-Adhar RELIGIOUS 1 September, 2016
Lamu Cultural Festival CULTURAL 10-13 November, 2016
Lamu Fishing Competition SPORTS 9 -11 December, 2016
Lamu Triathlon SPORTS 9-11 December , 2016
Maulid Festival RELIGIOUS 27- 30 December, 2016
Lamu Art Festival CULTURAL 17-19 February, 2017
Lamu Yoga Festival SPORTS 8-12 March, 2017
Lamu Food Festival CULTURAL 7-9 April, 2017
Source: Discover Lamu
These are festival purposely organized and spread all year round with the
intention of fostering Lamus image as the Island of Festivals.
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Objectives of the Survey

The main aim of the survey was to establish the impact of the Lamu Cultural
Festival to various socio-economic indicators in Lamu County.
This focused mainly on the impacts felt by the following stakeholders of the
festival:-
Festival attendees
Local business community
Event participants
Exhibitors
Local community
The hotel industry
Limitations of this Survey

1) The funding available for this activity was very limited in comparison
with the desired scope of work.
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WORLD PRACTICES
Internationally, Australia has recently been the trailblazer creating specialized
festival events for the purposes of tourism promotion. Through its initiative in
the creation of specialist government agencies in charge of festivals which
have been hugely successful in bringing to Australia many of the worlds great
events. In England, Scotland and Ireland, specialized festival agencies are now
being established with similar charters to those in Australia (Williams, 2008).
The level of government commitment and support for major events in the UK
was demonstrated by London securing the 2012 Olympic Games and Glasgow
the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Events agencies and local authorities in the UK was very proactive in investing
in international events in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games. They looked
to leverage off the desire of Olympic sports to hold their major championships
in the Olympic host country (Williams, 2008).
The United Arab Emirates are a good example of how countries in the Middle
East are using events to promote themselves to international audience.
Below is a sneak preview of the events secured, created and hosted within the
United Arab Emirates:
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Table 1.1: Events Secured, Created and Hosted Within the United Arab
Emirates
NATURE OF NAME OF FESTIVAL LOCATION/VENUE

FESTIVAL
Motor Sports Formula One Bahrain and Abu Dhabi

Festivals
Moto GP Qatar
World Superbikes Qatar
V8 Supercars Bahrain
Power Boats World Championship & P1 Qatar, Dubai and Bahrain

Events
Horse Racing Dubai Cup Dubai
Major race events Bahrain
Rugby Dubai Sevens Dubai
Golf European PGA Dubai and Qatar
Cultural Festivals Dubai Shopping Festival Dubai
Dubai Film Festival Dubai
Bahrain Spring of Culture Bahrain
Business Events World-class convention and Dubai and Bahrain

exhibition centres leading
business events
destinations
Source: Events Review Queensland August 2008
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METHODOLOGY
Common Approaches
Festivals are seen as a major source of income and tourism at local and
national levels. Many festivals seek to demonstrate the contribution that they
make to local economies by using methods of:-
Evaluation
Cost-benefit analysis
Economic impact assessment etc.
Many economic studies of festivals use inconsistent methods, involving for
example multipliers which exaggerate the knock-on effects of spending and
employment.
Environmental and social impacts are rarely included in festival assessments
and evaluations.
Our Approach
Sampling
In order to establish the impact of the Lamu Cultural Festival to various socio-
economic indicators in Lamu County, we targeted the following LCF
stakeholders:-
Festival attendees
Event participants
Exhibitors
Local community
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The hotel this was given special attention so as to establish the direct
impact to the hotel industry
Sample Size
Technical professional expertise was employed right from the point of research
design to the point of data analysis and presentation. The sample size for each
sample category is as follows.
Festival attendees - 660

Local business community - 300
Event participants 140
Exhibitors - 30
Local community - 350
Hotel - 60
Level of Confidence and Error

The selected sample sizes for each category was calculated to ensure that the
findings of this survey are, at the very least, of 95% confidence level. The
responses will have a margin of error of 0.03. This is achieved using the
formula illustrated hereinafter.
2 ()(1 )
=
2
In this case;
ss = sample size
Z = Z value
p = percentage picking a choice, expressed as decimal
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c = confidence interval, expressed as decimal (e.g. .04)

The responses will have a margin of error of 0.03.
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FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY

SURVEY I
Passengers Arrivals: Complete Break Down
Passengers arrival survey was conducted on the first and second day of the
festival and it included profiling of passengers arriving at the airport in Manda
and at the jetty in Mokowe. During this segment of the survey, we identified
the guests reasons for coming to Lamu. The reasons were classified as either
in Lamu for LCF or in Lamu for other reasons.
Passengers Arrived by Road

This part of the survey was conducted at the Mokowe jetty. A graphical
presentation of the proportion of passengers coming for the LCF in each of the
transport companies reveals the following as indicated in the graph below;
MOKOWE TALLIES
L.C.F OTHER
38%
15% 12% 13%

31% 6%
4% 6% 2%
14% 15% 16% 4%
6% 8% 3% 2% 5%
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Most of the passengers arriving by road were coming for the LCF. With the
highest proportion being observed in Tawakal, Al-wahim and Tahmeed, in that
order.
Passengers Arrived by Air

At Manda Airport, the airlines that operated during the survey period were
JamboJet, Fly Sax, Fly 540, Safarilink and Air Kenya. The passengers arriving
for the cultural festival were tallied and the results are graphically presented
as follows
% OF PASSENGERS ARRIVING FOR LCF
59%
17%
12%
6% 4%
1%
Jambo jet fly 540 Air kenya FlySax Charter safari link
JamboJet had the highest proportion of passengers coming for the LCF at
59%, followed by fly 540 at 17%. Air Kenya came in third at 12%. Fly Sax
was fourth at 6%. Safari link had the least number of passengers (4%)
followed by private charters at 1%.
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Comparing this data of air passengers in terms of the proportion of passengers
arriving for the LCF vis--vis those coming for other reasons, for each airline,
the following is obtained;
MANDA AIRPORT TALLIES
L.C.F OTHER
42%
59%
5%
14% 9% 6%
17% 24%
12%
6% 1% 4%
Jambo jet fly 540 Air kenya FlySax Charter safari link
Jambojet and Fly 540 still have the largest proportion of passengers coming
to Lamu for the LCF in comparison with the passengers arriving for other
reasons other than the LCF. Fly Sax and private charters blaze the trail in
terms of passengers arriving in Lamu for other reasons other than the LCF.
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RESULTS OF THE SURVEY II

This is the part of the survey that was conducted in Amu Island in the various
activities of the cultural festival. It represents the responses of the
Festival attendees
Event participants
Exhibitors
Local community
The hotel industry
THE ATTENDEES FINDINGS

Knowledge of the Festival
The first question asked to respondents was how they found out about this
years cultural festival. The responses were as follows:
3%
9% TV
15%
RADIO
13%
PERSONAL
REFERENCE
37%
NEWSPAPER
4%
ORG INVITES SOCIAL MEDIA
OTHER 19%
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Majority of the attendees found out about the event through personal
reference (friends, colleagues and relatives). In addition, social media is the
second largest source of information on the existence of the Lamu cultural
festival.
Television, Radio and newspaper adverts informed 14%, 5% and 4% of the
attendees, respectively. This is to say that 23% of the cultural festival
attendees cited the mass media fraternity as the source through which they
found out about the 2016 Lamu Cultural Festival.
4% of the attendees revealed that they became aware of this years cultural
festival as a result of direct invitation by organizers of the event.
2% of the respondents cited a number of other reasons other than the ones
mentioned above.
Social Media Segment

The option of social media was further broken down into its constituent
components as specified by the respondents. The following was observed:
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SOCIAL MEDIA
45%
32%
9% 8%
4%
1% 1%
FB WSSP TWITTER WEBSITE GOOGLE INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE
All the social media responses STRICTLY ranged between Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, WhatsApp, website, google and YouTube as shown above.
Television Segment
The television category was also broken down to its hedonistic elements. The
results are outlaid as next.
TELEVISION
44%
29%
14% 13%
KTN KBC NTV CITIZEN
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Of those that cited television, 44% specified that it was NTV, while 29%
mentioned KTN. CITIZEN TV and KBC consisted of 14 and 13 percent
respectively.
Radio Station Category

When the respondents citing radio stations as the means through which they
found out about the festival, there specifications were as follows,
RADIO
79%
7% 6%
1% 1% 2% 3%
RAHMA PILIPILI KAYA MILELE SIFA FM Q FM SALAAM
Radio Rahma had the highest proportion (79%) followed by Pilipili FM and Q
FM at 7 and 6 percent respectively. Other radio stations faired dismally at less
than 7 percent, collectively.
Newspapers Segment
Only two newspapers among the 5 major local dailies were cited in this
segment. This are the Daily Nation and the Standard. The proportions are
graphically presented as follows.
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NEWSPAPER CATEGORY
71%
29%
NATION STANDARD
Reason for Attending the Festival

In seeking to find out the reason for the attendees to choose to attend the
event, we asked each respondent, Why did you choose to attend this
festival? The responses were diverse in terms of wording but they all dwelt
on the following reasons shown in the table below:
REASON FOR ATTENDING THE 2016 LCF
3%
SOCIALISING 3% 6%
5%
SOCIALISING
INVITED
CULTURE &
TRADITIONS SOURCE FOR BUSINESS
FUN/ENJOY 42%
21% OTHERS
EXPERIENCE THE
FESTIVAL, 20%
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As revealed by the study, 42% of the attendees cited the desire to learn about
Lamu culture as their reason to attend the 2016 Lamu Cultural Festival. 21%
cited the need to have fun as their main reason for attending the festival
whereas another 20% dwelled on the reason that they were in search of a
unique and exciting experience as their reason to attend the festival.
Attendees Anticipation: Set 1 Questionnaires

In order to understand the attendees anticipation, we asked them, during the
beginning of the festivals, about the good things they were anticipating to see
at the event. The specific objective here was to precisely identify the things
they were looking forward to at the event.
The attendees responses were as follows:
MOST ANTICIPATED EVENTS
COMPETITION
28%
DONKEY RACE DHOW RACE

9% SWAHILI CULTURE 14%
17%
TRADITIONAL DANCE
9%
SWIMMING COMPETITION INDIAN DANCE

LIVE PERFORMANCE AT MKUNGUNI OTHERS
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It is observed that 28% of the attendees were looking forward to the
competitions. This was followed closely by the desire to learn about the Swahili
culture at 17 %. The dhow race was looked forward to by 14% of the
attendees, whereas a tie of 9% looked forward to the dances and donkey race.
Swimming competition, Indian dance and live performances were also
activities the attendees expected to enjoy.
However, 6% of the sampled attendees cited numerous other items they were
looking forward to other than the ones listed above.
Concerns about Event: Set 1 Questionnaires
DIRTY
ENVIRONMENT NO CONCERN
18% 27%
BEING ROBBED
10%
CAPSIZING WITH THE

FIGHITING TERRORIST BOAT
(VIPANGA) ATTACKS OTHERS
13% 27%
As the event was commencing, 27% of the attendees cited terror attacks as
their major concern. This may have been contributed by the overzealous
media reports about security incidents in Lamu County.
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A dirty environment accounted for 18% of the LCF attendees concerns
probably due to the open sewer system in the town and scattered donkey
excreta.
Also related to security is that 13% of the respondents cited fighting (vipanga)
and 10% mentioned being robbed as their biggest concern.
To note is that 27% of the respondents said they have absolutely no concerns
about coming to the festival in Lamu. Capsizing of boats was also a concern
of 4% of the attendees.
Lastly, 2% of the respondents cited various other reasons other than the ones
mentioned above. These reasons were compiled and added up to the
percentage given.
Most Enjoyed Activities: Set 2 Questionnaires

Towards the conclusion of the festivals, we asked the sampled attendees what
they liked most about the festival. The aim here was to establish what they
enjoyed most in their experience of the 2016 cultural festival. The responses
were pooled together as follows:
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MOST ENJOYED COMPONENT
OTHERS 6%
LOCAL MUSIC 11%
FOOD BAZAAR 11%
TRADITIONAL DANCE 13%
LOCAL CULTURE 16%
THE COMPETITIONS 42%
The competitions which included swimming, Donkey race and Dhow/Kasa race
seemed to be the most enjoyed activities. They were cited by 42% of the
respondents. Local culture followed suit as the most enjoyed activity at 16%.
Traditional dances and local music were each chosen by 13% and 11% of the
respondents as the most enjoyed activities respectively.
Food bazaar won the hearts of 11% of the respondents. A further 6% of the
attendees sampled cited the other activities on offer other than those
mentioned above as the thing they liked most about the LCF.
Areas to Improve on: Set 2 Questionnaires

After seeking to establish the attendees concerns in Set 1 questionnaires,
we then sought to establish areas requiring improvement, from the attendees
perspective. The respondents were asked, Which areas do you think this
event needs to improve on? This question served to assess if the concerns
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cited in the fourth question of set 1 questionnaires still hold, as at the end of
the event.
The responses to this question were as follows:
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
ACCOMMODATION 4%
LIGHT ON STREETS 4%
EVENT PUBLICITY 5%
CULTURAL ORIGINALITY 6%
SATISFIED 6%
SANITATION 13%
POPULARITY OF
7%
MUSICIANS
VENUE SPACE/SIZE 8%
EVENT ORGANIZATION 19%
INCREASE EVENTS 15%
SECURITY 14%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Event organization was mentioned as the area that needed most improvement
as cited by 19% of LCF attendees sampled. Most were particularly displeased
with how the coordination of events was done, the inability of organizers to
adhere to schedule and the lack of an effective means for dissemination of the
information to the guests. To be included in this area is the need to increase
venue space and size as suggested by 8% of the attendees who thought that
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most venues for the cultural festival activities needed to be improved on by
way of expanding them to increase their capacity and in the case of outdoor
events, the venues be shaded.
...people in charge should be more active and more stations

should be put in place and scattered over a wider perimeter and
visitors to be provided with a map of where activities take
place...
-A respondent at the Cultural Display
Security, which was the biggest concern for the attendees sampled, was cited
by a 14% of the respondents as the area that needed most improvement. An
increase in the number of events would be appreciated in the future as stated
by 15% of attendees.
Sanitation of Lamu as a venue for the event really needs to be improved on.
This was a proposal by 16% of the respondents. The dirt along the streets,
the open sewer lines, the donkey excrement and solid waste along the
seafront were the items the respondents cited to show the dire need for
sanitation improvement.
I saw some nyama choma (mshikaki) and walked toward the vendor at Equity Bank to
buy some. But then I stepped on donkey poo and my appetite fizzled
-A Domestic Tourist during Food Bazaar
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According to 6% of the respondents, the event was largely up to standard
such that they could not identify any areas that needed to be improved on.
This proportion saw everything to be up to standard.
7% of the respondents proposed that the popularity of musicians should be
increased. Cultural originality and event publicity were cited as areas of
improvement by 6% and 5% of respondents respectively. Lastly, street
lighting and accommodation tied at 4% of areas that require upgrading.
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LOCAL BUSINESSES SURVEY

This is a segment of the survey that polled the local businesses in Lamu. These
were businesses that operate throughout the year and not just for the period
of the cultural festival. We deemed this to be important segment that must be
included in examining the impact of the 2016 Lamu cultural festival.
Level of Satisfaction
The local business owners were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with
the support given to them by the event organizers. The following was
observed.
LEVEL OF SATISFACTION
39%
28%
15%
9% 9%
VERY SASTIFACTORY FAIR POOR VERY POOR

SASTIFACTORY
15% of the local business owners were very satisfied with the event
organizers support. A majority at 39% of the business owners rated the event
organizers support as satisfactory. This makes those satisfied with the level
of support exceed the 50% pass mark.
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Notably, 28% and 9% rated the support by the event organizers as fair and
poor respectively. 9%of the local business owners were very poorly satisfied
with the support of the event organizers.
Average Earnings by the Local Businesses

This segment constitutes the average revenue increases by the local
businesses during each day of the Lamu Cultural Festival. The figures obtained
therefore consist of revenue increases above the normal operating days.
EARNINGS BY LOCAL BUSINESS
NET LOSS 11%
0 6%
<500 9%
500-999 10%
1,000-4,999 56%
5,000-9,999 7%
10,000+ 1%
A majority (56%) of the local business sampled registered between Ksh. 1000
to 4,999 increases in earnings in each day of the festival. 10% of the
businesses gained Ksh. 500-999, 9% earned a little less than 500 while 7%
earned Ksh. 5000-9,999.
Of the businesses sampled, 1% earned more than Ksh. 10,000 while 6% had
no earnings and 11% of the local businesses registered losses.
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Challenges Encountered
This segment contains the challenges that hindered the local businesses from
fully benefiting from the 2016 Lamu cultural festival.
CHALLENGES
OTHER
11%
11% NO CHALLENGES
32%
14%
COMPETITION
LIMITED SPACE
16%
16%
FEW CUSTOMERS EVENT DISORGANISATION
First of all, 32% of the local businesses professed that no challenges hindered
them from fully benefiting from the 2016 LCF. Competition and Limited
space to showcase products was cited as hindrances by 32% of those
sampled at 16 percent each. 14% claimed that few customers were present
and thus they were not able to benefit from the LCF to their expectations.
11% blamed event disorganization for their woes. Another 11% cited other
various reasons for not fully benefiting from the festival.
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Products offered by the local businesses

These are the products being offered in the market by the various enterprises
that were sampled in the survey.
PRODUCTS OFFERED BY THE LOCAL BUSINESSES
OTHER 16%
WHOLESALE/RETAIL 11%
AGRI-BUSINESS 5%
TRANSPORT 8%
BEAUTY PALOUR 6%
BOUTIQUE 13%
ACCOMODATION 6%
FOOD & BEVERAGE 28%
FINANCIAL SERVICES 6%
Food and beverage businesses take the lions share of products offered by the
local businesses as represented by 28% of the businesses sampled. Boutique,
wholesale/retail and transport represented 13%, 11% and 8% of the products
offered respectively. Beauty parlor, accommodation and financial services
each represented 6% of products offered. Lastly, 5% of the businesses offered
agri-business products.
Lastly, 16% of the products offered were numerous others that were not
mentioned on the questionnaire.
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Scale of the local businesses

The number of staff employed was identified using the scale of the businesses
surveyed as the indicator. The details are stipulated as follows.
SCALE OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
ABOVE 50 1%
31 TO 50 1%
16 TO 30 1%
6 TO 15 3%
1 TO 5 94%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
94% of the local businesses employed 1-5 staff. 3% had 6-15 employees. 1%
had 16-30 staff, another 1% employed 31-50 and the remaining 1% had more
than 50 personnel.
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PARTICIPANTS SURVEY
This is a segment of the survey that focused on the various participants of the
2016 Lamu cultural festival activities. These are activities like the dhow race,
dancing, and traditional displays among others.
Amount of income generated

Amount of income generated for participating in 2016 LCF was necessitated
by the need to have a clearer estimate of the direct monetary benefit of the
LCF to the participants.
PARTICIPANTS EARNINGS
44%
20%
10% 11%
6%
3% 3% 2%
1%
Of the LCF participants sampled, 44% earned no income, 20% earned
between Ksh. 500 and 999, while 11% earned between Ksh. 5000 and 9,999.
This was followed by the segment that got between Ksh. 1,000 and 4,999 at
10%.
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Six percent earned income of between Ksh. 200-499. Lastly, Ksh. 10,000-
19,999 and Ksh. 20,000-49,999 was earned by 3% each. Two percent got
more than 100,000 whereas one percent earned in the range of Ksh. 50,000-
99,999 for participating in the 2016 LCF.
Most Liked Event

This segment aimed to gauge what the participants liked most about the LCF.
The responses are outlaid as follows.
Most liked Events
OTHERS 6%
PRICE GIVING 2%
FOOD BAZAAR 3%
EVERYTHING 7%
BOAT RIDES 4%
SOCIALIZING 6%
INDIAN DANCE 6%
INCREASED ATTENDANCE 7%
TRADITIONAL DANCE 14%
COMPETITIONS 45%
The LCF participants enjoyed the competitions most as stated by 45% of them.
This is probably because most of them were also participants in the
competitions.
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Traditional dances were liked by 14%, as 7% were delighted by everything
about the festival. Another 7% liked the fact that there was increased
attendance in the 2016 festival, compared to the previous ones. The Indian
dance, socializing and other activities were enjoyed by 6% each. Boat rides,
the food bazaar and prize giving were relished by 4%, 3% and 2% of the
participants respectively.
Areas to Improve
This consists of areas the event participants thought needed urgent
improvement.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
OTHERS 3%
EXPAND VENUE 4%
PROVISION OF COSTUMES 6%
SECURITY 6%
CULTURE VARIATIES 11%
SANITATION 11%
EVENT ORGANIZATION 11%
PAYMENT 47%
Payment for event participation was what most of the participants felt needed
improvement as cited by 47% of those sampled. Event organization,
Page | 31
sanitation and increases culture varieties were areas suggested by 11% each
as areas requiring upgrading. 6% cited security, another 6% thought provision
of costumes and 4% suggested expansion of the venue would lead to a better
experience of the festival if improvements were done. 3% suggested other
areas other than those mentioned above.
Page | 32
EXHIBITORS SURVEY
This is a segment of the survey that target the exhibitors in the 2016 Lamu
Cultural Festival.
Here, the exhibitors were asked to rate the support given to them by the
festival organizers.
36%
30%
15%
9% 9%
VERY SATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY FAIR POOR VERY POOR
Of the exhibitors sampled, 36% felt that the support was fair, 30% said it was
satisfactory and 9% claimed it was very satisfactory. However, 9% felt it was
poor and a further 15% claimed that the support was very poor.
Revenue Generated by Exhibitors

The revenue generated by exhibitors during the 2016 Lamu cultural festival
was obtained by averaging the daily sales made by the exhibitors.
Page | 33
EXHIBITORS DAILY REVENUES
22% 22%
19%
18%
11%
4%
4%
It was observed that majority of the exhibitors reported sales of between Ksh.
500 to 999 and Ksh. 1,000 to 9,999. A further 18% generated between Ksh.
10,000 and 19,999 Kenyan shillings. One fifth of the exhibitors earned
between Ksh. 20,000 and 49,999. On the tail end of the list are those who
generated revenues ranging between Ksh. 50,000 to 99,999 and those that
generated Ksh. 100,000 and above.
There is a whole segment of 19 percent that reported to have made no sale
at all. However this mostly consisted of entities that were not for profit or
purely participated for promotional purposes.
Page | 34
Challenges Experienced
These are challenges that hindered the exhibitors from fully benefitting from
the festival. They consisted of the following as indicated in the chart below.
CHALLENGES
POOR BRANDING 4%
POOR WASTE MANAGEMENT 6%
LACK OF INFORMATION 10%
POOR LOCATION 14%
INSUFFICIENT ACCOMMODATION 18%
LOW SALES 20%
POOR ORGANISATION 27%
It was observed that 27% of the exhibitors cited poor event organization as
the challenge that hindered them from reaching their full potential. Low sales,
insufficient organization and poor location were stated by 20%, 18% and 14%
respectively as their pull backs.
In addition, a further 10% said lack of information was a hindrance for them
while 6% stated that it was poor waste management. 4% cited poor branding
as their major challenge.
Page | 35
The Products Exhibited

These are products that the exhibitors offer in the market.
OTHERS 24%
TRANSPORT 6%
CLOTHINGS 12%
ELECTRONICS &
18%
ELECTRICALS
FOOD & BERVARAGE 9%
FINANCIAL SERVICE 30%
A majority of the offered products (30 percent) of financial nature. 18%
offered electrical and electronic products while clothings, food&bervarage
were offered by 12 and 9 percent respectively. Transport services were offered
by 6% of the festival exhibitors. All other exhibitors offered numerous other
kinds of products that were clustered together to give the 24% figure indicated
in the graph.
Scale of the Exhibiting Enterprises

Similar to the approach used in gauging the scale of the local business during
the LCF, the number of staff employed was also used here to identify the scale
of the exhibitors.
Page | 36
Scale of Exhibitors
54%
36%
5% 5%
1 TO 5 6 TO 10 11 TO 50 ABOVE 50
The proportion of exhibitors that employed between 1 to 5 staff was 5%. In
addition, 54% had between 6 to 10 employees while 36 percent had staff
ranging between 11 and 50. Lastly, 5% had more than 50 workers.
Page | 37
LOCAL COMMUNITY SURVEY

This is the segment of the study that surveyed the local community with the
aim of understanding their impact of the Lamu Cultural Festival to the
community. This community is that which had no direct role in the
organization of the festival.
Benefit to the Community

To establish the LCFs benefit to the local community, the sampled members
were asked whether they benefited in any way from this years LCF.
BENEFITTED FROM LCF?
NO, 31%
YES
YES, 69% NO
A large number (69%) of the local community members stated that they
benefitted from the LCF whereas 31% claimed they did not benefit.
Nature of Benefits
Here are the various ways in which Lamu residents benefitted from the 2016
LCF.
Page | 38
NATURE OF BENEFITS
SECURITY 2%
ENTERTAINMENT 7%
LEARNING EXPERIENCE 11%
MEET NEW PEOPLE 25%
INCOME 55%
The biggest benefit received by Lamu residents is income, as cited by 55% of
the respondents. 25% cited meeting new people while 11% cited having a
learning experience as the chief benefits.
Furthermore, 7% were entertained and 2% felt more secure as a result of the
2016 Lamu Cultural Festival.
The Income Benefit

The amount of income the local community members earned for participating
in the LCF was also inquired and the responses averaged as follows.
Page | 39
AVERAGE INCOME
33%
28%
19%
17%
3%
50,000+ 10,000-49,000 5,000-9,999 1,000-4,999 <1,000
Of the 55% that reported earnings of income as their benefit, 33% reported
to have earned between Ksh. 1,000 and 4,999, while 28% reported earning
between Ksh. 5,000 and 9,999. In addition, 11 percent earned incomes
ranging between Ksh. 10,000 to 49,999.
The income earned by 17 percent was less than 1,000 Kenyan shillings while
only 3 percent earned more than 50,000 Kenyan shillings.
Areas for Improvement

This segment consist of areas the local community members think need
improvement for more enjoyable festivals in the future.
Page | 40
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
SANITATION
EMPLOYMENT
11%
CREATION
19% EVENT
ORGANISATION
10%
6%
SECURITY
21%
4%
7% ORIGINALITY OF CULTURE
MAKE EVENT OTHERS

BIGGER
GUEST ARTISTS
22%
There was a variety of areas the local community members felt needed
improvement. Making the event bigger was suggested by 22% of the
residents, improvement of security was suggested by 21%. Creation of
employment and improved sanitation were cited by 19% and 11%
respectively as areas that needed upgrading. 10% stated event organization,
7% cited bringing in guest artists and 6% cited originality of culture as areas
to improve. A further 5% listed other areas as things aspects besides the ones
aforementioned as areas to improve on in the future festivals.
Page | 41
HOTELS SURVEY
This part of the cultural festival survey was conducted on the hotels operating
in Lamu during the festival period. Over 60 hotels were selected and to whom
the questionnaires were administered. Information on the level of satisfaction,
hotel occupancies and challenges experienced were captured.
The objective here is to establish the hotel owners satisfaction with the
support accorded to them by the event organizers in order to fully benefit
from the festival.
32%
27%
19%
11% 11%
VERY SATISFACTORY FAIR POOR VERY POOR

SATISFACTORY
It was noted that 32 percent of the hotel owners were very satisfied with the
support they got from the event organizers, 27% were just satisfied whereas
19% felt the support they got was simply fair.
Page | 42
On the other hand, 11% claimed the support was poor while an equal 11%
said the support was very poor.
Hotel occupancy
The hotel occupancy rates during the LCF period were captured and are
displayed as follows.
OCCUPANCY RATES
NO GUEST(0%) 26%
LOW(<40%) 10%
MEDIUM(40%-70%) 12%
HIGH(>70%) 21%
FULL (100%) 31%
It was observed that 31% of the hotels were fully occupied while 21% had
high occupancy rates of over 70%. In addition to this, 12% had medium
occupancy rates and 10% had low occupancy rates.
Of note however is that 26% of the hotels had no guests at all during the
period under review. These hotels were mostly located in Amus inner-city
neighborhood and as a result lacked the front-row advantage.
Page | 43
Nationality of guests
The nationality of guests that were accommodated in the hotels during the
festival period was established to be as follows:
NATIONALITY OF GUESTS
NEW ZEALAND 1%
ALL OTHERS 1%
OTHER ASIA 6%
OTHER AMERICA 4%
USA 1%
FRENCH 1%
UK 1%
GERMANY 3%
ITALY 2%
OTHER AFRICANS 4%
KENYA 76%
Kenyans occupied majority of the hotel as proven by 76% of the respondents.
6% were from Asian countries, 4% were from other African countries and 4%
were from other American countries besides USA. Germans and Italians were
3% and 2% respectively. UK, USA, French and New Zealand each represented
1% of the guests. 1% of the guests were from other countries other than the
ones listed above.
Page | 44
Challenges Encountered
The challenges faced by hotel were tabulated and displayed as follows.
CHALLENGES
BLACKOUTS 4%
DIMINISHING CULTURE 4%
LOW VISITORS 7%
TRANSPORTATION 10%
INSECURITY 13%
POOR ADVERTISEMENT 16%
NO CHALLENGES 16%
POOR ORGANIZATION 28%
Majority, 28%, of the respondents stated that poor organization of the festival
was a setback in the 2016 LCF. It was also observed that 16% faced poor
advertisement as a challenge, 13% blamed insecurity for their woes while
10% cited transportation. In addition to these, 7% cited low visitor turn up
whereas diminishing culture and blackouts were each a challenge faced by
4%. Interestingly, 16% had reported encountering no challenges at all.
Page | 45
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Structural changes
1. There is a need to establish dedicated technical committee that will
henceforth be in change with the preparation, planning for and
implementation of the technical aspects of the festival. This committee
would consist of the following members working fulltime during the
festival period.
Chief officers/directors of concerned county departments plus one
representative from the office of the Governor with the department
of tourism taking the Lead.
Head of procurement department
the representative of hoteliers
Members of the original LCPG for the purposes of continuity and
institutional memory
Business representatives
Security Personnel
2. Board appointments be for fixed terms of no longer than five years (with
government having the option to re-appoint for a further term).
Page | 46
Administrative
3. The County Department of Tourism and Culture should be capacity built
to enable it better handle all bureaucratic process work on behalf of the
LCPG.
Resources
4. The number of events and the duration of the festivals should be
increased. This can be done directly by the organizing group or
outsourced to other parties. This not only provides more entrainment for
the revelers but also the socio-economic benefits to the Lamu community
are enormous. Increased events and festival duration encourages more
visitors to stay and spend for longer periods and in the process create
more income opportunities for businesses and community.
5. Festival brochures and programs should be given to all passengers at
entry points; Mokowe jetty and Manda Airport. This will provide much
needed guidance to the visitors coming for the event and also generate
interest to attend for those arriving in Lamu for other reasons other than
the Festival.
6. Sketch maps should be availed for the use of guests not familiar with
Lamu. They will enable self-guided tours and maximum participation in
the festival activities by the attendees
7. The public transport service companies should be engaged, possibly as
partners to give special fares and transport offers during the period
Page | 47
leading to the festival. This will boost the number of attendees and
generate more interest in the event to the public outside the venue town
(Lamu).
8. Sanitation should be improved during the entire festival period, especially
in waste management and public toilets provisions.
Page | 48
References
INEG (2014). Encuesta Nacional de Consumo Cultural de Mexico 2012.
Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia and Conaculta.
UNESCO UIS (2015) 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics
Handbook No. 3: Montreal, Canada.
LCPG (2015) the 15th Lamu Cultural Festival Information Paper
Page | 49

Economic Impact of Lamu Cultural Festival 2016

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Economic Impact of Lamu Cultural Festival 2016

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THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT

OF THE LAMU CULTURAL

Management of Manda Airport, Lamu Tourist Police, the Lamu Tourists

Association and the County department of Trade, Tourism and Culture.

the impact of the 2016 Lamu Cultural Festival to various socio-economic

level of satisfaction. It focused on all stakeholders of the Lamu Cultural

Festival. These consisted of; Festival attendees, Local business community,

Event participants, Exhibitors, Local community and the Hotels industry.

town so as to establish the proportion of passengers arriving specifically for

intends to sell Lamu as the Islands of festivals) in a better place to better

plan for, and manage similar events in the future.

We hope you have an insightful reading.

LCF Lamu Cultural Festival

LCPG Lamu Cultural Promotion Group

UN the United Nations

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UIS UNESCO Institute of Statistics

SEIA Socio-Economic Impact Assessment

2. Christopher Mwanjala PR and Administration

3. Daisy Mukami Communication and Marketing

4. Fatma Said Omar Tourism and IT

previous one, suggesting a growing interest in the event. It is one of the

channel them through Lamu Cultural Promotion Group - an organized group

that initiated the festival (LCPG, 2015).

to experience Lamu life at its most exuberant and joyous.

Magical Kenya (KTB)

foreign ambassadors and heads of mission, county governors, members of

parliament, and parastatal chiefs among others.

Festivals as per the Lamu Island of Festivals Calendar

calendar of events are as follows:

FESTIVAL TYPE DATES

Eid-ul-Fitr RELIGIOUS 25 26 June 2016

Eid-ul-Adhar RELIGIOUS 1 September, 2016

Lamu Cultural Festival CULTURAL 10-13 November, 2016

Lamu Fishing Competition SPORTS 9 -11 December, 2016

Lamu Triathlon SPORTS 9-11 December , 2016

Maulid Festival RELIGIOUS 27- 30 December, 2016

Lamu Art Festival CULTURAL 17-19 February, 2017

Lamu Yoga Festival SPORTS 8-12 March, 2017

Lamu Food Festival CULTURAL 7-9 April, 2017

Source: Discover Lamu

intention of fostering Lamus image as the Island of Festivals.

Objectives of the Survey

Festival to various socio-economic indicators in Lamu County.

Local business community

The hotel industry

Limitations of this Survey

with the desired scope of work.

the creation of specialist government agencies in charge of festivals which

being established with similar charters to those in Australia (Williams, 2008).

the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

in the Olympic host country (Williams, 2008).

East are using events to promote themselves to international audience.

United Arab Emirates:

NATURE OF NAME OF FESTIVAL LOCATION/VENUE

Motor Sports Formula One Bahrain and Abu Dhabi

World Superbikes Qatar

Power Boats World Championship & P1 Qatar, Dubai and Bahrain

Horse Racing Dubai Cup Dubai

Major race events Bahrain

Rugby Dubai Sevens Dubai

Golf European PGA Dubai and Qatar

Cultural Festivals Dubai Shopping Festival Dubai

Dubai Film Festival Dubai