Green Product Development, Green Pricing and Performance of Ecotourism Destinations in Selected National Parks and Reserves in Kenya

Author

Ruth Kitunge Kiilu, Paul Machoka


Abstract

 This article examines the effect of green product development and green pricing on the performance of ecotourism destinations in selected national parks and reserves in Kenya. The article is extracted from a broader study on green marketing practices and performance of ecotourism destinations in Kenya. Specifically, “it addresses two objectives: to evaluate the effect of green product development on performance and to examine the effect of green pricing on performance. The study was anchored on the Natural Resource-Based View and supported by Triple Bottom Line theory and Signaling Theory. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The target population comprised 360 destination management personnel, tourism marketing professionals and tourism enterprise managers in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park, Tsavo East National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park and Samburu National Reserve. A sample of 154 respondents was selected through stratified sampling, combining a census of 80 management and marketing personnel with random selection of 74 enterprise managers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and 144 usable responses were obtained, representing a response rate of 93.5%. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS version 31. The findings showed that green product development had a strong positive relationship with destination performance (r = .641, p < .001) and the strongest positive regression effect (β = .472, p < .001). Green pricing had a weak but significant positive relationship with performance (r = .254, p = .002) and a small but significant regression effect (β = .234, p = .045). The article concludes that tangible green product practices are more strongly associated with performance than pricing practices, although conservation-linked pricing still contributes positively. The study recommends strengthening structured biodiversity programmes, environmentally friendly accommodation standards, transparent conservation fee reporting and pricing mechanisms that clearly link visitor payments to conservation and community benefits.”


Keywords

ecotourism; green product development; green pricing; protected areas; destination performance; Kenya



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References


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