Effect of airport expansion on business opportunities in Kisumu

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of airport expansion on business opportunities. The study location was in Kisumu, Kenya and the population was 11,132 businesses comprising of wholesalers, retailers, hoteliers, car hires, bankers and beach management units. Systematic sampling was employed to select 100 wholesalers and retailers while a census was conducted for the 30 hotels, 22 car hires, 25 banks and 8 beach management units respectively. Semi structured survey questionnaires were utilized to collect primary data. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the results indicate that the airport expansion has led to: increased visitors and tourist visits; increased sales of both wholesale and retail trade and increased number of financial institutions. The study concludes that despite the airport expansion creating relatively meaningful benefits to the business community, the facility has not been fully utilized to create maximum business opportunities in Kisumu.