Kenya --Tourism
Kenya's
tourist
attractions
range
from
safaris
through
game
parks
to beautiful
beaches
on
the coast.
Until
1969,
tourism
development
had
focused
on
Nairobi's
hotels
and
on its
game
parks.
Subsequently,
coastal
tourism
received
increasing
attention,
and
tie-ins
between
game
park
and beach
stays
became
more
common,
attracting
visitors
from
East
Africa
and from
overseas.
Kenya's
coasts
offer intriguing
cultural
and
historical
surroundings
including
picturesque
old
Arab
towns
and
the
ruins
of sixteenth-century
Portuguese
settlements.
There
are
ideal
conditions
for
SCUBA
diving
and
game
fishing
together
with
150
miles
of
unspoiled
beaches
protected
from
sharks
by
the
great
coral
barrier
reef.
New
cottage-style
hotels
draw
on
local
architectural
styles
and
decor
and
offer
an
international
standard
of
luxury.
Most
visitors
to
Kenya,
however,
continue
to
come
primarily
to
see its
varied
wildlife,
in
particular,
the
world's
largest
concentrations
of
elephant,
giraffe,
antelope,
and
zebra.
Though
hunting
safaris
have
declined
since
their
colonial
heyday,
restricted
game
hunting
continues
to
draw
enthusiasts.
Kenya
has
an
outstanding
record
among
African
countries
in
the
protection
and
development of
game
parks
and lodges.
Tourism
has a long-standing
tradition
in Kenya,
and in fact
was more
well developed
there than
in any other
East African
country
before independence.
After independence,
tourism
was the
fastest
growing
sector of
the nation's
economy.
Only coffee
and tea
production
brought
in more
foreign
exchange.
Income from
tourism
first exceeded
that from
coffee in
1989, when
a record
730,000
tourists
brought
in KSh 6,986
million.
Between
1990 and
1993, 3.23
million
foreign
visitors
came to
Kenya, representing
about 5%
of the tourist
trade in
Africa and
about 28%
of that
of Eastern
Africa.
Tourism
is Kenya's
largest
source of
foreign
exchange,
with gross
receipts
in 1996
reaching
an estimated
KSh 25.6bn
or $448m.
The industry
accounts
for 19%
of the nation's
GDP and
employs
thousands.
Kenya's
strategy
for developing
tourism
was to pursue
the top
end of the
global tourist
market rather
than to
promote
mass tourism.
This strategy
has worked
well thus
far, but
over the
next few
years the
industry
faces a
number of
pressing
problems.
Increasing
competition
from the
Far East
and South
Africa increasingly
draw tourists
away. Secondly,
since Kenya's
tourism
industry
relies largely
on visitors
from Europe
and America,
it is vulnerable
to economic
fluctuations
in those
regions.
Shortages
of accommodation
and catering
facilities
continue
to hamper
the hospitality
industry
in Kenya's
main tourism
areas. Marketing,
promotion
and servicing
are below
competitors'
standards
although
private
touring
companies
provide
good quality
training
to their
staffs.
Poor roads
and difficult
access continue
to pose
obstacles.
Kenya's
government
recognizes
the importance
of maintaining
the delicate
balance
between
attracting
large numbers
of visitors
and preserving
the natural
environment
of beaches,
forests
and savanna;
new tourist
facilities
are being
built with
this balance
in mind.
In recent
years, tour
operators
have begun
to promote
non-traditional
attractions
including
historical
sites, bird
watching
and mountain
climbing.
Kenya
hosted the
20th annual
congress
of the US-based
Africa Travel
Association
in 1995
together
with the
Kenya International
Tourism
Exhibition
(KITE).
Addressing
the congress,
Kenya's
Minister
for Tourism
recognized
that the
industry
was responding
to changing
patterns
of consumer
demand and
building
a platform
for multi-destination
travel within
the region.
The government
has chosen
the policy
of letting
market forces
determine
which tourism
strategy
it will
follow over
the next
decade.
It must
decide whether
to continue
to promote
luxury tourism,
which generates
more revenue
per day
but requires
a high proportion
of foreign
investment,
or to pursue
mass tourism,
which creates
more jobs
and attracts
more foreign
exchange
but leads
to congestion
in the parks
and on the
beaches.[1]
[1]
Uwechue,
Raph (ed.)
1996. Africa
Today, Third
Edition,
Africa Books
Limited,
p.870.