Kenya is a well-known tourist destination and probably the most renowned in Africa. African safaris are a major attraction where tourists can enjoy game-drives in one of the country’s beautiful wildlife reserves or hike in the spectacular landscape. There are also activities such as canoeing, zip lining, dirt biking, and hot air balloons that one can engage in to enjoy the beautiful sceneries. Kenya is particularly famous for the wildlife where of its 580,367 square kilometers, 7.5 % is wildlife conservation. The country hosts 23 National parks, 28 game reserves, four marine parks, 6 marine reserves and 4 national sanctuaries (“ Tourism in Kenya”, 2015) .
Popular places to visit for terrestrial wildlife include the Masai Mara, Tsavo , Nairobi National Park, and Haller Park. One should expect to see animals such as lions, elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, gazelles, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas and wildebeests among others. The country is also home to at least 1070 species of birds that can be observed in its forests, lake sides or game reserves. Of interests is the large flock of flamingo birds that migrates in and out of Lake Nakuru (“ Reasons to visit Kenya for a holiday” n.d) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Kenya also has 536 kilometers of clean white sand beaches in the coastal county of Mombasa. Being a tropical country, it has fair weather which accommodates coastal adventures nearly all year round ((“ Reasons to visit Kenya for a holiday” n.d) . One can enjoy water sports such as snorkeling, windsurfing, dhow sailing, kayaking and swimming in the clean sea water. The coastal region also has great historical and cultural significance. The Vasco da Gama pillar and fort Jesus are found in the Kenyan coast. In a place such as Malindi, donkeys are a main mode of transport due to the town’s old infrastructure and this is an interesting culture for most people. Beadwork, carvings, paintings, and traditional clothing called “lesos” are also sold to tourists in the coast ((“ Reasons to visit Kenya for a holiday” n.d) .
In Kenya, tourism is the highest earner of foreign currency and it in 2016 recorded a seven million dollar or 9.9% contribution to the GDP (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2017). The tourism sector creates jobs for many people both directly and indirectly as people are needed to work in hotels, as tour guides, and those that set up their individual trades such as selling artifacts or clothing to the visitors. The Kenyan government has invested in marketing the tourism industry by setting up a commission that documents magical places in Kenya (“ Tourism in Kenya”, 2015) . Tourism is significant to the economy because every time there is downtime such as during election years or due to insecurity concern, the country’s economy suffers.
Since 2012, Kenya’s tourism sector has been quite unpredictable due to insecurity issues associated with terrorist attacks from the Al Shabaab based in neighboring Somalia, and two election years in that period. Traditionally, Kenya has been a popular destination for Americans and Europeans. However, in 2016, the industry saw a return of business to numbers recorded prior to 2012 with increased numbers from Asian countries such as India, and China. According to a report from the ministry of tourism in 2016, international tourist were 877,602 in 2016 (Oxford Business Group, 2017).
According to the Kenyan Bureau of Statistics, tourism generated approximately 4.97 million dollars in accommodation and catering services alone in 2015. The ministry of tourism relates 10 % of the national GDP and 9% of national employment rates to tourism. However, Agriculture being the main economic activity in the country still contributes a higher percentage to the economy that tourism does (Oxford Business Group, 2017). Kenya exports coffee, tea, flowers and fruits to Europe and the US. The sector is responsible for at least 1.1 million direct and indirect jobs in the country and only falls behind sectors such as retail trade, construction, financial services and agriculture as the national source of income (WTTC, 2017).
When buying a vacation in Kenya, the first thing that any person wants is to be guaranteed security. Due to terror attacks emanating from Somalia and the outbreak of Ebola in Africa some countries issue travel advisories discouraging people from visiting these destinations for fear of their safety (Oxford Business Group, 2017). The Kenyan government has placed a lot of effort in resolving these issues and securing the country’s major entry points and tourist destinations to solve this problem. People also expect adventure which is available in the numerous activities that tourist resorts organize for visitors. Diversity is also expected and considering that there are places visit from the coast, through the savannah, up the highlands and all the way to Lake Victoria, Kenya has this covered. Great customer service is also expected as people want to feel welcome when they visit a foreign country. The people of Kenya are very friendly and the service in their hotels and resorts is world class.
Potential customers who visit Kenya include both domestic and international tourists from all over the world. Due to the increasing size of the middleclass, more Kenyans can afford to take local vacations and this helps the industry during the low seasons of international tourism. People that visit Kenya are mostly from the US, UK, Germany, India, China, Uganda and Tanzania (“ Tourism in Kenya”, 2015) . The country can however market itself further to attract people from other areas beyond what is mentioned above. Anyone who enjoys wildlife and relaxing on a beautiful beach can be a potential customer for Kenya.
The biggest attractions can have the potential to meet the market demands include the Masai Mara game reserve where the annual wildebeest migration takes place. The migration has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is an extremely interesting spectacle as the wildebeests have to avoid being eaten by crocodiles as they cross the river to get to The Serengeti in Tanzania. The white sandy beaches of in the coast in areas such as Nyali and Diani are also amazing places for one to visit.
The Kenyan coast does not have sharks or other dangerous sea animals and it is thus safe for people to swim in the ocean. Hiking in the Aberdare ranges and the slopes of Mount Kenya is very attractive to those that want to engage in extreme activities. There are numerous hotels where one can get the best services such as the Intercontinental, The Hilton, Laico Regency and Sarova Stanley in Nairobi city. Sarova whitesands, Nyali beach hotel and Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa in Mombasa. The Maasai Market, Kenya National Archives, Kenya National Museum and the Bomas of Kenya are significant cultural centers. Most importantly, the Kenyan people are friendly and one can easily interact with them as most of them have a sufficient command of English.
At the moment, Kenya still needs to improve its infrastructure to be able to support an increase in the tourism industry. The government announced in 2017 via the tourism cabinet secretary, Najib Balala, that it has invested 1.03 billion dollar on projects at the Coast to open up the road infrastructure (Barasa, 2018). The expansion projects would be replicated in other tourism significant areas. The projected result is that improving accessibility will open up the country to more tourism.
The mode of transport used by most tourists is road since it is the most advanced network in the country. There are proper roads that one can use to get anywhere even remote areas and an elaborate public transport system that uses “matatus” and buses to get anywhere. A tourist can also call an uber which are readily available in urban areas or rent a vehicle that they can use to move around. There is a railway line that runs from Mombasa to Nairobi and an air network that connects Nairobi with Mombasa, eldoret, isiolo and Kisumu.
There are several opportunities to improve the transportation infrastructure in the Kenya. The government unveiled a standard gauge railway running from Nairobi to Mombasa that would cut transport time between the towns by half from eight to four hours. The project is expected to extend to Nakuru in the next two years which is also a popular tourist destination. The government is also working to improve air transport by expanding major airports and setting up airstrips in areas that they did not exist. The Isiolo airport was unveiled in 2016.
Companies that are sustainable in the environment include those that deal with offering accommodation and catering, tour guide services and transportation. Kenya is hoping that the increased air connectivity with Africa and the world will increase tourism in 2018 (Oxford Business Group, 2017). The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi now has direct flights to the US and visa availability on arrival which has helped to increase business tourism. The fact that Kenya has held several international conferences has also marketed it as a business tourism destination.
Kenya does not need to develop any new attractions; the country has more than most places in the world. All of Kenya’s destinations are natural and this makes them authentic. All that is required is to improve accessibility and infrastructure in these places. The country should also put more effort in marketing its destinations to the rest of the world so as to increase the impact of tourism.
Although tourism clearly has many positive impacts on the people of Kenya and its environment by encouraging wildlife and forest conservation, there are some negative effects. Tourist cause disruption to wildlife as they invade natural habitats to interact with the animals. They also put pressure on areas that have tourist attractions by increasing the displacement of people. The indigenous people such as the Maasai are being pushed out of their lands to create tourist facilities (“ Tourism in Kenya”, 2015) .
Kenya is the highest growing tourist destination in East Africa due to its infrastructure and political and social stability. It is closely followed by Tanzania with the Serengeti, Mt Kilimanjaro , and its beautiful seaside attractions and famous honeymoon destinations in Zanzibar. Some tourists also go to Uganda to enjoy the county’s traditional culture. Kenya is also the second best business tourism destination in the continent after South Africa.
References
Barasa, L. (2018, June 27). Tourism players bank on big infrastructure projects for growth. The Daily Nation [Nairobi, Kenya]. Retrieved from https://www.nation.co.ke/business/Tourism-players-bank-on-big-infrastructure-projects-for-growth/996-4633458-p4ishg/index.html
Oxford Business Group. (2017, June 14). Tourism rises in Kenya once again. Retrieved from https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/back-track-after-period-decline-tourism-sees-its-fortunes-rise
Reasons to visit Kenya for a holiday. African Mecca Safaris. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.africanmeccasafaris.com/travel-guide/kenya/why-visit-for-vacations-holidays
Tourism in Kenya overview and statistics - Kenya Tourism. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.kenyatraveltips.com/tourism-in-kenya/
World Travel &Tourism Council. (2017). How does travel & tourism compare to other sectors? Benchmark report 2017- Kenya. Retrieved from http:// www.wttc.org
