The Hospitality And Tourism Industry In Kenya

Tourism in Kenya dates back to pre-independence days and as recorded in history as early as the 1930’s (Tourism in Kenya). In the early days the bulk of the tourist that visited Kenya did so mainly to take part in the gaming industry in the game – hunting expeditions, while the other were the typical old tourist that travelled for Sun Sea and Sand which is one of the tourism products offered by Kenya’s tourism industry.

In the early days the tourism industry in Kenya attracted first world rulers e.g. The queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II and the President of the United States of America Theodore Roosevelt.

Infrastructure

As expected the infrastructure that was available in Kenya in the 1930’s was less than ideal or/and adequate to facilitate the new growing trend in Kenya which was tourism, never the less the tourism industry was steadily growing. Kenya gained independence in December 1963 (Kenya Timeline) after that time the infrastructure also grew but it is still said to be in an extremely poor state.

The infrastructure includes:

Electricity

Telecommunications

Roads

Transport

The government has urged the public and private sector to work cohesively to achieve an infrastructural development in the country, which would ultimately develop and increase the tourist arrivals to the country.

Kenya’s tourism is heavily comprised of natural attractions. It is stated that approximately 10% of the country has been reserved for the preservation of the natural attractions and wildlife (Tourism in Kenya)

The tourism industry has evolved with the emergence of the new tourist, which brought along new forms of tourism for the country; it include Domestic Tourism, Community and Eco Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Business Tourism and Sport Tourism.

Eco tourism is the prevailing form of tourism for in the country with the 10% dedicated by the government for its natural reserve

Kenya Eco tourism attractions:-

Game viewing expeditions (Flora) – This form eco tourism can be linked to the Pre-independence day, where the old tourist travelled for the hunting of the game and Sun, Sea and Sand, with the evolution of the new tourist this has brought along the new game viewing expeditions, where the tourist no longer hunt the animals but view the animals of the country on a Safari. The country has its popular animal attractions which are now commonly called “the big five” that include the popular:

Elephant

Rhino

Lion

Buffalo

Leopard (Tourism in Kenya)

Plant watching (Fauna) – The tree and flowers watching tourism in Kenya is jointly part of the Kenyan agricultural industry, which is the main contributor to the Kenyan GDP. Kenya climatic seasons are similar to those in the Caribbean with a dry and rain season annually. The rainy season in Kenya is responsible for the boom in the fauna of the country. This is the season where the trees and flowers bloom whereas the dry season is quite different. The trees drop their leaves and the flowers dry up. A tourist that visits Kenya in the dry season would have a different experience to a tourist that visit in the rainy season in regards to the country fauna.

Safari – A safari is another natural way to enjoy the natural aspect of Kenya while understanding the native people and observing their natural lifestyle. The safari is also a main way to enjoy the game viewing expeditions through Kenya’s forest reserve.

Economical Factors

Multiplier Effect – The tourism industry is heavily dependent on other industries in Kenya to be a successful industry that caters to its tourist. A main dependency of the tourism industry is the agriculture industry. The agricultural which is predominantly responsible for the food and beverage industry that provides the food that is being served to the tourist. Other industries include the: – Textile, transportation and entertainment industries. A multiplier effect is very evident within the economy, to sustain the other industries, the tourist dollar is extremely important to the country.

Tourism Employees – Kenya’s tourism industry caters to the employment of 500,000 Kenyans (National Geographic 2010). These Kenyans have positions in the tourism industry ranging from the service e.g. Tour Guides for Kenya’s ever growing Game industry and Safari to the management sector in hotels and Tour Operators.

Negative Factors Affecting the Tourism Industry

Lacks of awareness of the people – The people of Kenya are never included in the decisions brought about from the government and private institutions to the development of the Kenyan tourism as a product. Negatively this would prompt the nationals to act negatively towards the tourist and encourage them to deface the infrastructure of the country, this could also prompt them into vandalizing the belongings of the tourist.

Socio-culturally – With the improvement in the tourism industry and the influx of tourist into country brought along the ways and attitudes of the new world, negatively this has impacted on the culture by, the increase of prostitution, lack of traditional rites and performances etc.

Terrorism Threat – The bombing of the US Embassy in 1998 and attempted bombing in Mombasa 2002, has prompted countries to issue negative travel advisory to Kenya which negatively affected the tourist arrivals to the country as depicted in the statistical data.

Kenya is a country with a diverse range of tourism products that cater to many types of tourism as mentioned previously. The country is heavily focused on maintaining its natural aspect as well as developing in a sustainable manner keeping with its eco tourism trend as it foremost tourism product. Overall the tourism industry is slowly increasing despite the negative factors that thrown them they were able to increase and move on.