How is Kenya's tourism sector doing

Interact

Travel Info

Background Info

About This Site

[?] Subscribe To This Site

How is Kenya's tourism sector doing

by Myrtle
(Netherlands)

Tourism to Kenya went down after the post-election violence in early 2008.

And perhaps the global economic crisis in 2009 does not help Kenya tourism as well.

Does anybody know how Kenyan tourism is doing currently?

Comments for
How is Kenya's tourism sector doing

Click here to add your own comments

Dec 30, 2009

Tourism in Kenya
by: Archie Melrose

There is no doubt in my mind that the Kenyan tourist industry got a big shock in 2008/2009 when thousands of visitors decided that Kenya was not their preferred destination. The impact was far reaching especially in the popular tourist areas such as Mombasa.

However all is not doom and gloom. My work colleague’s wife works as the Kenyan trip advisor for a major Scottish travel agency and she reports that bookings for Kenya had exceeded all expectations in the latter part of 2009 and into 2010. Now this is good news and I am sure that the Kenyan Tourism and Wildlife department will be breathing a sigh of relief.

On my last visit to Nakuru in October I noted that the said department are cracking down on rogue and cowboy tour operators without licences and authority to operate. This will take time but in the end it will benefit every visitor to this wonderful country.

Regards

Archie

Dec 28, 2009

Tourism seems to be back on its feet
by: Arjen (webmaster)

The Kenyan ministry of tourism reports that in 2008, international arrivals dropped by 34%, but that in 2009, tourism has recovered 100% from the losses in 2008. While tourism from the UK hasn't completely recovered, tourism from the USA is fully on the old level.

The credit crunch has affected especially the influx of visitors from Europe and North America. The Kenyan government has compensated for this by attracting more tourists from other African countries. Reports say that especially the beaches around Mombasa have seen much more African tourists this year. Tourism from the Middle East and elsewhere is also growing considerably.

It's estimated that tourism accounts for 12% of Kenya's gross domestic product. About 10% of the formal workforce is employed in tourism.

One new factor that may affect Kenyan tourism is the new air passenger duty (APD) that the UK installed in November 2009 for long haul flights. It means flights to Kenya will be 90 to 100 GBP more expensive for tourists. It's still unclear what the practical effect of this policy will be.

On the other hand, the Obama mania has led to a new stream of tourism: foreigners who are coming on a "Obama Heritage Tour" to see where the US President has his (paternal) roots.

The general economic outlook isn't al bad. Despite the worldwide credit crunch, and the Kenyan riots in early 2008, the government expects the economy to grow by 2.5% in 2009 and 3.9% in 2010.

Those are some hard facts, but perhaps others can add some more telling examples to this...

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Question About Kenya

How is Kenya's tourism sector doing

Comments for How is Kenya's tourism sector doing

Comments for
How is Kenya's tourism sector doing