A cruise ship at the port of Mombasa last year. FILE PHOTO | NMG The 2018 World Travel and Tourism Council report positioned Kenya as the third largest tourism economy in Sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa and Nigeria. International tourist arrivals and domestic tourism performance in the country have spurred the once pale sector that was threatened by political instability a few years ago to a towering beacon of hope of the country’s exchequer.
According to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) total international arrivals for January 2019 by air closed at 88,705 compared to 76,649 in January 2018, illustrating an increase of 15.7 percent.
New developments in infrastructure such as the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) linking Nairobi to Mombasa.
Aggressive route expansions by our National Carrier, Kenya Airways through its non-stop flights to Cape Town, Mauritius and New York coupled with the increase in the number of high-end hotels present within the country have all led to the upsurge of tourists visiting the country reinforcing Kenya’s attractiveness to the leisure travellers. Kenya’s natural landscapes are deemed to be extremely competitive when compared to other international destinations and they are highly regarded by travellers globally. In a recent report by the KTB, holiday was listed as the major reason for travel into Kenya this January, taking a share of 69.15percent of the total arrivals in the period. In absolute numbers, holiday arrivals increased by 0.5 percent to record 61,342 in 2019 as compared to 61,059 in 2018.
The report further states that the USA retains its first position, contributing 12.9 percent of total arrivals into the country in 2019, followed closely by Italy with 12 percent. The UK, Germany, India and China close the top six list with a contribution of 9.5 percent, 7.2 percent, 5.3 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. But even as the sector thrives exponentially, owing to new developments and trends in the tourism sector, Kenya stands at risk of losing its relevance as a top tourist destination and its rich tourism heritage due to over tourism.
According to a research done by The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) the capacity of Kenya to offer luxury tourism, the current target, has been largely compromised by the effects of years of promoting mass tourism. Specifically, the capacity has been affected by overcrowding at tourist sites, overdevelopment of tourist facilities, political instability around elections, sporadic terrorist attacks, […]