Is Kenya losing her grip on tourism to her neighbours?

Tourism in Kenya is the second-largest source of foreign exchange revenue after agriculture. However, reports claim that Kenya is gradually losing its tourism edge to its regional counterparts. There is a downward trend with a total decline of 2,675,000 visitors from 2011 to 2015.

The number of visitors travelling to Kenya for holiday dropped by 15.82 per cent from 2011 to 2015 while those on business visits decreased by 8.5 per cent. Visitors on business show a fluctuating pattern with the number going up in 2012 from 2,681,100 to 2,691,600. Visitors in transit declined in 2015 to 190,300 from 270,000 visitors in 2014.

Suggestions are that the local tourism industry would require new marketing strategies in order to improve and boost its ability to compete with cheaper tourist destinations in East Africa.

In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Kenya ranks the second highest after South Africa.

However, despite sustained economic growth, travel and tourism remains mostly untapped. Kenya remains one of Africa’s most competitive tourist economies; but it is important to note that there are no African countries in the world’s top 50 and there is need to take up activities to improve their ranking on travel and tourism.

Mr Kwame Owino is an economist

There is no doubt that the increased and continuing collaboration between the East African Community (EAC) member states in the last couple of years, particularly between Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, has resulted in positive developments within the region. The tourism industry in the region is one of the beneficiaries. For example, we have a collaborative tourism marketing strategy within the EAC region; we have launched a joint EAC single tourist visa and a joint tourism online portal for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Within the EAC region, Kenya’s diverse tourism experiences are unmatched. Beyond our flagship wildlife and beach tourism products, Magical Kenya offers a lot more: deep sea scuba diving; deep sea fishing; kit surfing; sky diving; swimming with dolphins; Whale-shark spotting; history; culture & heritage; golf; running with Champions in Iten; river rafting; horse-back trekking; mountain climbing; lake tourism; agro-tourism; culinary experiences; and vibrant and modern entertainment scene in our cities. Our strengths in hospitality services stand out. Majority of the managers in hotels and lodges in tourism establishments in the EAC region, outside of Kenya, are Kenyan. So, Kenya is not losing her tourism ‘magic’ to her neighbours. We are working with our neighbours to strengthen our regional tourism product and appeal.

Mr Jimi Kariuki is the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) chairman