State agencies at crossroads over domestic tourism

Local tourists at the Nakuru National Park during a one-day free entry treat by Kenya Wildlife Service last month. Inset: Tourist vans line up in Maasai Mara as visitors flock to view the annual wildebeest migration.[Harun Wathari and file, Standard]

Last year, a vocal social commentator claimed that Kenyan leaders have over time primed the country for foreign investors and tourists, without much consideration for the locals.

In an article that ran in an online publication which reviewed Brand Kenya, Wandia Njoya noted that the state agency created after the 2008 post-election violence and whose mandate included fostering unity and patriotism among Kenyans, had instead chosen to focus more on assuring global investors and tourists that the country was safe to visit and invest in.