Why economy of region takes a beating when tourism suffers

Kenya: Tourism is so important to coastal communities that when it slumps, the region’s economy grows cold. Earnings from tourism often trickle down to the pockets of most residents, and it is this spiral effect that brings misery when visitors’ numbers drop.

Tourism is one of Kenya’s leading economic pillars and provides jobs to more than 100,000 people countrywide besides being a major foreign exchange earner. At the Coast, the industry employs about 20,000 people directly during high season.