What tourism has done to Kenya and my hometown, Davos When it comes to tourism, Kenya and Switzerland have a lot in common. In both cases, foreigners - specifi cally the British - discovered our countries’ potential for tourism. Before the arrival of the British travelers, the Swiss people were mostly afraid of their steep mountains, which brought fl ooding and avalanches and seemed impenetrable.
When the British discovered the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the Swiss discovered tourism as a source of income and as a new profession. In the 19th century, all over Switzerland fi ve-star hotels were built; steamboats were constructed to let the foreigners experience the breathtaking landscapes of the Swiss lakes; railways and funiculars were built into small valleys and up to the highest mountaintops.