Background and issue of Kenya - Assignment Example

Background and issue of Kenya Introduction Tourism industry is an important sector in any country since it is ableto earn the country some foreign capital. Kenya is no different. The country has various tourism sceneries across the country where tourists visit to enjoy the scenery including the Kenya’s coast which records various tourists every year (Ellis and Bank, 2007, p. 234). However, the tourism sector in the country has had its fair share of challenges which has resulted in the number of tourists that the country has hosted in the past year declining. One of main issue has been insecurity due to various terror threats the country has undergone in the past few years. These terror attacks include the Mpeketoni and Lamu attacks in the coastal regions, the Westgate Mall attacks in the capital city of Kenya-Nairobi and other attacks in Mandera, and Wajir in northeastern Kenya. All these coupled with the negative and exaggerated media reports on the security situation in the country has led to the decline in the number of tourists in the country (Ellis and Bank, 2007, p. 300). However, the government has intervened to ensure that the issue of security is resolved once and for all. This report will include a statement of issues facing tourism sector in the country, portrayal of the country and the tourism sites together with the tourism ITS perspectives. Issues facing tourism industry in Kenya There are various issues facing tourism industry in Kenya. One of them is the issue of insecurity especially through various terror attacks. Recently, the terror groups have embarked on posing a security threat to the country thus reducing the number of tourists in the country. One of the massive terror attacks occurred in the Westgate mall in September 2013 (Obadiah, Nicholas and Josephine, 2012, p. 23). This terror attacks claimed many lives in the country and it resulted into tourism fearing for their security thus failing to tour the country as they did before. The second issue facing the tourism sector in the country is due to poor infrastructure. Most of the tourist destinations have inaccessible roads since they are located in remote areas making them almost inaccessible to the tourists. The reason is that some of these tourist destinations are located in remote areas where even internet and mobile services is problematic. The other issue facing tourism in Kenya is lack of enough support due to little support from the government. Due to this, the country does not come up with other tourists’ sites or renovate and maintain the existing ones. Moreover, sometimes the natural calamities in the area including floods affect some of the tourism sites. These natural calamities make some roads impassable making these tourists destinations inaccessible. Moreover, there is the issue of tropical diseases including malaria which infect some of the tourists making others afraid of catching such diseases in their tourism escapades in Kenya. There is also the destruction of the existing wildlife especially due to poaching. In various national parks and game reserves, poachers kill the animals in the parks for trade and game meat. Moreover, there has been an increased human population in the area and this has led to the encroachment of various wildlife habitats in the area (Obadiah, Nicholas and Josephine, 2012, p. 29). This has resulted in the conflicts between human beings and the wildlife resulting in some of the animals migrating from their natural species. This has affected the Kenyan tourism industry in a great deal. Background The Kenya tourism board is held with the responsibility of maintaining any information on the tourism sector. In Kenya, Tourism is the second source of foreign capital after agriculture. The GDP direct contribution of travel and the tourism industry in Kenya was 4.8% of the country’s GDP in 2013, it rose by approximately 2.9% in the year 2014 (Shambi, 2011, p. 77). How tourism visiting Kenya have reduced The trend is expected to increase by 5.2% pa from the year 2014 to the year 2024 to reach 314 billion shillings which will be 4.7% of the country’s GDP by the year 2024. The tourism and travel contributed a total contribution of 462.8 billion shillings in 2013 which was 12.1% of the country’s GDP. It rose to approximately 3.1% in 2014 and the trend is expected to increase by 5.2% pa to approximately 791.4 billion which is approximately 11.8% of the country’s GDP in 2024. The sector also supported over 226500 jobs in 2013, rose by 0.4% in 2014 (Shambi, 2011, p. 67). The direct contribution of Kenya’s tourism to GDP reflects its total spending on travel and even tourism by either residents or non-residents for either business or even leisure. The total contribution is the wider impacts of both the indirect and the induced impacts on the Kenya’s economy. These indirect contributions include the GDP and even the jobs supported by the investment spending and the spending by the government. This is also supported by the domestic purchase of either goods or services by sectors that deal with tourists directly. Considering that the tourism industry generated over 226,500 jobs in the year 2013 (Shambi, 2011, p. 97). This trend decreased in 2014 to 225500 due to decline in the number of tourists touring the country. The employers include hotels, travel agents, airlines and other transportation services for the passengers. Considering that passengers are a crucial contributor of tourism, the visitors in 2013 brought 161.3 billion shillings. This trend decreased in 2014 by 1.3% due to the terror attacks in the country that year and the previous year. However, over ten years to come, the trend is likely to increase to 2652000 bringing an expenditure of 272 billion shillings which is an increase of 5.2% pa. Tourism sites in Kenya National parks in Kenya Most tourists have been attracted in Kenya by the wildlife safaris and other activities including trekking Mount Kenya, visiting Malindi and the Indian Ocean, ballooning while enjoying the scenery of Maasai Mara, among others (Cruz and Tempra, 2005, p. 567). There are various tourists’ attraction sites in Kenya including Nairobi national park which is only ten minutes drive from the capital city of Kenya-Nairobi. Nairobi national park It is beautiful scenery since one can view the Nairobi’s skyscrapers from the park. Despite it close location to the capital city; it hosts a wide variety of wildlife population including the migrating wildebeests and zebras in the dry season. It also hosts the best rhinoceros in Kenya. The other one is Malindi providing a great introduction to the attractions of the coastal regions of Kenya due to its extensive coral reefs and wonderful beaches. malindi Tourists engage in surfing, deep-sea fishing and other sports that are concerned with water. There is also a Malindi marine national park in the area that is protected and has great beaches, colorful fish and even very clear water. The other tourists’ attraction site is the Mount Kenya. It is the highest mountain located in Kenya and ranked second highest in Africa. It offers a beautiful sight and peaks that are crowned with snow. It is over 5199 meters high summit which many people find difficult to climb. However, there are other lower peaks which are great and easy destinations for any fit trekker. Mount Kenya Samburu national park is another tourist attraction site which is very peaceful and located in northern Kenya. Due to the Ewaso Nyiro River running through it, the reserve attracts wildlife and it also has a mixture of grassland vegetation and the forest. The three big cats which include the cheetahs, lions and the leopards are found here together with the elephants, hippos, and the buffalos. The Ewaso Nyiro River also has crocodiles in large numbers. Samburu national park Hells gate national park is another tourist’s attraction site. It is named after a narrow break located in the cliffs which was a prehistoric lake that used to feed early humans in the rift valley. It is one of the unique sites in Kenya since one is allowed to tour without a guide or cycle around. There are great sceneries with steep cliffs, basalt columns and gorges. It houses a variety of wildlife though most of them are a few in number including cheetahs, leopards and the lions. Hells gate national park. Lamu Island is another tourist attraction site which is part of Lamu’s Archipelago and has managed to stay unspoiled by mass tourism. There are no roads on the island but only footpaths and alleyways and thus very few motor vehicles. Residents of the island mostly move on foot and use animals including donkeys to transport their goods and materials. Lamu Island Tsavo national park is among the largest in the whole world. Due to its size, it was divided into Tsavo east and west. Tsavo west has a rolling landscape of the volcanic while the Tsavo east has open savannah. The park is ideal for tourists seeking privacy and solitude and a chance to explore the wilderness. Tsavo national park Lake Nakuru national park is another major tourist’s attraction site. It has an abundance of algae which attracts flamingos which may sometimes sum up to a million. It is the greatest spectacle of birds and tourists willing to undertake bird watching should tour it once in a while. Unfortunately, the lake has been decreasing recently due to degradation of the environment t and due to pollution. Lake Nakuru national park Amboseli national park is another small park that is located close to the border of Tanzania at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is famous for close to free-ranging elephants and it offers the tourists an opportunity to meet the Maasai people while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Mount Kilimanjaro. Amboseli national park The top tourist attraction site is the Maasai Mara national reserve which is the most popular park in Kenya. Each year, the park is visited by many tourists coming to watch the annual wildebeest migration and zebras. This occurs every July to October where these zebras and the wildebeests migrate from the Serengeti national park in Tanzania (N.Simon and N.Gatimu,2011,p.456).The Maasai Mara national reserve ITS Perspectives Historical background Tourism has been a major sector in Kenya earning foreign capital for the country. However, this trend is changing due to the terror attacks that have been recorded in the country for the past few years. Tourism has been Kenya’s big business for years due to the natural resources, wildlife and the Indian Ocean. There is much Arab influence in the coast with many towns rich in history and having striking architectural designs. Until 1969, the major tourism attraction was Nairobi though this changed subsequently to include other areas of the country. Considering that Kenya does not support mass tourism that much, the decreasing tourism trend is likely to change in future. This is considering that the government is intervening to reduce terror attacks in the country. Geographical context The climate in Kenya is tropical and temperate with hot and even humid weather all year round in the coast regions, and wetter weather on the highlands. Northern areas remain dry all year round while Nairobi has warm summers and even cold winters. The rainy seasons are April to June, and October to December thus making it ideal for tourists to visit between July and September or January and February. Prices during these periods are expensive though the weather condition is ideal for visiting on these periods. Thus, tourism interacts with the environment by considering the type of weather in that period of time. If the weather is good, then it becomes ideal for tourists to visit the country and enjoy the beautiful sceneries in the region (Cruz and Tempra, 2005, p. 597). However, when the weather is not good especially during the rainy season, some of the roads become impassable making it not ideal for tourism. Economics structures Tourism brings a lot of development in the communities surrounding the major tourists’ sites. For instance, while these tourists are on their way to the lake Nakuru national parks, there are curio shops along the road to Nakuru where the local communities are able to earn a source of livelihood by selling some products to the tourists. Moreover, tourism has enabled the development of some of these areas where the major tourist sites are located. This is considering that some of these sites are located in the remote parts of Kenya (Laws, Prideaux and Chon, 2007, p. 56). Thus, through the foreign capital brought about by tourism, some of these places have developed infrastructure to ensure that tourists d o not find it difficult to access such places. The locals in those areas are also going to schools and learning and mastering English language to become guides for these tourists. Thus, tourism has improved Kenya’s economy and it has also increased and created vast job employment for the locals. Tourism has increased the country GDP as earlier indicated. Political system The top government officials including the president and the vice president have been on the forefront to ensure the reduction of terror attacks to increase the level of security in the country. The two are worried with the decline in the number of tourists and thus they have taken vast measures. Some of them included appointing a new cabinet secretary for internal security and a new police commissioner. Moreover, they have allocated huge funds for the renovation of the tourism sector in the budget allocation (Hope, 2011, p. 200). The cabinet secretary concerned with tourism has been involved in various trade fairs and exhibitions to create awareness on the tourism sector in Kenya and inform the tourists that security threat is no longer a thorny issue in Kenya. Despite there being a previous rumor that some top political officers were involved in the poaching scandals, all political systems are collaborating to move the tourism sector back to its previous glory. Socio-cultural structures Kenya is a country with vast cultural representations with tourists marveling at the different cultural values and norms. The richest culture is the Maasai culture and cases of foreign individuals from all over the world getting married to the Maasai and the Samburu have been on the rise. The most intriguing part of the Maasai culture is in their mode of dressing where they wrap themselves rather than wearing clothes as other individuals do. They also adorn attractive jewelry which is mostly sold in curios (Speceley, 2008, p.309). The Maasai morans also color their hair red as part of their culture. There are also other cultures in Kenya including the Kikuyu culture, Luo culture, Meru culture, Kisii culture among others. Tourists tour all these cultures to understand the vast culture of the Kenyan people. Conclusion Tourism industry is an important sector in any country since it is able to earn the country some foreign capital. Kenya is no different. The country has various tourism sceneries across the country where tourists visit to enjoy the scenery including the Kenya’s coast which records various tourists every year. However, the tourism sector in the country has had its fair share of challenges which has reduced the overall number of tourists that the country has hosted in the past year. One of them is the issue of insecurity due to terror attacks, tropical diseases, and encroachment of tourists’ areas among others. Despite this, Kenya has several tourists attraction sites including the Maasai Mara national reserve where tourists visit to enjoy the zebra and wildebeests migration (Beeton, 2006, p. 207).Thus, the Kenyan government is doing all it can to reduce the terror attacks in the area to increase the number of tourists touring the country. References cited Beeton, Sue. Community development through tourism. Collington, VIC : Land Links, 2006. Cruz, Fernando da and Ombretta Tempra. Kenya Urban Sector Profile. Nairobi: UN HABITAT, 2005. Ellis, Amanda and World Bank. Gender and Economic growth in Kenya. Washington DC: World Bank, 2007. Hope, Kempe R. The Political Economy of development in Kenya. New York: Continuum International Pub Group, 2011. Kibara Obadiah, Odhiambo Nicholas M. and Njuguna Josephine M. "Tourism And Economic Growth In Kenya: An Empirical Investigation." Business and Economics (2012): 13-67. Laws, Eric, B. Prideaux and K S Chon. Crisis management in tourism. Wallington, Oxon: Cambridge, MA, 2007. N.Simon, and N.Gatimu. Tourism in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. New York: ProQuest, 2007. Shambi, Juliet Shali. "Analysis of and Recommendations for Kenyas Tourism Sector." Business and Economics (2011): 1-69. Speceley, Anna. Responsible Tourism: Critical issues for conservation and development. London, Sterling VA: EARTHSCAN, 2008. Read More