This study seeks to explore the trends in international tourist arrivals in a developing country - Kenya - which has been well recognized as an international tourist destination in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya’s tourism sector has undergone several challenges over the years. Several factors that affect the tourists’ propensity to stay longer in a destination are discussed and suggestions for marketing are proposed

Abubakar, B.

Shanka, Tekle

English

espace@Curtin

Tourism Analysis, Vol. 10, pp. 411–416 1083-5423/06 $20.00 + .00Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright  2006 Cognizant Comm. Corp.www.cognizantcommunication.comRESEARCH NOTETOURISM IN KENYA: A PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONBINTA ABUBAKAR* and TEKLE SHANKA†*School of Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia†School of Marketing, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, AustraliaThis study seeks to explore the trends in international tourist arrivals in a developing country—Kenya—which has been well recognized as an international tourist destination in Sub-SaharanAfrica. Kenya’s tourism sector has undergone several challenges over the years. Several factorsthat affect the tourists’ propensity to stay longer in a destination are discussed and suggestions formarketing are proposed.Key words: Tourism; Kenya; Sub-Saharan Africa; MarketingIntroduction to 5199 meters (17,058 feet). Kenya also boasts oftwo inland seas: Lake Victoria (the second largestfresh water lake in the world) and Lake Turkana.Kenya is located on the East Coast of Africa,with the equator running almost straight through Other features include the Great Rift Valley andthe open savannah grasslands teeming with wildlife.the middle of the country. Kenya achieved its inde-pendence from Great Britain in 1963. Since inde- Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, has over the yearsgrown in size and importance, serving as the re-pendence, the country has been under a parliamen-tary democracy; first, under a single party system gion’s main commercial center and the hub for in-ternational airlines in East and Central Africa. Itand then, from 1992, under a multiparty system.Its economic growth has been guided by capitalis- is also the headquarters for important internationalorganizations, such as the United Nations Environ-tic ideals with a lot of support from the Westerncountries. Uninterrupted political stability and a ment Program (UNEP) and United Nations Centerfor Human Settlements (HABITAT), and servespragmatic economic approach have enabled thecountry to develop the most sophisticated physi- as a regional headquarters for several internationalfinancial and private organizations. Kenya hascal, financial, and industrial structure in the EastAfrica region. Kenya has a great diversity of phys- only two distinct climatic seasons: the wet season(April–May and October–November) and the dryical features, including the second highest (snow-capped) mountain in Africa, Mt. Kenya, which rises season (the rest of the year). Temperatures in KenyaAddress correspondence to Tekle Shanka, Ph.D., School of Marketing, Curtin University of Technology, GPO BOX U1987, Perth,WA 6845, Australia. Tel: +61 8 9266 2839; Fax: +61 8 9266 3937; Email: shankat@cbs.curtin.edu.au411412 ABUBAKAR AND SHANKAare governed by the altitude of a given region, and With 1,099,000 arrivals, Zimbabwe had the mostrange from 11°C in the central highlands, to 33°C tourist arrivals in the Eastern Africa region com-at the coast and up to 47°C in the North. All these pared to Kenya’s 863,000 arrivals. However, Kenyafactors have for a long time been Kenya’s greatest had the highest receipts from tourism (US$421tourist assets. million) during that year. For a long time, Kenyahad the highest number of arrivals in the region,until 1992 when Zimbabwe replaced it.Tourism Development in KenyaHoliday visitors have for a long time consti-In 1966, when the Kenya government realized tuted the largest group of international travelers tothe potential that there was in developing tourism, Kenya, making up more than 50% of the total num-it established the Ministry of Tourism and Wild- ber of visitors. The percentage of business travel-life to manage these activities. The late 1960s and ers has fluctuated in the recent past. Out of the total1970s saw the formation of several government-number of visitors who came to Kenya in 1995,owned institutions, founded to manage differentapproximately 77% were holidaymakers, while 14%aspects of tourism in the country. By the 1970’swere business travelers and 9% came for otherKenya had become a popular tourism destination,purposes. This trend continued in 1996. An analy-because of the increased promotional activity andsis of the arrival figures by region in 1996 high-the advent of the charter flight. Recent develop-lights Kenya’s reliance on a single region (Europe)ments in the tourism industry in Kenya includedas a source market for tourism. Europe representedthe commissioning of a team to come up with a54.4% of the total arrivals followed by Africatourism master plan in 1994, the government’s di-(29.1%), America (8.3%), Asia (6.2%), and thevestment in tourism businesses in 1995, and therest of the world (0.7%). Tourism earnings in-formation of a tourism board in 1996. Kenya hascreased from K$713 million in 1992 to K$1405recorded an increase in the number of tourist arriv-million in 1994 followed by an 11% drop in earn-als over the years. The total number of visitorsings in 1995 and a 2.4% increase in 1996.increased from 540,000 in 1985 to 690,000 in1995. This represents an increase of 27% in 10years. There was, however, a decline in the num- Tourism Management Structure in Kenyaber of visitor arrivals of 4% between 1990 andThe Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife is re-1992. After an increase in arrivals in 1993 andsponsible for the overall management and policy1994 there was another downturn from 863,000 informulation for the tourism sector assisted by four1994 to 690,000 in 1995, a decline of approxi-government-owned institutions, each charged withmately 20%. Earnings from tourism also decreasedmanaging a specific aspect of the tourism sector.from K$1,405 million (Kenya pounds) in 1994 toThese are the Kenya Tourism Development Cor-K$1250 million in 1995 (Republic of Kenya, vari-poration, Kenya Utali College, Kenya Wildlifeous years).Service, and the Tourism Board. There are severalThe Kenya government attributes the declinestourism associations/organizations that representin arrivals in 1991, 1992, and more recently 1995tourism firms in the private sector, and that act asto adverse publicity in the international media, in-a liaison with the government in promotional andeffective tourism promotion, overreliance upon lim-developmental matters. These included the Kenyaited tourist attractions, and competition from simi-Association of Travel Agents (KATA), the Kenyalar markets, like South Africa and Zimbabwe. ThisAssociation of Tour Operators (KATO), and thedecline in the number of arrivals is reflected inKenya Association of Hotelkeepers and CaterersKenya’s loss of market share of overseas visitors(KAHC). However, according to the structure, thereto Africa, which has dropped from 6.0% in 1990seems to be lack of a tourism marketing bodyto 4.7% in 1994 (WTO, various years). Meanwhile,spearheading a concerted effort by both the gov-the percentage of market share for South Africaernment and the private sector in marketing Kenyaincreased from 6.8% to 20% and for Zimbabwefrom 4% to 6% in 1990 and 1994, respectively. as a tourism destination.TOURISM IN KENYA 413Table 1How Long do International Tourists StayTourists From Abroad in Hotels and Similarin the Country?Establishments (by Residence)Length of stay is of utmost importance in ex-1995 1998amining the travel patterns of international touristsInterregional 4,099,000 1,914,500(Masberg, 1998). The importance and seasonal vari-United Kingdom 964,600 516,300ation of length of vacation stay in 48 states in theGermany 1,201,400 418,800US has been clearly established in previous re- United States 265,900 185,100Switzerland 312,000 129,800search (Uysal, Fesenmaier, & O’Leary, 1994). GetzItaly 305,700 126,500(1986) defines tourist length of stay as the amountFrance 310,100 123,300of time travelers spend at a destination and is fre- Scandinavia 86,300 54,100Japan 33,400 33,500aquently measured in the number of nights oneIndia 27,800 29,600aspends at the site (Pearce & Elliott, 1983; Uysal,Australia, New Zealand 25,100 21,800McDonald, & O’Leary 1988). During the 1990s Canada 51,600 18,300Other Americas 15,000 13,400the length of stay of international tourists in KenyaAll Middle East 29,600 48,400adeclined from a high of 5,581 million nights to aOther Asia 25,500 17,800mere 687 million nights. The average number of Other Europe 289,000 145,600Other world countries 136,000 32,200nights per tourist also dropped from 13.70 nightsIntraregional 266,500 201,600in 1991 to 9.60 nights in 1998. Although a slightlyTanzania 40,600 35,100higher number of tourists arrived in Kenya in 1998 Uganda 30,800 26,400North Africa 12,000 13,000acompared with the 1991 figure, receipts were sig-Southern Africa 28,200 36,800anificantly lower in 1998 compared with that ofWest Africa 28,200 13,5001991. The decline in the number of nights was due Other Africa 131,800 76,800to the drop in the both intraregional and interregionalSource: WTO (2001).arrivals, as shown in Table 1. Arrivals from all aIncrease in arrival numbers.regions showed significant drop in 1998 over the1995 figures with the exception of Japan, India,the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Af-rica, which showed slight improvements over the1995 arrivals.Not only has Kenya been losing in terms oftourist nights, but also in terms of receipts per ar-rivals. The 1999 figures for select East AfricanTable 2tourist destination countries show that Kenya’s perArrivals, Receipts, and Receipts per Arrival 1999capita receipt was well below that of Tanzania,ReceiptUganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, etc., andArrivals Receipts per Arrivalits per capita earning was slightly higher than thatCountry (’000) (US$ million) (US$)of Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (Ta-Kenya 943 304 322ble 2).Tanzania 564 733 1,300Uganda 142 149 1,049Marketing Implications and Conclusion Mauritius 578 545 943Seychelles 125 112 896Destinations are amalgams of individually pro- Comoros 24 19 792Eritrea 57 28 491duced tourism amenities and services (accommo-Ethiopia 92 16 174dation, transportation, catering, entertainment, etc.)Madagascar 138 100 725and a wide range of public goods (such as land- Malawi 254 20 79Reunion 394 270 685scape, scenery, sea, lakes, sociocultural surround-Zambia 456 85 186ings, atmosphere, etc.) that are branded togetherZimbabwe 2,103 202 96under the name of the destination—the concept ofwhich evokes an image of that destination (Bu- Source: WTO (2001).414 ABUBAKAR AND SHANKAhalis, 1999). Market segmentation has become a the subregion, which requires the cooperation ofcritical element of positioning tourist destinations the tourism industry, the government, and the in-by dividing a visitor market group into homoge- ternational community (Frost & Shanka, 2001a,nous subgroups (Mykletun, Crotts, & Mykletun, 2001b). In conclusion, there are several issues that2001). Kenya needs to pay attention to a number should be considered. The development of intrare-of factors that play critical roles in its endeavor to gional and interregional tourism has hitherto beencontinue attracting increasing number of interna- hampered by lack of free flow of tourists acrosstional tourists. These include: the national borders. This free flow of touristswithin the region can contribute significantly toa) Partnerships between public and private sectors the growth of tourism. Kenya can no longer relyfor promotion of existing tourist attractions and on its sunshine, beautiful beaches, fauna and flora.development of new products; The country’s tourism marketers must be proac-b) Regional tourism and cooperation between tive in addressing issues that matter for the touristKenya and neighboring countries, a good ex- of the 21st century.ample of which includes Mozambique, Zanzi-bar, and Uganda, which are getting increased Referencesexposure in tour operators’ brochures and ben-Buhalis, D. (1999). Tourism on the Greek Islands; Issuesefiting from multidestination holidays;of peripherally, competitiveness and development. In-c) Developing a new branding of its products international Journal of Tourism Research, 1(5), 341–order to improve its share of global tourist ar- 358.rivals; Dieke, P. U. C. (2001). Kenya and South Africa. In D. B.d) Facilitation of travel across its boundaries; Weaver (Ed.), The encyclopedia of ecotourism. Wall-ingford, UK: CABI Publishing.e) Establishing quality and standards control policy;Frost, F. A., & Shanka, T. (2001a). Cape to Cairo—can thef) Ensuring security and safety of tourists;dream be realized? Journal of Vacation Marketing,g) Dealing effectively with negative events to7(3), 235–244.limit their impact (e.g., effect of the bombings Frost, F. A., & Shanka, T. (2001b). Regionalism in tour-of the US embassy in Nairobi); ism—the case for Kenya and Ethiopia. Journal ofTravel and Tourism Marketing, 11(1), 35–56.h) Addressing health issues, particularly HIV be-Getz, D. (1986). Models in tourism planning. Tourismcause it could impact tourism flows;Management, March, 21–32.i) Paying attention to “ecotourism” that couldMasberg, B. A. (1998). Defining the tourist: Is it possible?steer tourists away from the “beach and safari” A view from the convention and visitors bureau. Jour-packages, which have led to environmental nal of Travel Research, 37(1), 67–70.Mykletun, R. J., Crotts, J. C., & Mykletun, A. (2001). Posi-damage, and overcrowding in some areas.tioning an island destination in the peripheral area ofthe Baltics: A flexible approach to market segmentation.It is important to highlight the WTO tourismTourism Management, 22(5), 493–500.2020 vision in regards to Kenya. The future for Pearce, D. G., & Elliott, J. M. C. (1983). The trip index.East Africa may lie in promoting the area as a Journal of Travel Research, 22(1), 37–50.regional destination, as it was in the late sixties. Republic of Kenya. (1997). Economic survey. Nairobi:Central Bureau of Statistics.Consequently, tour wholesalers could promoteRepublic of Kenya. (1994b). The study on the tourism mas-two-nation vacations, linking Kenya with Ugandater plan. In The Republic of Kenya: Interim report. Pa-or the Seychelles” (WTO, 2000a, p. 25). Areascific Consultants International: Nippon Koei Co Ltd.that appear promising for the effective and sus- Republic of Kenya. (1994a). Development plan 1994–tainable development of the tourism sector in 1996. Nairobi: Government Printer.Uysal, M., Fesenmaier, D. R., and O’Leary, J. (1994). Geo-Kenya include fostering domestic tourism, com-graphic and seasonal variation in the concentration ofmunity initiatives, industry funding, wildlife man-travel in the United States. Journal of Travel Research,agement, and the formation of diversified, multi-32(3), 61–64.lateral tourism circuits (Dieke, 2001, p. 103). Uysal, M., McDonald, C. D., & O’Leary J. (1988). LengthParticular emphasis should be given to the estab- of stay—a macro analysis for cross-country skiing trips.Journal of Travel Research, 26(3), 29–31.lishment of cooperative marketing strategies withinTOURISM IN KENYA 415World Tourism Organization. (1997). Compendium of tour- World Tourism Organization. (2000b). Compendium oftourism statistics 1994–998. Madrid: Author.ism statistics 1991–1995. Madrid: Author.World Tourism Organization. (1998). Compendium of tour- World Tourism Organization. (2001). Tourism markettrends: Africa, 2001 edition. Madrid: Author.ism statistics 1992–1996. Madrid: Author.World Tourism Organization. (2000a). Tourism 2020 vi-sion, Africa, Vol. 1. Madrid: Author.

Tourism in Kenya: A preliminary examination

https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/20.500.11937/25130/2/138004_21028_KH%2036131.pdf

Tourism in Kenya: A preliminary examination

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

espace@Curtin