Tourism may miss 2030 goals

Despite recording marked improvement in the last two years, the tourism sector may miss the Vision 2030 goal of three million visitors per year, a recent study says.

According to research released by Stanbic Researchers, the tourism sector, which is still recovering from the post-election violence, might also miss its target of 10 per cent contribution to the country’s gross domestic product by 2012.

The research says though the sector registered a 42 per cent growth in performance from 2008, for the first three quarters of 2009, there was still a lot to be done in terms of marketing to rival neighbouring Tanzania.

High-end tourism

According to the data also published in the business magazine, Ratio, Kenya must start focusing on high-end tourism and not only concentrate on numbers as it is presently.

“As much as the arrival numbers are important, the spend-per-trip is paramount,” Mr Anthony Mwithiga, chief investment officer for Stanbic Investments Management Services (SIMS), who conducted the research, told Ratio Magazine.

Tanzania has been working on an environment-friendly high-value, low-volume strategy for a few years, which is now paying dividends, the research indicates.

Though the number of foreign visitors declined by 10 per cent in the first 10 months of 2009, the amount tourists spend in Tanzania is higher than in Kenya and other destinations like Egypt and South Africa.

Tanzania, according to the study, ranks higher in natural resource endowment than Kenya, with Mt Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar being some of the best in Africa.

The Tanzanian Government, the research adds, has enforced strict regulations to keep hotel standards high.

It cites the example of Zanzibar’s coastline which is dotted with nicer resorts and fewer low-end beach hotels than Mombasa.

The study also adds that Kenya is still hurting from Delta’s postponement of its planned direct flights from Atlanta to Nairobi, due to security concerns.

Limited travel

Limited travel warnings due to terrorism and violent crime that persist from the US and the UK also keep more high-end travellers from coming to Kenya,” the article says, adding that the warnings will not end any time soon, and are likely to increase as the 2012 election season nears.

However, it is not all doom and gloom; the aggressive marketing strategy adopted by Kenya after the post-election violence has increased tourism numbers.

Mr Mwithiga said there is still an opportunity for investment in the high-end of the market in the country.

In the current financial year, 2009/2010, the ministry was allocated Sh400 million for marketing campaigns.

This compares poorly with what other destinations like South Africa, Tunisia and Egypt, who compete with Kenya for the same tourists, put in for visitor attraction.