Tourism crisis major threat to economy and national security

What you need to know:

  • The decline of tourism is a serious problem because the sector is a major foreign exchange earner. It is also a major employer – including in historically marginalised parts of the country such as the Coast where radicalisation of underemployed youth is increasingly becoming a critical problem.
  • Apparently, there are still very few bookings for important summer months and hotels are still running at reduced staff and putting off renovations in the hope that numbers will pick up and the good times will return.
  • Kenya is also a relatively expensive destination. Most Kenyans lack the cash to visit coastal destinations, while many non-Kenyans can travel to, and tour around, other parts of the continent (and indeed the world) for less.

Despite problem of corruption, the Kenyan economy continues to grow at an impressive rate. The exception is the tourism sector, which has gradually been shrinking ever since the uncertainty that surrounded the 2013 elections and the high profile terrorist attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

The decline of tourism is a serious problem because the sector is a major foreign exchange earner. It is also a major employer – including in historically marginalised parts of the country such as the Coast where radicalisation of underemployed youth is increasingly becoming a critical problem. In turn, the decline of tourism is not only bad for the country’s economy, but has an indirect impact on insecurity as well.

This week, the issue of foreign travel advisories returned to the news headlines following British High Commissioner Nic Hailey’s visit to Lamu Island. During his visit, the Lamu Governor Issa Timamy and local as well foreign business people lobbied the diplomat to lift the UK travel advisory against the county. Locals said Mr Hailey seemed sympathetic to their requests and would report back to the British government in London.

Days later, those living on the island are still praying the advisory, which is one of those still remaining, will be lifted. Apparently, there are still very few bookings for important summer months and hotels are still running at reduced staff and putting off renovations in the hope that numbers will pick up and the good times will return.

But even if the UK lifts its travel advisory, it will take some time for the industry to recover. For most foreign tourists, the Kenyan Coast is a fairly homogenous entity and recent events are part of an accumulative process by which the coastal strip – and indeed Kenya – has been painted as an uncertain and insecure place.

Thus, there was the election-related violence and terrorist attacks in the early 1990s, the post-election violence of 2007/8 and more recent reports of terrorist attacks and high crime rates, which have coloured a context in which negative perceptions and a sense of caution is rife.

The question foreign tourists are asking in short is: why go to the Kenyan coast when – as an individual – you lack the expertise to know how volatile the country is, and there are so many other places you could potentially travel to in the world?

Kenya is also a relatively expensive destination. Most Kenyans lack the cash to visit coastal destinations, while many non-Kenyans can travel to, and tour around, other parts of the continent (and indeed the world) for less.

However, it is not just insecurity and finances that look set to trouble the tourist industry in the years; there are also the questions, including on poaching and conversation, which affects the country’s other main tourist attractions: the national game parks.

Unfortunately, wildlife poaching continues to be a significant problem with elephants, rhinos and lions being the main targets. At the same time, several development projects have come into direct conflict with conservation efforts.

This includes Nairobi National Park with agreements reached between various ministries and the Kenya Wildlife Service, which have allowed the standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi to curve deep into the park, and for Nairobi’s southern by-pass to hive off another area.

Community groups and conservationists have also raised questions regarding the construction of a new Coal Power Station in Lamu. Thus, while the government praised the economic benefits including new jobs, others have raised concerns regarding the likely distribution of benefits and harms, and the environmental and human health costs.

Given these issues, much more needs to be done to reverse tourism’s downward trend. Luckily, Kenya has a lot to offer – from its white sand palm fringed beaches and water sports to mountain climbing, safaris and diverse cultures.

But these attractions need to be protected and promoted. In turn, more questions have been raised regarding issues that may further affect the sector – from the country’s relatively high game park fees and the diversion of railways and roads through national attractions to the ongoing problem of insecurity.

Gabrielle Lynch, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Warwick, UK ([email protected]; @GabrielleLynch6)