Operators to market Kenya at the world tourism fair

By Kenneth Oduor

NAIROBI, Kenya, Kenya’s tourism industry has been for the last five years the country’s top foreign exchange earner, raking in billions of dollars to the Kenyan economy. But things have changed, with the industry taking a serious nose dive in the last few months.

Due to the post-election violence that has rocked many parts of the country, including the coastal region, which has been very popular with tourists, visitors coming into the country have dropped by a whooping 80%, dealing a devastating blow to the once robust industry.
“If the violence is not contained within the next few weeks, then the tourism industry will literally shut down and you can imagine the impact that scenario will have on our nascent economy,” said Dr. Ongong’a Achien’g, the Managing Director of the Kenya Tourism Board.

Several tourist hotels at the Kenyan coastal town of Mombassa have been forced to shut down owing to low bed occupancy. This has led to numerous job loses within the tourism industry.
When contacted for comment in his office, the Chairman of the Tourism Promotion Council Mohamed Hirsi said that tourism is a delicate and fragile sector that relies on the good will of those visiting the country.
“Tourism cannot withstand the kind of violence witnessed in Kenya in the recent past. Nobody wants to leave the comfort of his or her country to risk their security,” said Hirsi, who is also the Managing Director of the Serena Group of Hotels.

It is for this reason that tourism industry stakeholders in Kenya are gearing up to aggressively market the country at the upcoming International Tourism Exchange in Germany. This is arguably the world’s largest travel fair.
The fair is expected to run from March 5 to 9 and will bring together the world’s top players in tourism and travel.
“This is a great opportunity to market Kenya as a safe tourism circuit and undo the effects the violence has had on this wonderful industry,” said Dr. Ongong’a.

The Kenyan tourism industry suffered loses running into millions of dollars after tourists cancelled all their bookings following the post-election violence.
Analysts predict that the Kenyan tourism industry could take up to a year to recover from the post-election violence shock. It is only hoped that the current mediation process being mid-wifed by the former UN boss Kofi Annan will be fruitful.