FOREIGN POLICY, TRAVEL ADVISORIES AND TOURISM INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Abstract

Foreign policy consists of a set of self-interest strategies or activities chosen by one country in a bid to safeguard its national interests and achieve its goals within its international relations social environment. According to the 2014 Kenya’s Foreign Policy, focuses on economic diplomacy which is one of the four pillars that guides Kenya’s Foreign Policy. Kenya’s socioeconomic development cannot be achieved without regional peace. The fundamental aim of this study was to investigate how Kenya’s foreign policy is interlinked with tourism industry performance. The study was qualitative research and it used the Survey Research Design to explain the relationship between Kenya’s foreign policy, travel advisories and the tourism industry in Kenya. The Survey Research Design employed questionnaires which were administered to collect data from the selected sample population. The population of the study was a sample of some of the employees working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the tour companies and the Tourism Board of Kenya. Out of the sample population, the researcher sampled 50 respondents from the departments and institutions relevant to the study. The study used a closed and open-ended questionnaire to collect data from the respondents. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were employed. Collected data was analyzed and coded. The study established that Kenyans foreign policy is concerned with protecting and promoting the nations interest abroad, security and regional integration, political and economic development and promoting business relations between states. The findings also indicated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international development is mandated with the creation of regional diplomacy, creating room for tourism business to be conducted at optimum, organizing trade forms internationally, collaborating with key tourism stakeholders and facilitating activities geared at promoting.