Effects of security threats on international tourism in Kenya

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of security threats on international tourism in Kenya. The study was carried out in Nairobi and focused on international tourists who were in the country during the period of the study. It also focused on tourist hotel establishments within Nairobi. Tourism accounts for about 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) making it the third largest contributor to GDP after agriculture and manufacturing industries. It is also Kenya's third largest foreign exchange earner (18%) after tea and horticulture according to Kenya Tourist Board. The study looked at the effects of security threats and political uncertainty on international tourism between 2003 and 2004. In addition, it looked at the effects of travel advisories against visiting Kenya by US and UK governments. The study also investigated how the flow of international tourists affected the structural growth of the hotel industry between 1,992 and 2004 in Kenya. The study was guided by three research objectives, namely: (i) To establish the extent to which insecurity and political uncertainity affected international tourists in the years 2003 and 2004. (ii) To establish the effect oftravel advisories/ warnings against visiting Kenya on international tourism. (iii) To establish the extent to which the flow of international tourists affected the structural growth of the hotel industry . .The study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative data was obtained from 67 international tourists while qualitative data was obtained from the management of eleven randomly selected tourist hotels in Nairobi, Secondary data was obtained from documents in institutions dealing with security and management of the tourism industry. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and it was computed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study established that: (i) Tourists have confidence in the political stability and security situation in the country. (ii) Majority (79.1 %) of the tourists did not receive travel advisories against visiting Kenya in their countries and those who received it (17.9%) largely ignored it. Travel advisories therefore did not have much effect on the flow of the tourists in to the country as they were widely ignored. (iii) The sluggish flow of international tourists affected the structural growth of hotels adversely between 1992 and 2002, while the improved flow of the tourists between 2003 and 2004 encouraged the structural growth of the hotel industry. The flow of the tourists improved considerably because of the perceived improved political and economic climate after NARC took over power from KANU in 2002 general election and aggressive marketing by KTB. Finally, the study established that the deteriorating infrastructure especially the road network was affecting the development of tourism and requires urgent attention while security is a major concern and requires improvement.