The outburst of violence after the presidential election results were announced led to about 61% drop in the Kenyan tourism industry, says Kenya Tourist Board.
KTB (Kenya Tourist Board) revealed that about 61% of decrease in earnings was registered in the Kenyan tourism industry during Q1 2008, as reported by Nation Media.
During Q1 2008, nearly 274,000 tourist arrivals were recorded in Kenya over 500,000 tourists in Q1 2007. Also, the income earned by the tourism industry of Kenya was Sh8 Billion (US$ 0.13 Billion) as compared to Sh21 Billion (US$ 0.33 Billion), the forecasted earning for Q1 2008.
The outburst of violence after the announcement of the presidential election results in Kenya is a main reason behind the decline in the number of tourists in the country. A large number of tourists, which were expected by January of this year, cancelled their plans to visit Kenya due to this political crisis.
Moreover, the time period from January to March is considered as season for local Kenyan tourism industry. Most of the tourists visit the country to avoid winter season. But the election crisis discouraged many tourists from coming to Kenya during this period.
The crisis also resulted in about 30% drop in bed occupancy levels and that lead to a form of closure of few hotels in Kenya. Moreover, warning given by many travelling advisor companies to people to not to visit Kenya also added to the decline in number of tourist arrivals.
Due to a fall in tourism industry, a coalition cabinet has been formed by KTB, which is expected to start working from July 2008. This cabinet aims at making new schemes and plans for infusing growth in the Kenyan tourism industry and increasing its earnings. An additional treasury is also requested by KTB from the World Bank for improving tourist confidence in Kenya and increasing its marketing efforts to make profits.
“KTB is working hard to improve the condition of Kenyan tourism industry. It is adopting various measures to depict Kenya as a safe destination. Moreover, focus of the board on the availability of various facilities, such as food and transportation, to tourists is likely to improve and drive tourism industry in the coming future”, says an analyst at RNCOS.
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