The Current Position of Kenya in Tourism

By Geoffrey Kerosi 

Kenya aims at becoming a leading long-haul tourist destination world-wide. That way the country will be classified with other global tourism giants such as China, Malaysia and Mexico. 

Currently, China receives 47 million tourists annually. Mexico follows her closely with 22 million visitors every year. Coming closer home in the African continent, Egypt is the king when it comes to tourism. South Africa tails Egypt at close range. 

Kenya has a great chance to improve its standing in the tourism sector. This can only be done by introducing a new range of tourism products. Tourists need a variety in order to keep visiting now and again. This is a good strategy that can help the country in increasing tourist spending per capita. She has tried in the past to improve its strategies on international tourism marketing. 

To say the least, Kenya has performed impressively in tourism since 2002. This has been reflected by an increasing number of tourist arrivals. In that year alone, the country received 1 million visitors. Four years later, in 2006 the number increased to 1.6 million. It was a good trial! That is because this increment occured amidst great obstacles. The following are some of the hudles that the sector faced:

• Health scares such as avian flu
• Skyrocketing oil prices
• Advisories against traveling to Kenya due to terrorism threats.

In 2003, Kenya earned a total of Kshs 25.8 billion from tourism. This figure increased significantly to Kshs. 56.2 billion in 2006. A large proportion of this increase is associated with well planned international adversting efforts in key foreign countries such as Britain, Italy, Germany, France and USA. 

The government needs to constantly address the various problems facing the tourism sector. There is also a great need for stakeholders to expand on conference tourism and great strategies have to be put in place to increase expenditure per visit. 

Government Policies 

The Kenyan government must create policies that deal with negative effects in the sector. Some of the effects include: drug abuse, child prostitution and environmental degradation. The government has a role to protect her people from moral degradation. That can be achieved through promoting local cultural values instead of adopting foreign values which may be harmful. 

Contribution of tourism to the economy 

Tourism forms 10 per cent of the Kenyan economy and has created jobs for 9 per cent of the total workforce. It was the fasted growing sector between the years 2004 and 2006. That shows that it has played a great role in the economy of our country

. 

Tourism is a top earner of foreign exchange in Kenya. The country received US$800 in 2006. This is a clear sign that tourism has a great potential to not only create employment but also generate wealth. 

Many visitors are attracted to Kenya by many things such as Mara Wildbeasts. This is one of the world wonders. It involves the crossing of wild beasts from Kenya to Uganda and vice versa. These are millions of animals that move at once. They form a sight to behold!

Contact the Geoffrey on: geoffrey.nyakundi13@gmail.com 

Beautiful Photos of Nairobi City

 By Geoffrey Kerosi
Many foreigners have an impression that Africa is a backward place. There are many good things that you do in an African city like Nairobi.

Nairobi like most western capitals is endowed with great entertainment facilities such as night clubs, there are several universities within the city, shopping malls, Amusement Parks and commercial buildings.
Check the photo below:

This is a photo of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) head quarters in Nairobi. It is an awesoeme sight to us.

There are many other places which make the city very beautiful during the day and at night.
Nairobi is more vibrant at night!

There are many joints where you can enjoy life.  There are fine restaurants where one can get refreshed with beer after the office hours.

The City Council of Nairobi (CCN) has spacious parking lots where you can leave your car as you explore the town.

Check this parking below:

I hope you agree with me that Nairobi is a good place. If you do not agree with  me, then you are have a right to hold your own views.

It is quite unfortunate that the Western Media outlets portray our country as if it is a war zone.
In April 2013, after we help  peaceful general elections, some foreign reporters were overhead at the airport saying that there is no news to report home about.

What a hell do they think they are? We appear in the news when we are faced with hunger, floods, corruption and other natural disasters.  
 This kind of mindset must come to an END!

Contact the author on email: geoffrey.nyakundi13@gmail.com

Kenya Safari: What Tourists Do

Nairobi is a city which is known for its traffic jams. It is a great stopping point for tourists traveling to several safaris in Kenya. The hotels are very secure with excellent facilities.

Many visitors are scared away from cities because they are faced with cases of crimes. The authorities play a leading role in upgrading security of the region. Kenya is experiencing a rise in the number of visitors due to the high quality hotel facilities in the city. There are also several local tourists who are made up of a large number of middle class.

Visitors who come to Nairobi enjoy great walking tours. These visitors pass near the bronze statue of founding president Jomo Kenyatta, parliament buildings and Khoja Mosque.

There are many areas with great potential in Nairobi. The problem is that these areas have not received enough light. The city is a testament of Kenya’s post-colonial history.

Tours across Nairobi city offers great experience which is more than what tourists experience from wildlife or beaches. This is a new way of making Nairobi to compete with Cape Town as well as Cairo in Egypt.

In London, visitors are escorted by tour guides. These guides are dressed like Sherlock Holmes and sleuth. There are also the themed tours in New York the visitors are exposed towards television shows.

The walking tours are said to be very important in opening up historic sites within the city. The visitors are also very beneficial to the restaurants as well as bars located within the city which is occupied by over three million people.

Nairobi is famous for its sanctuaries where you can observe the elephants and giraffe. These animals attract many people. Some people just visit the former home of Karen Blixen.

The Kenyan parliament is made up of great architecture. The former US embassy that was bombed in 1998 is another tourist attraction in the Kenyan Capital city. The presence of tourists in the city makes it possible for people to exchange cultural ideas in the world.

Over 34 million visitors are said to have visited the Sub-Saharan Africa countries in 2012 alone. This was over 5 per cent increase from the number witnessed in 2011. This was a great driver of economic growth in the region. Africans spend a large amount of their income on international travel. Nigerians spent $6 billion on traveling to other countries. This was a great increase from $1 billion in 2005.

There is an efficient connection between African cities these days. 

A consultancy group called W-Hospitality approximates that about 21,000 new hotel rooms will be constructed in Sub-A-Saharan Africa countries.  These are large business hotels which serve executives involved in regional trade. Business men are moving on business trips from one city to another. 

South Africa has a reputation of being a heavyweight in offering holiday packages in the region. This is attributed to the excellent transport facilities constructed in preparation for 2010 soccer World Cup games. 

Africa is a unique continent when it comes to diversification of tourism products. Tourists arrive in African cities to sample the beautiful scenery, cities with historic sites and sandy beaches at the coast.

The revenues generated from tourism are used to beautify the cities. This is termed as refurbishment. The locals are also getting business opportunities by running tour companies. There are some tour guides who take tourists around the largest slums in Africa, Kibera. This was copied by the trips which are offered by tour guides in Cape Town ghetto.

The slum trips are very important in exposing the level of poverty in African cities. The tourists are in a position to connect these people to charities which help in raising the living standards of the people.

The tourism industry has been noted to be changing from wildlife to humans. There are some tourists who visit the slums and not a single game park. These new type of tourists are interested in seeing the culture, markets, villages or slums and nothing more. Some of these visitors do not eat in hotels; they prefer eating nyama choma, ugali and other local foods in small cafes. They want to experience the African way of life.

The 5 Popular Tourist Attractions in Kenya

 By Geoffrey Kerosi 

We all understand that Kenya is very famous for its popular tourist attractions. There are plenty of savanna safaris in the country. When you are in Kenya, you experience a contrast of many things. There is the forests, alpine snows, diversity of culture in the metropolis of Nairobi and the freshness of lakes. 

Many people consider Kenya to be a special place within the East African region. This is majorly because there are many popular tourist attractions in the country. Here you will experience the trekking of Mount Kenya, snorkeling in Malindi, ballooning over the Maasai Mara as well as sunbathing on the beaches of the Indian Ocean. The leading tourist sites are as explained below: 

1.    Nairobi National Park

This is a national park which is situated along Langata Road and it is only 30 minutes drive from city centre of Nairobi. The wildlife is separated with an electric fence from the metropolis. When you are exploring the park, you can be in a position to see the skyscrapers of Nairobi.  The park is relatively small and very close to the city. Despite that, the park is a home to a large number of wild animals.  There are zebras and wildebeests in the park. The park is a home to one of the leading sanctuaries for rhinoceros in Africa. 

2.    Malindi

This is one of the best places where you would like to be while at the coast of Kenya. It is a home to a large number of coral reefs as well as interesting beaches.  There are many activities that can keep one occupied for a long period of time. These include:

·         Deep-sea fishing

·         Water sports

·         Snorkeling

·         Surfing

Full protection is provided to the Malindi Marine National Park. That is why it has the finest beaches with colorful fish and clear water.  Visitors can reach Malindi via a domestic flight or using a highway that passes through Mombasa as well as Lamu.

3.    Mt Kenya

This is actually the highest mountain in Kenya. It takes the second position in terms of height in Africa. Just behind Mt. Kilimanjaro. Mt Kenya has a series of peaks which have snow at the peak. There are forests along the slopes of Mount Kenya.  The height of the mountain was measured to be 5199 meters.  Climbing the mountain poses a great challenge. Despite that, it is quite easy to climb the lower peaks in that series. 

4.    Lamu Island

Lamu Archipelago is a large part in which Lamu Island is found. This place has always managed to stay away from being interfered with by many activities of tourism taking place along the coast of Kenya. Lamu is actually the oldest town in Kenya’s history and it is one of the leading popular tourist attractions in the Coastal region. The town has maintained the charm associated with it over the centuries.  You will be impressed to find out that there are no roads leading to the island. It is accessible through footpaths and alleyways. That means that there are very few motor vehicles on the island. The residents are used to moving around the island using a boat or on foot. There are many donkeys to help in carrying luggage to the desired destinations.

5.    Hells Gate National park

The final popular tourist attraction site in Kenya is Hells Gate National Park. It is is described as a tiny park with a narrow break in the cliffs. It is said that it was once a tributary of a lake that existed in the prehistoric times.  That makes it a very unique park in Kenya. People are allowed to either walk or cycle around the park without the assistance of a tour guide. There are great basalt columns, steep cliffs and gorges. There is a wide variety of wild animals that considers the park as a home. There are lions, cheetahs and leopards to be seen at the park. These are some of the best tourist sites in Kenya. 


Contact the author on email: geoffrey.nyakundi13@gmail.com

Kenya Tourist Site: Maasai Market

By Geoffrey Kerosi

Market is one of the most popular tourist sites in Kenya today. When you travel to Kenya be sure to visit Maasai Markets to buy high quality items to take back home. There are four Maasai markets around the city. These are as listed below:

·         Supreme Court Parking Lot ( Opens on Saturdays)

·         Jeevanjee Gardens  ( opens on Tuesdays)

·         Yaya Centre (Opens on Sundays)

·         Village Market Parking Lot

The market is famous for its wide variety artifacts such as: carvings, Maasai shukas, paintings and masks from West Africa as well as Congo. After visiting other tourist sites, it is a good idea to sample the high quality portfolio of our local artists. These are the people who make Kenya one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa. 

 {Photo: Some of the items sold at Maasai Market}

The Maasai Market at Village Market aims at achieving a great shopping experience for all shoppers. The products sold at these markets are of a very high quality. They are made prepared by artisans who are highly qualified in their work. 

The tourists find great souvenirs to take back home. These are products which cannot be found somewhere else. They are quite unique to the shoppers. The artifacts are used in home and office decorations among other common uses. 

At the Maasai Markets, there are hundreds of traders who bring their products for sale at the market. These traders as well as shoppers are provided with a high level security. That means that there are no incidences of crime or insecurity at the market place. It is a serene environment. 

At the beginning of the Maasai Market trading, there was a communication problem. This resulted to the introduction of brokers for a brief time. When the Management of the markets noticed that, they started offering translation services. The brokers were therefore eliminated. 

Getting Space at the Market 

Getting space at the Maasai Market is quite simple.  This is a first-come first-serve basis. The fees for market space are paid on a monthly basis. This is usually a 1 year contract which can be renewed or just allowed to elapse at the end of that period. The Village Market Management has hired security guards to protect the traders and shoppers at the market. That means that there is tight security. The management also directs people to seek a special permit before they take pictures or interview the traders at the market. 

The management always has special arrangements with the tour operators. These are the companies that ferry people to the Maasai Market tourist site. That brings a lot of convenience for the tourists and the traders. Maasai Market is a one-stop for all souvenir needs. 

Pricing of Items

It is interesting to note that prices of various items at the market place are not fixed. Shoppers are allowed to bargain. That is the best way to get fair prices for drawings, paintings, jewellery, carvings and African Garments. All these items are hand-made by Kenyan artisans. This is real the home of the most beautiful African artifacts. 

The Artisans

The people who make the artifacts are highly qualified. Some of them have international reputation in their area of specialization. They are highly skilled in the production of batiks, painted bowls, leather picture frames and paintings. 

The Maasai Market is conveniently located at West Gate on Mwanzi Road which is off Ring Road in Westlands. Foreigners who travel to Kenya will find this to be a serene and safe location. The management has stationed a dance troupe at the gate to welcome the shoppers to one of the leading tourist sites in Kenya. 


Contact the author on email: geoffrey.nyakundi13@gmail.com