reducing development gap - tourism (kenya)

• Kenya attracts tourists because of its culture, safari wildlife, warm climate & unspoilt scenery.
• Kenyan government has attempted to boost tourism:

  • Visa fees for adults were cut by 50% in 2009 & were scrapped for children under 16
  • Landing fees at airports on the Kenyan coast were dropped for charter airlines
• Tourism in Kenya has increased from almost 1 million visitors a year before the 2000s to approximately 1.4 million today.
• Tourism directly contributes nearly 5% of Kenya's GDP & since 2000, Kenya's HDI value has increased from 0.45 to 0.6.
• Over 1 million people are directly/ indirectly employed by the tourism industry - almost 10% of all employment in Kenya.
• Investments in transport have also benefited local people e.g. the Madaraka Express railway which links Kenya's capital to the coast has created jobs, halved journey times & made it cheaper to travel.
• Has not been completely successful...

  • Only a small proportion of the money earned goes to locals & the rest goes to big companies, often based in HICs
  • Some Maasai communities have been forced off their land to create national parks & game reserves
  • Tourist numbers have fluctuated in recent years, especially following terrorist attacks in Kenya.