From April monthly report: Mr Richard Corcoran, MD of Liberty Africa Safaris sparked off a debate on factors affecting tourism in a letter to Travel News. Many of his points mirrored our sentiments – maybe not as succinctly put, but articulated all the same, in recent monthly reports. The bottom line: tourism is going through its worst downturn in recent years, the decline is at least as great as after the post election violence in 2007. However, the downturn will continue for much longer – at least through 2014 and into 2015, or until the Government addresses the fundamental issues: • Corruption and insecurity go hand-in-hand – one of the major reasons for insecurity is the corruption surrounding immigration and the security services. • Cost – Kenya is now an extremely expensive destination and tourists are going to destinations with better security, services and infrastructure, and excellent beaches and game parks – at a fraction of the price. Sadly, conservation cannot be de-linked from tourism. A 30% downturn in tourism translates to a 30% decline in Park revenue – crucial in protecting our biodiversity, environment and wildlife. It is a vicious cycle – less revenue means fewer resources to protect Kenya’s wildlife, this in turn leads to a diminished value on wildlife and more competition for resources; resulting in further loss of wildlife, which will in turn lead to fewer tourists.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 07:06:39 +0000
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