Sports Tourism, Kenya
When I first came to Kenya, in August 1990, I was a backpacker on a shoestring budget. At midcourse between Cape-town and Cairo, I got accommodation at the New Kenya Lodge in River Road for US$ 2.50. After spending two nights there, I continued to Garissa and Liboi, heading to Somalia.
In 1994, I returned with my wife, and in downtown Nairobi, urban chaos and poverty struck her so much, that she was reluctant to come back 15 years later, when I was offered a job.
Today, I enjoy the full beauty of Kenya with my family, and we all agree—my wife included!—that this is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. If you created an index of "natural beauty per square-kilometer" Kenya would probably come up on top of the list. Starting from Nairobi, within a few hours of driving, you enjoy the most amazing nature: the Masai Mara, Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya, and Lake Victoria, are all within reach. Nairobi is surprisingly pleasant, with one of the best climates in the world: it is one of the few cities where you neither need air-conditioning nor heating—all year long (well, it will soon get “cold” in July but the fireplace will help).
But Kenya’s beauty is not matched by its position in the world of tourism. This should really be one of the top tourist destinations in the World. Instead, Kenya is losing ground to many of its peers. As in many other fields (not least football), Kenya keeps punching below its weight. Over the last 15 years, Kenya’s tourism appears to have stagnated cozily in its comfort zone, while other countries have been taking off. In 2007, Kenya attracted some 1.5 million tourists, but arrivals dropped sharply in 2008, following the post-election violence, and it took three years for the country to recover. By contrast, Thailand and Egypt are attracting respectively 16 and 14 million visitors. Despite floods and political upheavals, these numbers have been growing steadily. Even Singapore, a city with no mountains or animals (outside of Singapore zoo) attracts more than 9 million visitors each year. Munich, which is my home-town, attracts almost 7 million visitors during the two weeks of the Beer Festival. If we can attract millions of tourists with beer and party alone, Kenya should easily meet this target.
Figure - How Egypt and Thailand have been outperforming Kenya
Mar 04, 2007 by Navaneetha priya | Posted in Magazines
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