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World Tourism Day in Kenya: 2014




World Tourism Day is commemorated annually on September 27. Its idea was conceived at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) general assembly in Spain in 1979.The 2014 global host is Mexico in the city of Guadalajara, and the theme for this year is “Tourism and Community Development.”

Although it is called World Tourism Day (WTD) in most countries it is a celebration with week-long activities. Kenya has celebrated WTD for over 30 years, and this year the focus is promoting tourism to Kenya and among Kenyans – international and domestic travel. Therefore community-based tourism – in which local people have a stake in ownership, management, and benefits from tourism – is a key theme for Kenya.

The 2013 World Economic Forum survey on global tourism and travel competitiveness recognized Kenya as a leading tourism destination and the location for some of the best hotels, parks, spas and lodges in the world. However, with the attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall a year ago, Kenya’s tourism industry has slumped a bit. In the first six months of 2014 there were 428,233 tourists (down from 495,660 in the same period in 2013) according to Saturday Nation (September 27, 2014). With the establishment of the Tourism Recovery Task Force under the Ministry of East Africa Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, efforts commencing from next month will aim to capture “digitally conscious consumers” – to rebrand Kenya tourism.

Kenya has a lot going for it, such as its 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Mt. Kenya National Park and Forest (listed in 1997), Lake Turkana National Parks (listed in 1997), Lamu Old Town (listed in 2001), the Mijikenda Kaya Forests (listed in 2008), Fort Jesus site in Mombasa (listed in 2011), and the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (listed in 2011). In addition, there are 18 other sites in Kenya on the tentative list for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Apart from these sites there is an amazing diversity of wildlife. This includes the “big five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros – and other wildlife, such a vast variety of birds. The annual Mara wildebeest migration, called the 8th wonder of the modern world, occurs from June when around 1.3 million wildebeest gather in the Serengeti to calve and then slowly merge into a single herd to migrate north at the first scent of rain. The volume and variety of animals at that time is an incredible sight.












MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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