Hospitality and Tourism Industry for Kenya - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theHospitality and Tourism Industry for Kenya. Answer: Introduction Kenya is a spectacularly exquisite beauty, one that is an ultimate destination for tourists, providing travelers from all over the globe with a window directly into the heart of Africa. Due to its unique location close to the equator, Kenyas major tourism magical delights lie in the fact that an astounding variety of unique climates and landscapes, flora, fauna, rich cultures from the communities as well as being home to water sports are all encompassed into the country. In this essay, the tourism industry in Kenya will be analyzed as well as the size of the industry (Christie et al., 2013, p.230). This is in conjunction with an analysis of the emerging trends in Kenyas tourism industry as well as the impacts or influences that Kenyas tourism sector has on other industries. The richness of Kenyas tourist destinations such as the diverse wildlife as well as the spectacular landscapes is one that makes Kenya part of the top tourist destinations on a global scale. Aside from this, this essay will largely focus on the employment opportunities created by the tourism industry in Kenya. The Size of Kenyas Tourism Sector The sector of tourism has the second position in the countrys foreign exchange, following agriculture. It is maintained by the Kenya Tourism Board. It is also the second largest industrial sector in terms of size and importance, responsible for 14% of Kenyas GDP and 12% of the total employment in Kenya. The Kenya tourism sector in 2010, recorded the highest tourist arrival numbers ever at 1,265,136 tourists, as at December 31. In comparison the tourist arrivals in the previous year, this was a positive growth of 15.4 percent. During this period, tourism sector earned a total of KSH 97.9 billion, which was significantly 32.9 percent increase, as compared to KES 73.7 billion earned in the previous year. However, in the few following years, the tourist arrivals started plummeting and this has since been attributed to security concerns and the infamous Ebola scare. Emerging Trends in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry In Kenya, tourism is presenting diversely unique trends especially with the steady improvements in the hospitality sector. Ecotourism is one major trend that has surfaced and is rapidly gaining root in the tourism structure in Kenya. According to Kenya Ecotourism Tours, Kenya is considered as one of the most dynamic countries in Africa in the ecotourism industry. Ecotourism refers to responsible travels to natural environs, which involves supporting the fauna, flora as well as the local economy. In Kenya, the evolution of this kind of tourism has brought along Flora which is a game viewing expedition where tourists do not hunt the animals but view them on safaris, which are a major reason as to why tourists flock the country. The safaris enable the participants to familiarize and understand the natives, natural lifestyle and their cultures. Besides, Fauna is a Kenyan ecotourism attraction which involves viewing of natural vegetation, like trees and flowers which are part of the count rys agricultural industry. It is also the major contributor to the GDP of Kenya, (UKEssays, n.d.). In the Kenyan ecotourism industry, the country has formed an outreach programme known as Ecotourism Kenyas Community Outreach programme, which offers bespoke services for community groups with the goal of integrating them into the conventional tourism in Kenya. Employment Opportunities in the Kenyan Tourism Industry According to The East African newspaper, Kenyas tourism industry is arguably an efficient generator of employment, both direct and indirect. In the year 2011, the total number of employees, employed directly in Kenyas tourism industry was at an outstanding 247,300 employees. The report written in The East African newspaper further stated that tourism was directly or indirectly accountable for one in every 20 jobs in Kenya by the year 2011. Through the intervention of The World Bank in matters funding, it was estimated that in the following year, Kenyas total workforce in the tourism sector would rise to 272,500 employees, a goal that was achieved less than a year afterwards, (Kamau, 2009, p. 38). The tourism sector in Kenya provides direct employment opportunities to individuals working in the fields as tour guides and also provides such to those working in the official dockets such as in tourism managerial positions. However, Kenyas tourism sector also provides indirect jobs in acti vities such as marketing agencies, construction companies which build tourist facilities and maintain them, as well as necessary infrastructure, restaurant suppliers, accounting services and various handicraft producers, to mention but a few. The Future Predictions for the Kenyan Tourism Industry The Kenyan tourism sectors potential is expected to get higher, seeing to it that the sector is globally projected to be a chief future international service industry. It is expected that the countrys tourism industry will further up the diverse nature of its products from the local beach and safaris, to formulate newer ways of generating income by transforming the experience into a more attractive one, to a large scale cross-selection of tourists globally. Other future predictions for the Kenyan tourism industry are that the number of tourist arrivals will rapidly rise again, due to the enhanced security in the country and the fruitful eradication and prevention of deadly disease viruses. All these advancements in this sector mean that more workforce in the industry will be required, hence creating more job opportunities for people doing tourism and hospitality related careers. Advancement in the tourism sector will further impact other industries that are directly affected by the i ndustry, such as hospitality industry, trade industry as well as the entertainment industry. Today, the tourism, hospitality and events sectors are three of the foremost sectors of Kenyas economy (Ryan Gu, 2011, p.191). They provide and improve balance of payments and income generation as well as employment opportunities to a large population of the country patriots, thus assisting in the endeavor to eradicate unemployment in Kenya. The tourism sector in Kenya can also be seen as one that nurtures socio-cultural amplification of individuals, as well as empowering women and disabled communities through the creation of favorable job opportunities (Fang, Law, 2016, p.264). Reference Ryan, C., Gu, H. (2011). The allure of the post-modern - A response to Robert Shepherd. Tourism Management Review, vol. 32, no. 1, pp, 191-192. Kamau, S. (2009). Tourism to create one million jobs in Kenya vol. 1, pp. 38 41. Conferences. (2002). Journal of Hospitality Tourism Research, 26(4), pp.435-435. UKEssays. (n.d.). Assessing Trends in Kenyan Hospitality and Travel Industries Tourism Essay. [online] Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/tourism/assessing-trends-in-kenyan-hospitality-and-travel-industries-tourism-essay.php [Accessed 11 May 2017]. Weaver, D.B., 2001. Ecotourism in the context of other tourism types. The encyclopedia of ecotourism, pp.73-83. Fang, B., Ye, Q. Law, R., 2016. Effect of sharing economy on tourism industry employment, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 3, no. 3, pp.264-267. Christie, I., Christie, I.T., Fernandes, E., Messerli, H. Twining-Ward, L., 2014. Tourism in Africa: Harnessing tourism for growth and improved livelihoods, World Bank Publications, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 230-247