For many years now, the two key points of reference for Kenyan tourism have been Egypt and South Africa. For these are the two African countries which have for decades set the pace for all others, in reaping huge dividends from tourism revenues.
But it has been South Africa more than Egypt that Kenya has sought to emulate. Largely because Egypt (which in 2010 had about 15 million tourists visiting) is one of the unique places on earth, which other tourist destinations cannot hope to rival. The Egyptian pyramids, as well as the ancient artifacts in Egyptian museums, have long fascinated people from all over the world.
South Africa, on the other hand, has more or less what Kenya has: sunny sandy beaches, enchanting forests, and endless savannah plains, which are just the kind of “panoramic vistas” that a city-dwelling vacationer yearns to see. And, of course, plenty of “charismatic mega-fauna” – the kind of animals we refer to in Kenya as “the Big Five” (i.e. rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards and buffaloes).
And since South Africa gets about 5.0 million visitors each year, compared to Kenya’s roughly 1.5 million (a figure I personally suspect to be a little exaggerated) it was only natural that we look to the South African model for ideas on what should be done to expand our tourism sector, and create more jobs.
However, thanks to the attention we have been receiving recently from the Al-Shabaab suicide squads, we now actually have to shift our focus to Egyptian tourism. Not because we can hope to get 15 million visitors a year, but rather because Egypt too has had to deal with terrorism, and the impact that this poses to its tourism sector.
For, important as tourism is to Kenya, it is even more important to Egypt, with an estimated one in seven Egyptians depending on tourism for a living. Since Egypt has a population of about 87 million, that means about 12 million Egyptians are directly affected when tourism arrivals drop. And this drop has been precipitous in the recent years of political instability which have followed on the initial high hopes of the “Arab Spring” which began in December 2010.
Perhaps the most outrageous terrorist attack on tourists to ever take place was when Egyptian Islamist extremists massacred 62 people at Luxor in 1997, most of them, Swiss tourists.
But that was hardly the only time that Egypt has had to respond to terrorists dedicated to the destruction of its tourism sector. In February this year, terrorists bombed a bus full of South Korean tourists, killing four people.
So now that Kenya has also seen the deadly hand of terrorism stretch out to destroy a key economic sector, what can we learn from Egypt’s harrowing experience in dealing with the threat posed by extremists?
Based on Egypt’s response to the attacks by terrorists over the years, I would say that it boils down to just three things:
First, forget all this focus on “aggressive marketing” – no amount of marketing can overcome the regular reports of bombs going off in public places. Instead use that money to offer subsidized vacations for those who would otherwise not be able to afford a holiday in Kenya. Since a lot of tourism is from ‘repeat visitors’, those who come when you are offering rock-bottom discounts, will very likely return one day when you are charging much more. And the stories they take back home – of the relative safety despite the many travel advisories – are really the best marketing that you can do under these grim circumstances.
Second, focus on local tourists (including those who cannot really afford such holidays if you charge the full rate). Egypt, for example, at this time of ongoing civil strife, is relying mostly on visitors from the Arabian Gulf region, rather than those from the traditional Western European and North American markets.
Finally, plan for the long term. Right now we may seem to be under siege from the Al-Shabaab terrorists. But this is a war that Al-Shabaab cannot win in the long run. One way or another, the day will come when the story of Kenya’s tourism being badly hit by the threat of terrorist attacks will be history. And when that day comes, we need to be ready to make up for lost time.
But for the present, we have to accept that there is a limit to what can be done. For tourism and terrorism just don’t mix.
Kenya: Terrorism, Tourism Industry Don't Mix
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