Domestic Tourism in Kenya A Tool for Sustainability amid Global Crisis

Abstract

Domestic tourism has proven to be an important driver of tourism industry globally. In Kenya, tourism industry is a critical economic pillar. Empirical evidence reveals that domestic tourism accounts for a huge amount of travel and tourism spending. Globally, domestic tourism has equally generated many employment opportunities and contributed to the overall economic growth. While seasonality is a common phenomenon in the travel industry, domestic tourism has been a useful tool to ameliorate the negative impacts of seasonality. The recent global health pandemic (Covid-19) has greatly affected international tourism � a market that many tourism destinations (such as Kenya) depend on. At the height of Covid -19, followed the ban on international flights to Kenya, the country saw a sharp drop in international arrivals (from 1.5 million 2019 to 0.4 million at the end of 2020). This paper seeks to put into perspective the role of domestic tourism amid such crises, in sustaining tourism related businesses in Kenya. A desktop review was adopted to establish how domestic tourism has and is supporting the tourism sector. The review questions included the following: (i) what is the potential of domestic tourism in Kenya. (ii) What are the current trends of domestic tourism in Kenya, (iii) what are the constraints limiting the uptake of tourism in Kenya? Findings of the review revealed that domestic tourism is an important niche market that has played a critical role during Covid-19 pandemic and should never be underestimated. Among the constraints identified were lack of awareness, and price related constraints. Some of the popular trends in domestic tourism in Kenya includes; increase in day trips/excursions, seaside resort tourism, and visit to game parks/reserves and sightseeing. These findings are key in guiding tourism policy development and implementations to focus on domestic tourism.