KENYAN DOMESTIC TOURISM -Way Forward.....

Kenya has for the longest time ever marketed itself as a safari haven and more often than not we have overplayed our white sandy beaches theme.It is time we repackaged our tourism industry to offer to both the domestic and foreign market more variety and choice as people are becoming more selective in their choice of holiday destinations.

The Kenya Tourism Board is organizing the 2010 tourism fair and on its advert that was in the Sunday paper there were over 80 exhibitors listed from the region.While appreciating the work that has gone to make this event a success there is a lot more that the board needs to do to market the country as a unique destination.

As an event organizer who handles a variety of clients there are a lot of gaps that i have found that if taken care of would go a long way towards promoting the domestic tourism market.


Lack of information:Most times the first place one goes to when looking for information nowadays is the internet but our local hotel industry hasn't realized that.While it is true that you cannot always make your website as comprehensive as possible,there are some vital things that i have found lacking in the local hotel industry.Just type in local hotel names on search engines and more often than not you are going to end up at a travel agent site.Wile this may have been useful awhile back,what happens when people like me who are independent organizers or planners need to contact these said hotels for inquiries,why do we need to go through a travel agent.It is time players in the industry designed websites that will be able to provide first hand knowledge on their services and products.With all the talk on e tourism and e commerce going on why cant the board provide information on the content that could be provided on these sites for both local and international tourists.


Customer experiences:The hotel industry needs to take some lessons from Safaricom.This company that has broken all records in terms of revenue and success,has always insisted the customer is first and this has been the key to their success and most of their innovations -Mpesa being the best example.A month ago i was looking for a place for a Kenyan couple to spend their honeymoon and i settled on a lodge in the Rift Valley that has a really scenic view,when i called them for a reservation and requested if they could provide a bottle of wine for the couple,i was met with the statement that they don't provide anything of the sort but they would give them a glass of wine as per my request.I was flabbergasted to say the least because with this kind of attitude how do we expect to have more Kenyans spending their honeymoons within the country instead of taking off to Seychelles,Egypt,Paris or any other destination,yet we have so much scenery,wildlife and experiences to offer.Great customer experiences will always bring customers back because there is no better way of advertising than by word of mouth,a great experience at your hotel/lodge/camp and that customer will be singing your praises to the high heavens.

Going local:Sometimes some staff at hotels are still saddled with the colonial mentality that the color of your skin determines how fat your wallet is.While this may have been the case some decades back things have changed in the last 10 years,at the moment we have younger C.E.O S than 20 years ago.Young men and women in their late twenties and early thirties who are running their own companies or who are senior managers of multinationals and drive fuel guzzlers and fat checks to boot.It is time we repackaged our destinations for local tourists.It is also necessary for hotels to provide rates for local tourists because more often than not you either have to call(after a gruelling search for the hotel phone numbers) or send and email to a travel agent who will then forward it to the hotel before you get an answer a after a day or two.

Finally in spirit of regional integration d cooperation we need to have the tourism bodies in the member countries of the east African common market get their heads together and come up with a way by which citizens from each of these countries are encouraged to tour this states.The famous Saint Augustine said that “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”let these countries encourage their citizens to travel the region to learn,explore and build relationships.

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS-Have a Block Party.

“Better a near neighbor than a distant cousin.” Italian Proverb

More often than not we rarely take time out of our schedules to get to know our neighbors.That is unless you have small children and a ball has occasionally strayed into the neighbors compound and you have had to apologize as you went to pick it up for your little tot.But children are great teachers sometimes,watching my daughter i am amazed at how anti social adults are,she makes friends so easily with children her gae and before you know it she will be chatting away with her new friend like they have known each other for eons.As for me the mum that i am and living by the adage of not talking to strangers i take a while to talk to strangers.

Nowadays more and more people are living in gated compounds or apartments yet they may not even know the name of their next door neighbor.Yet you may be surprised that if these two families have children ,the kids play together when the parents are out.While it may be said people are too busy with careers or businesses to socialize, we all know that Kenyans are serious party goers and you just have to look at the booming bar businesses to know Kenyans know how to unwind at the end of a busy week or even in the middle of one.


Having a block party in your court or apartment building is a fantastic way to get to know your neighbors,voice concerns that may be troubling you as a neighborhood and generally have a good time with people in your block.You never know , a good neighbor may even save your life at one point.

The key to having a successful party is to get your neighbors involved and to plan it.Make sure there are activities for everyone from kids to adults to get involved in.Plan on how to provide for the meals and drinks it is said there no better way to know someone by sharing a meal together).You could decide to have a pot luck or even have houses bring finger foods for the event.Remember to get a license from NEMA if you plan to play music.

Relax,walk around,talk to as many of your neighbors as you can and have a blast!