New Market Study Published: Kenya Tourism Report Q3 2013

The Kenya Tourism Report examines the significant long-term potential being offered by the local tourism industry, but also flags up the fact that the nation still needs to invest heavily to improve infrastructure and service standards across the industry.

In 2012, Kenya welcomed a total of 1,786,440 tourists, representing a 2.0% decline on 2011's performance, according to figures released in April 2013 by Kenya's Ministry of Tourism. Estimated tourist receipts stood at US$1.88bn, representing a 1.67% drop on the US$1.91bn earned in 2011.

Over the past quarter, BMI has become more optimistic about the outlook for Kenyan tourism over 2013-2017. This reflects the mostly peaceful holding of presidential and legislative elections in March 2013, which were won by new President Uhuru Kenyatta. Indeed, BMI's Country Risk team now believes that the Kenyan economy can expand by 5.7% in 2013 and by more than 6.0% in the years thereafter, thanks to a post-election boost in confidence and a healthy macroeconomic climate. Private consumption and investment are likely to perform particularly well. This conducive macroeconomic and political climate should attract additional numbers of global hotel chains to Kenya in addition to those already present in the African nation.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/617066_kenya_tourism_report_q3_2013.aspx?afid=301

For 2013, BMI forecasts arrivals of 1.84mn, rising to 2.1mn by 2017.

In terms of key source markets for inbound tourism, BMI expects the UK and US to remain key contributors of tourists to Kenya. We also expect the UAE to send greater numbers of tourists to Kenya, as the two countries develop further business and cultural ties. We also believe that there will continue to be strong growth in arrivals from new markets such as India and China, which will more than offset declines in arrivals from traditional source markets, such as France.

Many commentators believe that Uhuru Kenyatta's accession to the Kenyan presidency should be beneficial to the country's tourism industry. The Kenyatta family reportedly owns the leading Heritage Hotels chain - which manages seven properties across the nation, covering beach resorts and safari camps - and Kenyatta himself was previously chairman of the Kenyan Tourism Board at the turn of the millennium.

Certainly, BMI believes that Kenyatta's election should be a positive for the tourism industry, which is the third-biggest foreign exchange earner for the nation behind tea exports and remittances from Kenyans living abroad. Underlining the importance of tourism to his government, Kenyatta has appointed a prominent economist, Phyllis Chepkoskei Kandie, to the role of Minister of Tourism.

About Fast Market Research

Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.

For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

You may also be interested in these related reports:

- Thailand Tourism Report Q3 2013
- Chile Tourism Report Q3 2013
- Brazil Tourism Report Q3 2013
- Japan Tourism Report Q3 2013
- India Tourism Report Q3 2013