Discussion Paper No. 19 of 2002 on Impact of Tourism on Environment in Kenya: Status and Policy

Abstract

Tourism is a leading economic activity in Kenya, being the third largest foreign exchange earner after tea and horticulture. Since the 1990s, particularly the second half of the decade, Kenya’s tourism industry has faced enormous challenges, including declines in per capita spending, average length of stay, hotel occupancy rates, hotel room rates and service quality. Environmental degradation and deterioration in the quality of tourism products due to mass tourism are some of the factors that have contributed to this decline. Despite the country’s policy advocating spatial distribution of tourists in the country, tourism marketing has continued to focus on the traditional attractions, thereby perpetuating concentration. This paper looks at how tourism has affected the environment in Kenya and what is being done about it. Using existing literature and results of discussions with 17 industry players, the study found evidence, though most of it qualitative, of environmental impacts. The impacts are most severe in crowded and overdeveloped tourist attractions. At the coast, which accounts for close to 60% of the country’s total bed-nights, beaches have been seriously degraded and polluted, coral reefs and mangrove forests substantially destroyed and marine species adversely affected. Too many hotels and other tourist facilities have been developed without regard to carrying capacity limits. In game parks, which are the prime motivation for 70–80% of all tourists visiting the country, vegetation has been degraded, wildlife behaviour disrupted, pollution increased, and resources have generally been overutilized...