Catalyzing Sustainable Tourism Development
Tourism’s main comparative advantage over other sectors is that visitor expenditures have a “flow-through” or catalytic effect across the economy in terms of productive capacity and employment creation. When managed properly, tourism can generate quality jobs and offer incentives for environmental conservation, creating a sustainable path to the development of more inclusive and resilient economies.
By providing an economic base for a region whose only development options are its cultural and natural resources, tourism development can be a key tool in promoting the economic competitiveness and social development of a region.
During the construction phase of tourist accommodation and services, tourism creates jobs in that sector.
Investment in accommodation can generate demand locally for furniture and furnishings, and even for capital equipment.
Tourism generates demand for the consumption of local products at restaurants, accommodations and food markets.
Tourism generates demand for local transport as well as handicrafts and goods and services of the informal sector.
Explore Innovation Platform Themes
01.
Culture & Heritage Tourism.
Theme Overview:
Cultural and Heritage Tourism represents an under-developed, under-resourced, and under-marketed segment of the Kenyan tourism sector. With 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 42 cultures and countless other heritage tourism products, Culture & Heritage tourism represents an SDA with outstanding socio-economic potential.
02.
Conservancy-centered tourism.
Theme Overview:
Changing climate patterns and loss of space is threatening Kenya’s wildlife heritage. Conservancies offer hope for mitigating these negative impacts. Conservancy-centered tourism is about aligning public wildlife conservation objectives with the private income incentives of local communities. This means actively working with landowners and communities to sustainably conserve and manage wildlife and their habitat outside state-protected areas.
03.
Tourism Service Platforms.
Theme Overview:
Tourism’s microeconomic competitiveness is closely related to the level of development in related and supporting industries. Platforms which aggregate service providers democratize market access for service providers and bring more transparency for consumers creates a win-win dynamic improving the overall competitiveness of the industry.
