Kenyan Tourism Begins Recovery From Pandemic with Local Travel

Kenya's tourism industry has started to recover after losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said on January 19. It said that travel from locals increased while prices were lower. The number of foreign visitors, however, is still well below pre-pandemic levels.

The tourism industry is usually one of the East African nation's top sources of foreign exchange, or foreign money. The Kenyan government expects the industry to earn $1.5 billion this year. That is an increase of 18.5 percent from last year.

George Gitonga is the acting¹ chief executive of the state-run Tourism Research Institute. He told Reuters after the numbers were released, "The recovery seems to have begun."

Officials said that earnings² in tourism decreased to $781 million in 2020. This was caused by the restriction³ of movement by governments around the world to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It included the closure of air spaces, or ways for flights to enter a country.

Tourism minister, Najib Balala, said earnings recovered to $1.29 billion last year. He added that the number of hotel nights occupied by local Kenyan travelers doubled during this period.

Local resorts normally direct their marketing⁴ efforts toward foreign tourists. However, they were forced to turn those efforts toward the local Kenyan market during the pandemic.

Foreign visitor numbers are still greatly lower than pre-pandemic levels. The number of foreign visitors in 2021 was around 870,000 compared to 2 million in 2019. They are predicted to reach 1.03 million this year.

The drop in earnings in the industry from foreign tourists has partly caused a great decrease in value for the local currency, the Kenyan shilling. It is trading at all-time lows against the dollar.

Gitonga said this year's predictions for the industry's performance depends on the continuation of world efforts to vaccinate⁵ people against COVID-19. And, he added, it also depends on continued marketing efforts into traditional markets like Britain, and new ones in Asia.

Popular tourism activities in Kenya include safaris⁷ in the Maasai Mara, a national park, and other wildlife areas to holidays on Indian Ocean beaches. Kenya's tourism industry is about 10 percent of its economic output and employs over 2 million people.

The tourism ministry⁸ said the industry lost nearly 1.2 million jobs after the beginning of the pandemic. But, it has started to gain back some of those loses during a possible recovery.

Balala said, "Most of the jobs have come back from October 2021."

Words in This Story

tourism – n. the business of providing hotels, restaurants, or entertainment for people who are traveling

resort – n. a place where people go for vacations

safari⁶ – n. a journey to see or hunt animals especially in Africa

beach – n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

6 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

7 safaris   

n.游猎，陆路旅行（尤指在东非或中非）( safari的名词复数 )；类似游猎的假日旅行

参考例句：

• I've had too many safaris with rich dentists to listen to any more suicidal ideas. 我已经带过太多有钱牙科医生的狩猎队，我不能再听取任何自杀性建议了。 来自电影对白
• Camel diving safaris are a popular attraction in South Sinai. 骆驼的潜水之旅是南西奈一个受欢迎的景观。 来自互联网

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。