Tourism is now the mainstay of the Kenyan economy. In fact it has overtaken coffee export in earning valuable foreign exchange. It has become an industry that renders large profits and is the main source of foreign exchange. Tourism's contribution to GDP of 12% makes it the third most important productive sector.
Kenya receives one million tourists each year, with a hotel capacity above 9 million beds. Tourism in Kenya is primarily based on wildlife and authorities have launched various projects aimed at the conservation of wildlife against its natural enemies: poaching and illegal traffic of animal species. However, the development of tourism infrastructures in other African countries, over the years has become a threat to the health of Kenya's tourist sector. The Kenyan government is trying hard to stem this trend by means of more intensive capital investments in communication and hotel infrastructure.
International tourism is extremely sensitive to political and social instability. Alternatives are many and no tourist would ever risk his or her hard earned vacation if there is a shadow of doubt about security. Over the past years, tourism abandoned Kenya due to ethnic riots, the bombing of the US Embassy in 1998 and the upswing of crime in the cities and tourist areas.
However from 1999 the sector has recovered the rising trend and good results are forecasted for the future.
