Tourism refers to the movement of people around a country to enjoy the natural scenery. The natural scenery in this case refer to landmarks, landscapes, locations or wild animals that are otherwise rarely spotted in the areas in which these people live. People who engage in tourism are known as tourists and they do so with the aim of having leisure or for business related purposes. In a more refined definition (given by the World Tourism Organization); a tourist is anybody who visits another country and stays there for more than 24 hours, be it for leisure or official functions.
Tourism in Kenya is a well defined sector that plays a big role in generating revenue. There are a number of attraction sites that make Kenya qualify as a tourist destination. Among them are the national parks, that host a number of different wild animals, the Indian Ocean that borders the country to the south eastern part as well as the numerous mountains, valleys and lakes. In addition, tourism in Kenya is seen to be boosted by the favorable weather conditions that the country seems to enjoy almost throughout the year. The equator also passes through the country and many tourists are known to be attracted by this factor. Many come to Kenya just to reach this area (mostly around Nanyuki) and have a feel of this great phenomenon.
As it is now, tourism in Kenya is marked with a lot of achievements. To begin with, and as earlier mentioned, tourism has brought a lot of foreign currency into the country and has also promoted good international relations between Kenya and other foreign countries. As a result, business between Kenya and other countries has been established. Additionally, tourism in itself has promoted other sectors of the economy. For example, there are sectors that have associated themselves with tourism and have given rise to ecotourism, agro-tourism and cultural tourism.
However, tourism in Kenya is not without its share of challenges and negative impacts. To begin with, it has brought about a lot of westernization to the point that Kenyans have basically lost touch with their indigenous cultures. In addition, it has promoted cross generational sex and prostitution, which is marked by very young girls having sex with very old men visitors in return for financial or material favors, especially in the coastal region. The practice is now spreading to the rest of the country at an alarming rate.
