The document summarizes a presentation by Dr. Ray' Mutinda on the archaeological and colonial dimensions of Kenya's tourism industry. The presentation traced how archaeotourism and Kenya's colonial history have influenced the development of its tourism sector. Key points included how archaeological sites and colonial heritage are integrated into Kenya's diverse tourism products and attractions, and have helped drive the growth of the industry since the colonial period.

1. “TRACING THE ROOTS OF KENYA’S TOURISM:
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND COLONIAL
DIMENSION”
PRESENTED BY:
Dr. Ray’ Mutinda, Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Presented during the Australian Archaeological Association Annual conference 2020
held December 07-09 (Panel: Archaeology, Colonialism, and Tourism in Africa and

2. PRESENTATIO
N OUTLINE
• Overview of Archaetourism
• Kenya’s tourism: An archaeological and colonization heritage
• Conclusion

3. Overview of
Archaeotouris
m
• Archaeological sites have great social, cultural, and economic
value. Archaeological sites are integral parts of regional
histories, heritages, and identities. They are also often major
tourist attractions.
• This has resulted in Archaeotourism or Archaeological tourism,
a form of cultural tourism in which archaeological resources
become attractions for tourists and/or when the main
motivation of the trip is the visit to the archaeological zones.
• This type of tourism aims to promote public interest in
archaeology and the conservation of historical sites.
• Archaeological tourism can include all products associated with
public archaeological promotion, including visits to
archaeological sites, museums, interpretation centers,
reenactments of historical occurrences, and the rediscovery of
indigenous products, festivals, or theaters.

4. Overview of
Archaeotourism-
cont’d
• Archaeological tourism has influenced the creation of products of
all kinds to bring archaeology to visitors.
• This has been driven by such initiatives as
recognition of archaeological sites as UNESCO World Heritage
Sites,
thematic routes,
shows and
celebrations of historical recreation,
gastronomic tours of ancient times, or
promotion of stay in hotels that preserve archaeological
remains in their interior.
Other notable initiatives include been light‐shows in the
archaeological sites as is the case in destinations like Egypt
and Mexico

5. Overview of
Archaeotourism-
cont’d
NOTE
despite the importance of archaeology to tourism, it is
difficult to find tourists who travel only for archaeological
reasons.
Visits to archaeological sites and museums are usually
integrated into the trip as an important component in
many tourist destinations, but they are not the only
reason for traveling.
Other frequent components in tourist trips include
gastronomy, landscape, the attractions of contemporary
culture, and a more generalized historical interest

6. Tourism thus provides an avenue to
communicate the outstanding value of
heritage and an opportunity hear the voices
and experience the lives of the heritage
owners

7. KENYA’S TOURISM: An Archaeological and
Colonization Heritage Perspective

8. Tourism is
significant to
Kenya’s
economy...
•10% of GDP, almost the same size as the banking
sector
•2nd largest source of foreign exchange revenue
following agriculture
• Larger than mining, chemicals, manufacturing and
automotive manufacturing combined
• Directly supports nearly, 3 times as many jobs as the
banking sector and more than twice as many jobs as the
financial services in Kenya.

9. International arrivals
and tourism receipts in
Kenya 2010-2019 1606.1
1822.9
1710.8
1519.6
1350.4
1459.5
1666
1778.4
2027.7 2035.4
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Earnings (Ksh Billions) Arrivals '000

10. Kenya boasts of a rich mix of tourism products
including:
• African wildlife savanna,
• White sand beaches,
• Culture and heritage
• MICE product,
• Mountain and dessert adventure
• …and many others.
SEA- SAFARI- SNOWCAPPED MOUNTAINS-
DESERT
All in one country!
TRUL
Y

11. Underlying Kenya’s product
portfolio is a rich heritage
founded on archaeology and
colonial history.
Out of the 20 gazetted Museums
in Kenya, eleven (11) are
connected to archaeology and
colonial history
The Nairobi
National Museum
Offers a one stop for visitors to sample the country’s rich heritage both for
education and leisure.
Gede ruins The remains of a Swahili town, that traces its origin in the twelfth century
but was rebuilt with new town walls in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Tambach Heritage
Town Exhibition
Established in 1920s as a British colonial center of administering Elgeyo
and Marakwet people.
Lamu Museums Located in the Lamu Archipelago on the N. Coast, one of country’s
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Kariandusi
archaeological site
Amongst the first discoveries of Lower Paleolithic sites in East Africa.
Dating back between 700,000 to 1 million years old, Kariandusi is possibly
the first Acheulian site to have been found in Situ in East Africa.
Fort Jesus Built by the Portuguese in 1593 to secure the safety of Portuguese living
on the East Coast of Africa. Between 1837 and 1895, the Fort was used
as barracks for colonial British soldiers.
Hyrax Hill Museum Located within Nakuru town, Hyrax Hill Museum depicts the lifestyle of
seasonal settlement by prehistoric people at least 3,000 years old.
Kitale Museum colonial heritage
Kapenguria colonial heritage
Nyeri Museum colonial heritage
Wajir Museum pseudo colonial.
Place of Archaeology
and Colonial heritage
in Kenya’s tourism

12. Olorgesailie A pre-historic site is world renown as the “factory of stone tools” and the
only place in the world with the largest number. The prominence and
accumulation of human tools represents actual camping places of early
men and evidence that human species had a tropical origin.
Takwa Ruins Takwa ruins are the remains of a thriving 15th and 16th century Swahili
trading town before it was abandoned in the seventeenth century.
Thimlich Ohinga A unique architectural stone structure situated in Nyanza province 181 km
south of Kisumu in Migori district. Archaeological record of materials found
within the site goes beyond 500 years ago.
Songhor A Miocene site dating back to about 19 million years ago situated in
Nyando District, Nyanza Province.
Siyu Fort An archaeological site located in Lamu district, Coast province in Pate
Island,
Jumba La
Mtwana
in Swahili “the large house of the slave”. Jumba la Mtwana a picturesque
ruined slave-holding village is situated in Kilifi district, Coast province
Koobi Fora This site is situated near Lake Turkana (East of the Lake). The greatest
body of evidence for early hominid development has been obtained from
the site. Between 1968 and 1972, a total of 87 fossil hominid specimens
were recovered including; the first Australopithecus skull (by Dr. Richard
Leakey a reknown paleontologist), the Homo Habilis (by Bernard Ngeves),
Homo erectus, a 1.6 million years old fossil skull was also discovered here
by Kimeu Kimoya, a research assistant to Dr. Leakey.
Mnarani ruins An archaeological site located in Kilifi District, Coast province.
Uhuru Gardens Of importance to note is that it is Kenya’s birthplace. This is where the first
Kenyan flag was first raised and thus marking the very first year of
independence on the 12th December 1963.
Besides the
museums, nine (9)
Sites and
Monuments are
also connected to
archaeology and
colonization

13. Tourism-
significant
Archaeological
and Colonial
Heritage Sites in
Kenya

14. Kenya’s
tourism- A
foundation of
European
Hedonocracy!
Tourism in Kenya was instituted during the colonial period as a
“European hedonocracy”- a leisure-oriented activity for which only
Europeans were equipped culturally, economically and socially to
take part in, and around which they reserved for themselves the right
to undertake entrepreneurial activity. Thus
“Colonization founded
Kenya’s tourism”
 Developed the tourism product (wildlife parks, and coastal resorts)
 Developed supporting infrastructure access roads, railway,
 Invested in superstructure (hotels and restaurants)
 Developed the human resource (Kenya Utalii College set up by the Swiss)
 Formulated the sectoral guiding policies, and
 Provided the market

15. Driving forces for
Kenya’s archaeo-
colonization
centered tourism
industry
1. The slave trade in East Africa that took off from the 17th century
being mediated by the On Arabs who settles settled in Zanzibar.
2. Early Visitors included traders, explorers and tourists who came
in from various parts of the world such as Portugal, Arabia, Roman
empire, India and Greece. They visited mainly the East African
Coast from as early as the first century A.D. RESULT:
• Swahili culture along the Coast: While the majority of the visitors
went back to their countries, some settled, and intermarried with
the local populations giving rise to a new Swahili culture along the
Coast
• Growth of the lucrative Indian Ocean trade- brought in explorers
and traders
3. Home to evolution of human race
4. Colonization from 1895 to 1963

16. CONCLUSION • Despite the immense potential that Kenya has to showcase
its rich archaeological and colonial heritage, data presented
demonstrates focus on a few sites.
• Visitors provide the avenue for heritage communication to
enhance appreciation of outstanding value of the sites and a
chance for the ‘owners of the heritage’ to be heard
• There’s need to promote the country’s archaeological and
historical sites as tourism products while emphasizing the
need for preservation.

17. Dr. Ray' Mutinda Ndivo, Ph.D (ESKAS
Scholar)
School of Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Management
Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Address: P.O Box 342-01000, Thika Kenya
Tel: +254 721472441
Email: raymuitnda@yahoo.com
………………………………………………………………………………
Thank You!
Asante Sana!
Merci Beaucoup!
and welcome to the…

18. SHORT
PERSONAL
BIO
Rayviscic (Ray) Mutinda Ndivo, Ph.D
• ESKAS Scholar (Swiss Govt Scholarship of Excellence for Foreign
Postdoctoral Students)
• Ph.D, MSc. and B.Sc. in Hospitality and Tourism Mgt
• Post Doc (Sustainable Tourism Development) at the UNESCO Chair
for ICT for Sustainable Tourism to develop Tourism in World Heritage
Sites, Universita Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland
• Senior Lecturer, School of Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Management
• Membership:
 ICOMOS (Kenya) Committee
 UN Economic Commission for Africa Tourism Expert Group
 Collaborator, UNESCO Chair for ICT for Sustainable Tourism to
develop Tourism in World Heritage Sites
 International Federation for Information Technology and Travel &
Tourism (IFITT)
 Tourism Professionals Association (TPA-K) Executive
Committee and Chair, Professional Devt Committee
 Kenya National Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) Technical
Committee
 Association of Hospitality Professionals of Kenya