Sustainable Pro-Poor Tourism
Ever heard of people who start and get into successful business by mistake?
It was in March 1994(as a student at Egerton University), after a trip I made to Kita Kyushu, Japan during Ship for World Youth Exchange programme that I got into my business by accident.In Japan I lived with a Japanese family in their home and I picked the home stay business concept.
My African Home stay agency links up tourists who want to Live, Study and Work in Africa with local hosts in rural villages and towns including in slums.
The idea of home stays could be relatively new in Africa but home stays, or cultural tourism, enables the gains from tourism(a multi- billion dollar industry) to trickle down to the ordinary people.
A home stay experience gives the international visitor the opportunity to live and be exposed to African culture.
I started off my African Homestay Services with one client, a Japanese, after visiting their country on an exchange program.I lived in the hostels and my home was 200 miles away from the university so I took my first guest/client to my lecturer’s house. He paid $5 per day, and when he went back home, he sent nine other clients.
For this group, I had to look for homes in Nairobi. I found friends who were willing to host the guests would pay me and I pay them (the hosts).
The number increased to 20 Japanese in 1995 and in the following year, after traveling to Canada, I hosted 22 Canadians. Nowadays, I get at least 40 clients every month,they are mostly students,volunteers researchers and other low budget tourists.
During the World Social Forum held in Nairobi in January 2007,I had 1,500 bookings and raked in over 100,000 dollars in ten days!
On average clients under the program pay a minimum $10 a day to the host.This daily charge can’t buy a baby’s meal in five-star hotels where food costs many times the retail price.
The program is usually 3-4 weeks but some are known to stay for as long as a year.
It’s one of the best ways of learning someone’s culture because you eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep ; enjoy their whole lifestyle.
When tourists apply for a visit, specifying the kind of experience they want, African Homestay searches for the host and makes security and logistic arrangements.
Reader Contribution
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025