The Influence of Economic Policies in Business Tourism: A Comparative Case Study of Kenya and South Africa

A Thesis Submitted To The School Of Humanities And Social Sciences In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Master Of Arts In International RelationsThe primary objective of this study was to carry out a comparative case study research on the influence of economic policies in business tourism in Kenya and South Africa. This study intended to present a comparative point of view regarding the influence of economic policies on the business tourism industry with reference between Kenya and the Republic of South Africa. The objectives of the study included the need to examine the economic policies of Kenya and South Africa in relation to the business tourism sector, the need to assess the economic contribution of conference tourism in Kenya, the need to discuss and analyze the factors that lead to an attractive business tourism destination using South Africa and Kenya as case studies as well as the intention to assess South Africa's development in business tourism over 2005- 2015. The study adopted a case study approach to a research and employed secondary research in gathering and analyzing relevant data for the purpose of informing this study and presenting a concrete inference. The study found out that there a great disparity in a number of capital investments in the sector with Kenya posing a $0.85 billion while South Africa posing capital investments of $5.0 billion in 2015. South Africa enjoys economic policies that foster businesses competitiveness, safety, security, and affordability in its tourism offing compared to Kenya. The South African economic policies continue to create a business environment that is attractive to both investors in the MICE tourism sector as well as clients who are willing to consume the offerings of the sector in the country. Compared to Kenya, the country boasts of a high reputation which also contributes to elevating investor as well as customer confidence in the country's MICE sector. Incentivizing the industry has also helped pricing in the South African Mice industry to remain very competitive compared to Kenya which in most cases thrives on high–end services