Predicting the Number of Tourists in-Flow to Kenya Using Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Model

Abstract

Tourism is the leading source of revenue to the Kenyan Government, contributing about 8.8% to the Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product. Based on the 2019 report released by the ministry of tourism and wildlife, tourism industry contributed approximately $7.9 billion to the Kenya’s budget. This study was therefore developed to predict the future numbers of tourists that will visit Kenya between 2023 and 2025. The Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average time series model was applied for the prediction. The study used secondary data collected from the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. The data covered a period of 11 years from 2011 to 2022. The model was fitted to the real tourists’ data using the time series algorithm implemented in R statistical software. Based on the Akaike Information Criterion, the ARIMA(2,1,1)(0,1,0)12 was identified as the perfect model with minimum errors. The model passed the diagnostic test performed. Importantly, 95% confidence level prediction done for 3 years (2023-2025) using the model showed that the number of tourists expected to visit Kenya will increase significantly. Therefore, the study recommended that recreational facilities and accommodations should be maintained to cater for the high projected numbers of tourists. The study also recommended that the government of Kenya should strategize on how to beef up security to curb terrorism attacks and tribal conflicts which might discourage tourists.