This is a short interview I did for Tourism Watch on our work on Digitalisation of the Tourism Sector in East Africa
With the installation of fibre optic cables in East Africa, internet connectivity got a lot better and cheaper. On one hand, this has facilitated the expansion of larger international tour operators and hotel chains into East African markets and allows them to better manage and control local suppliers. Due to cheap and reliable forms of digital communication local East African SMEs do not just compete with one another, but with global players as well. In our research we found, that large international tour operators were able to cut out some Kenyan and Rwandan ground handlers and intermediaries as they are able to communicate with the service providers directly online.
Full interview on Tourism Watch (German version)