“You can not pay my rent forever” Voices from Dandora: Exploring Perspectives on Slum Tourism through Resident, Tour Guide, and Swedish Tourist Experiences

Abstract

In line with the increase of Globalisation, the demand for more unconventional tourism has been on a rise during the last decades. More Western tourists want to get insight into the everyday life of citizens in the country they are visiting. This has led to the expansion of the slum tourism industry that involves forigners touring impoverished areas of the city. In the Kenyan Capital Nairobi, the slum of Dandora, a small organisation called Globetree has met this demand. This study aims to explore the perspectives and opinions of three groups connected to slum tourism in Dandora. Namely the Swedish tourists, the Kenyan tour guides and locals residents affected by the tour. Through the research method of 8 qualitative interviews, this study seeks to gain insights into the group's experiences and perception of their role in relation to the other groups. The respondent's answers were then analysed through the theoretical perspectives of neocolonialism, white saviorism and dark tourism. The results indicate that neocolonial violence has allowed slum tourism in Dandora to flourish. Some of the foreign tourists reflect on their own positions as wealthy Swedes , whilst others do not and thus contribute to white saviour patterns. The tour guides use the gang violence in Dandora as a pull factor for Dark tourism whilst reflecting on the power that being a tour guide gives them. Local residents can benefit from slum tourism in Dandora, as it contributes to the local economy. On the other hand, one of the locals express critical voices against the effectiveness of the aid and Western influence in Dandora. Finally, the study also suggests that slum tourism in Dandora might reproduce neocolonial structures from Western tourists' presence.