Frankline Sunday
Tourists at Maasai Mara National game reserve in Narok county. (Kipsang Joseph, Standard)
Kenya’s tourism sector earned Sh163 billion last year, up from Sh157
billion recorded in the
previous year, helped by a surge in tourist
arrivals from the Americas.
Total tourist arrivals in 2019 stood at 2.048 million, a marginal
increase from 2.025 million recorded in 2018, subdued by geopolitical
and economic headwinds in several source markets.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) led in the number of arrivals
at 1.4 million, accounting for 70 per cent of visitors flying into the
country, while Mombasa International Airport constituted 23 per cent.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said the government should
prioritise the turnaround of Kenya Airways and streamline operations at
the JKIA to boost the number of arrivals.
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“JKIA
remains our biggest port of entry and inefficiencies at the airport and
at the Kenya Airports Authority, need to be addressed to attract more
visitors into the country,” he said.
The United States remains the largest source market for international
tourists at 245,437 arrivals in 2019. The 9 per cent increase in
arrivals compared to 2018 was, however, modest considering the country’s
national carrier Kenya Airways begun making direct flights between JKIA
and New York in October 2018.
Uganda led in the number of tourists from the region, bringing in
223,010 tourists, up 5 per cent from a similar period in 2018 while
arrivals from Tanzania recorded a 7.4 per cent drop to 193,740 from
204,082 recorded in 2018.
The fall in tourist arrivals from Tanzania is particularly worrying as
it accounts for the third highest number of visitors to Kenya. Kenya and
Tanzania have experienced several trade disputes arising from
non-tariff barriers in recent years that have also spilled into the
tourism sector.
Balala expressed regret that Kenya’s regional neighbours are not doing
their fair share of marketing the East African Community (EAC) single
tourism visa that was launched in 2014.
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“Kenyan
tour operators are marketing the region as a bloc because we have
operators like Serena Hotels that are present in all countries,” said
Balala. Unfortunately, our neighbours are not selling Kenya which is
contrary to the spirit of regional integration,” he said.
Tourist arrivals from other countries, however, registered a marked
decline attributed to a number of challenges in the source markets and
the global economy.
Xenophobic riots
Italy for example recorded a 16 per cent decline in the number of
tourists marking 54,607 arrivals last year. Similarly, Nigeria and South
Africa recorded a 7.4 per cent and 5 per cent drop respectively in the
number of tourists.
“There is a concern about the drop in numbers from the African markets
such as South Africa which had a spate of xenophobic riots last year and
more work needs to be done in these markets,” Mr Balala said.
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Domestic tourism recorded a 10 per cent growth in the number of bed-nights from 4.4 million in 2018 to 4.9 million last year.
Balala said the ministry had spent Sh4.6 billion in marketing the
country through the various state departments between 2014 and 2018 and
asked the National Treasury to increase the sector’s budgetary
allocation.
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