Lufthansa's new line to Kenya to boost tourism: marketing body

Kenya's tourism marketing body said Thursday the decision by German airline Lufthansa to launch flights to Nairobi will boost recovery of the tourism sector.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa said in Nairobi the launch of flights by Lufthansa will enhance Nairobi's status as a regional hub.

"We are delighted that Lufthansa is making a comeback to Nairobi as one of its destinations. This is bound to have a positive impact on Kenya's tourism sector considering Germany is one of our key source markets," Muriithi said in a statement.

Lufthansa will fly between Frankfurt and Nairobi four times a week an Airbus A340-300 from Oct. 27 this year. The flight leave Frankfurt hub every morning on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and will reach Nairobi in the evening after a journey of more than eight hours.

The return aircraft will take off from Nairobi as a night flight in the late evening and lands the morning of the following day at Frankfurt Airport.

Ndegwa said given Lufthansa's expansive destination network in Europe, North and South America, the latest move offered an opportunity for the tourism sector to scale up marketing efforts in these regions.

"It's not just the German market that we will be targeting but also countries where Lufthansa flies to. We are currently implementing a global marketing campaign as part of tourism sector recovery efforts and the decision by Lufthansa is therefore timely, " added Muriithi.

Unlike other countries like Britain and the U.S that have issued travel advisories against Kenya, Germany has not issued any. Endi