Roundup: Kenya eyes high tourist arrivals following incentives

The Kenyan government is anticipating high tourist arrivals this year following waiver on visa, park entrance and chartered flight landing fees announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta early this week.

Kenyan officials said on Thursday during separate interviews the tourism sector could experience a boom this year as the state roll out a raft of new incentives to encourage local and foreign tourists visit wildlife parks and other scenic attractions.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa said the country remained a prized tourist destination thanks to dramatic improvement of its image abroad as well as improved security.

"We are riding on positive publicity generated by key international events the country hosted last year, including the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), WTO ministerial conference and Pope Francis visit among others," Ndegwa told Xinhua.

He noted that Kenyans brand visibility was raised to new levels following those high profile events last year.

Ndegwa said a massive publicity campaign and improved security in the coastal region are among the measures the government has taken to revive tourism, which has suffered in the recent past due to increased attacks from Somalia's Al-Shabaab militants.

Kenya's tourism sector has taken a major beating in the last three years due to terror attacks perpetuated by Al-Shabaab, with the number of tourists visiting the country and earnings dropping to the lowest level.

However, terrorism is not the only enemy of the East African nation's tourism sector. Adverse travel advisories and diseases like Ebola affected travelling of people to the country.

Ndegwa was upbeat the recovery of tourism, whose contribution to the GDP stands at 12 percent, will accelerate this year against a backdrop of improved security and state incentives.

"We hope to attain our normal growth trajectory this year," Ndegwa told Xinhua, adding that lifting of travel advisories by traditional source markets will boost tourist arrivals.

President Kenyatta on Tuesday said his government has set aside 12 million U.S. dollars incentives for charter planes to stimulate demand in the country's coastal region.

This will encourage those already flying in to increase the frequency of their flights. He said visa fees for children under 16 will also be waived with effect from Feb. 1.

Kenyatta said the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will also cap the park entry fees at 60 U.S. dollars, down from 90 dollars to allow more visitors to the country's parks.

KWS spokesman Paul Udoto hailed the presidential initiative to encourage local and foreign tourists visit the national parks.

"The announcement by the president on the waiver of park fees is a welcome move, and we expect more tourists in the parks and other wildlife areas. The move will also boost wildlife protection in the country," Udoto told Xinhua.

According to Udoto, the wildlife agency has invested in tents to promote social and corporate events inside the parks.

"There are camping sites in a number of parks where visitors can hold family get together. Likewise, we are promoting activities like bicycle rides and rock climbing inside the parks," said Udoto.

He revealed the government has subsidized park entry fees for local visitors while provision of affordable transport on weekends and public holidays has boosted visits to the wildlife sanctuaries.

The wildlife agency anticipates 3 million visitors to national parks this year.

Udoto said campaigns have been intensified to encourage Chinese tourists visit wildlife protected areas.

"Our parks and hotels have worked on the language issue to encourage more Chinese visitors. These facilities have signposts that display messages in Chinese," said Udoto, adding that hotels inside wildlife sanctuaries are also offering Chinese cuisine.

Other state agencies have also intensified efforts to lure Chinese tourists to the east African nation.

"KTB has been executing different campaign strategies to woo Chinese tourists. We have undertaken consumer campaigns in partnership with key travel agencies," said Ndegwa.

He added that a partnership with strategic consumer brands in China has stimulated the demand for Kenyan tourism products.

The Kenyan tourism marketers are also using WeChat, the most popular social media mobile phone app in China to woo tourists.

The tourism marketing body is banking on increased flights and trade activities between the two countries to position Kenya as the preferred all-year tourism destination for Chinese travellers.

China Southern Airlines launched flights to Kenya in August last year, serving the busy Nairobi-Guangzhou route. The airline cited the rising number of Chinese tourists visiting Kenya as a major factor in launching the route. Enditem