Tourists head back to Kenya in record numbers

By MACHARIA KAMAU

A record number tourists visited the country in the first six months of this year, continuing a solid recovery after the country was hit by post-election violence in 2008 and the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.

Arrivals rose to 549,083, up 13.6 per cent from the same period last year. Tourism earned a record Sh74 billion ($802 million) last year, making it one of the country’s leading sources of foreign exchange.

Minister for Tourism Najib Balala told a news conference Thursday that estimated revenues for the first six months stood at Sh40.5 billion, up 32 per cent from Sh30.7 billion in the same period last year. He said the ministry was expecting 20 per cent growth in arrivals for the year as a whole.

In 2010, a record 1.1 million tourists visited the country, which is famed for its game parks and white Indian Ocean beaches, beating the previous high hit in 2007.

The ministry of Tourism said visitors from Britain led the way accounting for 14.3 per cent of arrivals, followed by the US at 9.3 per cent and then Italy, Germany and India, with the Asian country knocking France out of the top five.

Kenya has been trying to diversify from its traditional American and European source markets, expand its airports and increase bed capacity to boost hard currency earnings from the sector.

The ministry said China, Uganda and Russia all witnessed strong growth in terms of being source markets in the first half of the year. "These are the emerging markets to watch out for," it said.

He added that potential in the African market was also untapped and the country would increasingly increase resource allocation for marketing Kenya to Africa.

Among the African markets that have grown as a tourist source market for Kenya include Uganda—whose arrivals increased 50 per cent to 22, 626. Others are South Africa and Tanzania.

"Arrivals from the rest of Africa are good, especially when one puts into consideration that outside of South Africa limited efforts have been employed in marketing Kenya to the rest of Africa," he said.

He added that his ministry would lobby for a review of the visa issuance regime, especially to West Africans. Balala noted that the region had a huge pool of travellers as well as investors but shy from Kenya because of suspicion.