Tourism earnings pick up as global recession eases
Tapping tourism: Bombolulu traditional dancers are joined by some Harley Davidson Motor Bike Rally riders in a Giriama dance. The riders made a stopover at Fort Jesus during a recent excursion across the region. Photo/FILE
The tourism industry is projecting to earn Sh81 billion this year on the back of an expected increase in tourist arrivals helped by the ongoing recovery of key source markets, players have said.
Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), which markets Kenya as a tourist destination, is however concerned that the escalating political tensions could slow down these prospects.
“We should grow by 10 per cent. However, we are concerned about the rising political temperatures in the country since they have a direct bearing on how we are viewed as a destination,” said the KTB managing director, Mr Muriithi Ndegwa.
The latest projections are, however, lower than what the sector was targeting last year, a signal that the sector has reviewed the way it forecasts its growth prospects.
While releasing last year results, Tourism minister Najib Balala said the industry had adjusted its targets to reflect some of the challenges in the international market.
Last year, the tourism sector fetched the country earnings of Sh73.7 billion but fell far below the Sh100 billion target which players now say was exaggerated.
“Tourist projections also depend on other factors including security. The sector also suffered from the unprecedented European ash cloud that denied the country new arrivals,” said Mr Ndegwa.
But despite the shortfall, last year’s figures were the best since independence. In 2010, the number of tourists visiting Kenya grew from 952,481 in 2009 to 1.095 million.
The industry forecasts that this number will continue on an upward trend, riding on growing interest in Kenya a regional conferencing hub.
The sector has also renewed its calls for the government to increase the marketing budget above the current Sh800 million to boost its marketing campaigns.
“Our first strategy -magical Kenya - was targeted at eliminating the Post Election Violence Images from the international community and now we have the Jambo campaign that seeks to showcase our tourism destinations,” said Mr Ndegwa.
“We need more money to market the country if we are to compete with South Africa and Egypt as a favourite destination for tourists,” said Mr Ndegwa during the launch of the Kenya Tourism Awards (KETA).
The awards are designed to recognise the diverse tourism products in Kenya and individuals in both tourism and media who have made significant contributions in the sector in a bid to intensify competition in the sector.
“The event will be held annually and will offer a platform to brainstorm and network for the development of the industry,” said Lucy Karume, Chairperson of the Kenya Tourism Federation—the industry lobby group.
The best performers will be unveiled on June 23. They will be drawn from seven categories including; best accommodation facility, best entertainment spot, and the tour operator of the year.
Others include air operator of the year, best tourism attraction site and the best travel agency for the tourism sector.
The deadline for nominations of entrants for the various categories is April 31. An award will also go to the best tourism journalist.
The awards come at a time when the government has announced plans to start fresh classification of hotels and restaurants in a bid to streamline the sector.
The government has also maintained that the plan to streamline beach tourism is on course amid rising resistance from the beach operators.
“We are currently in talks with the municipal council of Mombasa to get us land that will be used to relocate the beach traders,” said John Cheboi, director of public communications in the Ministry of Tourism.
The Tourism Bill drafted in 2007 seeks to streamline beach business by relocating all beach operators to specialised markets because of alleged tourist harassment along the beaches.
“This has been made necessary by feedback from market research where tourists have always complained that the traders interfere with their holiday,” said Mr Cheboi.
Tourism minister Najib Balala said last year that the government had identified areas in North Coast to build curio markets where all beach operators would be relocated to sell their products.
“With the relocation, tourists will be able to choose either to go for leisure or shopping,” said Mr Cheboi.
KTB is this year expected to increase its investment in the emerging markets to support these projections even as it anticipates a complete turnaround of markets such as the UK, Germany and Switzerland which are yet to fully recover from the effects of the 2009 economic recession.
The UK remains Kenya’s leading source of visitors; bringing to the country 174,051 tourists last year, followed by the US whose 107,842 citizens visited Kenya and Italy a close third with 87,600 visitors.
India was the best improved source market with 47,611 visitors compared to 36,602 in 2009.
