KENYA TARGETS TOURISTS FROM THE REGION IN NEW PLAN

Kenya has intensified a marketing campaign in the East African region to make up for the shortfall in international tourist arrivals occasioned by terror threats.

Executives at the Kenya Tourism Board toldThe EastAfrican that the agency was now selling the country’s tourist potential across the East African region and other parts of the continent to reduce dependence on traditional markets, such as Europe, the USA and Australia.

“The East African region has immense potential with over 140 million people. We are keen on tapping into the intra-regional tourism as an extension of our domestic marketing efforts,” Kimutai Ngeno, the public relations manager at the Kenya Tourism Board said.

Mr Ngeno said Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have registered high numbers of visitors compared with other international markets.

Tanzania’s tourist arrivals rose 1.7 per cent in 2013 to 1.095 million, generating $1.85 billion, according to the latest data from Tanzania Tourism Board.

Uganda’s tourist arrivals increased from 1.196 million in 2012 to 1.206 last year, earning the country over $2.1billion while Rwanda’s tourist arrivals increased 15 per cent to 1.18 million last year, earning the country $294 million.

However, Kenya’s tourist arrivals declined from 1.23 million in 2012 to 1.09 million last year, representing 11.4 per cent decline due to travel advisories by the US and some European countries.

This resulted in a 2.1 per cent fall in tourism earnings to Ksh93.9 billion ($1.04 billion), according to Phylis Kandie, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism.

READ: To defend tourism, Kenya must fight terror, Kandie tells US forum

Latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that Kenya’s tourist arrivals through its two main airports — Jomo Kenyatta and Moi International dropped 13.6 per cent in the first half of the year as foreigners shun the country citing insecurity.

The data released early this month shows that the tourist arrivals declined from 495,660 to 428,223 for the six months ending June this year compared with the same period last year.

Kenya has suffered a series of terror attacks orchestrated by Al shabaab, prompting western countries to issue travel advisories to their citizens.

Many tourists, according to players in the sector, are now going to Tanzania, which expects its tourist numbers to hit two million by 2017.

The East African