With up to 60% of tourism arrivals in Uganda originating in Kenya, the country’s Consulate General in Mombasa has called for new synergies to reap even more for the sector.

Uganda’s Consul General to Mombasa Amb. Paul Mukumbya revealed Thursday at the Uganda – Kenya Coast Tourism Conference and Exhibition held at Pride Inn Paradise Resort that between January and March 2022 alone, close to 95,000 Kenyans visited Uganda. He said they travelled to attend golf and rugby tournaments, and also for festivals and music concerts.

Mukumbya said that if the tourism stakeholders and officials of Uganda and Kenya worked closer together, tourist numbers could double in the next one year.

“It is my sincere hope that by the end of the conference and the fam trip, a strong foundation for cooperation will have been built between key tourism players in Uganda and the Kenya Coast,” he said.

Tourism arrivals in Uganda, as of 2021; stood at 512,945. Out of these, 326,387 were from Kenya, which translates to 63.63% of all arrivals in Uganda.

Tourism stakeholders drawn from Uganda and Kenya are meeting in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa at an event dubbed ‘Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference and Exhibition’. The theme is “Strengthening Networks, Synergies, and Diversity to maximize the tourism potential between Uganda and the Kenya Coastal Region”

The Chairman of Kenya Coast Tourism Association (KCTA) Victor. M. Shitakha described the conference as historic because it is the first-ever regional tourism conference and business to business engagement to be held at the Kenya Coast. He added that this conference offers an opportunity for a structured discourse towards developing Kenya Coast tourism and Uganda circuit where foreign tourists to the region can visit both the two nations under one circuit while also accelerating cross border tourism.

“As Kenya Coast, Uganda is one of our major Africa trading partners and tourism source market. Both the two nations enjoy mutual and peaceful coexistence that supports growth of the regional economy,” he said.

“It is also important to note that both Kenya Coast and Uganda offer unique memorable and complimenting experiences, I therefore call upon the regional tourism stakeholders to seize the opportunity and work together in enhancing the regional tourism trade and investment,” Shitakha explained.

This conference has been organized by the Consulate General of the Republic of Uganda in Mombasa, in partnership with key tourism players in Uganda and the Kenya Coast: the Uganda Tourism Association, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, the Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Airlines, the Kenya Coast Tourist Association, the Counties of Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale.

At the same event John Mulimba the Minister of State for Regional Cooperation Foreign Affairs noted that, “the importance of tourism in our economies cannot be underestimated. It is insurmountable.”

According to analysts, these numbers can even go higher once the tourism players in the two countries join hands.

Promotion and popularization of the Entebbe-Mombasa route plied by Uganda Airlines is also on the agenda.

It is worth noting that Kenya’s coastal region is home to various attractions that include Fort Jesus that was built between 1593 and 1596 on the orders of Portugal’s King Felipe II unique safaris, beaches and historical heritage making the two nations ideal for travel.

Other facilities within the coastal belt, Kwale County to be particular; include Baobab Beach Resort, The Residence at Leopard, Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa, Kinondo Kwetu which scooped various awards at the 2022 World Travel Awards which were held in Nairobi.

As if that is not enough, Kwale Governor Fatuma Mohamed Achani says efforts are underway to develop other attraction sites; Majimoto, Wasini Boardwalk, Shimoni and Fikirini caves and First World War Memorial graves at Mkongani among others.

Source: Independent (Kampala)

As global air travel positions to outperform 2019 levels, there is a surge in initiatives across Africa’s aviation industry to improve domestic and international air connectivity and increase air traffic within Africa and between Africa and neighbouring regions. 

The trends emerging in pursuit of this focus, while being implemented on a state-by-state basis, reveal a strong correlation between Africa’s air travel recovery and growth, and tourism in and out of the continent.   

These trends can be classified under three main areas: 

1. African states respond to international tourism demand with initiatives to improve tourism channels. 
2. Increasing Foreign-Direct Investments (FDI) and Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) in Africa’s aviation sector. 
3. African airlines restructure to adopt operating models better suited to their regions traffic. 

The airspaces of African countries have often been modelled with little consideration to neighbouring regions and their traffic patterns. The outcome has been a fragmented airspace with policies that limit the free movement of air travel passengers from country to country. 

Despite these limitations, tourism has, for a significant part of three decades, played a key role in driving air traffic to, from and within Africa.  

Tourism and aviation in Africa – two sides of the same coin  

Tourism, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), is a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon that involves people traveling to countries or places outside of their usual environment for personal or business reasons. These people are known as visitors (tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents), and tourism refers to their activities, some of which involve tourism expenditure. 

In 2021, a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report estimated that losses to Africa’s tourism sectors because of the Covid-19 pandemic were between US$170 billion and US$253 billion. Projections further revealed that travel to Africa would return to pre-pandemic levels between 2023 and 2024. 

However, as of early 2022, international tourist arrivals in Africa have more than doubled compared to 2021. Data from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer shows that between January 2022 and July 2022, Africa recorded 171% growth in international tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2021. 

International tourist arrivals in Africa are comprised of two passenger categories: 

• Passengers travelling to an African country originating from a country outside Africa. 
• Passengers travelling to an African country from an African country that is not their origin destination. 

Today, international tourist arrival levels in Africa are at about 60% of 2019 levels (more than 30 million international tourist arrivals).  

The impact of international tourist arrivals is further highlighted when measuring the recovery of Africa’s air connectivity with neighbouring regions outside Africa. 

From the perspective of a passenger, air connectivity refers to the ability to seamlessly travel by air from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time; from the perspective of cargo operators, it refers to the most efficient routes to deliver freight quickly and efficiently from point A to point B; and from the perspective of airports, it is helpful in determining the worth of individual air connections. 

In May 2022, International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed that air connectivity between Africa and the Middle East (106%), and Africa and North America (102%) had exceeded May 2019 levels, while Africa’s air connectivity with Europe in May 2022 stood at 96% of May 2019 levels. 

Africa’s air connectivity with regions outside the continent outpaced domestic air connectivity within African countries, which stood at 99% of May 2019 levels, and even more so for air connectivity between African countries which lagged at 77% of May 2019 levels. 

Despite this regional connectivity lag, activity across Africa’s aviation industry is shifting towards tourism development and the realization of the services and infrastructure required to meet this demand. The sector’s approach to tourism is mapping out the capacities, strategies and infrastructure being deployed across the continent which will influence Africa’s aviation industry over the next two decades. 

But how is the African continent responding and where does tourism and its development fit in? 

Where does Africa’s tourism traffic come from and where does it go in Africa? 

The passenger traffic arising from tourism in Africa plays a crucial part in mapping Africa’s air travel patterns. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the air transport trend in Africa showed consistent growth in the number of passengers carried within and across African countries per year. 

Between 2000 and 2019, data suggests that the number of passengers carried through air transport services in Sub-Saharan Africa grew from about 18 million passengers to more than 66 million passengers, nearly quadrupling in the space of two decades.  

Similarly, data sourced from the World Tourism Organization highlights a near identical pattern revealing that the number of international arrivals to Sub-Saharan Africa grew from about 14 million in 1995 to over 56 million in 2019. 

The final destination of international tourist arrivals in Africa can be categorized into two main subgroups. Tourists arriving to Northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara), and tourists arriving to sub-Saharan Africa (African countries below Northern Africa). 

In Northern Africa, estimates show that two out of 10 international tourists originate from within Africa, while in Sub-Saharan Africa two out of three international tourists originate from within Africa. A UNCTAD study shows that between 2010–2013, about four out of 10 international tourists who traveled to Africa originated from within Africa. 

Vice versa, eight out of 10 international tourists in Northern Africa, one out of three international tourists in sub-Saharan Africa, and six out of 10 international tourist arrivals to Africa as a whole originate from outside Africa. 

In 2016, 27 million out of 58 million arrivals to African destinations originated from source markets within the region (neighboring African countries).  

By 2030, the UNWTO estimates that the number of annual tourist arrivals to Africa will grow to about 134 million. 

Read Full Article on Aerotime Hub

Africa’s tourism industry is targeting a post-covid recovery which will require an uptick in hotel developments.

The issue was discussed at the recent Africa Tourism Leadership Forum held in the Botswanian capital, Gaborone, with the country’s president, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, setting out the market’s aims.

2024 recovery

Masisi addressed delegates in a keynote speech, saying: “Our continent is renowned for its beauty and the quality of establishments and high service excellence. However, to harness this potential we have to work together. The only way to achieve success and unprecedented tourism growth, and job creation, is by coming together, capitalising on each other’s strengths and working as one.

“This I believe will get the tourism industry back to its pre-pandemic and 2019 performance levels, which we hope should be reached by 2024.”

Pipeline peak

After covid hit Africa hard, most countries on the continent have now eased restrictions, making it easier for travellers to visit. Of course, the hotel sector will be vital in bringing about a bounceback, and according to the TOPHOTELPROJECTS database, there are already at least 267 high end projects in the pipeline, totalling 56,661 rooms.

Current completion peaks will definitely help to reach the recovery target year, as 2023 deliveries lead the pack with 94 high end projects finishing, approximately 35% of this market’s pipeline. 49 sites will complete in 2024 itself, while third in the list is this year, with another 35 deliveries. A further 89 hotels on the books have either yet to receive an end date or will complete in 2025 and beyond.

In terms of segments, the data is fairly evenly split between upscale and luxury builds, with 140 (52%) of sites in the four star category, while the remaining 127/48% are five stars.

Leading countries

Geographically, Egypt is top of the high end hotel stakes in Africa, with at least 58 projects underway. Fellow north African nation, Morocco, takes the runner’s up spot with 29 properties, while Nigeria the only sub-Saharan country making the podium, on 22 sites.

Drilling down into individual cities, we find that it’s the battle of the capitals, Egypt’s Cairo likewise heading the list on 15 hotels, while Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa is closely behind on 12 sites, alongside Kenyan capital Nairobi with 11 properties.

Grand brands

Specific brands making a splash in the continent are led by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, with 18 high end projects underway. In second place is Radisson Hotels & Resorts, constructing at least 16 hotels, with Accor group’s Novotel rounding out the top three with 12 sites.

Epitomising these major marques’ constructions are projects including Hilton Secon Nile Tower, a 257-room hotel taking shape as part of the two Secon Nile Towers, a mixed use development in Cairo. The site is due to complete by the end of this year.

Another exemplar of the continent’s leading hotel brands is the 184-key Radisson Hotel La Baie d’Alger underway in Algerian capital, Algiers. The hotel – consisting of standard rooms, junior suites and suites – will feature a modern all-day dining restaurant, a lobby lounge, a fully equipped gym and spa and 308 sq m of meetings and events space.

And in the Novotel stable, the 200-guestroom Novotel Abidjan Marcory will be delivered in Abidjan, on Ivory Coast’s southern Atlantic shore, in Q3 2023. It is a dual development alongside the 110-key Adagio Abidjan Marcory. 

Source: Top Hotel News

Dar es Salaam. Amid the country’s target to reach $6 billion in tourism revenue by 2025, Tanzania is required to upgrade and improve its tourism related infrastructure and services, thus grow the sector and achieve its ambition.

This includes having adequate supply of skilled manpower and capital for infrastructure development, reducing multiplicity in levies and taxes as well as diversified tourism products and sourcing cheap financing.

The suggestions are according to analysis by Breakthrough Attorney and PwC Tanzania dubbed: ‘Investment update: A look into the tourism sector in Tanzania – policy, law, incentive, and strategy,’ and ‘The future of Tourism in Tanzania,’ respectively.

Breakthrough was of the view that inadequate skilled manpower, affects the handling of both the wildlife and tourists management at the hotel level, thus negatively affecting the quality of customer service rendered to tourists.

On the other hand, with lacking investment capital as far as developing the sector’s infrastructures which includes roads, decent accommodation facilities, and investing into researching, and other such environment, it is harder for the sector to thrive.

Other areas that legal experts think should be appropriately addressed for the sector to flourish, include addressing poaching issues as the awful act reduces the number of animals in National parks and Game reserves.

But Ms Zainab Msimbe, a partner with PwC Tanzania doubts the sector’s competitiveness and sustainability as it faces persisted bottlenecks that need to be tackled if the sector is to be improved.

“These include limited access to cheap financing, inadequate tourism infrastructure, a multiplicity of levies, insufficient diversity in product offerings, and lack of sufficient hotel and airport facilities,” she said.

According to her, Tanzania needs to re-examine its tourism taxes and levies so as to reduce multiplicity and create competitiveness across the region as the country is deemed to be an expensive destination compared with South Africa and Kenya.

Tanzania ranks higher than Kenya with respect to safety and security, but lower than Kenya when it comes to tourist service infrastructure.

“For instance, the drive from Dar es Salaam to Selous Game Reserve, the largest game reserve in Africa, is bumpy and long, taking an average of 7-8 hours,” the report reads in part.

Therefore, the study adds: “Flying is a better option and the fastest way to get to Selous. However, it is the most expensive and hence suits more high-end tourists.”

On the other hand, more effort is required to attract private sector investment in hotels and ensure diversity in the offered services.

The current hotel capacity in Mainland and Zanzibar cannot cater for the expected influx of 5 million tourists by 2025, and that improvement in efficiencies and flight handling capacity at the airports is another area which requires fixing.

Automation of immigration procedures in Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro Airports will help fast track the process. Instead of having a paperwork checking system, barcodes should be set to scan all the documents. This will help to reduce unnecessary queues at the airports during high season.

Other than wildlife and beaches, the Ministry for Tourism should spearhead the innovation of new tourist attractions.

Media reports indicate that major source markets for Tanzania’s international tourism are the USA, which accounts for 13.2 percent, the UK representing at least 9.5 percent, with the remaining percentage representing other countries.

Data captured by the immigration department by August this year, indicates that in the period between January to July this year, Tanzania registered 742,133 tourists, a 62.7 percent increase compared to the same period last year. It is noted that Tanzania ranked tenth among fifty African countries in tourism growth. By, April 2020, tourism earnings accounted for more than 24 percent of the total share of exports, making tourism the second largest foreign exchange earner after agriculture.

Source: The Citizen

Through the destination marketer, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), Kenya has unveiled its global marketing campaign – ‘The Real Deal’ that will carry vivid visuals across key digital platforms to maximise reach and destination awareness and accelerate Indian arrivals to Kenya in the upcoming years.

The Real Deal campaign has been conceptualised to exhibit the multiple facets of destination Kenya and spread awareness of its latest tourism products and experiences through promoting on – chosen OTT platforms pan India, Theatre screens and digital billboards across select areas in Delhi and Mumbai.

To ensure the campaign’s holistic reach while also driving conversions, KTB has also collaborated with Kenya Airways and five leading tour operators including Thomas Cook, SOTC, Yatra, Make My Trip and Ease My Trip. The partners will be influential in promoting Kenya through varied packages and discounted airfares, which will be communicated across their websites and social media pages. This will be with an aim to redirect the interested travellers to the landing page from which they can plan their upcoming travel to Kenya.

Collectively, the partners and their respective platforms will be instrumental in executing the campaign and positioning Kenya as ‘The Real Deal’ amongst holidaying destination. India is ranked fifth as a source market following USA, Uganda, UK and Tanzania. Kenya has recorded consistent footfalls from the India market even during the past two years owing to multiple favourable reasons including – direct flight connectivity from Mumbai, ease in visa application, flexible COVID-19 entry-exit rule while maintaining health and safety measures and lastly the destination’s array of adventurous activities and unique cultural attractions.

During January to October 2022, Kenya has witnessed 924,303 tourist arrivals out of which Indian arrivals were 55,761. Provided the positive numbers and India as an exponentially growing market for outbound tourism, KTB aims to capitalise on the luxury and family segments and direct the traffic to Kenya by establishing it as an ideal long-haul holiday destination.

Dr. Betty Radier, CEO, KTB, expressed, her confidence in the campaign stating that India was one of the key destinations showing great promise in the recovery of tourism in Kenya and that the campaign will give impetus to the existing interest amongst Indian travellers on the destination.

“India was one of the most hit countries by Covid-19, especially the delta virus that said, they have critical steps that create confidence to travel, for example they are the country with the most vaccinated people. We chose India for the launch because of the immense potential as a key source market and also the fact that Indians love our products, from Safari to Beach and also adventure,” Said Dr. Radier.

Adding to it, Neeti Sharma, Director, Intrepid Marketing & Communications, said, “Kenya as a destination is brimming with aspirational quotient owing to its gamut of once-in-a-lifetime and authentic experiences. ‘The Real Deal’ campaign is a true expression of Kenya’s vast canvas, and we are certain that the strategic activations across media channels along with the efforts of our key partners, will tempt the travellers and result in accelerated rate of arrivals.”

The Real Deal’ campaign has been executed in the USA and UK markets and has been successful in positioning Kenya and driving footfalls to the magical destination.

Source: Travel Biz

As a globetrotter who loves to travel solo, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit over 50 countries, mostly during my time living abroad over the past decade.

I currently reside in the Middle East and one of the main reasons for doing so is to be closer to the continent to experience as many African countries as I can. I have visited 8 African countries thus far and can say without a doubt that many myths about traveling throughout Africa are pretty unfounded.

Some common myths that I’d like to dispel are below.

Myth: Africa Is One Big Country

It’s sad to admit that some people still look at a map of Africa and generalize it as just one big country. Conversely, Africa is the world’s second-largest continent made up of 54 countries in total.

It makes up 16 percent of the world’s population, with Nigeria having the largest population in the region. There are a variety of fascinating countries to explore from Algeria to Zimbabwe. It features over 1,000 languages and people have faiths that range from Islam to Christianity.

Myth: Africa Is Dangerous

Many people believe that Africa is a monolith and too dangerous to visit. On the contrary, as someone who is from Detroit and lived on the south side of Chicago, I tell people that if I can survive in those places I can survive anywhere.

While yes, there are regions that have had to deal with extremist attacks such as those by Boko Haram or civil wars in Sudan, nevertheless, according to the 2022 Global Peace Index, several African countries like Ghana, Botswana and The Gambia are in the top 50 most peaceful countries.

I can personally attest to feeling extremely safe and sound during my visit to Ghana in 2019 during the Year of Return for African Americans.

Myth: Traveling To Africa Is Too Expensive

While some may need to save up for a bit to afford the plane ticket to hop over to some places in Africa, you’d be surprised at how many flight deals are available to places like South Africa using flight search engines such as Google Flights.

Deals can be found for as little as $500 depending on the time of year you are able to travel. Additionally, nice and cheap accommodations such as dorms and guesthouses are available throughout in South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, and more destinations.

Myth: Africa Is Underdeveloped

While there are certain areas that would be considered “third world countries” and looking to move towards rapid development in the future, I’d be remised to not mention the host of African countries that are pretty developed.

For example, Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is known as the Silicon Valley of Africa. It is home to Kigali Innovation City, a community of four world-class learning facilities, tech hubs, and innovative companies.

Morocco is another African country leading the way in science and technology. The Moroccan mobile market has reached over 44 million users and it leads the charge in renewable energy efforts in Africa.

Myth: Safaris Are Africa’s Only Appeal

I’ve experienced safari drives in African countries like South Africa and Kenya.

However, I’ve explored so much more during my travels throughout the continent including relaxing on some of the most beautiful beaches in Zanzibar and Seychelles, as well as visiting the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, traditional markets in Morocco, and climbing “Big Daddy” sand dune in Namibia.

Yes, Africa has a host of opportunities to do game drives in its glorious countries, but it also offers so many more adventures and journeys to experience.

Source: Travel Pulse

Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani has said that her administration will spearhead tourism industry revival through inclusive and sustainable tourism products.

Achani said the devolved unit will seek to restore confidence and re-activate the tourism sector to rebuild a more resilient tourism economy in the future.

She underscored the need to focus on the development of domestic tourism because of its huge potential to the local economy, saying her administration would harness the potential of the sector to boost revenues.

Achani said though the country’s tourism and hospitality industry was badly hit by the global Covid-19 pandemic, her administration will work closely with the national government and other stakeholders to ensure that the industry recovers from the ravages of the pandemic.

She said the height of Covid-19 crisis in 2020 and 2021 almost led to a collapse in international travel severely affecting the economies of the coastal counties that are dependent on tourism.

She said the county will come up with a robust roadmap that takes full account of tourism’s current and future economic, social and environmental impacts.

The county boss underscored the need to promote and revive tourism activities in the region, noting that the hospitality and tourism industry was ‘our economic mainstay’.

Achani said she is determined to take the tourism sector to the next level and ensure that it contributes more to socio-economic development. She said this when she met in her office officials from the Kenya Coast Tourism Association (KCTA).

She called on close collaboration between the stakeholders and relevant government agencies noting that such collaborative efforts were necessary to shore up tourism numbers.

She said the county could not develop tourism alone and appealed for the partnership of public, private sector and other stakeholders. “My administration will concentrate on sustainable tourism as one of our main developmental agenda,” said Achani.

She said the county boasts of Diani Beach which has been voted the best beach destination in Africa seven years in a row. “Diani Beach is one of Kwale’s top tourism sites and a destination of first choice and we want to ensure that residents derive benefits from Diani and other premier tourist attractions,” she said.

She said the county will embrace ‘year-round festivals and carnivals’ to raise the profile of the sparkling white sands and lush greenery of Diani and attract more visitors.

“We are keen to project Diani Beach and other sites as tourist hotspots and enhance revenue by focusing on tourism infrastructure, beach cleanliness and security,” she said.

The county boss reckoned that the devolved unit will be seeking to continue to attract Western tourists who flock to its pristine beaches and game reserves such as Shimba Hills National Reserve.

KCTA Chairman Victor Shitaka said alongside sustainable tourism, the devolved unit should invest in infrastructure and give a facelift to the county’s tourism assets.

He said the county and the national government should ensure that all roads leading to the various tourist destinations such as beaches and game parks were properly constructed.

“We want the county government to improve on infrastructure such as street lighting projects so that tourists can walk at night without fear of insecurity,” he said.

Shitaka advocated for an open skies policy noting that it has the potential to increase tourist arrivals to the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu.

“Open skies policy will ensure that these tourism hubs attract more international flights such as Turkish and Emirate airlines patronized by high spending holidaymakers,” he said.

He said open skies agreements will expand international passenger and cargo flights to and from Kenya thus promoting increased travel and trade.

He said open skies will increase the number of high spending holidaymakers, noting that they are a ‘lucrative outbound tourist market’ in the international tourism circuit.

Shitaka at the same time urged the devolved unit to address harassment of beach holidaymakers by beach boys, noting that it is one of the challenges facing beach destinations.

“Harassment by beach boys is denying vacationers the life experience on our white sandy beaches and must be put to stop,” he said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya hopes to book 1.46 million tourists by the end of the year as the sector’s recovery gains momentum from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

Outgoing Tourism Secretary Najib Balala expressed confidence, citing growth in domestic tourism and value addition.

Mr Balala, while opening the Magical Kenya Tourism Expo (MKTE) 2022 at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday, said the estimated arrivals would translate to Sh265 billion in receipts.

“Last year, we recorded 870,000 visitors into the country with revenue receipt of Sh146 billion, and by close of this year, we have better prospects since things have begun looking up”, he said.

The expo, with over 250 exhibitors, has attracted buyers from key source markets, including the US, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Mr Balala said the participants from about 30 countries demonstrate Kenya’s global attractiveness for investment in tourism development.

“MKTE 2022 represents the aspirations of the tourism sector in Kenya and Africa; it shows that the sector is ready to kick off, and we are ready for business,” he said.

“This is a great platform to sell Kenya to the global tourism market, and we are confident that within these three days, we shall see some interesting developments as we look forward to building on the already existing partnerships between our tourism industry and global players.”

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) chief executive officer, Dr Betty Radier, said the 2022 expo is part board’s efforts to revitalise tourism in Kenya as it focuses on Africa and other emerging markets.

“We are delighted to have the event return in-person after two years. Last year we held the event virtually to ensure that the sector did not lose out on any opportunities,” she said.

“As we continue to work towards our vision of a thriving tourism industry, we are determined to support this vital sector by providing an environment that will attract visitors and enable them to connect with the best in local hospitality, culture and heritage,” said Dr Radier.

The expo is a business-to-business show different from holiday fairs targeting consumers.

The three-day event will run until Friday, October 7.

Source: Business Daily

The State has enhanced its support to various initiatives aimed at marketing diverse tourism products including mountaineering, cuisine, horticulture and lake tourism, to attract more tourists.

Outgoing Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said although Kenya continues to be a popular destination, stakeholders must put more focus on other products to boost the sector that was adversely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said popular tourism destinations including Lake Nakuru National Park, Diani beach, Maasai Mara, Naivasha and Nairobi for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions are renowned worldwide.

Mr Balala stated that although, coastal beach holidays and wildlife safaris still remained attractive destinations, the Ministry was partnering with state agencies and private sector in aggressively marketing alternative core tourism products that the country could offer from its diverse niches.

These tourism products, Balala said include culture, cuisine, entertainment, sports, nature (beach and safari) and Meetings, Incentives, Exhibitions, and Conferences (Mice) tourism.

“We have been winning in both world travel and destination awards due to our popular destinations. We look forward to a very good year in the sector.  We are renowned for beach and safari which are our main signature products. But we need to diversify and present to the world other products such as mountaineering, lake, horticulture, agriculture (tea and coffee), Nyama Choma, culture and heritage,” indicated the Cabinet Secretary.

The campaign, he said, is also covering all destinations in Kenya that offer rock climbing, bird watching, golf tourism, adventure sports, leisure tourism and wildlife tourism.

“We are working with industry players such as hoteliers, tour companies and guides in drawing attraction to the hidden gems that Kenya has in store,” added Balala.

In a speech read on his behalf by Acting Chief Executive Officer-Utalii College Professor Charles Musyoki during celebrations to mark World Tourism Day at Nyayo Gardens in Nakuru, Mr. Balala advised sector players to embrace local communities in diversifying their products in order to attract younger visitors who are no longer interested in traditional offerings of tourism and wildlife.

He noted that the sector’s landscape had significantly shifted and that there was no need for tourism players to continue marketing their products using the same old system.

“It is worth noting that millennials are no longer interested in travelling to the Mara for four hours or staying in hotels. What they are keen on is spending time embracing cultural practices of places and people they visit,” stated the outgoing CS.

Mr Balala noted that reliance on traditional tourism products has not only put a strain on the facilities and capacity but has also left the tourism industry largely dependent on a few attractions.

“We have also been looking to grow a domestic tourism campaign to get the residents excited about the various destinations that their country has to offer. There are many Kenyans who are interested in travel but lack sufficient information,” he continued.

In his remarks Professor Musyoki indicated that domestic tourism in Kenya is a field that the industry players ought to tap into more to increase revenue as it holds huge potential and its importance for economic development cannot be underestimated.

“Many Kenyans prefer to travel to international destinations over local destinations while some do not travel at all. This is while keeping in mind that every time we travel and buy outside the country, we are inadvertently taking away the economic growth we could be retaining in our country,” he observed.

Deputy Governor Mr David Kones said the County administration was encouraging the private sector and local communities to develop “out of park” tourism activities such as mountain biking. The initiative he stated is also encouraging visits to cultural and spiritual sites, cultural performances and community walks.

Mr Kones challenged Kenyans to drop the notion that tourism is only a preserve for the wealthy or those with disposable income. He called on the tourism sector to also come up with reasonable packages affordable by most Kenyans.

“We have for a long time relied on too much on foreigners to build our tourism. It is now our time as locals to spur the growth of our domestic tourism to the next level by playing a major part in that growth.”

Nakuru County Tourism Association Chairman David Mwangi noted that tourism and hospitality marketing agencies at both counties and national level have over the years focused too much on wildlife and beach products, neglecting cultural attractions and conference facilities, which have traditionally relied on fragmented promotions by the proprietors.

This, he said was happening against the background that there were various other undiscovered tourist destinations around the country.

The chairman observed that enhancing equal distribution of resources to all sectors and regions would open up more destinations that would inversely arouse interest among locals.

“We cannot emphasize the role of synergies and partnerships enough as we work towards re-starting tourism. We must continue to take advantage of the new opportunities in travel, and also look out for the emerging trends,” said Mwangi.

He stated that industry players needed to tap into conference tourism, a relatively new concept in the industry, which revolves around service provision to business travelers attending seminars, workshops, conferences and conventions.

“At the moment, conference tourism is the largest and fastest growing segment of the modern tourism sector. It has a higher financial impact because conference travelers spend more than leisure travelers. Often their expenses are paid by the organizations they represent, leaving the tourists with substantial disposable incomes that they can spend,” he noted.

The tourism sector performance report 2021 shows that the industry earnings jumped 65 per cent to Sh146.51 billion last year up from Sh88.56 billion in 2020.

Tourist arrivals through airports and border points also increased by 53.3 per cent to 870,465 from 567,848 over the period. About 26.4 per cent visited for business meetings, conferences and exhibitions.

The wanting performance in the sector, according to Mr Mwangi, was due to dependence on the national government to market tourism destinations in all counties.

Mwangi said that it is important to realize that for tourism to succeed, a greater part depends on the goodwill of the locals more than the other industries.

“The locals must be happy with the visitors and the security knowledge that the presence of the visitors around will not affect their operations both socially, economically and even politically and that they will not impose values that are not welcomed in their society. This can easily be achieved when the locals are engaged by involving them in dialogues relating to the influence of tourism in that particular area,” noted the chairman.

In June 2020, the ministry of tourism and wildlife reported that the tourism and travel sectors slumped in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, with over 81 per cent of firms in the industries laying off most of their employees and 31 per cent implementing more than 70 per cent pay cut.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The UAE has declared a speedy recovery of its tourism sector after the pandemic, with earnings surpassing €5 billion during the first half of this year, said Mohamed bin Rashed, the Emirati Vice President.

Bin Rashed said that the earnings of their tourism sector are more than 19 billion dirhams (€5.15 billion) during the first half of 2022. The UAE proved to be the fastest to get over the impacts of the pandemic.

Bin Rashed also clarified that total hotel bookings touched 12 million during the same period, with a projected development of 42%. He said that they are optimistic for an even sturdier retrieval in tourism during the upcoming winter season, which is the peak tourism period in the UAE owing to the temperate temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius, compared to more than 45 degrees Celsius during summer.

Bin Rashed, holding the position of Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, said that the UAE’s foreign trade surpassed one trillion dirhams (271.1 billion euros), going up from 840 billion (227.7 billion euros) prior to the pandemic, with economic expansion of 22% during 2022.

Bin Rashed said that their indicators now are resilient than the indicators before the pandemic. Their economic growth is faster and tourism, trade and development segments are bigger than before the pandemic.

The UAE is one of the leading oil exporters in the world, and is also the most modern concerning infrastructure among Arab countries. It is also a chief tourist and business attraction in the Gulf.

Source: Travel and Tour World