Kenya to increase tourism funding
27/8/2008 17:14
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said his government will channel more
resources to tourism sector and step its marketing drive to woo more visitors to
the east African nation after post-election crisis nearly led to the collapse of
the industry.
Speaking to tourism stakeholders in the coastal city of Mombasa
late yesterday, Kibaki also assured the industry stakeholders that his
government has accorded priority to the tourism sector as it has the capacity to
respond quickly to positive policy initiatives and also has the potential to
create thousands of jobs for the country's youth.
He said the government has
teamed up with the private sector and other development partners to undertake an
aggressive marketing campaign to reassure tourists that Kenya is a safe
destination and commended the minister for tourism for personally taking charge
of efforts to market Kenya abroad.
The president said the government has also
managed to convince governments in countries that contribute the bulk of Kenya's
tourists to lift the negative travel advisories that they imposed at the
beginning of the year.
"Indeed, when tourism declines, it is not only
government that is affected by reduced revenue earnings, but also many families
suffer when their breadwinners lose their jobs, suppliers lose markets for their
products and even small scale traders find it difficult to sell their wares," he
said..
The east Africa country's image was affected by the post election
violence which left at least 1,000 people dead and 300, 000 displaced after
President Kibaki's disputed December re- election.
About 20,000 people lost
their jobs due to massive cancellations by tourists expected to arrive during
that period, when the country was plunged in chaos over a disputed presidential
election.
But Kibaki noted with satisfaction that some countries have already
cancelled the advisories and endorsed Kenya as a tourism destination of
choice.
Saying the country's tourism is a highly resilient sector, President
Kibaki said the tremendous growth in the sector following the downturn in 2002
is a clear testimony to this fact.
"Between 2003 and 2007, we saw tourism
earnings more than double from about 25 billion shillings to over 65 billion
shillings. Indeed, the sector is now the leading foreign exchange earner,"
President Kibaki said.
He added that following the rapid and successful
recovery of the tourism sector, the government has identified it as one of the
priority sectors to drive economic growth under vision 2030.
For the country
to realize this Vision, President Kibaki said the tourism stakeholders should
play a central role in areas such as increasing bed capacity, enhancing quality
of services and coming up with diverse and innovative products to capture new
tourism markets and retain them.
President Kibaki also urged tourism
stakeholders to come up with holiday packages that are affordable to Kenyan
peoples, saying the move would accord citizens a chance to enjoy the country's
wonderful natural heritage.
"I personally had a wonderful experience at the
Maasai Mara recently and would be happy to see more Kenyans having a similar
experience," President Kibaki.
He noted that 60 percent of tourism activities
in the country are concentrated at the Coast owing to the region's wonderful
attractions including white sandy beaches, marine parks, a rich historical and
cultural heritage and the renowned hospitality of the coastal
people.
President Kibaki said through linkages with other sectors such as
agriculture, manufacturing, handicrafts, banking and insurance, many Kenyans owe
their livelihood to the tourism sector hence the need to protect the
sector.
In order to compete effectively with other destinations and increase
the country's market share, the President said the government is set to invest
more in marketing and promotion of tourism and will soon be announcing
additional funding to the sector to strengthen and enhance the ongoing tourism
promotion programs.
Kenya's tourism earnings for 2007 rose by 15.4 percent to
65.4 billion shillings from 56.2 billion shillings realized in the same period
in 2006.
The consolidated arrivals over the same period increased by 9
percent hitting 2,004,866 arrivals that was projected four years
ago.
Xinhua
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