Kenya: China's new travel destination
17/3/2004 17:27
The National Tourism Administration of China has signed a tourism memo
with the Kenya tourism authority making Kenya the first tourist destination
among East and Middle African countries for Chinese people. By early May this
year, around 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese people are expected to begin to travel to
Kenya.
"Package tours to Kenya are expected to be organized by early May,
and by October, direct flights will be launched between Beijing and Nairobi,
Kenya’s capital," said Cai Lianfang, manager with the Far East office with the
Kenya Tourist Board.
Once there are direct flights, round-trip airfares
between Beijing and Nairobi will drop from 14,000-15,000 yuan (US$1687-US$1807)
to 7,000-8,000 yuan, about the same as to Europe, Cai pointed out.
Four
travel agencies (Beijing Shenzhou International Travel Agency Group; China
Travel Service Head Office; China International Travel Service (CITS) head
office; and Beijing Hua Yuan International Travel Co Ltd) have already started
to organize package tours to Kenya for August this year. Tours to Kenya are
expected to cost 12,000 yuan, to Kenya and South Africa around 14,000 yuan, and
to Johannesburg, Egypt and Kenya 18,000 yuan.
Business tours to South
African and Kenya currently cost around 27,000 yuan but after direct flights are
in operation, the charges will be cut in half, Cai said, adding that Kenya has
cut the food and accommodation fees by 20-30 percent to attract more Chinese
tourists.
Moreover, visa procedures to Kenya will also be simplified, taking
only three to five days instead of the previous 21 working days.
Kenya, one
of the countries with the richest wild animal resources in the world, has its
own characteristics, and compared with tour costs to Europe, its prices are
competitive, Cai stressed. Last year, only 2,700 Chinese people visited there,
but that number will grow.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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