Tourism Sector Projects Over Kshs. 470 Billion Revenue Increase

Kenya could double her foreign tourist arrivals in three years to tap into a projected revenue increase of Kshs. 472 billion, Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has announced.

The Cabinet Secretary says her ministry is working towards increasing the current number of annual arrivals by more than 2.9 million, from 2.086 million to five million by 2027.

Speaking during a meeting with officials from Kenya tourism Federation and Kenya Tourists guides, Miano said  partnerships with various players in the tourism sector would help the country record revenue increment from the current 352 billion to about 824 billion annually.

“My commitment is to build synergies with the private sector to develop a common approach in transforming the tourism sector to be the number one contributor of foreign exchange earnings job creation and GDP Growth,” she explained.

She added: “As a Ministry we applaud the Private sector contribution and partnerships in hosting and participating in local and international events; marketing campaigns; policy advocacy; developing innovative tourism products and market intelligence sharing.”

Going forward, Miano revealed that her ministry had embarked on developing a National Tourism Strategy as they work towards coming up with initiatives that will help boost domestic tourism.

The CS says her ministry will work with stakeholders to develop incentives on affordable travel and accommodation in order to support the growth of our domestic Tourism.

“As a ministry we are developing an annual calendar of tourism events and we will be enhancing our synergies to partner and ensure we have all year-round events promoting domestic tourism. We will soon be inviting you to launch the tembea Kenya campaign,” she noted.

As art of the strategy, the CS said the government will use the upcoming UN World Tourism Day set for 27th September, 2024 to promote domestic tourism.

“We will be celebrating the UN World Tourism Day on 27th September,  2024 which we want to optimize as a key strategy towards promoting domestic and international tourism. We have already engaged the various Counties to bid for the hosting of the event,” Miano said.

Additionally, the CS said she will champion celebration of the forthcoming UN World Tourism Day in all the counties.

Other areas which Miano said she will be seeking collaboration with the private sector is on digitizing the tourism sector as well as financing mechanisms to support sector growth.

“We are committed towards developing virtual tours, and developing a Tourist App that will provide recommendations, and information about attractions and digitized guided tours,” she said.