Kenya targets 100,000 Chinese tourists yearly

NAIROBI, March 9 (Xinhua) — A senior Kenyan official said Wednesday Kenya
is targeting 100,000 Chinese tourists per year in the medium term, as it
embarks on a campaign to sell its safari and beach offerings to the Chinese.

Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, told Xinhua in an
exclusive interview that the East African Nation is embarking on a major
online and media marketing campaign in China and has already appointed a
new representative there.Kenya is going into digital marketing to promote
Kenya in the Chinese market, said Balala, adding Kenya’s tourist industry
is eager to tap into the Chinese market.”We had previously a representative
of Kenya Tourism Board in China,” he said. “We have appointed a new person
to represent us in China. The key Chinese market that we want is that we
want it to be top three.”

Kenya currently receives some 69,000 Chinese tourists annually, according
to 2017 government statistics, representing about 6 percent of total
tourist arrivals last year.”We hope we can get at least 100,000 Chinese
into Kenya in the next one two years,” Balala said, stressing the appeals
of the Kenyan market to Chinese tourists, despite it being a long-haul
destination, including groups of well-trained people who can speak the
Chinese language.In addition, the visa is online and the weather is good
for Chinese visitors, said Balala.”Everywhere you go in Kenya, there is
wildlife. We have Lake Nakuru National Park, Meru National Park, Amboseli
National Park, Masaai Mara, Tsavo National Park, Mount Kenya National Park,
and Nairobi National Park,” he said.

The CS said Kenya has already acted on complaints by Chinese tourists over
being coerced to give bribes at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in
Nairobi.”We have heard of those complaints. We have put a new structure at
the airport under the leadership of the CEO of the airport. Everything must
work.” said Balala, stressing that actions have been taken to ensure a
seamless non-corruption process, with major improvements already hailed by
tourists.Noting there are travel agencies and hotels run by Chinese in
Kenya, the CS also called for more Chinese investments in Kenya’s tourism
and wildlife sectors, saying Kenya is ready to give incentives, including
duty free on facility refurbishment, to investors in the industry.China has
honored its commitment to ending commercial processing and sales of ivory
by the end of 2017. Balala said the move was a noble thing done to Kenya
and Africa.Balala said Kenya is ready to deepen cooperation with China on
tourism and wildlife sector to cement bilateral relations. “The policy of
China to work with the rest of the world is a win-win policy, so we want to
encourage it and, definitely, we think our tourist industry and wildlife
sector will benefit from the visiting of Chinese tourists in Kenya.