Kenya keen on becoming major climate-smart destination – CS

Kenya joins the globe in marking the World Tourism Day 2023 on Wednesday. Spearheaded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, this year’s event will highlight green investments in tourism. The Star spoke to Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza on Kenya’s position and the future of sustainable tourism.

What is the significance of this year’s theme as we focus on building back better post pandemic? With the theme “Tourism and Green Investment”, we echo the importance of investing in people and planet resources, thus natural, cultural and historical to ensure that tourism activities such as indigenous peoples’ lifestyles, traditional skills, cultural products and practices can be preserved while at the same time enjoyed by more visitors.

The Ministry has a mandate to ensure that the tourism sector is able to contribute towards a sustainable environment and ensure that it does not become a burden to our planet. This can only be achieved through provision of guidance on environmental protection strategies, which will enable investors in the sector such as hotels, lodges and other entities to reduce pollution and contamination of water bodies by human activities.

Additionally, my Ministry continues to explore ways of enhancing investments in natural resources such wildlife parks and protected areas while at the same time developing cultural and historical sites in order to attract more visitors and boost local economies.

This approach has provided a framework for sustainable tourism development where communities are empowered to earn a living from their natural resources, while at the same time conserving them for future generations.

How is the Ministry working with the counties to improve marketing and infrastructure in their respective regions for better tourism returns? Counties have an important role to play and the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage looks forward to working with them to ensure growth and development of the sector.

The Ministry is working with the 47 counties in capacity building to allow better marketing and infrastructure development in the regions for better tourism returns. This is in cognisance of the fact that counties are the custodians of tourism attractions and opportunities within their regions and have a crucial role to play in making destinations attractive to visitors. This includes enhancing security, construction of roads, provision of clean water among others.

Kenya currently has a raft of initiatives to make it eco-friendlier as you try to increase interest from green tourists. How is the government ensuring these initiatives are effective? We are leveraging our geographical location as an advantage to position the country as a leading global eco-tourism destination of choice. Our natural and cultural heritage is a major attraction for tourists globally, and it has become imperative for us to invest in a manner that will sustainably nurture this beauty without harming it.

Kenya has initiated some great ideas including 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, plastic bags ban and 30 per cent forest cover by 2032.

These initiatives are aimed at reducing and reversing negative impacts on the environment. The Ministry is committed to ensuring that environmental considerations are incorporated in all development plans for the tourism sector. As much as we are making efforts to attract more tourists, we must embrace sustainability by protecting existing natural habitats and cultural heritage, while using the available resources in an efficient manner that does not deplete their availability.

This is why I have been championing for the greening in the tourism sector.While we want to promote sustainable tourism, we are also working to ensure that this benefits all the stakeholders across the value chain; from taxi drivers, tour guides to accommodation providers.

Kenya recently hosted the inaugural Africa Climate Summit with a call to action on climate change. How does this fit into Kenya’s plans to become a major climate-smart tourism destination?

The Africa Climate Summit was indeed a watershed moment for Kenya as it seeks to implement and proactively adopt measures to mitigate against climate change. The Summit was an important catalyst in raising awareness on the climate change agenda and its potential impacts on sustainable tourism, which is a vital economic pillar. It provided crucial information on mitigating the impact of climate change on tourism, such as investing in clean energy, water recycling, building green hotels, among others.

We need to come up with a comprehensive portfolio of holistic solutions for adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts on various sectors of our economy, including tourism, which translates into green investments that will transform our ways of doing business.

As a Ministry, we are committed to intensifying mitigation and adaptation measures that will prepare us for a future impacted by climate change. We have recognised that by acting early and preparing adequately, we can mitigate the risks that climate change poses to our tourism sector. Our pre-eminent position in Africa’s sustainable tourism industry compels us to show leadership in developing effective solutions to address emerging challenges.

As a Ministry, how are you ensuring sustainability is implemented in the sector?

Sustainability remains key for Kenya’s tourism now and in the future because tourism as an economic activity is important for the country and Livelihoods. Cognizant of this, we continue to partner with the private sector as key stakeholders to ensure our tourism business remains sustainable with conservation being at the center.

It is encouraging that more tourist destinations have embraced the concept of sustainable tourism and are now implementing variousinitiatives in this regard.

The aim is to promote sustainable tourism and finding a balance between communities, travelers and the environment to ensure that we sustain the wild for as long as possible. In this regard, the government has put in place several initiatives aimed at ensuring the protection of our wildlife within the country. A key element in these efforts was to first understand the number of wildlife resources we have in the country.

In 2021, the government, through the Kenya Wildlife Service, conducted the first-ever National Wildlife Census which has been important as it now gives us an understanding of the wildlife species we have and their needs in terms of their conservation. The aim is to ensure the protection of all the species and to ensure that our parks and conservancies can continue to offer great experiences to our visitors.

On the same note, as part of efforts to champion elephant conservation in Kenya, the government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage launched the Tembo Naming Festival in October 2021. The annual event is aimed at raising funds towards conserving elephants by minimising human-wildlife conflict. So far, communities in the environs of Amboseli national park have directly benefited from projects funded through the initiative.

What is the current state of tourism in the country? Where are we in terms of recovery; are we on the path to hit the 2019 numbers of 2 million tourists?

The tourism sector continues to thrive with remarkable progress, which has been characterised by improved performance from both local and international markets.

Between January and August 2023, Kenya’s tourism sector experienced a significant growth, with a 55 per cent increase in August arrivals, compared to the previous year, resulting in 204,502 tourists. Furthermore, cumulative arrivals from January to August increased by 36 per cent compared to 2022, with 1,252,298 visitors.

These impressive numbers indicate that Kenya remains a highly sought-after tourist destination, capable of thriving in the face of global challenges. This positive trend is a promising sign for the future of Kenya’s tourism industry, suggesting that it will continue to grow and develop.

This impressive growth is attributed to several factors including; strategic investment in marketing aimed at repositioning Kenya as a unique destination with a lot to offer holiday seekers, consistent engagement with the tourism sector partners to devise innovative ways of attracting visitors and a strong domestic tourism drive, which has seen Kenyans rediscover their country.

Targeted efforts are being undertaken to attract tourists from emerging markets such as China, India and the Middle East. The ministry has also been working with the industry players to start flying in more tourist charter flights from traditional and non-traditional markets so as to boost visitor arrivals.

What are some of the efforts being made to improve tourism numbers especially as we approach the peak tourism season in December?

Firstly, the ministry, under the Kenya Tourism Board has actively worked on raising the profile of Kenya as a tourist destination, by spearheading local and international marketing campaigns.

We continue to ensure that we have positive publicity and positioning of the country as a welcoming destination, with attractive tourism products and experiences. We also continue to engage in extensive stakeholder sensitisation as well as training Kenyans in the tourism sector to ensure they are ready and geared up to receive visitors with world-class hospitality.

Additionally, there have been several infrastructure improvements such as repairs and improvement of roads leading to some of our national parks and reserves. This is in addition to investing in the country’s airports and airstrips with the aim of attracting more airlines and setting the stage for more potential direct flights, that will see a higher number of visitation to the destination.

Airstrips to popular tourist sub- destinations such as Kwale, Lamu, Kilifi and Kakamega have been given a facelift to accommodate heavier passenger aircrafts thus increasing visitor arrivals.