Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano wants Kenyan travel operators to package short city tours suited for travellers on stopovers with the roll out of transit visa.
She said the government’s recent introduction of Transit and Long Connection Travellers’ Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) is a major boost to short tours applicable to visitors on long layovers.
Miano spoke during the launch of the Coast Tourism Circuit tembea Kenya campaigns, in Mombasa, which marked another milestone in Kenya’s ongoing commitment to expand and open-up tourist destinations for visitors.
She disclosed overwhelming requests for the digital nomad permits especially from expatriates that allows those who wish to live and work remotely in the country.
“As we continue to unveil various tourism circuits to open up new travel opportunities, I encourage our partners to tap into the opportunities provided by the government to spur travel,” Miano said.
While underscoring the government commitment to reinvigorate the tourism sector, the CS announced collaborative approach with other arms of government besides the private sector.
She said her ministry with that of Internal Security are in collaboration to beef up Tourist Police Unit for adequate security at tourism sites especially in the upcoming festive season.
“Am already in discussion with the Attorney General to find ways of addressing issues that have slowed wedding events in the country by foreigners,” the CS said.
To further boost Kenya’s tourism experiences by hospitality facilities, the CS while calling on the need to engage trained personnel to work in hotel industry, announced plans to make operational the Ronald Ngala Utalii College in Kilifi County.
She said her ministry was keen on working closely with the private sector to address emerging issues that have impact on the tourism business calling on the need for quarterly meetings towards this end.
The Coast Tourism Circuit launch marks the third circuit under the Tembea Kenya campaign to be launched, following the successful unveiling of the Western Circuit in Kisumu during Tourism Week and the North Rift Circuit in Eldoret.
This campaign aims to promote domestic and international tourism by showcasing Kenya’s diverse attractions and experiences.
Kenya Tourism Board CEO, June Chepkemei, underscored the importance of events, festivals and sports in increasing visitation to the destinations.
“Events have increasingly become key pullers of visitors who are now more interested in getting immersed in experiences. This is the trend we are keen on tapping into,” the CEO said.
The CEO said growing demand for wedding points to the potential to position Kenya as a wedding destination.
“We are positioning Kenya’s coast as an ideal wedding destination to meet growing demand. We want to leverage weddings, adventure, and water sports to drive traffic to the coast, complementing our offerings of festivals, events, and sports," Chepkemei said.
"Through Tembea Kenya, we’re calling on Kenyans and our international visitors to explore and discover the exceptional diversity within our borders."
In 2020, KTB in partnership with tourism stakeholders at the Kenyan Coast unveiled the ‘Magical Kenya’ sub-brands targeting the Coast region.
The seven unique sub-brands are themed around different areas at the Coast, including Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Tana River, Diani, Watamu and Tsavo.
This introduction was seen as a boost to the Coast economy which relies largely on tourism.
