The Kenyan Government has earmarked more than $40 million for tourism promotion in a bid to revive the industry.

Earlier this month, Kenya’s National Treasury Minister, Henry Rotich, said the Government had allocated over $40 million for the financial year 2016/2017 to be spent on marketing the East African country to woo more international tourists.

Rotich added that tourism had declined as a result of travel advisories that were issued by the US, UK, France and Australia following terror attacks that occurred in the country in 2014.

To help the sector recover, the Minister said the Government had committed the $40 million-plus for promotion plus incentives. “The tourism sector is on a recovery path, owing to security improvement that resulted in the lifting of travel advisories by our key source markets,” Rotich said.

He confirmed that the Government would continue to improve the country’s security for the safety of locals and visitors for them to enjoy their holidays.

Last month, Kenyan Tourism Minister, Najib Balala, had assured tourism players that the Government would allocate a substantial amount of funds for marketing in international markets. Balala said a bulk of the funds would be spent on key markets such as the UK, US, Italy, France and Spain as well as emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Asia.

Tourism players welcomed the Government’s allocation of over $40 million, saying it would boost marketing campaigns in overseas markets.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast Executive Officer, Sam Ikwaye, said the funding would be a great support to the Government and the private sector’s efforts to revive the industry. Over the years, he added, the Kenya Tourism Board used to be allocated only $5 million for marketing, adding that the extra funding would help intensify the agency’s campaigns.

Ikwaye called on the Ministry of Tourism and KTB to target markets that favour Kenya to help the country to attract more international holidaymakers. 

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