State to Adopt New Strategy to Drive Up Tourism Visits and Increase Foreign Exchange Earnings – October 11th 2023

The government plans to drive up tourism visits to the country to increase the contribution of the sector as in foreign exchange earnings from the current 14 percent to 50 percent over the next ten years.

The new Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Dr Alfred Mutua said, plans are underway to promote investments in adventure, relaxation, sports, conference and medical tourism among others aimed at growing tourism visits from the current 1.4 million to 200 million over the next 10 years that will increase foreign earnings to the country.

Dr Mutua said the national government will collaborate with the County governments to map out potential tourism products and sites for development and marketing to attract tourism visits and create employment opportunities in the country.

The cabinet secretary said he plans to engage with parastatal boards and stakeholders, services providers such as hoteliers and tour operators, conservationists, researchers and leaders to re-examine the tourism and wildlife sector and redesign tourism ecosystem to improve tourism flow to the country.   

The outgoing Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza said Ksh 300 million was budgeted by the Ministry to support community conservation efforts aimed at boosting tourism.

Malonza said some of the achievements of the tourism sector are the successful hosting of the Climate Change Summit hosted at the Kenyatta Convention Center and the hosting of the first Wildlife Scientific Conference in the country this year that brought together wildlife researchers, scientists, conservationists, policy makers and government officials from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, the US and Netherlands among other Countries.

Following the re-assignment duties, Dr Mutua moved from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora to the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife while Malonza has been moved from Mistry of Tourism and wildlife to the Ministry of East African Community, the Asals and Regional Development.