KTB targets 1.6 million tourist arrivals in 2016

Tourism players expect arrivals to hit a record high of 1.6 million tourists in 2016.

This follows the lifting of numerous travel advisories against the country, with the tourism sector having been on the decline since 2013.

Kenya Tourism Board Managing Director Jacinta Mbithi said the sector is set for a major rebound, with policies and funding in place to improve the country’s tourism offering.

“We are looking at an increment of around 400 thousand arrivals. The project is for 1.6 million by the end of the year,” Ms Mbithi said.

A spate of terror attacks have had a negative effect on the sector, with earnings dipping to Sh84.6 billion in 2015 on low visitor numbers.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of statistics, arrival numbers were however up 16.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016, to 206,778 tourists between January and March.

KTB expects the momentum to carry on throughout the year.

“We have a target to fully recover to our best year ever by the end of 2018,” she said.

Sector players led by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala have been on a sustained campaign to get key tourist markets to drop the travel advisories against Kenya. The government has also increased funding to the sector, allocating Sh10 billion in the current budget to boost the country’s attractiveness.

Report by Noah Kuto