Kenya is safe for French tourists, President Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked French tourism stakeholders to help promote Kenya as a destination of choice for French tourists.

He said the stakeholders should work closely with Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism to remove the negative perception that paints Kenya as unsafe.

“Kenya is not only one of the most attractive tourist destinations but it is also safe and open to French tourists,” President Kenyatta assured French tourists.

France has fallen back to 13^th from 5^th in terms of tourist numbers visiting Kenya and the President said it was important that they back to clawing back the position.

France is a big investor in Kenya, with French companies the 6^th largest foreign investors.

The President was speaking in Paris on Tuesday during a meeting with French tourism stakeholders. The tourism stakeholders were led by the Vice President of the French Association of Travel Agents, Mr. Richard Soubielle.

Mr. Soubielle applauded the progress Kenya has made in boosting security, saying that was the reason why France lifted the travel advisories apart from a few areas.

He assured President Kenyatta of his association’s commitment to work with its Kenyan counterpart to re-invigorate campaigns to market Kenya in France.

“We are fully behind you in all efforts to encourage our clients to visit Kenya as their destination of choice,” Mr. Soubielle said.

Saying tourism is an important an important segment of Kenya’s economy, President Kenyatta said his Government has gone full-throttle in its effort to revive the sector.

“That is why my administration has laid great emphasis on the full recovery of the tourism industry,” President Kenyatta said.

As part of the recovery strategy, President Kenyatta said his administration has set aside Sh1.2 billion worth of incentives for charter flights, which have resumed their previous frequency.

Other measures include the waiving of visa fees for children under 16 and the reduction of park entry fees by the Kenya Wildlife Service from $90 (Ksh 9,000) down to $60 (Ksh 6,000) and the improvement of infrastructure countrywide.

The President, on France on a three-day State Visit, said the Government has also strengthened security by recruiting additional security officers who have been deployed across key tourism areas.

“We have also improved surveillance significantly.  In addition, other security measures such as street lighting and inter-agency cooperation have been improved,” President Kenyatta said.

The meeting was also attended by Cabinet Secretaries Najib Balala (Tourism), Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs and International Trade), as well as Kenyan Ambassador to France Salma Ahmed.