Kenya's tourism industry has
taken a hit from massive cancellations in the international markets
as hitches on the Electronic Travel
Authorization (eTA) system continues.
This has seen both the private
sector and government miss on
revenue, as for the second month
visitors are unable to get approvals
to travel to Kenya.
All visitors including infants and
children who intend to travel to
Kenya must have an approved eTA
before the start of their journey, in
a new system that came into place
on January 5, 2024 replacing the
traditional visa.
It comes at a non-refundable
fee of $30 (Sh3,877 at the current
exchange rate), and it is mandatory
before arrival including for visa-exempt travellers.
Technical hitches and system errors reported include
payment processing errors, server
timeout, browser compatibility
challenges and abrupt session expiration.
The industry has reported
massive cancellation of bookings
by international tourists keen on
visiting Kenya both for leisure and
work, but have failed to secure the
critical travel document.
While the hitch is being experienced across the international
space, some of the key markets
Kenya stands to lose out big on include the US, Italy, India, Germany,
China and France which are top
international sources.
According
to the Kenya Tourism Federation
(KTF), there has been system instability since the start of last month
after the government carried out
an upgrade.
“The ETA has been
experiencing persistent crashes deterring travel to Kenya. This will
inevitably lead to cancellations and last-minute itinerary changes,” KTF
said in a statement by its chairman
Fred Odek and CEO Susan Ongalo.
There are also concerns over
inadequate customer care where
applicants have consistently complained about being unable to get
real-time assistance when challenges arise and lack of an effective
dedicated channel for emergency
assistance.
Speaking to the Star yesterday,
Odek said: “They tried to do a
system update last month and
that is where the problems started.
Applicants are facing different issues with the system, it is sporadic
across the markets.”
Odek who also doubles as the
Kenya Association of Tour Operators said operators and clients
are starting to report revenue
losses due to delayed or cancelled
bookings, which is also eroding
client trust that could affect future bookings.
The hotel industry has
also reported cancellations amid
concerns Kenya could lose to her
competition mainly Tanzania and
South African countries which offer similar products, mainly beach
and Safari.
“The situation is bad…things
are not working. We have engaged
immigration they say the system
is working, our clients say it is not.
It has been a very rough time and clients are frustrated. If we are not
able to do it, then we will lose out
to other markets,” Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers
CEO Mike Macharia told the Star.
Last month’s system upgrade
came after a January Cabinet
review of a report by a Working Group on Kenya’s Visa-Free
Regime set in December 2024. It
adopted recommendations on
improving the system.
