As Peninah Maloza the presumptive CS for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage prepares to assume her corner office at Utalii House, if approved, her docket in-tray is full to the brim.
Her cabinet appointment is historic considering she is the first-ever Cabinet appointee from Kitui South.
Upon approval, she will have to confront historic bottlenecks curtailing the tourism sector.
Tourism has for ages been Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner.
However, a massive resurgence in diaspora remittances and horticultural exports has edged tourism from the pinnacle.
For decades, Kenya’s tourist arrivals have never surpassed the Sh2 million mark whereas revenues have plateaued at the $1.5 billion to $2 billion brackets.
In Africa, Kenya lags behind Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Mauritius, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
That even smaller nations with lesser natural attractions are trouncing Kenya in the continental league is proof that there has been a failure to utilise Kenya’s comparative advantage to craft a winning sales proposition.
The new CS should ensure Kenya plays to all her strengths including geographical position, archaeological treasure chest, friendly populace, diverse culture, rich wildlife and stunning beaches in the fight for a larger tourist market share.
That the legendary Lake Turkana attracts minimal tourist traffic despite being the world’s largest permanent desert lake and the world’s largest alkaline lake; is another pointer to the monumental marketing failure.
The government should leverage the vast road networks and the modernised railway lines to disperse tourists from the traditional beach and bush circuit to other novel circuits.
Regionally, Kenya enjoys a first-mover advantage in business travel by hosting the UN Mission in Africa besides being the commercial hub of Eastern Africa.
Moreover, Intra-regional business travel is expected to grow after the ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) by 54 African countries.
This is the second-largest World free trade area and is expected to double intra-African trade by 2035.
Adopting an open skies policy for air travel in Kenya will further position Kenya as an ideal travel destination.
Airlines will be incentivised by the freedom to make routing and pricing decisions without government interventions leading to growth in passenger and cargo flights ultimately promoting the hotel industry.
Finally, to penetrate the emerging tourism source markets, Kenya should rethink its luxury niche market destination brand.
This brand was pragmatic in the 1980s and 1990s when high net-worth baby boomers from the US and Europe were the mainstay of global tourism.
The economic rise of Brazil, China, India, China and South Korea has heralded a new reality.
Their sheer population size and newfound purchasing power make it foolhardy to ignore these emerging economies.
The strategic imperative is tailor-making a tourist product that aligns with the aspirations, culture and demographics of new-age travellers.
Law Student at the University of Nairobi
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
