Tourist arrivals
Total arrivals for the whole country for the first quarter of this year by air and sea was 312,258 compared to 313,691 arrivals in the same period last year.
This reflects a 0.5 per cent decline, KTB indicated.
Mombasa airport received 72,735 visitors this year compared to 93,008 last year, a 21.8 per cent decline.
Hersi dismissed the notion that the Kenyan tourism industry can effectively survive on local and regional tourism alone.
“We need to have a good mix and balance. It is largely the international tourists who bring in the much needed foreign currency,’’ he explains.
“The Government has been notorious and continues to give preference to ministries with serious misappropriation issues yet the minis. The ministry of Tourism can create more wealth if given enough resources,’’ Hersi added.
Mr Adam Sheikh, the general manager of Baobab Resort& Spa, challenged the Government to be more proactive in the promotion of tourism.
“It is prudent that KTB which markets Kenya to the rest of the world is adequately funded if Kenya is to make gains from tourist arrivals here,’’ Sheikh said.
Mike Macharia, the chief executive, Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, said Government should be committed towards promoting the tourism industry.
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