Step up air transport to grow tourism

KTB CHAIRMAM JIMI KARIUKI (Photo: Courtesy)

Tourism is one of the main income sources for many of the world’s developing countries. For Kenya, one of Africa’s leading tourism destinations, the industry is the country’s second largest source of foreign exchange after agriculture. In 2016, the industry contributed over Sh100 billion in foreign exchange income, a 17.8 per cent growth over 2015. The sector contributed over 13.5 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector directly supports an estimated 250,000 jobs and an additional 350,000 indirectly.

International visitor arrivals grew from 752,000 in 2015 to 877,600 in 2016, a 16.7 per cent growth, and in the first four months of 2017 they grew to 292,100 from 264,700 in 2016, a 10.3 per cent growth.