HOTEL&TOURISM SMARTreport #46

Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #46
2020 Spring Edition 5
5
© Kenya Tourism Board
© Kenya Tourism Board
every day: technology, for example. But
as things change in the world, we need
to adapt. Today, if you don’t go digital,
you are out. If you are not innovative, you
are out. These are the kind of things that
we adopt as we progress and grow in the
tourism sector.
What are the biggest challenges?
For us, the biggest challenge is security. We
are also heavily investing in infrastructure.
Of course, overall government priorities
include such things as healthcare and
education. So, tourism will not come
as a priority per se, even if it generates
revenues. For us, it generates 12% of
GDP. So funding is a challenge. In the past
two years, I managed to address those
issues by charging a $10 departure tax.
I believe we will receive up to $30-million
every year guaranteed. This is money
available for marketing.
How is the development of multidestination,
or multi-nation tourism
progressing?
Indeed, we cannot be an “island” among
the other African countries. That is why
I am promoting “Brand Africa”, as the
whole brand of the continent of Africa
must be positive. We can then move
from the promotion of Brand Africa to
the specific experience of a destination.
Africa is a diverse continent with diverse
products, and they are not necessarily
the same. If the beach is the same, the
people are not the same; the cultures are
not the same; the experience is not the
same; the area or the environment is not
the same. This is why we say, “Come and
see Africa, and see the diversity across
the continent”. Yes, we need Uganda to
grow, we need Tanzania to have the right
infrastructure. We need the entire region
of Africa to have the right stability for us
to benefit from that global image of the
continent of Africa.
WE CANNOT
BE AN “ISLAND”
AMONG THE OTHERS.
THAT IS WHY I AM
PROMOTING “BRAND
AFRICA”, AS THE
WHOLE BRAND OF
THE CONTINENT OF
AFRICA MUST BE
POSITIVE.
What kind of tourists are you looking
for?
Our tourism in Kenya is nature-based
tourism: safaris, and then the beaches.
We are very clear about the numbers
we are seeking and what our carrying
capacity is. That said, I don’t believe
overtourism is a real problem in the world.
I believe lack of proper management is
the problem. If we start condemning
overtourism, it is tantamount to killing
peoples’ economies, because tourism
is essential to their economy. Countries
need to better understand how to
manage seasonality, and to manage the
attractions, diversifying more. In all of
Africa, we only have 67 million tourists.
Spain has 82 million tourists. But our
tourism, as I mentioned, is nature-based.
The ecological situation is sensitive, so we
need to manage our numbers.
How do you work with the UNWTO?
I am currently the Chairman of the
executive council, and I was the Chairman
of the Council of Ministers of Africa.
Our strategy is very clear, we want to
develop Brand Africa, so that we can
change the narrative. The narrative right
now is negative and not encouraging. So,
we want to work with the media, with
tour operators, with governments, to
make sure there is real security. We will
approach governments to ensure there
is connectivity in Africa. We also want
to partner with governments in Africa to
create the proper infrastructure to allow
tourism to grow. These are the things we
have proposed and we hope to engage
very soon. The UNWTO Secretary-General
has already allocated $500,000 to the
development of Brand Africa, and these
are the kinds of propositions that are on
the table