Tourism officials confident of Kenyan rebound

Ebola outbreaks elsewhere in Africa, and continued fears over security, hit second-largest industry

Kenyan tourism officials and experts are optimistic that the Ebola outbreak in some African countries, and continued fears over security, will not have too long-lasting an effect on discouraging visitors from China.

The country is now nearing the end of its peak tourism season, which runs from June to the end of September, when great animal migrations on the savannah attract thousands of tourists annually.

Some travel agents in the country have reported drops of as much as 50 percent in numbers of Chinese tourists. However, Phyllis Jepkosgei Kandie, Kenya's minister of East African affairs, commerce and tourism, insists the long-term effect of the two issues has been limited, and she expects more Chinese in total to visit the country across the whole year.

"We don't only have great animal migrations, but also many other wonders for people to discover throughout the year," Kandie told China Daily shortly before leaving Kenya for the 18th China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen in Fujian province.

She also insists that the Ebola outbreak, which has been largely limited to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, is happening some distance from Kenya, and assured visitors that her country is ready to combat any outbreak.

She also says that while in China, the two countries' tourism authorities would sign what she called an upgraded memorandum to consolidate and strengthen ties between the countries.

Tourist companies across Kenya recognize the importance of Chinese income. To attract more Chinese, many have been working hard to provide tailored services to meet the demands of customers, including offering Chinese food and having Chinese speakers available.

"That's why we have been encouraging more students, for instance, to learn Chinese," she says.

"Chinese tourists should take advantage of the multi-entry visa available to eastern African countries," she says, referring to the East Africa Tourist Visa introduced at the end of last year to promote tourism to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

The Kenyan government is also planning further campaigns in China to highlight its tourism industry, she says.

It has appointed a promotions agency in Beijing, and there are now direct flights from Nairobi to Shanghai and Beijing by Kenyan Airways, with more expected to be launched.

The number of overseas tourists visiting Kenya slumped to 1.49 million last year from 1.78 million the previous year, the government says, and it attributes the fall mostly to increased security fears following a terrorist attack in a shopping mall in Nairobi in September last year in which dozens of people were killed. Tourism is Kenya's second-largest industry, worth about $1 billion annually and accounting for 12 percent of GDP.

As Western interest in the area has declined in recent years, mainly due to such security worries, many in the industry have turned their attention to attracting Chinese to fill the gap.

Han Jun, chairman of the China General Chamber of Commerce in East Africa, who runs a travel agency in Nairobi, says he has experienced a slowdown in business this year, especially during these crucial summer months, meaning "winter has come early for us".

Some of his industry peers in Kenya and China have suggested their Chinese business may be half what it was last year, he says.

In addition to the Ebola outbreak, the Chinese government's austerity and anti-corruption campaign has also hit income, Han says.

"Africa is a relatively new destination for Chinese tourists, so they are sensitive to what has been reported in the media.

"Part of the problem is that they have quite a generalized impression that Africa is one country - but the area being affected by Ebola is far from us, and it's life as normal here.

"The threat of terrorist attack is real, also, but it's very rare."

In the past, Chinese government delegations coming to Kenya on business were also a significant earner for the industry.

But Han says the number of those has dropped as much as 80 percent this year.

"However, this will not be a determining factor in the future, as Kenya is a unique destination that is becoming better known by Chinese tourists, and we expect the market to mature."

Han says some Chinese investors are considering building ecologically friendly hotels in or around Kenya's national parks.

He says if this disease can be controlled efficiently, "we could still see a revival in Kenyan tourism."

Shao Qiwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration, says he met with Kandie this year and underlined that tourism ties between the countries, although still relatively small, "would be strengthened".

He says his organization would continue to promote Kenyan tourism in China by encouraging collaboration between agencies, establishing more direct flights, encouraging further investment in Kenyan tourism facilities, and providing training for Kenyan industry professionals of the present and future.

According to most tourist agencies, Kenya and Tanzania are the top east African tourist destinations for Chinese, and they remain encouraged that more destinations across this region are also being developed.

"Ebola really came out of the blue, and it has affected business severely," says Li Donge, the manager of Polaris Tourism Company Ltd in Nairobi.

"We had been expecting to grow at a faster pace than last year."

Li has been working in Kenyan tourism for six years, and the growth in Chinese interest there prompted her to launch her own company last year.

"We had a very good booking record until the peak season, but all that changed with the Ebola outbreak, and nearly half of my bookings were cancelled," she says.

"Although we explained what was really happening here to customers, many were very apprehensive."

Despite her current troubles, however, she says she is confident Kenya will regain its position as a top Chinese tourism destination, especially given that neighboring competitor markets have been affected by the Ebola outbreak.

"Not one Chinese tourist has told me that Kenya is not worth visiting. The landscape and here are so different to anything in other parts of the world, and we are confident the number of Chinese tourists will grow quickly again soon."

lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/12/2014 page23)