A BRIEF ON MY 100 DAYS IN OFFICE 1
On the 25 th of November 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta made a reshuffle of his cabinet and returned me to the Ministry of Tourism where I had previously and successfully served during the grand coalition government. I thank the President for this show of confidence he has bestowed on me. I thank the people of Kenya, stakeholders in the tourism industry for their unwavering support and the good will messages I received upon my reappointment. The new changes also saw the President appoint Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi Mohamed as the new Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, and together we have embarked on the journey of working towards the recovery of the sector. The fact that tourism was made a standalone Ministry from the former East African Community affairs, Commerce and Tourism clearly shows that the government recognizes the role that the sector plays in economic development. Priorities and achievements in 100 Days in Office My top priority as I took over office was to advance a proactive agenda focused on tourism recovery through implementation of strategies and programmes towards this purpose. With my agenda items being Marketing, Product development and Capacity building, I have engaged with various stakeholders in the tourism industry while reconnecting with tourism as a product. I picked up my campaign of 2
selling Kenya NOT as a wildlife and beach destination only but as a more encompassing destination of Sport Tourism, Marine life preservation, conservation, conferencing etc. Herd Tracker World s first live broadcast of great migration via Periscope completed and secured massive global coverage on social media Infrastructure As we may be aware, tourism is a product that is affected by other deliverables such as infrastructure and security. I have engaged in interministerial lobbying with my fellow colleagues in Cabinet to ensure that issues such as road networks are developed. I have engaged the President s office to ensure fast tracking of the 3
expansion of JKIA and Malindi Airports to handle greater numbers of visitors. While with the President during his tour of the Coast early this year, he also agreed to and ordered for the fast tracking of the Port-Reitz Mombasa Road and the Dongo- Kundu by pass that will allow tourists to travel to the South Coast without using the ferry. As a Ministry, we recognize the fact that tourism business like any other economic activity will not thrive with the challenges of infrastructure. For the tour operators, negotiations have borne fruits as tour vans ferrying tourists have been given direct pass and are no longer required to queue at the ferry. This will save time. Investor Confidence My Ministry has also moved in to restore and appreciate investors who have continuously expressed confidence in Kenya even during worst times. The opening of the English Point Marina and the Billionaires Club early this year at the coast continued to breathe freshness into our accommodation facilities. 4
We have moved to ensure that our products and services are always improved so as to keep up with the global standards Charter Incentive Programme and Passenger subsidies Towards the implementation of the tourism recovery strategy, the Ministry has launched the Charter Incentive Programme that has waived landing fees for charters with 80% of the passengers terminating at Mombasa and Malindi for the next 2years. The program is aimed at recovering lost business from tourist charter aircrafts that used to terminate at Moi International and Malindi airports. Under the program, all tourist charter aircrafts with passengers terminating at these two airports, will enjoy free landing and a passenger subsidy of USD 30 per tourist if 80% of the passengers on board will terminate in Kenya.These incentives have been put in place to reward charter operators who choose Kenya as the preferred tourism destination and make long term commitments on the route guaranteeing us a gradual increase in the number of tourist arrivals that will spur the economy r to generate the much needed tourism revenues and jobs over the period. Waiving of Visa Fees for Children under 16 years The Government with effect from 1 st February 2016 waived visa fees for children less than 16 years. This is aimed at promoting family travel to Kenya 5
Park Fees My Ministry in consultation with the Kenya Wildlife Service has reduced park fees from $90 to a high of $60 as from1 st Feb, 2016. In this regard, VAT on park fees has been scrapped effective 1 st July 2016. The reduction of the park fees is to allow for more tourists both locally and internationally to access game parks and boost tourism in the country Tembea Kenya Consumer Campaign In order to promote domestic tourism and have a direct impact on domestic tourist numbers, My Ministry recentlylaunched an SMS campaign to also support the ongoing efforts of positioning the country s tourists attractions to its local audience. The Ministry through its marketing agency the Kenya Tourist Board recently launched a successful Ks.30 Million SMS campaign aimed at encouraging Kenyans to tour their country. The campaign encourages Kenyans to participate and win trips to various experiential travel destinations across the country. These incentives in combination with the private sector efforts will further increase domestic tourism by offering better priced packages, and entice domestic travellers to travel more often within their own country, thus maintaining higher numbers during both the higher and lower seasons Having noted the high prices charged by hotels in the country thus not attracting locals, my Ministry has initiated dialogue with hotel operators to consider adjusting the hotel prices as the only surest way of attracting locals. This will go a long way in ensuring that Kenyans can afford holidays and reduce reliance on foreign tourism. 6
On efforts to position Kenya on the global market where it matters, I am already meeting with Kenya s Marketing Development Representatives ( MDRs) to share with them our recovery strategies besides giving them confidence to continue marketing the country. Local and International Publicity I have also undertaken several international media interviews /Global TV networks of CNN (on the popular business show Quest Means Business ) and BBC Africa ( Focus on Africa show) to reassure tourists and help in shaping a positive image for the country. I have been on a reassurance mission in London and Berlin recently where I assured the world that Kenya was not a hot bed of terror as had been earlier alleged but a holiday destination of choice for many. International Publicity has also been helpful through the recent Wild Beast Migration. For the first time in History, My Ministry organized an online live broadcast using the Herd Tracker / Periscope where the World-first live broadcast of great wild beast migration via Periscope was completed. This broadcast received massive global coverage on social media of up to 56 million people. The turtle that I released back to the water in January also received massive coverage. It also had a live online broadcast meant to show the world that it s not all about beach and safari, but we also do animal conservation. 7
The broadcast was live on Periscope. State Corporations Parastatals under the Ministry of Tourism have for a long time operated without Boards of Management and this has hindered a lot of activities within the institutions. With the president having recently appointed board Members, I have directed that in order to ensure proper Succession Management, all CEOs of the agencies who have served their two terms to hand-over to a senior manager to manage the entities as the Boards prepare to recruit competitively. I have since appointed acting Managing Director for the Kenya Tourism Board, Tourism Finance Corporation and the Principal of Kenya Utalii College following completion of the CEOs term. I recently met all appointed board members for an inaugural strategy meeting on taking our institutions forward 8
Further, the Ministry has initiated the process of operationalizing the Tourism Research Institute as required by the Tourism Act, 2012. 1. FORWARD OUTLOOK Going forward, the Ministry intends to: Establish Hotels Refurbishment Fund County Tourism Product Development Development of a 10 year Tourism Strategy Enhance Tourism Marketing (Relaunch Magical Kenya Brand) Revamp and Relaunch the National Brand Make it Kenya Completion of Phase II&III of the Ronald Ngala Utalii College Operationalize of the Tourism Tribunal Rehabilitate and refurbish KICC s Amphitheatre, Tsavo ball room and the revolving restaurant Construction of a Practical Laboratory for the Kenya Utalii College students practical's and in-service training Competitively seek for Strategic investors to construct the Mombasa International Convention Centre (MICC) and the BOMAS International Convention and Exhibition Centre (BICEC) on behalf of Government 2. CONCLUSION I call on all stakeholders, public and private to support the Ministry s efforts towards the wider goal of tourism recovery. With these strategies in place I believe we are on course for the tourism recovery and to attain our set target of at least 3Million tourist within the next 2-3 years. Hon. Najib Balala, EGH CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TOURISM 9