President Uhuru has acknowledged the growing tourism industry.
While speaking in state house ,Mombasa , the president said the tourism industry has bounced back and is growing. This means more jobs for our young people, it means more business for our hospitality industry.
This is why we must continue on the path of unity and peace.
I am pleased to receive the Tourism Sector Performance Report 2018 from @Min_TourismKE CS @tunajibu at State House, #Mombasa. The report highlights international tourist arrivals, domestic tourism performance and tourism receipts | @RailaOdinga @HassanAliJoho pic.twitter.com/DFoYRNgmMr
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) January 7, 2019
Earnings from tourism industry improved in 2018 with the ministry reporting Sh157 billion compared to Sh119.9 billion earned the previous year.
The ministry’s report says the number of international visitor arrivals grew by 37 percent to 2 million in 2018 from 1.4 million in 2017.
The top 30 source markets for Kenya are USA, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, India, China, Germany, Italy, South Africa and France.
Nature of the visits include holiday, business and conference, visiting friends and relatives.
“Tourism performance for the year 2018 has seen substantial improvement compared to 2017 in both tourism arrivals, domestic tourism performance and earnings,” says the report.
According to data released by the ministry in 2018, Africa was the second largest source of tourists to Kenya in 2017 at 29 per cent behind Europe at 36 per cent. The US was third at 15 per cent.
The number of tourist arrivals from the US and United Kingdom grew by double digits boosting tourism earnings by 20 per cent amid travel warnings by the two governments against Kenya visit over the period.
Our tourism industry has bounced back and is growing. This means more jobs for our young people, it means more business for our hospitality industry. This is why we must continue on the path of unity and peace. pic.twitter.com/1aSOlb5iU7
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) January 7, 2019
Security is very important for our tourism sector. This is why I thank all security agencies for the work they are doing to keep #Kenya secure. I ask all Kenyans to join in advising our young people against getting involved in activities that are a security threat to our country. pic.twitter.com/oAY7CQrjdT
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) January 7, 2019