Kenya experienced a notable increase in international tourist arrivals last year, about 2.4 million visitors compared to 2 million in 2023.
According to the recently launched Tourism Sector Performance Report, 2024, this represents a growth of 14.6 per cent.
Revenue earnings during that period also increased to Sh 452.20 billion from Sh 377.5 billion in 2023, translating to 19.8 per cent growth.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, during a recent National Tourism Award Ceremony for hospitality enterprises for Kiambu, Kajiado and Nairobi counties, said that despite the positive outlook of tourism to the national economy, the sector continues to face numerous threats.
The challenges are mainly attributed to insufficient adaptation to climate-related challenges, the global economic downturn and increasing health awareness and environmental consciousness among local and international travellers.
She noted that the development of a competitive tourism destination demands the implementation of sound principles that enforce sustainability and delivery of high-quality services.
“I applaud the Tourism Regulatory Authority for coming up with the National Accreditation Scheme leading to the ‘National Tourism Excellence Award’ for the sector,” she said.
The National Tourism Excellence Award, which has become a signature event to promote improvement and consistency in quality service delivery, was launched in mid last year in the Mt. Kenya region and the exercise has so far covered the Mt. Kenya region, the North and South Rift region, Nyanza and Western Kenya, and the Greater Nairobi region.
Currently, the finalisation of this accreditation exercise is ongoing in the Coastal, Lower Eastern and North Eastern counties to pave the way for the national classification exercise.
The objective of the ongoing undertaking is to establish the level of compliance and comfort afforded by the accommodation and catering facilities in the country under the National Accreditation Scheme based on the National Minimum Standards set out by the Ministry through the Authority.
CS Miano says that the initiative is imperative in providing equal opportunities for all tourism and hospitality business enterprise models to compete for business opportunities, incentivising and stimulating positive competition among tourism-based enterprises and various destinations in the country.
Having covered 31 out of 47 counties, the CS said that they take cognisance of the fact that the concept of quality has been well received and applied by all esteemed service providers.
“When tourism enterprises are awarded ‘Excellence Awards’, it means that the business has ticked all the necessary boxes required in an internationally best practice-based scale,” she added.
Miano reiterated that as such, the “Quality Mark” being awarded will help to build on the country’s destination image, empower travellers to make informed decisions, and promote healthy competition in the hospitality sector.
The ministry, she said, is committed to continuing to support such initiatives because the quality of a destination has a major impact on the visitor experience and is a key driver of tourism destination competitiveness.
“I advise the establishments that have been awarded today to maintain and continuously improve the quality of their services and products to uphold high standards,” Miano said.
The three counties being celebrated and who were awarded the “Quality Mark” plaques and certificates host a considerable percentage of Kenya’s tourist destinations and are recognised for hard work and achievements towards enhancing the reputation and image of their hospitality facilities.
In 2019, the tourism sector accounted for about 10.3 per cent of global GDP at USD 8.9 trillion and a total of 330 million jobs, translating to 1 in 11 jobs globally.
By Wangari Ndirangu
