More visitors expected for World Rally Championship this year – CS Malonza
The country is expecting more visitors for the third edition of the World Rally Championship (WRC) slated for next week in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
According to Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza, the annual event is expected to boost the number of international tourists touring the country.
She downplayed fears of COVID-19 noting that the country was free of the virus despite concern from some of the international visitors.
Speaking in Naivasha during the 23rd Kenya Association of Travel Association (KATA) annual conference, she said that the Tourism sector was in recovery after the pandemic.
She said that the number of international tourists had risen from 870,000 during the pandemic with projections that this would hit 5m in three years.
On the travel industry, the CS noted that the financial crisis, the war in Russia and climate change had negatively impacted the sector, reducing the number of visitors.
The Chairperson KATA Shazmin Manji identified airline capacity, connectivity and cash flow as some of the major challenges facing the sector.
She added that the rising cost of fuel coupled with taxes had seen the cost of air travel rise sharply affecting the number of passengers mainly in Africa.
She was however optimistic that the sector would fully recover by next year with projections indicating the sector revenue would rise compared to 2019.
On her part, Pearl Hoareau from The Uganda Association of Air Travel Agents (TUGUTA) said that they were working closely with Kenya as they had similar challenges.