Less money for Kenya’s tourism public sector as budget is slashed by over 4 percent

KENYA’S PARLIAMENT ADDS TO TOURISM WOES AS IT CHOPS BUDGET BY 300 MILLION

(Posted 08th June 2015)

Nothing is ever as it seems in Kenya and an earlier announcement by the Treasury, that the country’s ailing tourism sector was to be allocated 7.1 billion Kenya Shillings to promote the destination abroad is the latest victim of this assertion. Latest details emerging from Nairobi speak of the national assembly’s budget and appropriation committee chopping 300 million Kenya Shillings off the amount tourism stakeholders were expecting, a cut of about 4.2 percent.

While the remaining 6.8 billion Kenya Shillings budget estimate are still a sixfold increase compared to the past financial year will stakeholders no doubt be angered that their funding has again been touched. ‘Our MP’s have often shown how detached from reality they are. In the past they have recklessly added taxes and at the same time chopped budges for tourism. And we all know not all the money is always coming to those who need it most. We will have to wait and see what during the year actually comes to KTB. What is very important now is to use the money well and have a good marketing strategy in place. We need to get our core markets come back first and foremost. I would put Africa second to that because that market is resilient to our problems and not easily swayed. And of course emerging and new markets need work to add numbers’.

There were also some emerging rumbles from the grassroots of the tourism industry in regard of the appointment of PR firm Grayling, asking for situation and activities reports to gauge the effectiveness of the appointment.

Sources close to KTB have in the meantime confirmed that the annual Magical Kenya Tourism Expo is on course to be held from the 15th to the 17th of October in Mombasa while the 40th anniversary congress of the Africa Travel Association will follow just a month later in Nairobi, two high profile promotional events which will no doubt assist Kenya’s tourism marketers to make inroads again.