NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 11 – Kenya has received its first group of Chinese tourists from China since the Chinese government banned group travels at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
The China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou, touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday morning with 205 travelers, forty (40) of whom were on group travel.
Speaking when he welcomed the visitors, Tourism PS John Ololtuaa said that the resumption of group travel from China was an important milestone for Kenya’s tourism sector owing to China’s growing importance as a source market for Kenyan tourism.
“We are glad to receive this flight with205 passengers, forty (40) of whom are on group travel into Kenya. We thank the Chinese government for choosing Kenya among the 3 African countries for this pilot,” he said.
“China has reported one of the longest closures of international flights. Today is exciting for us because it means we are now resuming full connectivity with one of our growing source markets for international tourist arrivals. We are looking forward to capitalizing on our already strong bilateral relations with Chinato improve tourism numbers from China.”
The airline had initially resumed flying into Kenya on the January 9th 2023, when China lifted its travel restrictions with the government announcing it would pilot outbound group tours in twenty countries globally starting February 6.
Kenya was among the only three African countries picked alongside Egypt and South Africa for the project.
The PS further observed that the full resumption of Chinese airlines would not only complement Kenya’s existing air connectivity, but also help in increasing tourist arrivals from China to Kenya, adding that the Ministry of Tourism would be working closely with other stakeholders to attract Chinese travelers to the country.
“Over time now, China has grown into an important emerging market. Pre the pandemic arrival numbers had been on an increase with the destination receiving 83,180 visitors in 2018 and 83,388 in 2019.Chinese nationals visited Kenya and spent nights in various hotels in different parts of the country,” he said.
“The Chinese market represents a huge opportunity for Kenya’s tourism industry and will only grow in coming years with more air connectivity.”
Kenya Tourism Board CEO, John Chrichir says: “A majority of Chinese tourists visit Kenya between July and September to see the wildebeest migration. Chinese visitors have an adventurous spirit and are willing to pay for value for adventurous experiences.”
“We want them to know that Kenya is an all-year-round tourist destination by marketing all our experiences including beach, adventure, wellness hiking among other products so as to attract all visitors.”
China is currently Kenya’s sixth biggest tourism source market internationally and the second biggest source market in Asia. It contributes around5.5 per cent of total international tourist arrivals to Kenya thereby signifying its immense potential for growth
The airline will make three weekly trips from Guangzhou to Nairobi, further boosting international travels in Kenya.
The rising middle class in China has created strong demand for outbound travel which creates potential opportunities for Kenya to attract travelers from the Asian nation.
