A BRIEF ON MY 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

On the 25th of November 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta made a reshuffle of his
cabinet and returned me to the Ministry of Tourism where I had previously and
successfully served during the grand coalition government. I thank the President for
this show of confidence he has bestowed on me. I thank the people of Kenya,
stakeholders in the tourism industry for their unwavering support and the good will
messages I received upon my reappointment.
The new changes also saw the President appoint Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi Mohamed as
the new Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, and together we have
embarked on the journey of working towards the recovery of the sector.
The fact that tourism was made a standalone Ministry from the former East African
Community affairs, Commerce and Tourism clearly shows that the government
recognizes the role that the sector plays in economic development.
Priorities and achievements in 100 Days in Office

My top priority as I took over office was to advance a proactive agenda focused on
tourism recovery through implementation of strategies and programmes towards
this purpose. With my agenda items being Marketing, Product development and
Capacity building, I have engaged with various stakeholders in the tourism industry
while reconnecting with tourism as a product. I picked up my campaign of selling
Kenya NOT as a wildlife and beach destination only but as a more encompassing
destination of Sport Tourism, Marine life preservation, conservation, conferencing
etc.

Herd Tracker Worlds first live broadcast of great migration via Periscope
completed and secured massive global coverage on social media

Infrastructure
As we may be aware, tourism is a product that is affected by other deliverables such
as infrastructure and security. I have engaged in interministerial lobbying with my
fellow colleagues in Cabinet to ensure that issues such as road networks are
developed. I have engaged the Presidents office to ensure fast tracking of the
expansion of JKIA and Malindi Airports to handle greater numbers of visitors.
While with the President during his tour of the Coast early this year, he also agreed
to and ordered for the fast tracking of the Port-Reitz Mombasa Road and the
Dongo- Kundu by pass that will allow tourists to travel to the South Coast

without using the ferry.

As a Ministry, we recognize the fact that tourism business like any other economic
activity will not thrive with the challenges of infrastructure.
For the tour operators, negotiations have borne fruits as tour vans ferrying
tourists have been given direct pass and are no longer required to queue at
the ferry. This will save time.
Investor Confidence
My Ministry has also moved in to restore and appreciate investors who have
continuously expressed confidence in Kenya even during worst times. The opening of
the English Point Marina and the Billionaires Club early this year at the coast
continued to breathe freshness into our accommodation facilities.

We have moved to ensure that our products and services are always improved so as
to keep up with the global standards
Charter Incentive Programme and Passenger subsidies
Towards the implementation of the tourism recovery strategy, the Ministry has
launched the Charter Incentive Programme that has waived landing fees for
charters with 80% of the passengers terminating at Mombasa and Malindi for the
next 2years.
The program is aimed at recovering lost business from tourist charter aircrafts that
used to terminate at Moi International and Malindi airports. Under the program,
all tourist charter aircrafts with passengers terminating at these two airports, will
enjoy free landing and a passenger subsidy of USD 30 per tourist if 80% of the
passengers on board will terminate in Kenya .These incentives have been put in
place to reward charter operators who choose Kenya as the preferred tourism
destination and make long term commitments on the route guaranteeing us a
gradual increase in the number of tourist arrivals that will spur the economy r to
generate the much needed tourism revenues and jobs over the period.
Waiving of Visa Fees for Children under 16 years
The Government with effect from 1st February 2016 waived visa fees for children
less than 16 years. This is aimed at promoting family travel to Kenya
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Park Fees
My Ministry in consultation with the Kenya Wildlife Service has reduced park
fees from $90 to a high of $60 as from1st Feb, 2016. In this regard, VAT on park
fees has been scrapped effective 1st July 2016.
The reduction of the park fees is to allow for more tourists both locally and
internationally to access game parks and boost tourism in the country

Tembea Kenya Consumer Campaign

In order to promote domestic tourism and have a direct impact on domestic tourist
numbers, My Ministry

recentlylaunched an SMS campaign to also support the

ongoing efforts of positioning the countrys tourists attractions to its local audience.
The Ministry through its marketing agency the Kenya Tourist Board recently
launched a successful Ks.30 Million SMS campaign aimed at encouraging
Kenyans to tour their country. The campaign encourages Kenyans to participate and
win trips to various experiential travel destinations across the country. These
incentives in combination with the private sector efforts will further increase
domestic tourism by offering better priced packages, and entice domestic travellers
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to travel more often within their own country, thus maintaining higher numbers
during both the higher and lower seasons
Having noted the high prices charged by hotels in the country thus not attracting
locals, my Ministry has initiated dialogue with hotel operators to consider
adjusting the hotel prices as the only surest way of attracting locals. This will go
a long way in ensuring that Kenyans can afford holidays and reduce reliance on
foreign tourism.
On efforts to position Kenya on the global market where it matters, I am already
meeting with Kenyas Marketing Development Representatives ( MDRs) to
share with them our recovery strategies besides giving them confidence to
continue marketing the country.
Local and International Publicity
I have also undertaken several international media interviews /Global TV networks
of CNN (on the popular business show Quest Means Business) and BBC Africa
(Focus on Africa show) to reassure tourists and help in shaping a positive image
for the country. I have been on a reassurance mission in London and Berlin recently
where I assured the world that Kenya was not a hot bed of terror as had been earlier
alleged

but

holiday

destination

of

choice

for

many

International Publicity has also been helpful through the recent Wild Beast
Migration. For the first time in History, My Ministry organized an online live
broadcast using the Herd Tracker / Periscope where the World-first live
broadcast of great wild beast migration via Periscope was completed. This
broadcast received massive global coverage on social media of up to 56 million
people.
The turtle that I released back to the water in January also received massive
coverage. It also had a live online broadcast meant to show the world that its not all
about beach and safari, but we also do animal conservation.

The broadcast was live on Periscope.

State Corporations
Parastatals under the Ministry of Tourism have for a long time operated without
Boards of Management and this has hindered a lot of activities within the
institutions. With the president having recently appointed board Members, I have
directed that in order to ensure proper Succession Management, all CEOs of the
agencies who have served their two terms to hand-over to a senior manager to
manage the entities as the Boards prepare to recruit competitively. I have since
appointed acting Managing Director for the Kenya Tourism Board, Tourism Finance
Corporation and the Principal of Kenya Utalii College following completion of the
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CEOs term. I recently met all appointed board members for an inaugural strategy
meeting on taking our institutions forward

Further, the Ministry has initiated the process of operationalizing the Tourism
Research Institute as required by the Tourism Act, 2012.
1. FORWARD OUTLOOK
Going forward, the Ministry intends to:
Establish Hotels Refurbishment Fund
County Tourism Product Development
Development of a 10 year Tourism Strategy
Enhance Tourism Marketing (Relaunch Magical Kenya Brand)
Revamp and Relaunch the National Brand Make it Kenya
Completion of Phase II&III of the Ronald Ngala Utalii College
Operationalize of the Tourism Tribunal
Rehabilitate and refurbish KICCs Amphitheatre, Tsavo ball room and the
revolving restaurant
Construction of a Practical Laboratory for the Kenya Utalii College students
practical's and in-service training

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 Competitively seek for Strategic investors to construct the Mombasa

International Convention Centre (MICC) and the BOMAS International
Convention and Exhibition Centre (BICEC) on behalf of Government

2. CONCLUSION
I call on all stakeholders, public and private to support the Ministrys efforts
towards the wider goal of tourism recovery. With these strategies in place I believe
we are on course for the tourism recovery and to attain our set target of at least
3Million tourist within the next 2-3 years.

Hon. Najib Balala, EGH

CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TOURISM

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