Kenya welcomes 1st group of Chinese tourists after pandemic
Kenya on Saturday received the first group of Chinese tourists after three years of pandemic-related hiatus at a ceremony in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi marked with pomp and pageantry.
Kenya's senior officials and executives in the hospitality sector were on hand to receive the first batch of 40 Chinese tourists who traveled from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to Nairobi using a China Southern Airlines flight.
John Ololtuaa, principal secretary at the State Department of Tourism, lauded the Chinese government for choosing Kenya among three African Nations, including Egypt and South Africa, for piloting outbound group tours after Beijing's optimization of COVID-19 response.
"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," said Ololtuaa.
According to Ololtuaa, Kenya will leverage the Chinese market to boost tourist arrivals, hastening the recovery of a sector that contributes about 7 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product.
At present, China is Kenya's sixth biggest tourism source market internationally, contributing 5.5 percent of total international tourist arrivals in the country during the pre-pandemic period, said Ololtuaa.
John Chirchir, acting chief executive officer of the Kenya Tourism Board, said marketing the country's scenic attractions like wildlife, sandy beaches and mountainous landscapes in China had intensified.
Source: Xinhua
