My 100 Days in Office

8/19/2019 My 100 Days in Office

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A BRIEF ON MY 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

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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

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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 –World’s first live broadcast of great migration via Periscope

completed and secured massive global coverage on social media

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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 President’s 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 thefast tracking of the Port-Reitz Mombasa Road and the

Dongo- Kundu by pass that will allow tourists to travel to the South Coast

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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 astour 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

theEnglish Point Marina and the Billionaires Club early this year at the coast

continued to breathe freshness into our accommodation facilities.

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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 togenerate 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 2016waived 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 hasreduced 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 country’s tourists attractions to its local audience.

The Ministry through its marketing agency the Kenya Tourist Board recently

launched a successfulKs.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 hasinitiated dialogue with hotel operators to consider

adjusting the hotel pricesas 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 Kenya’s 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

ofCNN(on the popular business show “Quest Means Business”) andBBC 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 a holiday destination of choice for many .

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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 theHerd Tracker / Periscope where theWorld-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 turtlethat 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 it’s 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 havedirected that in order to ensure properSuccession 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 theTourism

Research Institute as required by the Tourism Act, 2012.

1.FORWARD OUTLOOK

Going forward, the Ministry intends to:

EstablishHotels Refurbishment Fund

County Tourism Product Development

Development of a10 year Tourism Strategy

EnhanceTourism Marketing (Relaunch Magical Kenya Brand)

Revamp and Relaunch theNational Brand “Make it Kenya”

Completion of Phase II&III of theRonald Ngala Utalii College

Operationalize of theTourism Tribunal

Rehabilitate and refurbish KICC’s Amphitheatre, Tsavo ball room and the

revolving restaurant

Construction of aPractical Laboratory for the Kenya Utalii College students

practical's and in-service training

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Competitively seek forStrategic 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 Ministry’s 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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My 100 Days in Office

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