South Africa Minister for Tourism Patricia De Lille revealed that Kenya was its fastest growing source of tourists from 2022.
In an interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo at the World Travel Tourism Council Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Patricia stated that out of the five million tourists who visited South Africa in 2022, four million came from Africa and of the four million tourist’s majority were from Kenya.
“Out of the five million tourist we received last year four million came from Africa a classic example is Kenya,” said Patricia De Lille.
In addition, the minister noted that the increase in tourists to South Africa came about at the time South Africa lifted the visa requirements for Kenyans travelling to south Africa for ninety days.
Likewise, she stated that the direct flights from Kenya to South Africa have contributed immensely to the South Africa’s tourism sector and that it is now the fastest growing market.
“We got the visa free waiver for ninety days in Kenya and the direct flights between Nairobi and Cape Town and Johannesburg,” said Patricia.
South Africa and Kenya Visa Free Agreement
It is worth noting that in November 2022, Kenya and South Africa agreed on a visa-free regime to promote trade and investment.
At the time President Wiliam Ruto and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa agreed that all Kenyan ordinary passport holders would be allowed to enter South Africa Visa-free for up to 90 Days per calendar year beginning January 1, 2023.
President Ruto explained that a return policy has also been agreed when immigration laws and regulations are breached.
“Kenya considers South Africa a strategic ally and we are committed to building stronger economic ties between our nations,” said Ruto.
Likewise South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on his part promised to deepen the relationship between South Africa and Kenya.
“We recognize that a wonderful foundation… exists between our two countries, (which) gives rise to enormous opportunities that our two countries should capitalize on,” said the South African President.
Kenya’s Visa-Free Policy
And as Tourism Sector improves following the visa waiver in South Africa, President Ruto took on December 12, 2023, declared Kenya a visa-free country.
Also Read: How Kenya Will Benefit from Ruto’s Visa-Free Policy
“It shall no longer be necessary for any person from any corner of the globe to carry the burden of applying for a visa to come to Kenya. To echo the call of the Turkana people to the world: “Tobong’u Lorre!” Kenya has a simple message to humanity: Welcome Home!”, said Ruto.
While making his remarks during the Jamhuri day celebrations Ruto stated that the visa-free policy for people traveling to Kenya will begin from January 2024 and that the policy would relieve travelers off the burden of manually applying for visas.
Kenya’s Tourism 2023
However, while the global tourism sector is still recovering from the post-Covid pandemic period, Kenya has recorded a strong performance this year, with numbers expected to cross the two million mark following the visa lift by Ruto.
Also Read: Discover the Beauty and Diversity of Tourism in Kenya: Everything You Need to Know
According to the Kenya Tourism Board – KTB, International arrivals from January to October 2023 were 1.6 million, representing a 34 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022, which recorded 1.2 million visitors.
This is also above last year’s 1,483,752 full-year arrivals when the sector started picking up from the pandemic, as numbers grew 70.45 per cent compared to 2021 arrivals of 870,465.
Also, KTB, the country’s lead state marketing agency, said strong recovery in both core and emerging markets bolstered the sector’s performance.
