Kenya has received the first group of Chinese tourists, after China opened their country for people to travel outside since the Covid outbreak.
The China Southern Airlines landed in Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Guangzhou on Saturday morning.
On board were 205 travelers, forty of whom had travelled as a group.
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.”
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China is currently Kenya’s sixth biggest tourism source market internationally and the second biggest source market in Asia.
“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,” Ps Ololtuaa added.
“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 said most visitors from China come between the months of July and September.
“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.”