Kenya's tourism earnings for January-September 2006 increased by 5 percent to 36 billion shillings (US$500 million) compared to 34 billion shillings (US$480 million) over the same period last year, tourism officials said here Tuesday.

 

The state-run Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) said tourist arrivals by air and sea rose by 13.2 percent for the third quarter of 2006, boosted by visitors from United Kingdom, United States and Germany.

 

KTB Managing Director Ongong'a Achieng said tourism is now the most profitable sector in Kenya with average earnings of 4 billion (US$50 million) per month.

 

"We are therefore right on target of our projected earnings at 56 billion shillings (US$78 million) from 49 billion shillings (US$68 million) earned in 2005," Dr. Ongong'a told a news conference in Nairobi.

 

"Consolidated arrivals performance over the same period last year increased by 11.8 percent from 1.15 million in 2005 to 1.29 million in 2006," he said.

 

"We have registered significant arrivals from our major source markets and these include UK, United States and Germany," he told reporters.

 

The country's tourism sector suffered after terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998 and a hotel bombing in 2002 near the coastal town Mombasa.

 

However, it has recovered through an aggressive marketing campaign in its source markets in Europe and in new ones in Asia, leading to tourism's best performance in 15 years in 2004, when the sector earned 44 billion shillings (US$611 million).

 

Tourism contributed 12.7 percent to gross domestic product in 2005, a figure that is projected to rise to 14 percent in 2006, according to the KTB.

 

Ongong'a said Kenya received 106,004 visitors from the United Kingdom -- its leading market -- in the third quarter compared to 101,452 visitors in the same period in 2005.

 

He said the United States market overtook Germany this quarter and took the second position with 59,053 arrivals compared to 52, 090 in 2005, a 3.4 percent increase over the same period last year.

 

"This increase indicates that American travelers especially from the North still continue to have confidence in Kenya as the preferred tourist destination in Africa," KTB chief said.

 

Germany, which is now the third largest single provider of tourism to Kenya, had 53,267 tourists visiting the east African nation in the third quarter of this year compared to 47,018 in the same period in 2005.

 

Ongong'a said the road network still continues to pose the biggest challenge in KTB's marketing efforts. "Most of the major roads leading to our National Parks and Game Reserves are in poor conditions and need urgent repairs and maintenance," he said.

 

"To effectively compete with its regional neighbors in the tourism market, sufficient increment in investments especially in additional classified beds is necessary. KTB will continue to urge the private sector to expand investments not only in the hotel and accommodation sub sector but other viable tourism products and services," he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)