By Chemtai Kirui
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on East Africa’s tourism industry, leading to significant job losses and reduced income. Despite the region’s efforts to diversify its sources of tourism, it has struggled to attract visitors from other countries. However, China’s recent decision to resume international travel after a three-year closed border policy is seen as a ray of hope for the industry.
China is the largest global source of tourists, comprising almost 10% of all international travelers, but East Africa has traditionally seen much lower numbers of Chinese visitors, with an average of around 30,000 before the pandemic. However, Beijing’s recent decision to allow overseas group tours to begin, starting with a trial phase in Kenya, signals the end of a three-year period of closed borders under China’s strict “zero-Covid” policy, which came to a close in December. If successful, these group tours could not only benefit Kenya, but also other countries in the East African Community, such as Uganda and Rwanda, which already offer a single tourism visa, enabling Chinese visitors to tour without additional immigration requirements.
Before the pandemic, approximately 155 million Chinese citizens traveled outside their country, making China the world’s largest source of tourists, accounting for nearly 10% of global tourism. However, the number of Chinese visitors to East Africa was much lower, with an average of around 30,000 visitors. According to the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife’s Tourism Sector Performance Report for January-August 2022, Kenya received 55,488 visitors from China, which accounted for only 6% of the total 924,812 visitors.
China suspended overseas group tours in January 2020 due to the spread of Covid-19, but last week, Chinese authorities announced a pilot program that will allow travel agencies to open outbound group travel for Chinese citizens to 20 nations, including Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa. Other countries included in the program are Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina.
The resumption of international travel and the potential increase in Chinese tourists is projected to have environmental impacts, particularly on Kenya’s fragile ecosystems and biodiversity. Climate change, including increased temperatures, prolonged droughts, and unpredictable weather patterns, has already had a severe impact on the country’s tourism industry, with reduced wildlife sightings and lower visitor numbers in some areas.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that many countries have welcomed Chinese tourists and that many Chinese citizens are looking forward to traveling overseas. Kenya received approximately 84,000 Chinese visitors in 2019, which was a small proportion compared to the millions of outbound Chinese tourists, leading to the development of a strategy to attract more visitors. However, the pandemic disrupted these efforts.
A report by the World Tourism Organization showed that Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders globally, with each tourist spending more than $1,250 per trip, which was almost 35% higher than European tourists. Despite this, Kenya has not benefited from the outbound Chinese tourism boom due to a lack of marketing efforts in China, despite being granted Approved Destination Status for outbound Chinese tourist groups in 2004. Before the pandemic, China was Tanzania’s leading market for tourists.
To address these issues, Kenya has launched the Club of Sino-Africa Culture and Tourism initiative, which aims to promote cross-cultural understanding, cooperation, and people-to-people interactions. In January, Kenya Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza and Chinese counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, Tang Jianjun, launched Club of Sino-Africa Culture and Tourism initiative aims to promote cross-cultural understanding and cooperation, which can help foster sustainable tourism practices and raise awareness of environmental and social issues. The initiative can help foster sustainable tourism practices and raise awareness of environmental and social issues, promoting responsible tourism practices that can ensure long-term economic and social benefits for local communities while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
The Chinese tourists’ high spending power can have noticeable impacts on the region’s tourism industry, and the government and traveling industry are looking at ways to prioritize sustainable development and responsible tourism practices.
East Africa’s tourism industry is pinning its hopes on the reopening of international travel and the resumption of group tours from China. The region is eager to tap into the potential of Chinese tourism.
With the launch of the Club of Sino-Africa Culture and Tourism, Kenya just like the rest of its neighbors is hoping to rejuvenate its tourism industry, with Chinese visitors.