Kenya Airways to open more direct flights from China

(China Daily) Kenya Airways is expected to open non-stop flights from Beijing to Nairobi in Kenya in May with four services a week on Boeing 787 aircrafts said a sales executive with Kenya Airways.

The airline now has daily flights from Guangzhou to Nairobi and four flights a week from Hong Kong to Nairobi.

"Preparations are under way for direct flights from Shanghai to Nairobi, which are expected to open late this year," said Koko Wu, sales executive of Kenya Airways China.

Local insiders said opening new services in China is a powerful measure to match the tourism promotion campaigns launched by the Kenya Tourism Board in the Chinese mainland.

The board plans to launch new tourism campaigns in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province this year.

"To ease the movement of Chinese tourists and visitors to Kenya, the Governments of Kenya and China are working closely to improve air connectivity between the two countries," said Michael Kinyanjui, Kenyan Ambassador to China, at the roundtable on tourism in Kenya which was held in Shanghai on January 22.

Kinyanjui said the mutual effort will make air travel easier by increasing flight frequencies and entry points by Kenya Airways to China.

In September 2014, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in tourism, which covered cooperation in exchange programs, marketing and promotions, training and capacity development, sustainable tourism development and investments in the industry, he said.

"The governments of the two countries are, therefore, fully committed to deepening the cooperation in the field of tourism," Kinyanjui added.

Kenya received about 40,000 Chinese tourists in 2014, which decreased by 20 percent compared to 2013, said Jacinta Nzioka Mbithi, marketing director of Kenya Tourism Board, adding that the number occupied a small portion of the foreign visitors to the country last year.

"We will try our best this year to make up for the 20 percent," the director said.

She said the board is fully confident about the Chinese tourism market. As new flights open, more Chinese travelers will go to Kenya, she added.

Mbithi's words were echoed by the ambassador, saying that the Government of Kenya has attached great importance to the comfort and security of all visitors and tourists. The government has identified the improvement of quality of tourist facilities and service, and enhancing security as the 

keys to growing the tourism Industry.

He said the government is making substantial investment in the sector and encouraging additional investment in tourism related infrastructure.

Airport facilities are being improved with the major expansion of Kenya's main Airport-the JKIA, which, coupled with the opening of other airports, will enhance Kenya's ability to receive more visitors Kinyanjui said. Airstrips in major safari destinations have also been refurbished to enable tourist access to game reserves with ease thus optimizing the Safari experience, he added.

The country's tourism board has worked out a plan to have an annual of 100,000 travelers from China visit in the next five years, the marketing director said.

Source: By Chen Qide (chinadaily.com.cn)

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