Senators are pushing for the expansion of airports outside Nairobi to international standards to allow for direct flights in a bid to boost tourism in the country.
The legislators argued that currently, it is only Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) receiving direct flights as opposed to airports in areas endowed with tourism sites like Taita Taveta and Maasai Mara.
This even as they urged the government to re-introduce low-interest credit of five per cent advanced to people who are in the tourism business to boost the sector.
Tourism is one of the sectors hard hit during the coronavirus pandemic that saw foreign countries suspend international flights to reduce the scourge.
Senators now want the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to devise ways and growth in domestic airports such as Malindi, Kisumu and Ukunda.
In a statement tabled on the floor of the House, Nominated Senator Esther Okenyuri said although there is some steady growth recorded in the past months especially in the aviation sector for both international and domestic travel, there is a need to boost domestic travelers to the Kenyan coast and other tourist destinations in the country.
“Tourism is a top foreign exchange earner in many countries. The multiplier effect of the sector in trade, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and transport sectors has led to improvements in the socio-economic wellbeing of Kenyans. The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife must now roll out a recovery plan to revive this sector since the global slump in tourist numbers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Okenyuri. BY PEOPLE DAILY