Tax incentives likely to be rolled out for low-cost airlines to attract visitors in Kenya

Kenya is contemplating to provide tax incentives for low-cost airlines to fly into the country to attract more international tourists, officials said.

Kenya has set a target to raise the number of international travellers from 2 million in 2018 to 3 million by the end of 2022, Najib Balala, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, told journalists in Nairobi on Monday evening, April 15.

"We are planning to roll out tax incentives for low-cost airlines that will bring visitors into Kenya beginning the next financial year," Balala told an event celebrating his winning the World Travel and Tourism Council's Global Champion Award at the 2019 Global Summit in Seville, Spain, for Kenya's work on promoting the social impact in the tourism sector.

Government data indicates that international tourists spent over 157 billion shillings (1.57 billion U.S. dollars) in Kenya last year. Balala said the incentives will not impact the role of Kenya Airways, the national flag carrier, in attracting more inbound tourists.

No country in the world has developed a vibrant tourist sector without leveraging on low-cost airlines to bring in tourists, he said. Kenya is keen to embrace an open sky policy to ensure that more international airlines operate in the country, Balala said, Xinhua noted.

The availability of affordable flights into Kenya from major global cities in the United States, Europe and Asia will boost the number of tourists in Kenya, he said, noting that the number of international visitors coming into Kenya is very low compared to its unique beach and wildlife products.

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