Business, Investment & infrastructure
Kenya’s economy is expected to grow at
a 6.3 per cent compound annual rate over
the next five years, more than twice
the expected growth in global
GDP.
Wi th n ew h ote l s
expanding
s u p p l y,
the report predicts
that room rates will
continue to grow at
relatively moderate
rates as hotels look
to sus tain their
recent expansion in
the face of growing
competition. The
re p or t
further
p re d i c t s
room
r a te g r ow t h t o
average 3.3 per cent
compounded annually
through 2021.
The report further
says that hotel occupancy
rates will decline over the next
two years before edging up in
2019. The hotel occupancy rate will rise
to 57.4 per cent in 2021, up from 52.9 per cent
in 2016, but still well below the 66.1 percent
rate achieved in 2011.
The PWC report adds that Kenya has
introduced incentives to make the country
more competitive destination for safari
tourism.
The government is helping to boost
Kenya’s tourism by eliminating 16 per cent
Value Added Tax (VAT) on park entrance
fees. Visa fees for children have been
eliminated.
September 2017
The Kenya Wildlife Service park fees have
also been reduced to attract both domestic
and foreign tourists.
The government has also waived
landing fees for charter flights
at the Mombasa and Malindi
airports and authorized
S h 4 . 5 b il l i o n ( U S $ 4 4
million) in the national
b u d g et to p ro m ote
tourism sector.
In
addition,
the government is
investing in transport
infras tructure,
including
the
expansion of airports
to accommodate more
travelers. For instance,
construction of the Dongo-
Kundu Road is expected to
open up tourist’s access to
the south coast by land.
The PWC report reveals that
Kenya has improved on its meetings,
incentives, conferencing and exhibition
facilities in Nairobi and it is becoming a
popular business conference destination.
The East African biggest economy hosted
ma jor global events last year including the
Tokyo International Conference on African
Development, the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development and the Africa
Academy of Management Biennial Conference.
The report says th at after Nairobi
successfully hosted ma jor global events on
trade and investment, as well as hosting key
global figures such as former US president
Barrack Obama and Pope Francis, it