Over half of regional and
international travellers passing through
Kenya are unaware of the availability and process of using a Single Tourist
Visa (STV) and National Identification for travel within Kenya, Uganda and
Rwanda more than a year after the process was launched.
This is according to a survey
commissioned by Kenya Tourism Federation (Tourism private sector umbrella body)
to investigate the level of awareness on the STV and use of ID for travel
within the three states.
The research
commissioned in February 2015 established that up to 58.1 percent of travelers had neither
used nor interacted with someone who had used STV, while 47 percent of travelers
showed lack of familiarity on the existence of STV.
While
majority of Immigration officials interviewed for the survey, were aware of the
existence of STV and the countries involved in the initiative, 67 percent were not familiar with the
cost of STV with 25 percent showing
lack of familiarity with regards to the application process.
Speaking
while presenting the report,Strathmore University Centre for
Tourism and Hospitality – Research Consultant, Mr. David Chiawo noted
that the Current STV processing procedure had been described as very poor by
travellers and therefore the need for review and necessary improvement.
”The
survey further revealed limited and poor information available on STV for
travelers and immigration officials with responses ranging from very poor to
average with only 25 percent of travelers and less than 15
percent of immigration officials rating the current information as good,” said
Mr. Chiawo.
Speaking while receiving the report,
KTF Chairperson Lucy Karume said she was encouraged to note that majority
of travelers, immigration officials, travel and trade officials showed high
expectations on STV, which was a good indication for the tourism sector to
accelerate awareness for STV to meet these expectations
“It
is noteworthy that according to these research respondents' indicated high
expectations on STV with benefits ranging from very high to extremely high. Am
however saddened that low awareness was recorded on the use of National
identity cards (NID), with up to 47 percent of cross border travellers and a
significant proportion of (17 percent) of immigration officials unaware,” she
observed
Based
on the findings, the study is recommending induction and training of
immigration officials on STV and NID use to improve their level of awareness on
key elements including cost, application procedures and benefits.
Meanwhile,
to increase the level of awareness among regional and international travelers,
the study recommended vigorous joint
marketing of STV both regionally and internationally to improve travelers’
knowledge on existence, cost, application process, benefits and countries
involved.
“The
marketing should target key and emerging international tourist markets.
While improving information access and
public awareness on the use of NID for cross border travels; the available
information should highlight procedure of use and benefits. Awareness and improvement
of information access stand critical for increased usage of STV and NID,”
Strathmore universities, Mr. Chiawo noted.
Trademark East Africa Kenya Country office, Programmes
Coordinator Mr. Simon Konzolo noted that the future of Kenya’s tourism is
bright and urged the private sector to put significant effort in boosting the
industry as the government’s support has been remarkable.
“We as stakeholders in this sector
should work together with the government and other institutions in ensuring
that the report recommendations are
implemented in order to utilize
opportunities presented to our local and international visitors with the use of
STV and NID” added Mr. Konzolo
TradeMark East Africa has partnered
with Kenya Tourism Federation in creating awareness for the use of the Single
tourist Visa and National Identification card across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
The Single Tourist Visa
was launched in February 2014 with a target to increase the number of tourists
visiting the three partner countries.
Under the Single Tourist
Visa, tourists will only be required to pay only USD100 at the border entry
point, as opposed to the previous practice of paying visa charges 50USD per
country (150USD) for the three countries.
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