Najib Balala

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 231 to 240 of 363.

• 13 Aug 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution. view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) Kenya has been affected by the financial crunch globally. After the political crisis that we experienced in 2007/2008, we managed to record 729,000 arrivals, compared to 2007’s over one million arrivals. So, we recorded a 30 per cent decline in the number of arrivals. We hope that we will improve on this. We have worked very hard. Fortunately, the number of arrivals only declined in the three months of January, February and March of this year by 16.5 per cent. (b) We are taking steps to cushion the industry. We, as Government, ... view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the number of charter flights that arrived in Mombasa by December, 2007, were 21. Up to December, 2008, we managed to retain them at 21. The biggest challenge is the low season, which runs from April to July. This is the worst season in all markets, because it is summer season in Europe. That is where the source market is. So, we are going to be affected. What we are doing, as a country, is trying to work on dynamic pricing. So, we have discounts, or 50 per cent reductions, so that we can bridge the gap ... view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, we know that we have given a 50 per cent reduction on visa fees and there are long queues at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Unfortunately, the JKIA is not a good place in Kenya. It is an embarrassment! We, as a Cabinet, have established a task force, headed by the Prime Minister, to look into all the problems of the JKIA, including the long queues. The Department of Immigration should employ more staff to man the visa counters. view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to assure my colleague that we are diversifying the source market. We were recently in Durban, South Africa, for the first time. While there, the Kenya Tourist Board won an award as the best tourism board in Africa. We have also been to the Middle East. We are opening an office in Dubai. We are opening an office in Russia. We will very soon be traveling to Russia as well as to India. These are new markets that have not been seriously affected by the financial crunch. view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, while appreciating the comments by the hon. Member, I would like to inform him that the Tourism Bill will come to this House very soon. It is now at the Cabinet level for approval, after which it will come here for endorsement. That is when we will provide for all the incentives and raise issues such as to where to build hotels. We do not want conflict between the hotel industry and society. view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, after realising the effects of the credit crunch, we thought it is important for us to promote domestic tourism. We are not only looking at tourism in Kenya, but the whole of Africa. That is why we thought of opening an office in South Africa and also relaxing the referral visas from western Africa. Many West Africans go to Asia via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). They stay for two days in our country as they transit to Asia. We thought we should relax their visas so that they can stay in Kenya and do a tour ... view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: In this regard, we have signed a joint venture with Kenya Airways (KQ) worth Kshs50 million to do the networking in Africa. Half of the cost of this venture is funded by the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and the other half by the KQ. view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have travelled all over the world where I have met High Commissioners and Ambassadors. We are synchronizing efforts between tourism representatives in Europe and their embassies. As I speak here today, we have a seminar that is going on; from today to Thursday. The seminar brings together tour representatives to interact on trade matters. We have told them that they have a professional duty to perform in identifying the embassies as the core centres for promoting the image of Kenya. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you allow me, I would like to lay on the Table the ... view
• 19 May 2009 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, there will be no use of supporting a structure that does not have a ripple effect on our people. The beach boys and the local operators or the suppliers of the industry need to benefit. Unfortunately, they are the worst hit by the current credit crunch. All the promotions we are doing are aimed at bringing many tourists to this country and allow them to service the industry. view