Nairobi — Kenya could be headed for another successful year of tourism.

That is if the enthusiasm that visitors showed for the country during the just ended International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin is anything to go by.

Judging from the business generated from the Kenyan stand, there is a possibility that Kenya will rescue more than the 66,000 Germans who visited the country last year.

The upbeat mood is partly attributed to the December 26 devastation of tourist facilities in South East Asia by the Tsunami catastrophe.

Industry observers also say the effect of KTB's Sh500 million marketing campaign in Europe is still being felt in Germany and the UK.

"Am aware of what is available in Kenya. All I need is to raise money for the holiday," a taxi driver told The Standard in Berlin.

An additional impetus is expected to come from delivery of two Boeing 777 airplanes to Kenya Airways. This is in turn expected to provide additional capacity in European and Asian routes.

With the 322-seater aircrafts, KQ hopes to increase frequencies on the Bangkok-Hong Kong route, and probably launch flights to Southern China.

During the 5-day tourism fair, officials from Qatar Airways and Eithad Airlines confirmed plans to start flying to Nairobi this year.

This provides tour operators with extra opportunities to further sell Kenya in the Middle East, India, and the Far East.

Visitors to the Kenyan stand at the ITB were served Kenyan coffee and tea during the day, while the Carnivore Restaurant served Tusker beer, in the evening.

In a bid to drive home the Kenyan tourism message in Berlin, Tourism minister Morris Dzoro launched 50 taxis that are branded with KTB banners.

Germany is Kenya's second largest tourist market in terms of arrivals. In the year 2004, the country recorded a 29.7 per cent increment in arrivals over 2003.

But the country has to work harder if the Sh42 billion revenue earned last year is to grow. A number of sticking issues including insecurity, remain on the growth leaving any growth dependent on how the government deals with them.

Last week, Mr Dzoro was forced to issue a statement over the safety of tourist facilities at the coast following skirmishes between police officers and bandits in Kwale district.

Then there are costs.

While middle level hotels charge as high as $100 per day, similar hotels in Indonesia are offering similar services for $50 or less. "I find hotels in Mombasa expensive. This is why am thinking of making a visit to Zanzibar," said Giseling Bradt, a tour operator. The international visitor is now spending months researching on where to spend the next vacation. It has become clear that most decisions are based on word of mouth from colleagues tourism exhibitions, the Internet, tour operators and travel agents.

At the ITB, tour operators at the Kenyan stand had to deal with enquiries on the KLM-Kenya Airways group. But Kenya Airways was not represented at the event.

And then there is corruption at the immigration points.

After enjoying a visit to the Mara and a nice stay at the Leopard Beach hotel in Mombasa a fortnight ago two elderly tourists from Finland who passed through Moi Airport, Mombasa had a bad send-off. "The customs people said we could not take home some sea shells we had bought outside Fort Jesus.

We were told to either offload the curios or pay some "tax money" for it.