Kenya: Kindiki Chairs Meeting to Review ETA System That Seeks to Boost Tourism Numbers

7 January 2025
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Irene Mwangi

Nairobi — Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday held an inter-ministerial review meeting to generate consensus on administrative and procedural improvements of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system.

Those in attendance included Kipchumba Murkomen (Interior and National Administration), Rebecca Miano (Tourism and Wildlife), Davies Chirchir (Roads and Transport), and Alfred Mutua (Labour &'Social Protection)

Kenya's Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system is a semi-automated process determining if visitors are eligible to travel to Kenya.

Last year in January, the Kenyan government replaced traditional visas with an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system.

"Kenya adopted a visa free policy for all travelers coming into Kenya from any other country. To secure the interests of homeland security, the policy measure requires travelers to obtain an electronic travel authorization in advance, before commencing travel," Kindiki stated.

Principal Secretaries Prof. Julius Bitok (Immigration & Citizen Services), John Ololtuua(Tourism), Sylvia Museiya (Wildlife), Mohamed Daghar (Transport), Dr. Idris Salim Dokota (Cabinet Affairs) and Teresia Mbaika (Devolution) were also in attendance.

The Deputy President stated that the review is aimed at ensuring continous improvement of this policy one year later, to ensure greater convenience to travellers into Kenya for business, tourism and social purposes.

The new policy, which required travelers to pay $30 and wait three days for processing, was criticized by many travelers, leading to concerns over the policy's impact on tourism.

Evelyn Cheluget (Director General, Immigration and Citizen Services), Amb. Isaac Ochieng (Director General, eCitizen), Dr. Erastus Kanga (Director General, Kenya Wildlife Service) and other senior government officials were present.

This decision, approved during a Cabinet meeting led by President William Ruto on December 17 at State House, Nairobi, aims to address concerns from stakeholders and boost tourist numbers as it aligned with the government's ambitious goal of attracting 5 million tourists by 2027.

The Cabinet's statement emphasizes that the review is integral to improving Kenya's competitiveness in the tourism sector while accommodating a rising influx of visitors.

The move follows the introduction of Visa-Free entry, which has already proven instrumental in enhancing the country's appeal to international travellers.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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