Kenya plans discussions with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris, its tourism minister said. Tourism is one of the country’s biggest generators of foreign exchange after remittances and agricultural exports, and earned the nation 119.9 billion shillings (€1 billion) last year, according to the Kenya Tourism Board. “I will be looking to start discussions with Ryanair and easyJet.”Mombasa’s airport is the country’s second-biggest after Nairobi’s, with many tourists seeking the region’s sun and sand. In 2017, the number of arrivals grew 10 per cent to almost 1 million tourists, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya Airways, sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest, will introduce direct flights to US later next month, and plans to add as many as 20 new destinations in the next five years.

Source: The Irish Times September 05, 2018 07:38 UTC