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Kenya’s new Minister for Tourism Nanjib Balala says he believes it will take 12 months for the country's tourism industry to recover from recent political unrest.

The country has seen a dramatic drop in the number of tourists visiting the country since political and violent problems following elections at the beginning of the year.

Speaking to Travel Weekly during a press trip to the country this weekend, Balala said he wanted to get tourists back to Kenya.

He said: “We are stable and we have peace. My priority is to get tourists to come back who know Kenya already.
“Emerging markets are good such as China, Eastern Europe, Russia, Canada, Australia and India but in a recovery strategy you don’t invest into new markets.

“We have a product of beach and safari which but  we want to diversify into cultural tourism and eco tourism.”

He revealed he has 10m euros to market the country and is working with UK tour operators including Virgin Holidays, Kuoni and Somak to promote the destination.

He said there was already positive signs of recovery during the summer months and revealed  the country is hosting 100 UK travel agents at the end of next month to show them what the country  has to offer.

Balala visited Europe last week on a tour to promote Kenya and assure politicians the country is now safe.

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