No Traveling Out of Kenya Without Vaccine Passport Starting in 2022, Says Government

The government has revealed plans to introduce vaccine passports starting next year. 

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala says the government is in consultations with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to develop the vaccine passport.

This means Kenyans wishing to travel out of the country will from next year be required to obtain a vaccine passport.

The passport will be similar to the Yellow Fever vaccine certificate, which is a requirement for Kenyans traveling abroad.

“There will be a vaccination card just like the one for yellow fever being pushed by IATA. We are continuing to consult with them. At the moment we cannot say that people need to be vaccinated to travel. But soon it will be,” CS Balala said on Wednesday.

CS Balala made the announcement during the launch of the vaccination drive of the hospitality and tourism sector workers at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) Nairobi.

“COVID-19 vaccination is an important tool in curbing the effects of the pandemic, which will eventually help tourism rise again,” he added.

He pointed out that most tourist source markets in Europe are inoculating over 60 percent of their adult population, which means that tourism may pick up soon.

“We are working hard to vaccinate as many Kenyans and all frontline workers in the Tourism and Hospitality to encourage more tourists to come into the country,” said Balala.