Days after hundreds of tourists were stranded at the entrance of the Nairobi National Park on Saturday, May 17, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has assured that the government will establish a new entrance point in the park.
In a statement on her official X account on Monday, May 19, the CS said that the new entrance point will be established along the Southern Bypass in a bid to decongest the main entrance point of the park.
The CS asserted that the new entrance, which will be the fourth, will be fundamental in ensuring that visitors have faster and more convenient access to the park, especially when the number of tourists visiting the park is accelerating.
"Future Access Points: Exploring a new Southern Bypass entry to make your journey even more convenient," she stated.
"These enhancements are part of our commitment to creating a world-class experience for you while preserving the park’s incredible wildlife," she added.
Additionally, Miano has pointed out that two fully operational gates, the East Gate, which is off Mombasa Road, and Mbagathi Gate, Magadi Road, opposite Multimedia University, have been opened to also reduce congestion while accessing the park.
The CS has further assured that the new express lanes, which are lanes that have been specially dedicated to visitors who already have a prepaid ticket, will also enable the visitors' entrance to the park to be more seamless.
"The surge in visitor numbers is a testament to Kenya’s growing appeal as a premier tourism and conference destination, driven by the ongoing international meetings in Nairobi and the successful marketing efforts," she stated.
Miano's statement comes two days after there were long queues at the entrance of the park after tourists who had pre-tickets faced delays after the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) prepaid ticket service portal faced a downtime.
The pre-paid tickets are digital entry passes that tourists can purchase when they're planning to visit the Park and are accessed through the e-Citizen platform.
Following the system downtime, pre-ticket holders were forced to wait in line with other visitors who were also struggling to purchase tickets at the e-Citizen platform at the gate.
Following the incident, the Kenya Wildlife Service, in a statement on Sunday, May 18, urged tourists to continue pre-purchasing their tickets since the express lanes would offer them an advantage in terms of faster processing.
"To further enhance convenience and reduce entry wait times, we have introduced two express lanes exclusively for prepaid ticket holders at Nairobi National Park," KWS stated.
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