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Tourists view a lioness at the Masai Mara National Reserve. Kenya
Tourism Board chairman Jimi Kariuki has said the country has the
potential to attract at least five million tourists annually. FILE PHOTO
| NATION MEDIA GROUP
By MATHIAS RINGA
Kenya’s tourism sector has the potential to attract at least
five million visitors annually, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) chairman Jimi
Kariuki has said.
The industry has been performing poorly for the past two years, due to terrorist attacks and ensuing travel warnings by key source markets.
Last year, the government embarked on a recovery campaign in a bid to breathe life into the industry.
Kenya brought in 1,785,382 tourists during the peak season in 2011, earning the exchequer Sh97.9 billion.
In 2015, 1,180,546 international holidaymakers visited the country, bringing revenue of Sh84.6 billion.
In March, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Mr Kariuki as KTB chairman for a three-year term, taking over from Kitili Mbathi, who is now the director-general of the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Mr Kariuki is currently the marketing and sales director at the Sarova Hotels.
Mr Kariuki said the country’s abundant wildlife in national parks and game reserves, including the Big Five, are among Kenya’s main selling points.
NEW ATTRACTIONS
He said the country has world beaters in athletics, friendly people, world-class hotels, lodges and tented camps and unexploited new attractions such as the World War 1 battlefields in Taita Taveta County.
Mr Kariuki said his first assignment at the board is to spearhead the recovery of tourism through campaigns intended to help the government achieve the 2016 target of 1.6 million international tourist arrivals.
“We have categorised our source markets to make it easier for our marketing team to link up with partners so that we can attract large numbers of tourists to the country this year,” he said.
KTB has set aside Sh500 million for tourism recovery marketing, locally and internationally, in the current financial year.
Marketing campaigns will be carried out in the United Kingdom, the US and Germany, while presence will be maintained in the Netherlands, Italy and Scandinavian countries.
Russia, Poland, China and Brazil have been categorised as development markets while Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and United Arab Emirates fall under the investment markets segment.
Mr Kariuki said the board would continue to woo locals to tour the country through the Tembea Kenya initiative as well as target tourists from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Marketing drives include Kenya’s participation in leading global travel shows such as the World Travel Market in London in November.
Others include road shows in key European cities as well as advertisements.
PREVAILING PEACE
Mr Kariuki said KTB is capitalising on the peace that has returned to the country to win over the confidence of leading tour operators, travel agents and tourists across the world.
He said the agency is also taking advantage of the government incentives such as the Sh1.2 billion charter incentive programme, waiver of visa fees for children under 16 years and the reduction of entry park fees from Sh9,000 to Sh6,000 to bring in more visitors.
KTB is also banking on the government’s withdrawal of 16 per cent VAT on tourism services which is expected to bring down safari costs.
Mr Kariuki said the board is taking advantage of the recent visits by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attract more tourists from the two countries.
KTB is also doing joint marketing with Kenya Airways to attract travellers from other African countries to come to the country for holidays.
“We want to leverage on our national carrier to woo travellers from the destinations [where] KQ operates flights [in order] to increase the number of tourists visiting the country,” he said.
The marketing agency is also promoting the country in Eastern Europe, the target being the emerging markets of Poland and the Czech Republic.
In addition, KTB is expected to partner with TUI Poland in marketing the country in Poland this month to sustain charter flights from Warsaw to Mombasa.
The industry is expected to perform better than in 2015, bolstered by a rise in international tourist bookings from overseas markets.
Currently, lodges and tented camps in the Maasai Mara National Reserve are enjoying roaring business in the wake of the wildebeest migration spectacle.
And at the Coast, hotel bookings have improved following the resumption of charter flights from Europe to Mombasa.
SOURCE: NATION
The industry has been performing poorly for the past two years, due to terrorist attacks and ensuing travel warnings by key source markets.
Last year, the government embarked on a recovery campaign in a bid to breathe life into the industry.
Kenya brought in 1,785,382 tourists during the peak season in 2011, earning the exchequer Sh97.9 billion.
In 2015, 1,180,546 international holidaymakers visited the country, bringing revenue of Sh84.6 billion.
In March, President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Mr Kariuki as KTB chairman for a three-year term, taking over from Kitili Mbathi, who is now the director-general of the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Mr Kariuki is currently the marketing and sales director at the Sarova Hotels.
Mr Kariuki said the country’s abundant wildlife in national parks and game reserves, including the Big Five, are among Kenya’s main selling points.
NEW ATTRACTIONS
He said the country has world beaters in athletics, friendly people, world-class hotels, lodges and tented camps and unexploited new attractions such as the World War 1 battlefields in Taita Taveta County.
Mr Kariuki said his first assignment at the board is to spearhead the recovery of tourism through campaigns intended to help the government achieve the 2016 target of 1.6 million international tourist arrivals.
“We have categorised our source markets to make it easier for our marketing team to link up with partners so that we can attract large numbers of tourists to the country this year,” he said.
KTB has set aside Sh500 million for tourism recovery marketing, locally and internationally, in the current financial year.
Marketing campaigns will be carried out in the United Kingdom, the US and Germany, while presence will be maintained in the Netherlands, Italy and Scandinavian countries.
Russia, Poland, China and Brazil have been categorised as development markets while Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and United Arab Emirates fall under the investment markets segment.
Mr Kariuki said the board would continue to woo locals to tour the country through the Tembea Kenya initiative as well as target tourists from Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Marketing drives include Kenya’s participation in leading global travel shows such as the World Travel Market in London in November.
Others include road shows in key European cities as well as advertisements.
PREVAILING PEACE
Mr Kariuki said KTB is capitalising on the peace that has returned to the country to win over the confidence of leading tour operators, travel agents and tourists across the world.
He said the agency is also taking advantage of the government incentives such as the Sh1.2 billion charter incentive programme, waiver of visa fees for children under 16 years and the reduction of entry park fees from Sh9,000 to Sh6,000 to bring in more visitors.
KTB is also banking on the government’s withdrawal of 16 per cent VAT on tourism services which is expected to bring down safari costs.
Mr Kariuki said the board is taking advantage of the recent visits by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attract more tourists from the two countries.
KTB is also doing joint marketing with Kenya Airways to attract travellers from other African countries to come to the country for holidays.
“We want to leverage on our national carrier to woo travellers from the destinations [where] KQ operates flights [in order] to increase the number of tourists visiting the country,” he said.
The marketing agency is also promoting the country in Eastern Europe, the target being the emerging markets of Poland and the Czech Republic.
In addition, KTB is expected to partner with TUI Poland in marketing the country in Poland this month to sustain charter flights from Warsaw to Mombasa.
The industry is expected to perform better than in 2015, bolstered by a rise in international tourist bookings from overseas markets.
Currently, lodges and tented camps in the Maasai Mara National Reserve are enjoying roaring business in the wake of the wildebeest migration spectacle.
And at the Coast, hotel bookings have improved following the resumption of charter flights from Europe to Mombasa.
SOURCE: NATION
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