Rooting for partnerships to boost tourist numbers

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is rooting for strong partnerships with tourism trade partners and county governments as it seeks to boost tourism numbers in the country.

Consequently, the marketing agency is continuously convening engagement meetings with tourism trade representatives to deliberate on areas of collaboration with the view of broadening the scope of tourism within the counties.

This comes on the back of the recovery of Kenya’s tourism arrivals, as well as an aggressive campaign on the domestic tourism front dubbed “You deserve a holiday” which has provided enriched experiences to Kenyans away from the traditional beach and safari product.

Speaking on partnerships with trade partners KTB Ag. CEO John Chirchir said that the travel trade has been an important pillar in this recovery as they have played a key role in building confidence in Kenya as a preferred tourist destination.

” The travel trade, in particular, is important in developing as well as providing tourism opportunities and packages for travelers, both in the domestic market and globally. Therefore, going forward, we shall look at areas of collaboration and how we can diversify our tourism product and rejuvenate it such that it can meet the demands of today’s market,” Chirchir said.

He added that the partnership efforts would also extend to county governments and other key stakeholders who, according to Mr Chirchir, will be instrumental in helping the country achieve a target of about ten million arrivals in the long haul.

Mr. Chirchir lauded the “You deserve a holiday” drive which he said was an example of how tourism stakeholders can work together to drive shared growth for the sector.  The bed occupancy of the domestic market is expected to increase by about 10 percent during the 2023 Easter Holiday following the success of the six-month domestic campaign by KTB.

Launched in mid-2022, the campaign has brought on board over 20 partners including tour operators, airlines, and hoteliers making travel packages complete for a seamless experience. The campaign is aimed at unlocking the potential of the domestic markets by accessing potential areas that the Kenyan travel trade has had the challenge to penetrate.

A number of organizations have been part of the initiative including Golf clubs, malls, and churches. The campaign has been to several counties including Machakos, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Laikipia with the final tour expected to be in Mombasa next month.