PARIS, France – Zambia’s Ambassador to France, His Excellency Humphrey Chilu Chibanda, met with two French travel bloggers who will be traveling to Zambia to cover the Livingstone International Cultural and Arts Festival (LICAF) slated for Livingstone from March 25-27, 2016.

There is growing interest by French travel media to promote Zambia’s tourism potential, with many planning to visit the country to explore its vast tourism potential.

The two bloggers were selected from a number of French travel bloggers that had shown interest and applied for consideration to travel to Zambia under the sponsorship of the Zambia Tourism Authority (ZTA), formerly known as the Zambia Tourism Board, and Kenya Airways.

Ambassador Chibanda, who is also Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), revealed that the Embassy has recently been receiving a number of inquiries from various travel media houses who have shown greater interest in traveling to Zambia to go and explore the country’s undiscovered tourism potential.

Last year, the mission facilitated the travel of one French travel blogger who traveled to Zambia under the Lilligo competition for the best destination for the French in 2016 in which Zambia came in second to Canada. Since then, there has been growing interest from various media houses further stimulated by President Edgar Lungu’s official visit to France in early February which was well captured by the French media.

The two travel bloggers travel to Zambia with Kenya Airways aboard one of their new aircrafts, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which services the Paris-Nairobi route before connecting to Lusaka.

From Lusaka, the travel bloggers will join the ZTA team on a road trip to Livingstone while enjoying and exposing them to the beautiful country-side scenery of Zambia. In Livingstone, the bloggers will join locals and other international participants that are coming to be part of the annual prestigious Livingstone International Cultural and Arts Festival (LICAF).

And Ambassador Chibanda has thanked both the Zambia Tourism Agency and Kenya Airways for their continued support to the Paris Mission. Ambassador Chibanda stated that Kenya Airways is one of the key African airline partners for Zambia’s tourism industry, as they service three of Zambia’s international airports (Lusaka, Livingstone, and Ndola).

Representing Kenya airways, Assistant Sales and Marketing Manager in charge of France and South Europe, Ms. Annie Cartier, said Kenya airways was committed to continuing being the “Pride of Africa.” She said the airline would continue rendering support in promoting Africa as a tourist destination of choice for the French.

Ms. Cartier said many travelers between Paris and Nairobi appreciated the new B787 Dreamliner that Kenya Airways uses on this route. The aircraft features the very latest in aerodynamics, design, and advanced technologies, and is highly fuel efficient, up to 20 percent compared to other long-haul aircrafts. Among other enhanced features of the B787 are a quieter, smoother flight; lower cabin pressure; higher humidity levels; and ambient mood lighting, contributing to a more rested feeling upon arrival, in addition to cutting-edge aesthetics that include a more spacious interior cabin design featuring larger overhead bins with custom-made seats in both Business and Economy class, as well as cleaner air continuously circulating through an advanced filtration system.

PHOTO: His Excellency Amb. Humphrey Chilu Chibanda meeting with the French Travel Bloggers and the Kenya Airways Representative (From right to left: Ambassador Humphrey Chibanda, Ms. Annie Cartier, Kenya Airways Assistant Sales and Marketing Manager for France and South Europe, Ms. Tyn Braun travel Blogger and Rohart Gregory)