35 Heads of State and Government and as many as 10,000 participants which includes 4,000 from Japan and 6,000 from across Africa, are expected to stream into the Kenyan capital of Nairobi over the coming days to participate in the first TICAD Summit to be held outside Japan.

TICAD is the short version for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development which has taken place in Japan since 1993 with additional summits then held in 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013.

Kenya’s hospitality and tourism industry expects a 12 billion Kenya shillings windfall from the summit, and pre- and post-conference tours into the national parks have been selling like hotcakes in particular to the Masai Mara, where the annual migration of the wildebeest from the Serengeti is underway with over a million animals following available feeding grounds and pastures.

The TICAD Summit is but one of several high-profile events Kenya has been hosting over the past year and will be hosting over the coming years, a sign that the promotion of MICE business has taken root and that the additional 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels which have come up and are in the final stages of completion, having helped to position Kenya in the top tier of African MICE destinations.

Besides the impact on tourism, the meeting will also pave the way for additional bilateral deals for investments in Kenya and probably the wider Eastern African region, as key global corporations are expected to attend TICAD VI from CEO’s and board members to top management.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:

The TICAD Summit is but one of several high-profile events Kenya has been hosting over the past year and will be hosting over the coming years, a sign that the promotion of MICE business has taken root and that the additional 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels which have come up and are in the final stages of completion, having helped to position Kenya in the top tier of African MICE destinations.
Kenya’s hospitality and tourism industry expects a 12 billion Kenya shillings windfall from the summit, and pre- and post-conference tours into the national parks have been selling like hotcakes in particular to the Masai Mara, where the annual migration of the wildebeest from the Serengeti is underway with over a million animals following available feeding grounds and pastures.
35 Heads of State and Government and as many as 10,000 participants which includes 4,000 from Japan and 6,000 from across Africa, are expected to stream into the Kenyan capital of Nairobi over the coming days to participate in the first TICAD Summit to be held outside Japan.