It was confirmed over the weekend that Kenya’s tourism industry has extended its campaigns to Asia. The Kenya Tourist Board is leading a delegation of 8 private companies to participate in two travel shows in the region.
The KTB is working to attract tourists from Korea to increase its tourism pie from the emerging markets. The delegation will be attending two two-day long roadshows scheduled to take place on February 26 and 27 in the capital of Seoul and in the city of Busan in South Korea.
KTB Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa commented that Kenya as a destination is riding on the recent title as the World’ world’s leading safari destination as voted by the World Travel Awards (WTA) to showcase her tourism attractions. He added that the road show will provide a business networking forum for both the Korean and Kenyan trade so as to increase the penetration, awareness and distribution of Kenya’s diverse tourism products.
Kenya has recorded a remarkable growth from Korea market in the past few years with a growth of 28% recorded in 2012 with 9,422 arrivals compared to 2011 which posted 7,351 tourists. The launch of Korean Air flying to Kenya three times a week, in code share with national airline Kenya Airways, has added impetus to the growth of the market Korea with Ndegwa further noting that the number of marketing activities planned for that particular market were on top gear. He concluded his statement by saying that being the 4th largest economy in Asia, Korea has the potential to boost tourism numbers to Kenya. ‘Korea is joining the league of emerging markets that we are keen on and we have put efforts to woo in more travelers’.
Meanwhile, KTB continues to aggressively market golf as a key tourism product and participated in the Rhine Golf Fair in Germany. The Rhine Golf Exhibition in Dusseldorf is one of the largest golf fairs in Germany, which took place this year from February 21st – 23rd. 18,000 golf enthusiasts attended this three day event and exhibitors from 26 different countries showcased their golf courses and related facilities. The Kenya Tourism Board used this opportunity to showcase the destination’s golf product in co-operation with the golf tour operator GolfculTour and the Leisure Lodge Resort, one of the leading golf hotels in Kenya. This is expected to increase the variety of activities that tourists can engage in to supplement wildlife and beach experiences as well as position Kenya as a golfing destination.
In addition, KTB is currently on a mission to creatively position Kenya as the quintessential safari destination and enhance the professional standing in the industry through engaging the travel trade in the US market. The weeklong activity will see training of tour operators that is aimed at providing a platform for direct and targeted contact between the Kenya Tourism Board and travel trade throughout the U.S. to further develop existing relationships and conduct productive meetings with key decision-makers of the U.S. travel trade. Such partnerships and engagement with U.S. wholesalers is increasing opportunities to increase Kenya sales.
