NAIROBI, Kenya, March 31 – The 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.
The marketing agency will next month convene a two-day engagement meeting with County Tourism CECs, Chief Officers, and 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 during an engagement with tourism trade partners at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, 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.
“This is an exciting time from which we are looking at tourism growth in the country, both in number and value as well as tourism stories being told widely by many Kenyans and the travel trade partners alike,” said Chirchir.
He added that the partnership efforts would also extend to county governments and other key stakeholders who, according to Chirchir, will be instrumental in helping the country achieve a target of about ten million arrivals in the long haul.
“We will also be engaging with county governments as we deliberate on issues of product mapping, product packaging, and also how to work and collaborate with the private sector who are investing in the development of tourism experiences, tourism facilities, and broadening the scope of tourism within their counties,” he said.
With the Easter Holiday coming up, KTB has called on Kenyans to take up the available holiday offers courtesy of the ‘You Deserve a Holiday’ campaign. The offers cater to different categories of travelers including families, couples as well as individuals.
Kenya continues to record improved tourist arrivals as the sector steadily recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic shocks.
According to the Kenya Tourism Sector Performance Report 2022, the country registered a 72.4 per cent recovery in the number of international visitor arrivals in 2022, which stood at 1,483,752 as compared to 2,048,834 in 2019.
This exceeded the global average recovery rate of 63 percent.
