The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has launched a campaign in India aimed at boosting tourist travel to Kenya.
KTB Chief Executive Officer John Chirchir, in an exclusive interview with Kenyans.co.ke on Thursday, March 7, noted that the campaign is expected to boost tourist numbers from the Asian nation, which has consistently ranked as the top tourist source on the continent.
The board will offer incentives to travel agents to uplift Kenya as a preferred tourist destination for its citizens.
"We have consumer campaigns and trade which is both airline travel agencies and tour operators. We have education campaigns which involve empowering travel agents who are selling Kenya to have the capacity to convert interest into actual bookings," he stated.
"Overall, our goal is to have increased growth from India because it is our top-source market in Asia over the years and has supported lots of tour operators and hoteliers."
Chirchir noted that the country aims to boost Kenya's revenue from tourism as well as create more jobs for Kenyans. (For more of my chat with Chirchir, check out our responder text in our flagship Evening Brief Newsletter, out at 4:00 pm every weekday)
The sector employs over 1 million people directly and is estimated that for every 10 tourists that arrive in Kenya, one job is created.
"Bollywood is big. Indian Musicians are also big. This is a collaboration in which in the foreseeable future we want to work and even have an Indian film shot in Kenya. we are looking at significant growth but also we want to be more present and have more engagement with trade, support conversion activities, and association of Kenya as a destination using traditional areas like film, Bollywood, and sports," he added.
"These are things that are not tourism per se but help us gain entry points to influence preference for Magical Kenya as a destination."
KTB has in recent months launched aggressive campaigns across several continents including the United States, which is ranked as Kenya's strongest market.
The campaign that ran in 2022 showcased wildlife, culture and adventure activities in its goal to make the country a top tourist destination.
Last year, Kenyan tour operators flooded Chinese social media sites in search of tourists from the East Asian nation.
The targeting of Chinese tourists in their social media is part of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) strategic plan 2021-2025. The operators joined WeChat, Mafengwo, Weibo, and Douyin exclusively available in China. Notably, popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not accessible in the country.
