Kenya is projected to record over 30% increase in tourist arrivals from Nigeria and Ghana towards the end of the year as travelers shift their travel plans to the African continent.
According to the UNWTO tourism highlights for 2016, Africa contributed 3% to the global 2015 arrivals translating to 36 million arrivals, presenting Africa’s fertility for intra-Africa tourism
National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NATA) chairman Stephen Isokariari says travel trade has identified Kenya as priority destination visitors prefer besides Europe and other destinations.
“Besides European Nations, Nigeria, Ghana and the larger part of West African countries are increasingly shifting their visit preference within Africa, with travel agencies putting Kenya on the top sale list,” says Isokariari.
Benefits of magical Kenya pre-paid card
He made the remarks in Abuja during the ongoing magical Kenya pre-paid card sensitization campaign unveiled by Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and West Africa’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) to promote travel within the continent.
The pre-paid card targeting three West African countries of Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal will allow citizens to accumulate and transfer points in the card for use within the hospitality and travel industry.
“Diversity of tourism product offering, accessibility and various incentives are part of the reasons travel agencies are putting Kenya on top sale list,” said NATA chairman.
The loyalty program on the card and merchant affiliation will be managed by eGiftAfrica and the Go Places company.
KTB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Betty Radier in a statement said the West African nationals who travel for corporate, education, medical as well as leisure purposes within Africa will greatly benefit from the card.
She said the card was a great incentive as it avails exciting value adds to current and potential travelers in terms of bonus points and discounts. “There is an estimated market of over 5 Million card users in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, the reason we are leveraging UBA foot print,” pointed out Radier.
Market performance
Nigeria is Kenya’s top tourist source market in West Africa. It posted 17,962 arrivals last year up from 14,065 in 2015, translating to a growth of 27.7%.
Ghana on the other hand recorded a 37.2% growth of 8,391 visitors up from 6,116 recorded in 2015.
Tour operators in Senegal have however cited referral visa regime as an impediment to the increasing desire by Senegal citizens to travel to Kenya. Last year arrivals from Senegal closed at 1,108.
Senegal Kenya airways country Manager Martin Juma disclosed that the National carrier has received numerous concerns from travel agents and individual Senegalese citizens on referral visa application being a major deterrence for their travel to Kenya.
Local travelers and those from West African countries can now access pre-paid travel card that will allow accumulation and transfer of points within the hospitality sector.
This follows a successful launch of Magical Kenya pre-paid card on 21 March, 2017 by the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and United Bank for Africa (UBA)).
The card will also enable all users, whether customers of UBA or not – to have unparalleled access to its built-in benefits available across all platforms.
Promotion of visit to Kenya by travelers across the African continent will be enhanced with the launch of the pre-paid card.
The West African nationals who travel for corporate, education, medical as well as leisure purposes within Africa will greatly benefit from the card, according to KTB.
KTB chairman Mr. Jimi Kariuki said the card will further enhance the Magical Kenya’s footprint in the West African region and the entire continent. He pointed out that there was an untapped market of over 5 Million card users in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
UBA Chief Executive officer Mr. Isaac Mwige noted that the usage of the card will be through selective criteria of age, deposit balance, number and types of accounts held by customer or corporate accounts.
Kariuki said the Magical Kenya Pre-paid Travel Card was a great incentive as it avails exciting value adds to current and potential travelers in terms of bonus points, discounts or gift.
The loyalty program on the card and merchant affiliation will be managed by eGiftAfrica and Go Places.
Through this partnership, Magical Kenya Prepaid Card Members will be able to access offers, rewards and discounts at these merchants through payments made with their prepaid card.
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label ktb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ktb. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Friday, 11 September 2015
KENYA: International Campaign Supporting Tourism Drive
The President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, today officially launched Make it Kenya, a new international brand campaign that has been introduced to promote the scale and variety of tourist and investment opportunities the country has to offer.
Tourism is a vital pillar of Kenya's economy, environment, identity and well-being; the industry is responsible for 1 in 10 jobs and over 12% of GDP. Kenya is renowned for its amazing beaches and world-class safari offering that provides visitors with 'once in a lifetime' experiences. The country is also focusing on the promotion of business (MICE), sports, adventure and cultural tourism, helping to take the diversity of the country's offering to new audiences.
The timing for the launch of the Make It Kenya campaign builds on the success and positive feedback that Kenya has experienced following President Obama's visit, to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the recent endorsement for Kenya by UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai who led the UNWTO conference in Mombasa last month.
The brand launch included the unveiling of MakeItKenya.com, a new digital portal that has been specifically designed as a source of rich sharable content, which will help connect Kenya to the world, through people's computers, smart phones and digital devices.
President Kenyatta, who is in Milan to lead the celebrations for Expo Milano's dedicated Kenya week, launched the new campaign at a VIP event at Kenya House, an extension of Kenya's Expo pavilion that is located in the centre of Milan and is being used to showcase Kenya's cultural, tourism and economic assets.
During the VIP launch, President Kenyatta called on people around the world to consider the country's rich tourism offer: "Kenya has a wonderful story to tell, as the original home of the safari, home to the big five, snow-capped mountains, vast deserts and miles of beautiful Indian Ocean beaches.
"Through Make It Kenya we aim to communicate this, as the campaign will allow us to engage people around the world. Through this bold and innovative approach to drive Kenya's story, we will show people the scale and quality of Kenya's tourism offer from adventure, health and therapeutic tourism to our massive investment in tourist infrastructure.
"Kenya's global profile has never been stronger – we have successfully hosted President Obama, our athletes have taken on and beaten the world and people from around the world are joining us in celebration of Kenya week at the World Expo - the Make It Kenya campaign is being introduced to help secure our country's economic prosperity for today and for future generations. In this globalized world, we must have a nation brand that can compete internationally and also resonate with our citizens and I believe Make It Kenya achieves this," His Excellency concluded.
The Cabinet Secretary of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Mrs. Phyllis Kandie, said: "The Make It Kenya campaign and digital portal will allow us to tell Kenya's story with one voice. It is not intended to replace our Magical Kenya tourism campaign driven by Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) but rather enhance it and make it stronger.
"Our aim is to use Make It Kenya to raise our country's profile to a new level by directly engaging new audiences, allowing us to compete globally and to a level that is reflective of the strong and attractive brand that our country is," she concluded.
Muriithi Ndegwa, Managing Director of Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) said: "Make It Kenya is a new and fresh platform, which will support the work that we do with Magical Kenya to promote Kenya's tourism opportunities to the world. Kenya is a modern and vibrant country that is open and ready for them to visit, and we call on the friends of Kenya and people around the world to join us by visiting MakeItKenya.com to explore the diverse tourism offer of Kenya"
Tourism is a vital pillar of Kenya's economy, environment, identity and well-being; the industry is responsible for 1 in 10 jobs and over 12% of GDP. Kenya is renowned for its amazing beaches and world-class safari offering that provides visitors with 'once in a lifetime' experiences. The country is also focusing on the promotion of business (MICE), sports, adventure and cultural tourism, helping to take the diversity of the country's offering to new audiences.
The timing for the launch of the Make It Kenya campaign builds on the success and positive feedback that Kenya has experienced following President Obama's visit, to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the recent endorsement for Kenya by UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai who led the UNWTO conference in Mombasa last month.
The brand launch included the unveiling of MakeItKenya.com, a new digital portal that has been specifically designed as a source of rich sharable content, which will help connect Kenya to the world, through people's computers, smart phones and digital devices.
President Kenyatta, who is in Milan to lead the celebrations for Expo Milano's dedicated Kenya week, launched the new campaign at a VIP event at Kenya House, an extension of Kenya's Expo pavilion that is located in the centre of Milan and is being used to showcase Kenya's cultural, tourism and economic assets.
During the VIP launch, President Kenyatta called on people around the world to consider the country's rich tourism offer: "Kenya has a wonderful story to tell, as the original home of the safari, home to the big five, snow-capped mountains, vast deserts and miles of beautiful Indian Ocean beaches.
"Through Make It Kenya we aim to communicate this, as the campaign will allow us to engage people around the world. Through this bold and innovative approach to drive Kenya's story, we will show people the scale and quality of Kenya's tourism offer from adventure, health and therapeutic tourism to our massive investment in tourist infrastructure.
"Kenya's global profile has never been stronger – we have successfully hosted President Obama, our athletes have taken on and beaten the world and people from around the world are joining us in celebration of Kenya week at the World Expo - the Make It Kenya campaign is being introduced to help secure our country's economic prosperity for today and for future generations. In this globalized world, we must have a nation brand that can compete internationally and also resonate with our citizens and I believe Make It Kenya achieves this," His Excellency concluded.
The Cabinet Secretary of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Mrs. Phyllis Kandie, said: "The Make It Kenya campaign and digital portal will allow us to tell Kenya's story with one voice. It is not intended to replace our Magical Kenya tourism campaign driven by Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) but rather enhance it and make it stronger.
"Our aim is to use Make It Kenya to raise our country's profile to a new level by directly engaging new audiences, allowing us to compete globally and to a level that is reflective of the strong and attractive brand that our country is," she concluded.
Muriithi Ndegwa, Managing Director of Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) said: "Make It Kenya is a new and fresh platform, which will support the work that we do with Magical Kenya to promote Kenya's tourism opportunities to the world. Kenya is a modern and vibrant country that is open and ready for them to visit, and we call on the friends of Kenya and people around the world to join us by visiting MakeItKenya.com to explore the diverse tourism offer of Kenya"
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