SARIT CENTRE TOURISM EXHIBITION TARGETS KENYA’S DOMESTIC MARKET
(Posted 30th October 2014)
Kenyans, and expatriates living in Kenya, will be in for some spectacular deals when the Getaway Tourism Fair opens its doors tomorrow to the public at the Sarit Centre in Nairobi.
Given the low occupancies will in particular beach resorts try to attract the locals to come to the coast, either before Christmas or after the festive season, or, for those ready to spend some added money on the supplements charged over the main holiday period, spending Christmas and New Year.
Flights, if booked alongside the accommodation booking, especially when flying with Jambojet, will be on the market at their lowest fare levels, while Kenya Airways too reportedly has tailored excursion fares available to land travelers in either Mombasa or Malindi.
Safari lodges in the national parks and safari resorts outside the parks like along the shores of Lake Naivasha too will offers specials for local travelers, and some of the main hotels like the Lake Naivasha Country Club, their Kiboko Camp and next door neighbours Enashipai Resort & Spa will all try to take additional bookings.
‘There has been some change of attitude from some coast resorts over the past year. Some social media campaigns have highlighted how locals are treated probably worse than international tourists and I think that has now fundamentally changed. Any client booking into a resort where there are plenty of empty beds will be treated like a king and that is how it should be. The safari lodges are also offering good deals, at times with a flight package by Safarilink and at times with transport provided, though most Kenyans will probably want to drive there with their own cars. Most of the access routes are good and no 4×4 are needed and when in the park can their lodge provide a vehicle for game drives. Sometimes this combines with a bush breakfast or a bush lunch which is nice to enjoy out in the wild’ was a regular Nairobi based source quick to point out after confirming that the tourism mini show was indeed taking off this weekend.
Kenya’s tourism industry, led by the Kenya Tourism Board and the Kenya Wildlife Service, have been busy promoting domestic travel through their hashtag campaign #TembeaKenya and most Kenyans will by now also have heard of the other big talking point #WhyILoveKenya where those with Twitter accounts can narrate their experiences, share their pictures and help Kenyans to discover their own country, their often award winning lodges and resort and promote tours to fellow citizens.
For added information about Destination Kenya click on www.magicalkenya.com or visit www.kws.org – the latter the site for the Kenya Wildlife Service which has particularly pocket friendly offers available for some of their well-positioned self-catering bandas they operate in several of the national parks.
