KENYA’S TOURISM MARKETERS LOOK AT THE FUTURE NOT THE PAST
(Posted 12th October 2013)
‘The only way to go is forward and to go forward means we need to leave the past behind us’ wrote a regular contributor when discussing the direction Kenya Tourism was taking after recent events in the country. ‘SKAL gave us a vote of confidence when they stood with us and gave Mombasa 2015 the thumbs up. That was important to us because those are travel professionals, the movers and shakers of the industry around the world, many of them people who actually decide if a destination is featured in their brochures, on their websites or otherwise dropped. Their message was loud and clear: Kenya here we come in 2015. With that confidence booster we can now start a decisive week in the aftermath of Westgate. On the 16th we have the World Travel Awards come to Nairobi to honour Africa’s best at the home of Africa’s best. Last year we were voted best tourism board and Wednesday there will be a number of Kenyan companies standing up there claiming their top prize. And then our Travel Expo Magical Kenya will showcase our best attractions, to Kenyans, to the expatriate community of Kenya and East Africa and to our visitors from near and far. Some will display their newly won World Travel Award trophies at their stand and send out the message that Kenya still very much got it. And from there we will be promoting Kenya to the world in London in early November at World Travel Market, united as a tourism sector and confident we can lay the foundation for a great 2014’.
In fact, right about that time this conversation took place did the Kenya Tourism Board release another statement highlighting their take on the two events next week:
Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) will be hosting over 40 countries for two key global events to be held mid this month.
The two events; World Travel Awards (WTA) and the Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) which will be held on 16th, 18-20th September respectively are poised to boost the brand equity of the country coming soon after the Westgate attack.
The WTA dubbed the Oscars of travel industry is one of its kinds to be held in Kenya and it seeks to reward outstanding performers in the travel and the hospitality industry.
These awards are also coming at a time when Kenya is defending her 2012 title as the Best Tourism Board in Africa as voted last year by WTA.
The MKTE on the other hand is the 3rd edition which KTB has continued to position as a leading travel trade exhibition in Kenya and Africa.
The expo has become increasingly important and continues to attract international buyers as well as local and regional exhibitors alike.
It has the representation from regional and international Tourism Boards such as Seychelles and India Tourism.
Other Tourism Boards that expressed interest in the Expo and were still in the registration process are Burundi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Hosted buyers
The confirmation of representation of international travel agents and tour operators (collectively referred to as the “hosted buyers”) from our key source markets include ; US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, France, Czech Republic, Poland, India, China.
Other countries are; Australia, Japan, Korea, Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, UK, Scandinavia, Italy, Benelux, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Uganda.
Before the exhibition, hosted buyers will get first hand information on the attractions that Kenya has to offer; they will be taken for familiarization excursions to sample Kenya’s key attractions in various parts of the country prior to interfacing with the exhibitors during the Expo.
The events also spice up the celebrations on the achievements of destination Kenya beyond the tourism agenda: 50 years of independence, new governance, and focus on environmental conservation, new constitution, and improved infrastructure amongst other successes.
Couldn’t agree more? If so make sure you do watch this space for live reports from the World Travel Awards and the Magical Kenya Travel Expo.
Kenya Airways, The Pride of Africa has extended even more generous support this year to the Kenya Tourism Board than in the past, a sign that the key stakeholders know what is at stake this year.
Main media partner Nation Media Group is joined by www.eTurboNews.com as one of the event’s global partners among the world’s leading travel and tourism publications.
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