Kenya bets on Berlin expo to attract visitors

 

The Tourism and Wildlife Ministry plans to leverage the International Tourism Bourse (ITB), Berlin to market destination Kenya, hoping to attract more international tourists to the country.

ITB is the world's largest tourism trade fair. 

According to Tourism CS Alfred Mutua, the strategic diversification of tourism products and development of tourism facilities and experiences is enhancing Kenya's appeal in the global travel marketplace.

Kenya is well-positioned to optimise the benefits of tourism, the CS said, given the investments put in place by the government and the private sector.

He was speaking ahead of Kenya's participation at the ITB travel fair slated for March 5-7, in Berlin Germany.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) will lead the marketing campaign at the bourse, where it has set up exhibition infrastructure and support to accommodate up to 42  travel trade representatives. 

They will be seeking to strengthen and boost Kenya's appeal to the global outbound market represented at one of the largest tourism expo. 

“The ITB exhibition serves as a global tourism gateway that Kenya wants to ensure that it capitalises on fully. The tourism fair directly links us with the German market and European Market which are important source markets for Kenya," CS Mutua said.

He said Kenya’s tourism sector is on an upward growth trajectory, and the ministry wants to ensure that it enhances the momentum.

"Our goal is to strengthen the destination’s appeal in our key and emerging source markets," Mutua said.

The ITB Berlin travel expo is widely recognised as one of the most significant events in the global tourism industry, attracting tourism professionals, travel agencies, tour operators, and media representatives from across the world.

The travel fair is projected to attract more than 10,000 exhibitors and 160,000 visitors, reinforcing its status as the world’s leading travel trade show.

Germany is a traditional source for international tourists, accounting for 69,786 arrivals to Kenya in 2023, as it retained its position among the top markets.

The top six source markets for Kenya as per the recently released tourism report include the United States (211,581), Uganda (178,827), UK (140,768), Tanzania (140,401), Germany, and  Italy (58,731), respectively.

German visitors are among the most travel-literate citizens in the world and usually engage in high-spending trips.

“Participating in ITB Berlin provides us with an invaluable platform to not only boost destination visibility but also engage with the travel trade stakeholders as we seek to optimise our destination marketing efforts," Mutua said.

Kenya plans to capitalise on business-to-business meetings and networks to cultivate interest among the European travel trade and consumers.

KTB acting CEO John Chirchir said the board will represent Kenya as a diverse tourism destination and will use the opportunity to attract younger generation travellers.

“Germany and Europe, in general, are important source markets in our long-haul programmes. The ITB trade fair comes at an important time. We shall have an opportunity to engage with potential clients as we as showcase the tourism opportunities we have available for European visitors.” said Chirchir.

The participation comes in the wake of intensified marketing efforts by KTB in penetrating and growing emerging and key source markets.

Recently, KTB mounted a series of roadshows in the West Africa regions targeting Nigeria and Ghana, as part of strategies to tap into the larger African market.

by MARTIN MWITA