Kenya to build more convention centers to spur tourism

Kenya will increase the country's capacity for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) through the development of additional convention centers.

Phyllis Kandie, Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, said with more convention centers, Kenya will package itself as a competitive destination for business conferencing and exhibitions as Nairobi continues to bid for high profile international events.

"We shall construct additional convention centers in the cities of Mombasa, Kisumu and another one in central Kenya in addition to the new project at Bomas of Kenya alongside other infrastructure development," Kandie said while officially opening the inaugural of Kenya MICE Expo 2015 in Nairobi.

"We are aiming at our goal of claiming the first place in Africa with the best conference and exhibition facilities hence attracting business," she added.

The CS said the MICE tourism industry is expected to grow even further and will establish its place as a key contributor to achieving the rebound and growth in tourism numbers.

This year, for the first time, Kenya will host the 10th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in December.

The country also won the bids to host the World Conference on Public Relations Forum in November and was also successful in attracting other MICE events, including the Skal World Congress for International Associations of Travel and Tourism Professionals to be held in Mombasa in October. "Each of these conferences is expected to inject approximately 30 million U.S. dollars into Kenya's economy as each delegate is expected to spend at least 4,000 dollars per conference," Kandie projected, adding that the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference has attracted over 7,000 delegates to Kenya.

Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) CEO Fred Simiyu said MICE in Kenya grew by 58 percent following an increase from 2006 conferences to 3,336 conferences in a period of nine years between 2003 and 2013.

"This is a growth that needs to be tapped because if the supply end is more, Kenya would have bid for more conferences. Kenya is challenged by a specific element in that it lacks purpose-built convention centers," said Simiyu.

"Kenya commands 10 percent of the paltry 2.7 percent of MICE destinations that Africa controls, and the only way to mitigate this imbalance effectively is to increase the supply end because for the first time MICE has been recognized as a Vision 2030 flagship project," he said. Endi