Off the wire
• S.Korea's 2nd case of Zika virus detected after trip to Philippines  • Alternating emissions of water, methanol in space discovered by Polish astronomers  • AU calls for youth de-radicalization in Somalia  • East Africa bloc mulls strategies to improve drought management  • Africa Watch: South Sudan suffers huge reputation loss after civil unrest  • Fight against corruption remains difficult, complicated: Vietnamese party chief  • European delegation in Tripoli to support Libya's unity gov't  • Drought kills 100 wild horses in Namibia  • German consumer climate predicted to rise considerably in May  • Swimming champion Pellegrini to fly national flag for Italy in Rio  
You are here: 　 Home

Kenya launches campaign to woo Gulf tourists

Xinhua, April 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya's tourism marketers said Wednesday they have launched a consumer campaign targeting the Gulf market to drive more tourists to Kenya.

The #YallaKenya (Lets go to Kenya) campaign was a joint venture between the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and Conde Nast, one of the largest luxury travel platforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Tourism Principal Secretary, Fatuma Hirsi who launched the campaign, noted that Kenya is positioned extremely well in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"We are certain that the efforts in this campaign will bear fruit in this market that enjoys good connectivity to Nairobi, a key hub in Africa. In the last year, Kenya's visibility has grown in the global arena, hosting key personalities international meetings," Hirsi said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

She said the campaign was part of the programs set to support Kenya's comeback to the Arabia Travel Market (ATM) after a 3 year break from this international.

Hirsi said the campaign is expected to improve destination awareness in these markets that have both the spending power and a high interest for tourism products especially Safari.

The East African nation received about 35,000 visitors from the UAE between January and August 2015 compared to 18,500 visitors the same period the prior year.

Some of the factors that favour the destination are the flight connectivity and the presence of a large expatriate community in Dubai that wants to experience the rich tourism product in Kenya.

The consumer campaign involves a three months incentive program to the trade which will see the incorporation of special fares and packages promoted directly to consumers Gulf wide in both Arabic and English language to encourage travel across all the segments of the market.

"The campaign will run Gulf wide and will highlight key products that are popular such as wildlife, beach, and culture as well as highlight points of comfort within these markets that are specific to the Halal travel aspects," the statement said.

It is a campaign built on the largely successful #Choose Kenya consumer campaign which ran last year. Endit