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Thursday 24 May 2012

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KTB

 

Tourism has many faces. From eco- and cultural to waterbased and sports to conference and cruise, the holiday travel and hospitality sector has something for everyone.

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The Kenya Tourist Board, Kenya

Current performance

KTB has been working hard to deliver tourist numbers. Following the recession, tourist arrivals by air and sea in the last two years have been on an upward trend and even surpassed the 2007 levels — the best performing year.

 

As of July 2010, the performance stood at 3.5 per cent, translating INto 600,227 arrivals, up from the 579,668 recorded in 2007. These current figures portend a bright future for KTB and the number of tourist arrivals was on the upswing as the year closed.

 

Product diversity


Tourism activities in Kenya have concentrated on wildlife, which accounts for 70 per cent of gross tourist earnings and five per cent of GDP. Seven of Kenya’s 26 parks receive about 80 per cent of visitors to the country.

Product diversification

 

 

With stiff competition from South Africa, which has positioned itself as one of the most desired leisure destinations in the world, there is obviously need for a change of tack and approach.

 

Kenya’s traditional products have been beach and wildlife safaris, which are very strong. But, with a view to expanding the product base and taking advantage of our diversity as a destination, niche products are being developed.

 

Towards this end, KTB is developing several tourism products as part of the tourism diversification strategy: eco-tourism, cultural tourism, water-based tourism, sports tourism, conference tourism and cruise tourism, all aimed at boosting the sector. New tourism circuits in western and northern Kenya have been initiated as part of the diversification process.

 

There are tourism opportunities in Garissa. Tourists can enjoy water-based activities on Lake Turkana and the area is rich in cultural tourism. Rahole National Park, Sibiloi National Park and the Aruale Animal Conservancy are all tourist sites in the northern region.

 

The place has comfortable and pleasant accommodation facilities, an indication of the great potential existing in the region. As a way of opening up other parts of the country as tour sites and marketing them, this year’s World Tourism Week was held in Garissa as a precursor to the declaration of the northern circuit as a high potential tourism spot.

 

Marketing strategy

Because of the dynamic nature of the tourism sector, KTB marketing strategies are not static. Apart from word-of-mouth during exhibitions, trade shows and media adverts, we have also invested heavily in on-line marketing. We have launched sub-sites in a number of languages so as to reach out to a huge number of potential visitors.

 

 

To leverage on Kenya’s beach and wildlife safari product, KTB is now marketing by selling experiential concepts. We have an advert in which we use the word Jambo. It is the first word a visitor learns when they come to Kenya. When you offer things that are experiential, it creates an emotional connectivity and it becomes difficult to switch.

 

Apart from international tourists, KTB is also looking to attract more domestic tourists. Currently about 70 per cent of our tourists come from outside the country. However, we are keen in reversing the trend by refocusing our efforts on domestic tourism, which currently contributes about 30 per cent of total revenue generated from the sector.

Investment opportunities

 

 

With Vision 2030 having a clear roadmap of where Kenya should be, the tourism sector certainly offers immense investment opportunities. Already, Nairobi boats two new hotels — the Crowne Plaza in Upper Hill and Sankara in Westlands. More investors are setting up facilities with the most recent being Simba Colt diversifying into the hospitality sector with plans to put up several hotels in Kenya.

 

Under Vision 2030’s FMTP, some flagship projects for 2008-2012 include development of three resort cities (Isiolo, Diani and Kilifi), development of World Heritage sites as tourist destinations (Lamu, Mt Kenya and Sibiloi), and health spas at geothermal sites, business and conference tourism.

 

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