With the aim to increase the footfall of Indian visitors, Kenya Tourism Board has mounted a series of activities in India, including roadshows and participation in key travel trade shows in principal source cities across India.

In order to attract Indian tourists, Kenya has been conducting a slew of initiatives aimed at the upcoming season. After successful roadshows in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is currently participating at the OTM in Mumbai and will proceed to Delhi for a series of activities to interact with Indian travel trade fraternity and media.

According to a press statement, there is a high-level delegation from KTB along with leading destination management companies, hoteliers, tour operators and service providers from the Kenyan travel industry, along with Kenya Airways, to make presentations and explore exciting opportunities to collaborate, tapping the high potential India market.

The statement adds that in 2022, arrivals into Kenya from the Indian source market recorded a growth of 93.2 pc from 42,159 in 2021 to 81,458 in 2022. This is a recovery of 67 pc compared to the 2019 performance of 120,893, says KTB.

KTB is also planning to sign new business deals in the Indian market as Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) leads travel trade members to this year’s Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) tourism fair in the country.

Kenyan travel trade partners will take part in the 3-day exhibition with the country seeking to reposition itself in the Indian market whose growth has picked up to about 90 pc by close of last year compared to 2021. The statement adds that OTM is the largest gathering of travel trade buyers and professionals in India with over 1300 exhibitors from over 60 countries attending. Kenya’s participation in this event will allow it to tap into the growing Indian tourism market and promote its offerings to Indian travellers.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) acting CEO John Chirchir says OTM is giving Kenya an opportunity for re-entry into the Indian market that was severely affected with travel because of Covid-19 pandemic. “India is one of the markets whose travel were negatively impacted with the Covid-19, we are now making a physical presence in the market after about two years of absence, and we hope to reap big from the fair,” says Chirchir.

Chirchir says the growth is a positive indication that the tourism business in India is on the right track to recovery even as KTB rolls out key promotional and marketing campaigns in the market. “These are part of our many initiatives to bring the market back to its performance recorded before the covid-19 pandemic. Attributes such as ease of access and connectivity, all-weather season as well as tourism offering that cut across all the segments have continued to pull Indian travellers to Kenya,” adds Chirchir.

Last year, KTB hosted a familiarisation trip in Nairobi for India’s leading travel companies, launched joint promotional campaigns with marketing companies such as FCM Travel Solutions India and Yatra to build traveller confidence.

Kenya Tourism Federation Chairman Fred Odek says international exhibitions remain a key platform of wooing international travellers, which he said were key in contributing to the revenue receipt for the sector. He says domestic tourism has sustained the tourism business through the Covid-19 pandemic period but added that international travellers have contributed a lion share in terms of revenues and lauded KTB for stepping up its in-marketing activities. “It is important we sustain our in-bound market to keep up with the competing destinations that are beefing up their numbers to 2019. We are optimistic that we are going to sign new contracts during the OTM event,” says Odek.

Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Serena Hotels East Africa Rosemary Mugambi expresses her optimism that the OTM is expected to impact on the rise of hotel bookings within a short period. She said there is a lot of interest from Indian travellers to the country and the OTM expo comes at the right time when Kenya was in re-igniting the market that comes in handy during the low tourism season. According to Mugambi, international exhibitions continue enhancing top of mind awareness of Kenya among travellers and investors alike and hailed KTB for identifying key markets for exhibition and promotional activities.

Kenya is home to intimate, awe-inspiring, and magical travel experiences. All year round, visitors enjoy exhilarating wildlife experiences, the breath-taking outdoors and landscapes, the tranquil and adventure of Kenya’s coast, the enriching cultural encounters, and the warmth of the Kenyan people, says the statement.