The Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) 2018, which took place from October 3-5, saw overall attendance increase by 25% compared with last year. All categories showed significant growth with regard to the final statistics.
Exhibiting representatives increased by 7.5%, with 205 exhibitors as the final number this year, which included participating counties.
Hosted buyer numbers were up by 9.9%, with a total of 131 hosted buyers recorded in 2017 compared with 145 in 2018, representing 25 countries on the hosting programme.
MKTE received 500 applications, and the stringent evaluation criteria enabled the approval of almost 200 buyers. The approved buyers who were unable to attend MKTE 2018 have already started making plans for next year’s event, according to the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).
International media increased by 162%, with 21 international media representatives present in 2018.
The most significant differentiator in 2018 was the increase seen in trade visitor numbers, up from 170 to 502 this year.
According to KTB, this is due to a targeted campaign with Kenya Association of Travel Agents members attending the show over three days, as well as general show awareness with the trade.
A total of 5 520 B2B meetings took place during the event, with an average of 28 meetings per buyer and 50 meetings per exhibitor profile scheduled.
Source: TourismUpdate.co.za
