Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has heightened the country’s tourism promotional campaign in the United States of America (US) to increase visitation into Kenya in light of Kenya Airways’ direct flight between New York City and Nairobi.
Together with over 10 private sector companies drawn from across Kenya’s tourism sector, KTB has lined up promotional city roadshow campaigns in the US that are set to begin today, 3rd December to run until 7th December 2018.
The cities that will be covered during the roadshow include New York City, Boston and Washington DC.
The roadshow seeks to, among other objectives, create top of mind awareness of Destination Kenya amongst the U.S travel and tour operators while supporting the Kenyan trade in building long term profitable business relations with new trade in USA.
The roadshow comes hot on the heels of Kenya’s participation in the recently concluded 2018 United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) Annual Conference which was held at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridgein Phoenix, Arizona from 27th November to 30th November 2018.
Kenya’s delegation to the conference was led by Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Najib Balala.
Announcing the roadshow, KTB Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Betty Radier has said the event will provide a platform for the promotion of Kenya’s top and signature experiences in the U.S. which include its world acclaimed Wildlife Safari, Culture and Heritage, Adventure, and Special Occasions.
Dr. Radier said, “The roadshow, which comes against the backdrop of the launch of non-stop, direct flights between Kenya and the U.S. on 28th October 2018, provides KTB and the private sector with an opportunity to promote destination Kenya to travel and tour operators from the North American region in order to influence greater consideration of Kenya as a tourism destination among U.S. travelers. KTB expects to generate more Kenya sales which will subsequently contribute to sustained increase in arrivals into Kenya from the U.S. market. Our goal is to increase tourist arrivals from the U.S. by 15 percent during the current fiscal year 2018/19.”
Commenting on why the states of New York, Boston and Washington DC were selected for the roadshow, the KTB CEO said the three states have the highest per capita income levels in the U.S which means that the residents of the three states have high propensity for travel due to their high disposable income.
“New York is the number one port of departure with about 17percentmarket share of travelers from USA. Washington D.C and Boston have 4.9 percent and 4.3 percent market share of port departures respectively.
With the recent commencement of Kenya Airways’ direct flight between the U.S. and Kenya, KTB anticipates that there will be a marked increase in the attractiveness of Kenya as a holiday destination due to Kenya being much closer to the US. Tourists will be able to spend more time on their holiday experience which enables Kenya to develop more diverse product and experiences. This will not only translate into a significant increase in tourism arrivals to Kenya but a significant increase in tourism earnings for Kenya as well.”
The U.S. market is currently Kenya’s top and best performing market, accounting for 12.2 percent of total international arrivals to Kenya.
It is noteworthy that the U.S. is currently one of the world’s best-performing outbound markets, according to the World Travel Monitor.
Strong outbound demand has been fuelled by a robust U.S. economy which has increased the purchasing power of U.S. travellers.
For more information, please contact Kenya Tourism Board through the email: communications@ktb.go.ke
