The Kenya National Convention Bureau (KNCB) has officially been inducted into the membership of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) – the largest global meetings industry network.
This automatically grants KNCB access to ICCA’s large database of clients from the conventions sector all over the world.
Kenya with the establishment of KNCB, seeks to promote the country as a competitive MICE destination.
Kenya which now belongs to the Africa Chapter and the Destination Marketing Sector of ICCA is expected to take advantage of its membership and court more MICE related events into the country to boost tourism.
Esmare Steinhofel, ICCA Regional Director (Africa) commenting on the country’s membership said this is an indication of the Kenya Government’s focus on growing the Business Events Industry.
“The Association market as a sector will contribute greatly to the economic development and knowledge economy of Kenya. The ICCA Africa Regional Office is looking forward to working closely with the newly established Kenya National Convention Bureau to grow the association market,” she added.
KNCB’s National Coordinator Jacinta Nzioka was delighted to receive the news of the membership approval by ICCA International and expressed appreciation for the support received so far from the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Tourism, it’s Board and various stakeholders.
The bureau will now be in a position to roll out its programmes at a planned forum this March 2020. While releasing the end of year performance of tourism in Kenya, the Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala highlighted Business and Conference Tourism as one of the sub sectors that had sustained growth and commended all players while challenging them to offer more experiential and aspirational products for further growth.
Kenya through this new association will get the opportunity to analyse its market position based on 55 years of international association meetings data with the ICCA’s Destination Comparison Tool. Through ICCA’s free and simple PR Tools, KNCB will also get to increase Kenya’s profile in the meetings industry . Also with a huge data search, Kenya through ICCA can discover local ambassadors to involve in their next winning bid.
