Nairobi – Kenya’s tourism marketers on Wednesday said they have launched a consumer campaign targeting the Gulf market to drive more tourists to Kenya.
The #YallaKenya (Lets go to Kenya) campaign was a joint venture between the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and Conde Nast, one of the largest luxury travel platforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Tourism Principal Secretary, Fatuma Hirsi, who launched the campaign, noted that Kenya is positioned extremely well in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“We are certain that the efforts in this campaign will bear fruit in this market that enjoys good connectivity to Nairobi, a key hub in Africa.
“In the last year, Kenya’s visibility has grown in the global arena, hosting key personalities international meetings,’’ Hirsi said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
She said the campaign was part of the programmes set to support Kenya’s comeback to the Arabia Travel Market (ATM) after a three-year break from this international.
Hirsi said that the campaign is expected to improve destination awareness in these markets that have both the spending power and a high interest for tourism products especially Safari.
The East African nation received about 35,000 visitors from the UAE between January and August 2015 compared to 18,500 visitors the same period the prior year.
“Some of the factors that favour the destination are the flight connectivity and the presence of a large expatriate community in Dubai that wants to experience the rich tourism product in Kenya.
“The consumer campaign involves a three months incentive programme to the trade which will see the incorporation of special fares and packages promoted directly to consumers Gulf wide in both Arabic and English language.
“The campaign will run Gulf wide and will highlight key products that are popular such as wildlife, beach and culture as well as highlight points of comfort,’’ the statement said.
Report says it is a campaign built on the largely successful #Choose Kenya consumer campaign which ran in 2015. (Xinhua/NAN)