By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Feb. 7, GNA – The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) says the West African market is integral to unleashing the country’s destination portfolio and diversifying its tourist source markets.
The Board said Nigeria and Ghana had shown improvements of 6 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, in 2023 and ranked among Kenya’s potential markets on the African continent.
The Kenyan government has launched the “West Africa Roadshow” to promote the richness and diversity of the country’s travel destinations.
Madam Fiona Ngesa, the Marketing Manager- Business Development, Kenya Tourism Board speaking at Roadshow Business to Business Meetings in Accra, said the event was to encourage people to travel more within Africa and understand the travel market.
KTB and Kenya Airways are leading over 15 travel trade companies for in-market activations scheduled for February 5 to February 9, 2024, in various cities in Nigeria and Ghana.
She said it was to boost tourist arrivals from West Africa by promoting business and leisure travel.
She said the idea was to enable people to benefit from travel and see what Kenya had to offer for their leisure and business.
Madam Ngesa said the Roadshow was to foster collaboration, build relationships and together the continent could improve its travel system.
“It is to showcase what Kenya had to offer their Ghanaian counterpart and make the Ghanaian travel market to understand the products being offered,” she added.
The Marketing Manager said the strategy for the next five years was to grow the African arrivals Ghana and Nigeria being key market operators in the region.
She said Ghana because of the previous relationships on a government-to-government basis and the journey for both countries had decided to continue in that direction.
Mr Eliphas Barine, High Commissioner of Kenya to Ghana, said there was the need to strengthen and build institutions that would continue to pursue growth and development in Africa.
He said it was some of these institutions that would continue to connect and link organisations to industries to take care of businesses.
He said the Kenyan Government was committed to growing all existing relationships already established to develop and grow the various sectors of the economy.
He said the two countries had existing instruments and signed an MOU to foster growth and development, it was now the turn of the private sector to hold hands towards actualizing the objectives and making these better for the people.
“Government needs from us because this is a journey and I am very happy because my conversation with the officials and in particular the Minister for Tourism is very keen to be able to grow skills and improve customer experience,” he said.
“So, the road show present is a tremendous opportunity to share insight, collaborate and promote tourism between our two countries,” he added.
The High Commissioner said what needed to be done was to sustain the conversation for growth and development while bettering the lives of the people.
Mrs. Susan Ongalo, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Tourism Federation, said the Federation was the link between the private and the public sectors and the partnership was to foster growth and development.
She said the mandate of the Federation was to advocate for a conducive business environment and promote sustainable tourism through effective representation of the private sector.
She said the tourism industry in Kenya had traditionally eight active private sector bodies representing the Associations of Tour Operators, Hotelkeepers and Caterers, Travel Agents, Air Operators and Mombasa & Coast Tourism.
Others are The Pubs Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya, Ecotourism Kenya, and Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association.
GNA