AFTER registering a five per cent decline in tourist arrivals from India last year, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is pulling out the stops to regain traction in this top-five market.
“Last year we saw a decline in arrival figures mainly due to the Ebola scare, general elections in India and the terrorist attacks the country faced. Our main focus for 2015 is to recover from the negative growth,” said Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director, KTB.
At present VFR, families and culture are the dominant segments for Indian travellers, and KTB wants to diversify to other segments such as honeymooners, DINKS, youth and MICE in the coming years.
“Our focus this year is to promote destinations like Maasai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru, which are known in India. However, as we go ahead we will educate travellers about a lot of other game parks and national reserves like Shaba National Reserve and Ruma National Park,” said Ndegwa.
The NTO has planned roadshows in Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad this March with participation from 10 Kenyan suppliers. Kenya is a partner country at the India International Film Tourism Conclave next month, and will take prominent film producers on a fam trip.
“We plan to launch a consumer campaign later this year and utilise social media to increase Indian tourist traffic to Kenya,” added Ndegwa. “We believe we are still scratching the surface…Our target is to welcome 100,000 Indian tourist arrivals in the next two to three years, which will push India into our top three source markets.”
Kenya recorded about 65,000 Indian tourist arrivals in 2013.
Kenya Airways, which currently operates daily flights between Mumbai and Nairobi, is mulling doubling the frequency on the route.
