Tourism sector to record increased arrivals due to aggressive marketing

Teams across the region have been arriving in the country since early this month along with their managers, fans, and media representatives.

These events, in addition to the ongoing high season that has seen bookings soar, are expected to drive the sector to new highs this year.

The Coast, which relies heavily on charters, has yet to fully recover with the arrivals through Mombasa International Airport still relatively low.

“Tourism in Nairobi is gaining from increased activity in conference and business tourism. The coast is still slow because it depends heavily on chartered flights which have not recovered since the violence following the 2007 elections,” said Jake Grieves-Cook, KTB’s chairman, in a previous interview.

Most visitors are from Europe, accounting for 47 per cent of the tourists recorded in the first six months of the year, despite the ongoing financial woes that have hit the region.

Arrivals from Africa have been on the rise due to aggressive marketing.

They now accounts for 25 per cent of international arrivals followed by the Americas at 14 per cent.