Tourism sector to record increased arrivals due to aggressive marketing

The tourism sector is set to record the best year in arrivals, driven by increased marketing activities.

International arrivals for the first six months this year are the highest recorded having surpassed the 2007 levels, the sector’s best performing year.

As of June, 482,950 international tourists arrived in Kenya, a 17 per cent growth compared to the same period last year and 5,270 more than the same period in 2007.

“We have recovered and expect to see more growth as the high season continues,” said Muriithi Ndegwa, the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) managing director.

Earnings for the first half of the year are yet to be released, but in the first quarter the sector brought in Sh2.13 billion, compared to Sh1.06 billion during the same period last year.

The growth is mainly driven by the move to new markets, an increase in business and conference travel into the country, and the allure of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, one of the country’s main attractions.

The emergence of Nairobi as a conferencing hub has pushed hotel bookings up, leading to higher bed occupancy in the city and contributing to the recovery of the tourism sector last year.

The investment in new properties is expected to drive this even further.

Mr Ndegwa said the additional investment is an endorsement and will help increase the city’s attractiveness.

For players like the Holiday Inn, which has been acquired by the South African hotel chain Southern Sun, conference and business tourism have been the main drivers especially during the slump in leisure tourism following the post-poll chaos in 2008.

Financial woes

The hotel’s general manager, Paul Norman, said conferences have been the main driver of business in Nairobi with the hotel capitalising on NGO activities and business tourism due to its location.

Nairobi is currently hosting thousands of international scouts who are in the country for the World Scouts Moot, the first to be held in Africa.

The event, which will be opened by President Kibaki on Wednesday, has attracted over 1,000 scouts.

In addition, the country is hosting the 17th Senior Athletics Championship, one of the biggest events in the continent’s athletics calendar.

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.