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Nairobi, Mombasa woo tourists at global exhibition in Germany

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From left: Tourism secretary Najib Balala with Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers CEO Mike Macharia and chairman J.S.Vohra at Kenya’s stand during the tourism fair in Berlin on March 10, 2016. PHOTO | MATHIAS RINGA

Nairobi and Mombasa are among four county governments showcasing tourism products at the Internationale Tourismus Boerse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, to attract more international visitors to the country.

Other counties participating in the travel trade fair are Kwale and Uasin Gishu.

According to Nairobi tourism officials Sally Ragga and Nassir Massai, the county is participating in the Berlin travel show for the first time with the aim of positioning Kenya’s capital as the destination of choice for international tourists from across the world.

Under the brand slogan: “Live, Love Nairobi- discover, create, grow”, the delegation is marketing  the county to woo more German tourists and holidaymakers from across the globe to the city.

Among the tourist attractions being showcased at the ITB Berlin are the Nairobi National Park, Nairobi National Museum, Railways Museum, the Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi Snake Park and the Giraffe centre.

Others include Utamaduni Craft and Curio shop, Matbronze Wildlife Art gallery, Fair View Estate coffee tours, David Sheldrick wildlife trust, Nairobi Animal Orphanage, Karen Blixen and  the UN Village.

The county is also showcasing the Kenyatta International Convention Centre to help attract more international conferences to Nairobi.

“We are here in Berlin to market our capital city as the best destination for cultural heritage, wildlife, nightlife and conferencing,” Ms Ragga said.
“We have brought T-shirts, mugs, pens among other items which have our brand slogan which we are giving for free to trade visitors for them to market Nairobi around the world.”

Ms Ragga said they are capitalising on big conferences which were held in Nairobi last year such as the Global Entrepreneurship Summit to attract more international conventions and position the city as a leading global conferences hub in Africa.

On the other hand, Mr Massai said the county was taking advantage of US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis’ visits to Nairobi last year in a bid to attract more American and European tourists.

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On Thursday, the Nairobi officials said tour operators from Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Czech Republic visited their stand aiming to bring tourists to Nairobi.

“We have some families from Poland who have shown interest of coming to Nairobi in July for holidays,” Ms Ragga said.

“The polish said it will be their first visit to Africa and are looking forward to enjoying their stay in Nairobi.”

The counties showcased their products at the Kenyan exhibition stand alongside local hotels, tour operators and travel agents.

At the Mombasa stand, county Tourism executive Binti Omar said they were in Berlin to market the coastal city as a beach holiday destination, historical and cultural heritage and as a cruise tourism destination.

She said they are marketing the alluring beaches, the iconic historical building Fort Jesus, the popular Mama Ngina Drive where visitors to Mombasa can catch a glimpse of ships either heading to or from the Mombasa port.

“Mombasa is Kenya’s leading tourism hub and so we are participating in the Berlin trade fair to attract more holidaymakers from the German market,” she said.

The county executive said they are also marketing the Swahili cultural heritage, delicacies as well as the Mombasa International Cultural Festival at the Berlin fair.

“This year, we shall hold our cultural festival in August and we are selling the festival here in Germany in a bid to woo more international visitors,” she said.

Ms Omar said they are banking on the Berlin travel show to win back the confidence of global markets to boost international tourist arrivals in Mombasa.

Other tourist attractions Mombasa is showcasing in Berlin include the Nguuni animal sanctuary in Bamburi, water sports, the Mombasa Marathon to be held in September, swimming gala, beach run, beach volleyball and football.

“We want to woo many international visitors to help revive tourism in Mombasa for job creation and economic growth,” Ms Omar added.

Kwale County Tourism executive Adan Sheikh said they are participating in the ITB Berlin fair to market the world famous Diani beach, wildlife at Shimba Hills game reserve, the Kisite Mpunguti marine park and culture.

He added that Germany is Diani’s leading source market.

“We want to enlighten German tour operators and travel agents about Diani beach which has won global awards for them to bring more holidaymakers to the South Coast for the sector to recover,” he said.

The Kwale executive said his team would hold talks with leading German tour operators such as TUI, Neckermann, Rewe Touristik, FTI and Jahn Reisen for them to book holidays for tourists to come to Diani.

He said, the county is also targeting holidaymakers from the UK, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Poland and Italy.

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