Tourism agency picks insider as chief executive to replace Radier

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has hired John Chirchir as the chief executive as it seeks to grow arrivals to 1.46 million tourists by the end of the year.

The appointment comes at a time when the international tourism market is showing a great recovery from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kenya recorded a 91.3 per cent increase in the number of tourists who visited the country in the eight months to August.

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The Tourism Sector Performance report released in September shows arrivals grew to 924,812, as compared to 483,246 in the same period in 2021.

Mr Chirchir takes over from Betty Radier in an acting capacity, and he will be tasked to lead the State corporation in diversifying its marketing strategies to tap into new markets as it grows existing ones.

Dr Radier oversaw key programmes including the evaluation and listing of the Magical Kenya Signature Experience, leveraging partnerships and digital marketing.

KTB chairperson Joanne Mwangi-Yelbert termed Dr Radier’s tenure a successful one having seen through a strong destination brand with global recognition.

“Her six years in office has helped positively profile the destination globally and I strongly believe that the incoming acting CEO will build on this to take the destination to the next level,” the chairperson said.

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Mr Chirchir, who has been serving as the digital marketing manager at the agency, has extensive knowledge of destination marketing spanning more than 20 years and has championed marketing drive in Kenya’s tourist key source markets of Europe, Africa and the US.

He holds a master’s degree in hotel and tourism management, a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing and a postgraduate diploma in digital marketing.

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