By
Rading Biko,
The tourism arrival numbers during the period of Jan-
April 2022 already record a 55 % growth with 22,532 arrivals compared to 11,884
during the same period in 2021.
The Indian market will play a significant role in the recovery of Kenya’s tourism sector, tourism players in Kenya have said. The tourism arrival numbers during the period of Jan- April 2022 already record a 55 % growth with 22,532 arrivals compared to 11,884 during the same period in 2021.
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| Destination Management Company (DMC) Safari Trails CEO Rajay Thethi with KTB CEO Dr Betty Radier at the Nairobi National Park. |
This growth in numbers can be attributed to Kenya’s
continued investment in the Indian market through marketing campaigns as well
as Kenya’s conformance to the Covid-19 protocols that assure travellers of
their safety while at the destination.
Speaking during a dinner held to receive visitors from
India at the Nairobi National Park, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO Dr Betty
Radier said the board would continue to market Kenya in India and that she was
optimistic of further improvement by the end of the year.
“We are seeing a lot of interest from the Indian market
and we want this to continue, this is the reason we have employed a strategy
specific to this market which is slowly evolving to be a key source market for
Kenya. In 2019, prior to the pandemic we had 122,649 travelers coming into
Kenya and this year we already have a 55 percent improvement compared to last
year during this period. We anticipate that we shall see about 80,000 travelers
from India by close of this year which will be a major coup bearing in mind how
India was hit by the pandemic” Said Dr Radier.
The visitors were the second batch of an incentive travel
group from Reliance Industries (RIL’s), an Indian multinational conglomerate
company, headquartered in Mumbai. The first group arrived in the country three
weeks ago and have so far visited attractions in Nairobi and the Maasai Mara.
“We are happy to see more visitors coming in from India,
three weeks ago we had a group of around 150 people coming in and today we are
hosting a similar number. The interest here is a combination of Business and
Leisure and Magical Kenya has a lot to offer. Through the groups, we shall
showcase the destinations’ preparedness against Covid-19as they sample the best
from the destination.
Traditional dancers entertain
Indian tourists at the Nairobi National Park
Recently in March, India resumed International scheduled
flights following a suspension instituted to curb the spread of Covid-19, the
resumption has had a positive impact on travel between the two countries. In
2019, India’s flag carrier Air India relaunched its direct flights to Nairobi,
a move that sought to boost tourism between the two countries. The airline had
earlier stopped operations on the route for eight years due to a low volume of
business.
Destination Management Company (DMC) Safari Trails CEO
Rajay Thethi, says “Kenya is an important destination for Indian visitors with
Kenya having a big Indian community. The decision to remove PCR testing and
resuming daily flights to India has been key in attracting the visitors to this
market. Indians are interested in wildlife and this is the reason we are today
seeing many Wildlife photographers from India. This group shall be visiting
attractions in Nairobi and Maasai Mara” Said Thethi
India is currently a top-five market for Kenya’s tourism
and the two countries continue to have cordial relations bound by both history
and culture. This relationship has grown over the years as both countries share
a common interest in promoting economic growth through trade and investment. To
this end, India has been one of Kenya’s major trading partners since
independence in 1963 with bilateral trade between the two nations growing
steadily over the years.
