Kenya’s first tourism festival which will start in September this year is aimed at increasing duration of time spent by the tourists in the country.Published on : Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Kenya’s first tourism festival which will start in September this year is aimed at increasing duration of time spent by the tourists in the country.
The festival is a combination of World Tourism Day celebrations set for September 27, the Africa Hotel Investment Forum to be held from October and the Magical Kenya Travel Expo that starts the same month.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said that the festival will have an impact on the growth of tourist arrivals by the end of the year.
Balala said, “The new calendar of events in the tourism sector known as Kenya Tourism Festival will be an annual event that will add value to our tourism experiences. We expect about 20 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from 1.4 million tourists reported in 2017 to 1.8 million.”
The tourism festival will highlight high-growth tourism destinations and play host to investors from across the globe including travel agents, tour operators, and domestic tourists.
The festival is also a scope for the local exhibitors for networking with international stakeholders, thus cutting the cost for travel from one country to another.
The festival will have a weeklong event with beads festivals, chef delights awards and a visit to the Amboseli National Park that will see about1400 elephants in the park.
Tourism Principal Secretary Fatuma Hirsi said that the budget for the festival is not a small figure. She said that most of the funding will be done at the parastatal level.
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