Kenya has launched the #YallaKenya (Lets go to Kenya) campaign, a consumer campaign targeting the GCC market to drive more tourists to Kenya.
This was a joint venture between the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and Conde Nast, one of the largest luxury travel platforms /magazine in the GCC countries. The launch in Dubai was part of the programmes set to support Kenya’s come back to the Arabia Travel Market (ATM) after a 3-year break.
The campaign involves a three-month incentive programme to the trade which will see the incorporation of special fares and packages promoted directly to consumers GCC wide in both Arabic and English language to encourage travel across all the segments of the market.
It will run GCC wide and will highlight key products that are popular such as wildlife, beach, and culture as well as highlight points of comfort within these markets that are specific to the Halal travel aspects. It is a campaign built on the largely successful #ChooseKenya consumer campaign which ran last year.
Speaking at the official launch of the campaign, Tourism Principal Secretary, Fatuma Hirsi noted that Kenya is positioned extremely well in the UAE.
“We are certain that the efforts in this campaign will bear fruit in this market that enjoys good connectivity to Nairobi, a key hub in Africa. In the last year, Kenya’s visibility has grown in the global arena, hosting key personalities international meetings,” she said.
More recently Kenya made history by emerging tops for the first time in the World Rugby Series through the Kenya Sevens in Singapore.
The London Marathon too saw Kenya sweep top positions, keeping Kenya alive in the international community arena,” added Hirsi in her remarks made on behalf of the Tourism CS Najib Balala.
Given the improved security situation in Kenya, and the lack of negative publicity over the last 18 months, Kenya has become one of the better selling destinations amongst UAE trade, and a sought-after destination for travelers from the country.
Across the rest of the GCC the consumer and trade awareness is limited, and the campaign is expected to improve destination awareness in these markets that have both the spending power and a high interest for tourism products especially Safari.