Chris Brown concert not our event, says tourism board
What you need to know:
- The board has also clarified that KTB had not committed itself financially on the American R&B star's historic concert.
- At the weekend, Mombasa branch ODM chairman and nominated MCA Mohamed Hatimy claimed that the board had organised the event.
- The outspoken MCA claimed the Mombasa County government had not planned or organised the event.
The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has said that while the visit by the American artiste Chris Brown is a positive endorsement of Mombasa and Kenya in general as a tourist destination, it has not sponsored his tour.
The board has also clarified that KTB had not committed itself financially on the American R&B star's historic concert to be held in Mombasa Sunday evening, dubbed #MombasaRocks.
Acting CEO Jacinta Nzioka-Mbithi said the concert was not a KTB event, and that the board had not committed any funds nor was it involved in any arrangements for Chris Brown to visit the country.
“The official organisers of the concert are Walee Wasee Ltd who approached KTB like many other corporate institutions through the Mombasa County governor’s office requesting for support,” said Ms Nzioka-Mbithi.
“As part of the board’s efforts to leverage on key events held in the country, KTB wrote to the Mombasa County appreciating the #MombasaRocks festival initiative as part of promoting Kenya as a tourism destination,” she said in a statement.
KTB said it committed to the organisers, through the office of the Mombasa Governor, that it would recommend them to hoteliers and airlines to provide support in kind by provision of services in a post-concert celebrity familiarisation trip which would include sampling the coastal tourism products.
This, KTB said, would be in addition to publicising the event through various social media platforms.
“We wish to clarify that no financial commitment has been put into this event by KTB,” she said.
“However, KTB appreciates that the visit by Chris Brown, who has a large following, is a positive endorsement to the destination and especially Mombasa that was voted the best beach destination in Africa in April, 2016 at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in Seychelles earlier this year,” said Ms Nzioka-Mbithi.
KTB is currently hosting 140 travel agents and 20 trade media in the country for the next three days, all of who will visit the Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE), scheduled to take place from October 12th to 14th at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
At the weekend, Mombasa branch ODM chairman and nominated MCA Mohamed Hatimy claimed that the board had organised the event.
The outspoken MCA claimed the Mombasa County government had not planned or organised the event.
