Kenya looks to China for more tourists

Tourists from China arrive at a hotel in Nyeri County on April 15, 2014. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI |

What you need to know:

  • Exhibitions and a publicity programme through international television channels have received positive response from China
  • A group of 110 tour operators from China visited Kenya last week, raising prospects of new arrivals from the country

Kenya has intensified campaigns to attract more tourists from Asian countries.

Exhibitions and a publicity programme through international television channels have received positive response from China, according to Kenya Tourism Board Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa.

Mr Ndegwa said the board entered into partnership China’s state television, CCTV, that has started running a series of wildlife documentaries filmed at Kenya’s wildlife sanctuaries.

A group of 110 tour operators from China visited Kenya last week, raising prospects of new arrivals from the country.

The tourism agency decided to explore new markets after the traditional sources of America, Britain and Europe slowed down following terror attacks in Nairobi, Mombasa and parts of northern Kenya.

“We have been marketing Kenya to first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai to create more awareness in the Chinese market,” said Mr Ndegwa on phone on Sunday.

The CCTV has been airing Kenya’s famed tourist attraction sites including wildlife parks and historical buildings and monuments, he added.