This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
Kenya is looking to increase tourist numbers into the country, and a recent development is set to give the country a significant boost. The Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa (APTA) forum is scheduled to take place on September 13th and 14th in Chicago.
The forum, which is the world's largest meeting platform for travel agents, brings together approximately 200 travel agents committed to selling destinations in Africa. Kenya hopes to position itself as a top-of-mind destination to the US trade selling Africa, providing the country with a competitive advantage over other African destinations.
Kenya's tourist source market, the US, continues to top, recording a 9.391% growth in the 2019 half year (Jan.-June) compared to the same period last year. The market reported 110,668 arrivals, up from 101,167 posted in the same period in 2018.
Commenting on Kenya's participation, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Chief Executive Officer Dr. Betty Radier said, 'Through KTB, Kenya will be one of the lead participants at the national forum this year. This will help us increase our visibility as a destination. We will receive publicity on APTA's online and offline platforms which will enhance a more effective distribution and sales system for Kenya.'
Dr. Radier added, 'For Kenya to remain competitive, we need to profile our tourism in global forums, especially those that give us an opportunity to share Kenya's top and signature products and promote destination Kenya to the big markets, the APTA forum will give us this opportunity.'
