The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is planning to hold a 6-day roadshow in three Chinese cities ofย Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
The roadshow comes a fortnight after President William Ruto concluded a trip to China in search of funds to finance his manifesto.
According toย China Daily, the largest English-language paper in China, the roadshows are expected to kick off on Wednesday, November 8, and close on November 13.
KTB Chief Executive Officer John Chirchir told the outlet that Kenya was seeking to tap into the rich market of tourists in China, especially after recording an uptick in the number of leisurely visitors in recent months.
For instance, the CEO revealed that between January and August, the number of visitors had increased by 154 per cent making the Asian country among the top sources for Kenyan tourists.
“Apart from the roadshow, we have a number of other activities that are lined up. We have the joint airlines partnership campaigns which are coming up after the shows. This means we collaborate with key airlines to run campaigns,” he explained.
The roadshows come after the Head of State toured China mid-this month and secured more than half a billion deals.
At the time, Ruto noted that the government has secured commitments from various Chinese companies including those to finance already ongoing projects.
Overall, the funds the companies agreed to invest in Kenya are Ksh688.7 billion.
”I am delighted for the 11 companies which have launched the Konza Medical City, their $161.7 million special purpose investment vehicle, which arrives in Kenya on time to take advantage of the Universal Health Coverage, as well as Zhende ย Medical Co. which is entering a deal to invest $125 million in Tatu city,” the elated Head of State announced at the time.
In July,ย Kenyans.co.keย reported that Kenyan tour operators wereย increasingly joining Chinese social mediaย sites in search of tourists.
The strategy was part of KTB’sย strategic plan 2021-2025 to ensure that the country’s tourism sector explored Chinese social media apps since popular social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are not available in the country.
Some of the popular platforms that Kenyan businesses are now using include WeChat, Mafengwo, Weibo, and Douyin.
Kenya received 8,000 Chinese tourists in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 6,000 in the same period last year. Overall, Kenya received 55,488 tourists from China in 2022.
By byย DERRICK OKUBASU
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
