Tourism for all at MKTE 2016 in Kenya
Travel industry members converged on Nairobi yesterday for the 2016 Magical Kenya Expo, promoting the theme Tourism for all: Explore Endless Travel Possibilities.
This is the sixth year the Magical Kenya Tourism Board (MKTB) has put on the event.
Opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Kenya, Hon. Najib Balala, the event has attracted some 140 hosted buyers from across 35 countries.
These buyers had the opportunity to gather valuable information and contacts from 137 exhibitors which includes 6 tourism boards, 13 counties, 11 airlines and 12 countries.
Magical Kenya Tourism Board used the event to launch their new product, “Your Passport to our Country”, a passport style book filled with valuable travel information.
The event opened with the Safari cats of Kenya and the Uganda Dancers entertaining attendees, followed by speeches from Hon. Najib Balala and Chairman of the KTB, Jimi Kariuki.
Hon. Najib Balala said security was a main priority, with the government investing 15 percent of its budget in security to ensure the country is safe for tourists.
“Over 100 billion Kenya Shillings(Ksh) has been invested into infrastructure to help promote tourism, while 1.5bn Ksh (15 million USD) has been invested into marketing for the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).”
MKTB Chairman, Jimi Kariuki, added that the first eight months of 2016 has seen positive growth of 15% compared to the same period last year.
“USA is leading the visitor arrivals, followed by the UK, however it is the non-traditional source markets that are experiencing robust growth such as Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, UAE, China and India.”
The MKTE 2016 will continue in Nairobi at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre over the next 3 days, before a Gala Dinner for the closing on 14 October.
Kate is in Kenya reporting for Travel Weekly thanks to MKTB.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
2016 Magical Kenya Expo kenya magical kenya MKTBLatest News
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