Nairobi To Host East Africa’s Biggest Tourism Expo In November

Nairobi is set to host East Africa’s biggest tourism expo from November 20–22 this year as the country seeks to increase tourist arrivals.

The Magical Kenya & East Africa Regional Tourism Expo (MK & EARTE) 2023 will be hosted at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.

It will bring together 160 agents (buyers) from Kenya’s key source markets.

They will then be taken on 3-5-day familiarization trips to sample the products before a three-day business-to-business (B2B) forum with over 25 exhibitors and more than 700 trade visitors.

“The 3-day B2B forum is based on prescheduled appointments with a smart matchmaking tool and guaranteed meetings,” Magical Kenya said in a statement.

EARTE, which is an annual regional travel fair showcasing the region’s diverse tourism and trade opportunities, is hosted by the East African Community partner states on a rotational basis.

The inaugural regional tourism expo was hosted by the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) in October 2021 in Arusha.

A subsequent event was held in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, in September 2022.

“As Kenya hosts the third edition of EARTE, the two events MKTE & EARTE have been combined into one event, creating more value and enhancing the level of engagement at the show for all the participants,” it added.

Source: Capital Business

Why Africa should also issue travel advisories

By the time you read this, Cape Town’s minibus taxi (matatu) strike should be over. Nevertheless, the impact of the strike, which as I write has been ongoing for four-days, will continue to be felt for quite a while.

The people who suffered the most were the general public, most of whom use the taxis to get in and out of Cape Town for work.

On the day the taxi strike began, thousands of commuters were caught off guard and forced to walk home in the cold and dark of a typical winter evening.

The taxis went on strike following clashes in the week after the City Council began enforcing new traffic by-laws. The new rules allow them to impound vehicles in cases where drivers cannot produce a valid operating licence, or are found to be operating contrary to the conditions of their operating licence.

The councillor in charge of Cape Town’s Safety and Security department, is a hard headed, thick-skinned, no-nonsense type who appears to relish fighting the taxi industry.

For instance, when the trouble hit, the councillor poured oil on the fire.

He said: “I have been asked by the mayor to ensure that the violence caused by some in the public transport sector is met with an appropriate response, and to remind them that we will proceed with impounding 25 vehicles for every truck, bus, vehicle or facility that is burnt or vandalised.”

Of course, as is usual when there is any sort of public unrest anywhere in Africa, our supposed friends in Western capitals are quick to issue travel alerts to their citizens, warning them not to visit.

Even when as in Cape Town, Nairobi and elsewhere, tourists are often the least affected people in such situations. 

Let’s face it, few if any tourists use public transport in the way locals do.

Also, since most of them come from countries where they have experienced public disturbances, such as protests and riots, they should have the sense to stay behind closed doors until the storm passes, or in this case, in their hotels and Airbnbs.

The UK, where they have had their fair share of protests in recent months on issues from cost of living to the environment, appears to have been one of the first to issue a travel advisory to its people who were planning to visit Cape Town.

Considering that the UK is one of the biggest tourism markets, this travel alert is of particular concern. It may well dramatically reduce the number of tourists visiting Cape Town and the Western Cape just as tourism was beginning to think things were looking up.

That said, I have always believed such travel alerts should go both ways. I have yet to see South African or, for that matter, Kenyan authorities issuing travel alerts for situations in Europe or North America, even though they should.

It needn’t be some sort of tit-for-tat reaction. 

For instance, in May, seven countries issued advisories warning their citizens about gun violence when travelling to the US. They are Australia, Britain, Canada, France, New Zealand, Uruguay and Venezuela.

At the moment, the US itself has Level 2 warnings that advise travellers to “exercise increased precautions” in 51 countries, ranging from some of their closest allies (such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK) to the usual suspects.

In this case, the usual suspects are countries that depend a lot on tourism for income, such as Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania.

Others are Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos and the United Arab Emirates.

Of course, travel advisories can also come from within. For instance, in May, a US Civil rights group issued a travel advisory for Black tourists visiting Florida. The advisory came from the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, specifically, the president of the Tallahassee branch.

The advisory said Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of colour and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Source: The Star

Global passenger traffic hit 94% of pre-Covid levels in June, airlines say

Global passenger traffic continued to improve in June, reaching 94 per cent of pre-Covid levels, as the summer travel season in the Northern Hemisphere got off to a strong start, the International Air Transport Association has said.

Total traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, rose 31 per cent in June compared to the same month in 2022, IATA said in its monthly report.

In the first half of 2023, total traffic jumped 47.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, buoyed by growth in both domestic and international trips.

Demand for domestic travel in June surged 27.2 per cent compared to the same month a year ago and was 5.1 per cent above the June 2019 levels. Domestic demand was up 33.3 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to a year ago.

International traffic climbed 33.7 per cent compared to June 2022 with all markets recording robust growth, IATA said. International travel demand reached 88.2 per cent of June 2019 levels. In the first half of 2023, international traffic was up 58.6 per cent from the six-month period in 2022.

“Planes are full, which is good news for airlines, local economies, and travel and tourism-dependent jobs. All benefit from the industry’s continuing recovery,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said.

Middle Eastern airlines’ June traffic climbed 29.2 per cent compared to last year, while capacity rose 25.9 per cent. Load factor, a measure of how well airlines can fill available seats, improved by two percentage points to 79.8 per cent.

African airlines’ traffic rose 34.7 per cent in June from the same month a year ago, the second highest percentage gain among the regions, while capacity was up 44.8 per cent. However, load factor fell by 5.1 percentage points to 68.1 per cent, the lowest among the regions, IATA said.

Travel demand continues to outpace capacity growth amid aviation supply chain problems, leaving airlines awaiting new jet deliveries and critical spare parts for parked aircraft, Mr. Walsh said.

“As strong as travel demand has been, arguably it could be even stronger,” he said.

“For the fleet that is in service, some air navigation service providers are failing to deliver the requisite capacity and resilience to meet travel demand. Delays and trimmed schedules are frustrating for both passengers and their airlines. Governments cannot continue to ignore the accountability of ANSPs in places where passenger rights regimes place the brunt of accountability on airlines.”

Meanwhile, global air cargo demand in June contracted at its slowest rate in 16 months since February 2022, according to IATA, as volumes continue to normalize following the peaks recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Air cargo demand in June fell 3.4 per cent year-on-year, while capacity rose 9.7 per cent during the period, IATA said in its monthly report.

“We remain hopeful that the difficult trading conditions for air cargo will moderate as inflation eases in major economies. This, in turn, could encourage the central banks to loosen the money supply, which could stimulate greater economic activity,” Mr. Walsh said.

Middle Eastern carriers posted a 0.5 per cent increase in cargo volumes in June compared to the same month a year ago. This was up from the 2.9 per cent year-over-year decline registered in May.

Capacity rose 11.1 per cent for the month.

“Both Middle East-Asia and Middle East-Europe route areas saw annual growth,” IATA said.

Source: The National News

Travelport to offer United and British Airways NDC content

Travel technology firm Travelport has renewed its multi-year agreement with United Airlines that beginning this month will include the carrier’s New Distribution Capability content.

Travelport’s NDC content and servicing solution for United will become available to all agency customers in the US and the EMEA region in August. Access will then be extended to customers in Latin America and the rest of the world “in the coming weeks”.

Agencies using Travelport will be able to search, compare and book United’s NDC offers, as well as service NDC bookings, including modifications and cancellations.

Jason Clarke, chief commercial officer, travel partners at Travelport said: “We’re laser-focused on modern retailing and making new content sources, like NDC, easier for travel agents. Our partnership with United Airlines provides a streamlined booking experience with simplified access to United’s dynamic offers and ancillaries to our agency network anytime, anywhere.

“Our NDC solution is designed to support travel retailers with complete end-to-end servicing that goes beyond the booking process, allowing agents to easily manage trip changes on the go while offering superior levels of service to their travellers.”

Travelport is the third GDS to provide United’s NDC content, following Amadeus and Sabre, after the carrier announced last week that it plans to remove its Basic Economy fares from EDIFACT channels.  

Travel agents using Travelport+ will have access to NDC content via the Content Curation Layer (CCL) feature, which provides faster search responses and more relevant, accurate search results via machine-learning capabilities, according to the company.

Travelport on Thursday (3 August) announced NDC content from British Airways is now live on its platform for customers in the UK and Ireland, and will be followed by a global rollout.

Clarke said the company will provide “even more extensive offerings” from British Airways, including “personalized offers tailored to customer needs”.

Source: Business Travel News Europe

Kenyan passport climbs six positions in latest global rankings

The Kenyan passport has improved six places in the global mobility ranking to position 67, up from the 73rd place it ranked in January while moving one step up in the continent to occupy the seventh most powerful position.

The Henley Passport Index Report released on Wednesday further shows that the number of countries that Kenyans can visit without a visa, or obtain one on arrival, increased to 76 from 73 in January.

The mobility score measures the number of countries that a person holding a given country’s passport can visit without possessing a visa or the nations where they can get a visa on arrival.

Mauritius, which has maintained its top position on the continent, improved five places in the global rank to hold position 29, showing that holders can visit 148 countries visa-free.

It was followed by South Africa (51), Botswana (58), Namibia (62), Lesotho (64) and eSwatini, with Kenya toppling Malawi which came 68th position in the globe. Tanzania emerged position 69 while Zambia and Uganda came positions 70 and 72 respectively.

Singapore dislodged Japan from the world’s top rank, allowing visa-free users to access 192 countries, followed by Germany, Italy and Spain, which all came position two at 190 each.

Afghanistan’s passport ranks the lowest, only allowing holders to visit 27 countries visa-free. It comes immediately below Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, among others, in that order.

Kenya’s document’s boost is attributed to a government deal inked with its South African and Eritrean counterparts to remove visa travel restrictions.

The strength is set to improve after the Senegalese government this week agreed to allow Kenyans to tour the country without visa requirements.

In 2015, Kenya first made public the decision to roll out new chip-embedded passports for its citizens in efforts aimed at taming rampant forgery and impersonation of holders.

The electronic passport was initially to be launched in December 2016, but the unveiling was over the years extended several times.

The government, however, finally set last December as the deadline for phasing out the old generation passports, with the move being part of a binding commitment to migrate to the new East African e-passport.

Source: The East African

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) issues license to new DPO Pay

DPO Pay says it has been operating successfully throughout Africa since 2006 and was recently acquired by Network International.

Dar es Salaam. The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has permitted an African digital payments provider, DPO Pay, to operate as a Payment Service Provider in Tanzania, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The DPO is registered locally under One Payment Tanzania Limited.

The company has been licensed in line with the National Payment System Act, 2015 which requires all Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to undergo a rigorous license application process to provide payment services in Tanzania.

DPO Pay managing director, Judy Waruiru said the license highlight the firm’s commitment to compliance and regulatory standards.

“This milestone demonstrates our dedication to driving financial inclusion and economic growth in Tanzania, empowering businesses of all sizes to thrive in the digital era.

“We will continue to prioritise the security of transactions, adhering to stringent data protection protocols and industry best practices,” Ms Waruiru said in the statement.

DPO Pay says it has been operating successfully throughout Africa since 2006 and was recently acquired by Network International, a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

It has worked closely with regulators across the continent to obtain new licenses as requirements vary in each country to ensure secure and uninterrupted services for its merchants and partners.

DPO Pay has gained significant recognition and trust among prestigious business in various industries including hotels and resorts in Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, where it has extensive experience in the travel and tourism sector.

The company, the statement said, has established itself as the preferred payment solution for major merchants in the region, including industries such as Airlines, Hotels, online retailers and logistic companies.

With a firm focus on expanding its network, DPO Pay continues to seek collaboration with top-tier businesses and brands, and cater to the diverse needs of merchants across various industries.

The company’s robust security systems ensure that merchants and consumers can transact with confidence, safeguarding their sensitive information and maintaining the highest standards of integrity. With the recently updated DPO Pay Mobile app, merchants are able to collect and receive payments anywhere and anytime.

DPO Pay provides efficient payment solutions enabling businesses and individuals across the continent to accept both local and international payment options.

It has developed integrated payments technology to support businesses of all sizes in over 20 countries and accept payments securely and swiftly in multiple currencies and through diverse payment methods including cards, mobile money, bank transfers, USSD, and EFT.

Source: The Citizen

All-Boeing Future: Kenya Airways To Retire Its Embraer & Bombardier Aircraft

The carrier wants to adopt a single-type fleet strategy and is targeting Boeing aircraft.

Kenya’s flag carrier plans to retire its Embraer and Bombardier fleet in favor of Boeing aircraft as it looks to incorporate “mono fleeting.” This cost management strategy will be implemented in line with the airline’s long-term fleet and route development plans.

So far, Kenya Airways (KQ) has disclosed plans to phase out its Embraer Regional Jets and Bombardier aircraft to increase capacity and meet passenger demand. It is progressively moving towards becoming an all-Boeing operator, which the board has approved.

Mono fleeting

Fleet commonality can be a game changer for KQ. By operating aircraft that share common parts, and other characteristics, the airline will gain more control of its training and planning while reducing operating and maintenance costs.

Although airlines rarely disclose how much they pay OEMs for aircraft acquisition, they get significant discounts when making large orders. Mono fleeting can also help KQ to receive bulk discounts when purchasing new aircraft. Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and CEO Allan Kilavuka said;

“What mono fleeting does is to simplify our fleet and bring more commonality to the type of aircraft that we fly. It helps particularly with our training and planning and reduces costs because of the type of crew that we need, spare parts, financing and bulk discounts we can get.”

Increasing narrowbody capacity

Kenya Airways’ mono fleeting strategy is part of the plan to increase its narrowbody capacity. According to ch-aviation’s fleet database, the airline currently has a fleet of 21 narrowbody aircraft, including 13 Embraer 190s.

KQ is looking to phase out this fleet of regional jets as they are not providing the airline with enough capacity. The board has already approved the decision to streamline its fleet and acquire new Boeing jets, but it will not be implemented immediately. Allan Kilavuka added;

“We also want to increase the capacity of our narrowbody fleet as the current Embraer fleet that we have is too small. We tend to have payload issues; in other words, we cannot carry all the luggage that we need, so we want to increase the size over a period of time. That’s why we are going for the mono fleeting strategy.”

Looking at the airline’s last annual report, in 2022, the group operated a fleet of 39 owned and leased aircraft. The fleet consisted of nine Boeing 787-8s, eight B737-800s, 13 ERJs, two B737-300Fs, and seven DHC 8-400s. The fleet had been reviewed to ensure that it was fit to serve the network growth.

Sights on recovery

At its 47th AGM, Kenya Airways set its sights on business recovery by 2024 after seeing an increase in revenue and passenger numbers throughout 2022. While it still feels the long-lasting effects of the pandemic, the group predicts a strong recovery as global traffic increases and the industry continues to gain momentum.

The carrier’s turnaround strategy is still on course, and the restructuring efforts led to a 66% revenue increase in local currency, a remarkable 68% increase in passenger numbers, and a 3.5% increase in cargo tonnage. Allan Kilavuka said at the AGM;

“Kenya Airways remained resilient by taking advantage of the upsurge in travel demand through frequency increment and improved service offering. Despite some headwinds with fuel cost increasing year-on-year by 160%, and the dollar deterioration that impacted our direct operating costs, we are confident that with the restructuring initiatives introduced in 2022, the airline is poised for success and will attain its aspiration to turn around by 2024.”

The group is committed to building a robust, reliable, and sustainable airline. Kenya Airways will phase out older aircraft to operate a more modern and fuel-efficient fleet as part of its sustainable fleet development strategy.

Source: Simple Flying

Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa Lead Efforts to Attract Chinese Tourists and Revitalize Tourism Sectors

Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa are taking the lead among African nations in revitalizing their tourism markets following the pandemic.

With a keen focus on capturing the attention of Chinese travelers, these countries are strategically positioning themselves to attract visitors from China. By tapping into the growing interest of Chinese tourists in exploring Africa’s rich landscapes, wildlife, and cultural offerings, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa aim to revitalize their tourism sectors and drive post-pandemic recovery.

According to finance.yahoo.com, The three countries, along with Egypt, were among the first popular destinations for Chinese visitors after the Asian giant relaxed two-year-old pandemic rules to allow its citizens to travel for tourism in February.

All three countries have been implementing long-term strategies — including resuming direct flights to China, relaxed e-visa requirements, direct marketing in China through embassies and travel agents — and investing heavily to woo Chinese tourists.

Kenya is expanding its focus to reach more Chinese tourists by marketing through travel agents, partnerships with airlines and tour operators and social media platforms, according to John Chirchir, acting chief executive of Kenya Tourism Board. There’s a particular focus on WeChat, Mafengwo, Weibo, and Douyin, the China-based sister video channel to TikTok.

Chirchir said Kenya recorded 8,000 arrivals between January and April this year compared to just under 6,000 for the same period last year.

In 2022, Kenya earned $2.13 billion in income from tourism after a surge in visitors as COVID restrictions eased around the world, according to the tourism board. The ministry has forecast Kenya could recover to 2019 tourism numbers by 2024.

Similarly, South Africa has targeted job growth with the resumption of Chinese tourist activities in the country, said Nomasonto Ndlovu, chief operations officer of South Africa Tourism. She told Semafor Africa that with additional direct flights resuming from China to Johannesburg, for example, the country projects to receive around 8,000 Chinese tourists per month later this year. This would bring it back to 2019 levels when South Africa received 94,000 visitors from China.

African tourist markets are focused on the vast Chinese markets as part of a wider effort to overcome difficult economic environments. Jobs and foreign exchange earnings have yet to recover after the global pandemic, and many countries are grappling with extended economic downturns exacerbated by the fallout from Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although tourism usually accounts for less than 10% of GDP in most of the larger African economies, aside from Tanzania (17%), it punches above its weight as a contributor to foreign exchange earnings.

Local travel companies are taking it upon themselves to promote their countries on the ground in China rather than just hope for visitors. “That makes it possible to cast the net wider as we showcase Kenya’s tourist attractions,” said Darlene Anjimbi, a tour manager at Kenya China Travels and Tours.

Much of the long-term tourism business in Africa has traditionally targeted Europeans and North Americans in terms of everything from the types of entertainment offered to familiar languages and cuisine at hotels and on tours — and they still dominate in visitor numbers. In Kenya for instance, travelers from the United States alone accounted for over 12% of international visitors last year.

Source: atqnews

Lobby seeks consolidation of Africa airlines to lift industry.

Issuance of passports for free to East African Community (EAC) citizens is one of the practices that can boost air travel in the region, a study published by A regional private sector lobby suggests.

Airlines in the region can also consolidate, going the European or American way, which the study by the East African Business Council (EABC) notes, would stimulate passenger and cargo movement by air.

The study, which analyses aviation laws, reports and academic publications, pokes holes into the current industry practices against the cost of operations and the push for open skies initiative.

It is titled Study on Air Space Liberalisation in the East African Community: Focus on Cost Drivers and Regulations.

The study, commissioned by EABC in partnership with Trademark East Africa and funded by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch government, focused on six areas – operational costs, existing air transport regulations in EAC, effects of domesticated EAC space, benefits of adoption of the EAC Single Space Agreement and the impact of aviation costs on cargo volumes and evaluation of best practices in other regions.

One of the best practices suggested in the study published in April is the consolidation of the airline business in the region through mergers and acquisitions.

It argues that airline consolidation, mergers and acquisitions in the United States and Europe resulted from the need to stimulate growth within the industry.

“It is a practice that can be adopted,” reads the study. It documents that from 2000 to 2010, the US airline market consolidated into four airlines.

The study also notes that the same trend is slowly being replicated in Europe.

“The Air France-KLM merger, which took place on May 5, 2004, rekindled European airline’s interest in consolidation. The EAC can adopt and consolidate airlines to increase their competitiveness globally,” it states. The study measured air transport competitiveness as assessed in the World Economic Forum by looking at airport connectivity and efficiency.

Connectivity measures the level of integration of a country within the global air transport network while efficiency is based on services. This includes issues to do with frequency, punctuality, speed and price.

“The rankings indicate that on average, EAC countries are ranked low in terms of competitiveness indicators,” the study says. The region also has limited infrastructure, which is a challenge to the air transport sector. The study cites South Sudan, which lacks full control of its airspace due to a lack of well-developed infrastructure and qualified personnel.

“In Burundi, the number of flights to Bujumbura is limited, compounded by a lack of a national carrier, which contributes to an increase in the cost of air transport,” notes the study.

South Sudan’s challenges are also exacerbated by insecurity.

The study has also faulted the lack of harmonised charges, fees and taxes imposed by the respective national regulations and authorities. It notes that Juba International Airport is the most expensive airport in the EAC region with an airport tax on passengers of sh18,300 (USD 122).

“The charge is more than twice the departure taxes charged by the different partner states,” the study says.

Entebbe International Airport charges $50.6 (Sh7,500) for every departing passenger, with$40 (Sh6,000) as passenger service charge and $10 (Sh1,500) as security charge and $0.6 (Sh90) as passenger handling charge.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), on the other hand, charges a passenger service fee of $50 (Sh7,500) for every departing passenger and does not charge extra charges for security and passenger handling services. Julius Nyerere International Airport for its part, charges a passenger service charge of $37 (Sh5,550) and a security charge of $10 (Sh1,500).

Bujumbura International Airport and Kigali International Airport have the lowest passenger departure charges of $40 (Sh6,000) and $42 (Sh6,300) respectively.

The study found out that ticket prices also vary greatly even for the same distance and same airline if the departure time is different or if the ticket is booked at different times.

Ticket prices are even higher if there is a connection involved.

“EAC member states such as South Sudan and Burundi with limited direct flights and without national airlines, were generally found to have high average ticket prices,” the study says. It documents that the ticket price per kilometre in the EAC region is more than twice the ticket price for destinations in Europe and other countries in Africa.

“The average ticket price per kilometre in the EAC is  Sh58 ($0.39 )/km compared to only $0.21 (Sh30)/km in other African countries and $0.12 (Sh18)/km for destination airports in Europe, Asia and the Middle East,” the study adds.

The study notes that there are so many barriers to a vibrant air travel ecosystem and they need to be “knocked down.”

Some of these include reviewing check-in times. “Most passengers are tired of getting to the airport so early; let’s cut bag-free, pre-screened short-haul flyers some slack and allow them a 20-minute window to check in,” reads the study.  The study recommends the implementation of visa waiver programmes in all countries where most business and tourism come from to spur air transport in the region.

Source: The Standard

Zambia, Kenya partner to promote outbound tourism

In a bid to promote African continental travel, a high delegation led by Zambia’s minister for Tourism, Rodney Malindi Sikumba, had a high-level engagement recently with the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) to discuss and establish a strategic partnership to promote outbound tourism from Kenya to Zambia’s tourism destinations.

The two countries aim to tap into each other’s tourism markets, a vital source for tourism influx, boosting both nations’ economies and fostering cultural exchange.

Dr Joseph Kithitu, KATA Chairperson, expressed the association’s enthusiasm for growing the travel trade and emphasised the readiness of KATA members to sell Zambia.

He stressed the need to create a business case for Zambia’s travel trade and develop a salable product out of the partnership.

 “Today, we should focus on the commercialisation of this partnership on a B2B and B2C level and capitalise on the visa-free access between our countries to promote outbound tourism flows into Zambia and vice versa. The market is ripe, ready, and can pay,” he said.

Kenya and Zambia have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on tourism, one of them touching on cooperation between the training institute of tourism in Zambia and that in Kenya.

While both countries are big on wildlife, there are other elements that can make them complimentary to each other in terms of product offerings.

For instance, the fact that Kenya has a big national park right in the middle of the city is a learning lesson for Zambia on how to enhance their national park in Lusaka. Zambia has 20 national parks with the largest being Kafue and it’s the second largest in Africa.

They also have the iconic Victoria Falls, which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and hosts one of the largest mammals (bat) migration at the Kasanga national park.

This partnership is a step in the actualisation of the MOUs and will encompass various collaborative areas, such as knowledge exchange, familiarisation visits, and encouraging tourist flows between Kenya and Zambia.

Additionally, both parties will share their respective calendars of events to facilitate stakeholder engagement and foster regional cooperation in the spirit of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

“This partnership between Kenya Association of Travel Agents and their counterparts in Zambia is a step towards the private sector growing the tourism industry, and my ministry is rallying support behind these initiatives,” said Sikumba.

The minister further highlighted the importance of marketing and packaging Africa, coordinating the travel trade with suppliers, and establishing homegrown solutions.

“Through this partnership, Kenya’s travel trade will be trained on tourism offerings in Zambia. KATA will also provide capacity building for Zambia’s travel trade to enable them to sell the Kenyan tourism product,” noted Agnes Mucuha, KATA

Source: PD