Kenya on Thursday called on African tourism marketers to create synergies that can promote intra-Africa travel.
Joanne Mwangi-Yelbert, the chairperson of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), said Africa’s tourism boards and stakeholders in public and private sectors should promote the vastness of the continent, its natural beauty, and its immense biodiversity that offers travelers an almost unlimited choice of destinations.
Mwangi said tourism has been growing rapidly over the past decade, but this growth has not been evenly distributed across all African countries.
“A majority of countries are still lagging behind in terms of infrastructure development and market access, which is why partnerships between tourism boards and governments will be key in helping to grow our industry,” she said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
While speaking during a meeting with African tourism board representatives on the sidelines of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo, Mwangi noted that the African continent is one that has great potential for tourism. and insisted that despite the fact that there are many opportunities for intra-Africa travel, little or no synergies exist among the various stakeholders.
“We need to go ahead and capitalize on this opportunity by crafting strategies that will help us achieve our goals,” Mwangi said.
She also urged tourism boards in the continent to seek more partnerships with governments and other stakeholders in the sector to ensure the future success of tourism in Africa, challenging them to be at the frontier in innovating new marketing strategies that can help boost tourism development.
According to the KTB, international arrivals in Africa grew to 18.5 million in 2021 from 16.2 million in 2020.
Source: Xinhua
