Regional low-cost carrier, JamboJet has partnered with the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) to unveil its first ‘Magical Kenya’ aircraft branded De Havilland Dash 8-400 to promote domestic tourism in the country for a period of one year.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony on Monday, Jambojet Managing Director Karanja Ndegwa said the coronavirus pandemic was a wakeup call that air ticket revenue alone was not enough to sustain domestic tourism.
“Last year we launched the ‘Now Travel Ready’ campaign to encourage domestic tourism as part of COVID-19 recovery. This partnership with KTB will further drive this conversation in a bid to revive the sector,” said Ndegwa.
KTB Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Betty Radier lauded the initiative terming it a boost to domestic tourism in the country.
“The branding improves visibility of Kenyan destinations to domestic and even international travelers at the airport. Domestic tourism is essential as it is currently sustaining the whole tourism sector and will be key to recovery.” Said Radier.
Last year, Jambojet launched the #NowTravelReady campaign to simulate safe local travel in adherence to the COVID-19 protocols. Among the destinations that the campaign targeted included Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa and Malindi.
In early January this year, the airline did a flash sale of 13,000 tickets at KSh. 2,100 for local destinations. This was to promote local travel and equally boost traffic during the off peak season.
Recovery strategy
The branding is part of the airline’s recovery plan with KTB CEO terming the initiatives as key to recovery of domestic markets.
“The local tourism market depends on Kenyans to trust that they will be safe and explore various destinations in the country. For domestic tourism to fully pick up, local service providers must tailor their rates to suit the Kenyan market,” Dr. Radier explained.
Domestic tourism accounts for over 70 percent of the travel and tourism sector in global economies. In Kenya, the sector accounted for more than 50 percent of the total bed occupancy from 2015 to 2018. There was a 10.4 percent growth in 2019 with bed night occupancy hitting 4,955, 800 from 4,889,000 in 2018.
According to Oxford Economics and Global Travel Report 2020-2021, domestic and regional travel are likely to dominate the tourism industry in 2021 compared to international tourism.
This is because many destinations are expected to maintain their international travel restrictions for a large part of the year. Little to no international travel is equally being attributed to the second and third waves of coronavirus infections being experienced globally.
