Kenya is seeking to re-establish its presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a tourism and investment destination.
Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala is leading a delegation of officers from his Ministry and other government officials including Kenya Tourism Board (KTB)to market Kenya as a tourist and investment destination at the Kenya week event at Dubai Expo.
The one-week-long focus on Kenya from February 14, to February 18, 2022 will see Kenya honored as one of the over 190 countries participating in the Expo that brings together about 190 countries from across the globe.
Kenya has been exhibiting to the world investment opportunities in both trade and tourism and other sectors of the economy.
Balala said the expo has presented Kenya an opportunity to showcase its tourism and investment opportunities through planned high levels meetings that have attracted investors, tourism experts, travel trade, and opinion leaders from different countries.
“It is here that we will work to identify key partners, investors, and stakeholders in the industry repositioning our presence in the market whose arrivals into the country has been growing over the period,” said CS Balala.
By the close of last year, Kenya recorded close to 11,000 tourists from the Middle East, an increase from previous years.
Kenya hopes to sign business deals, acquire new leads in key sectors of the economy in a planned series of meetings, and network with GCC trade.
Balala disclosed that with ease of access through KQ’s direct flights and other frequent flights into the market, the expatriate community in the UAE is a pulling factory for Kenya’s entry into the market.
“The recent lifting of a ban imposed on all inbound and transit passenger flights by the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) is now a plus to Kenya and we are soon seeing a good traffic into the country,” added Balala.
At the same time, conservation and sustainable tourism will be a major discussion in the meeting with Kenya expected to share some of the strides on sustainable tourism.
The Government’s initiative with communities to increase space for conservation from 8% to 19% of Kenya’s landmass, the proposed use of vehicular transportation within all National Parks and Reserves to those that use non-fossil renewable energy by 2030.
The first-ever National Wildlife Census in 2021 to establish the number of animal species within the borders and their specific needs in terms of conservation is one of the major milestones towards conservation.
KTB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Betty Radier said Kenya was a destination leader in championing conservation and sustainability and the Dubai expo was an opportunity to share with the world Kenya’s milestone on sustainability.
“We are among the leading destinations within the African continent and we always look for new experiences with which we can enhance the travelers’ experiences” added the CEO.
