Kenya to launch digital campaign to woo more Chinese tourists

NAIROBI - Kenya plans to launch a digital media campaign to woo more Chinese tourists into the country, Kenya's tourists agency said on Monday evening.

Betty Radier, CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), told Xinhua in Nairobi that the campaign will run from March to end of June in five large Chinese cities.

"The aim of the digital media campaign on the Chinese social media platform is to achieve a 25 percent increase in inbound tourist over last year's figures," Radier said.

Some of the Chinese cities to be targeted include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Government data indicates that in 2017, approximately 69,000 Chinese tourists visited the East African country.

The total number of visitors reached 1.4 million last year. Radier said that Kenya has opted for a digital media campaign due to budgetary constraints.

She said that the challenge in targeting Chinese tourist is for Kenya to be China ready. "This means we have to develop products that specifically cater for the tastes of the Chinese," she noted.

KTB said that China is a very diverse market and therefore there is need to tailor packages for each segment.

Radier noted that Chinese basically know Kenya for the annual wildebeest migration that occurs between Kenya and Tanzania on the Masai Mara ecosystem.

"So our marketing campaigns will center on the fact that Kenya is not a just a one experience destination but it offers many other options," she said.

The tourist agency noted that it will intensify marketing efforts to highlight Kenya's beach, adventure, hiking and sport activities to allow visitors to visit all parts of the country.