Uncovering the uniqueness of Kenya

Zhang Yuanxiang, founder of Kenya China Travel& Tours Ltd. [Provided to China Daily]

KCTT was earmarked as one of 50 companies in Kenya qualified to receive tourist groups from China, and it was the only one focusing on the Chinese market. The signing of the deal became a turning point for KCTT, says Yan Xue'ai, a partner at the company.

After 2005, tourism in Kenya became less tailored to traditional official and business delegations. Still, KCTT handled a relatively low volume of tourists, with the average annual number between 2005 and 2008 at about 2,000.

"Kenya was not a singular destination. People usually like to go to Egypt, South Africa and Kenya as a package because they are more likely to take Africa as one concept and one place," he says. "So at the time, routes were so simple that people were only interested in going to Maasai Mara and Nakurum, where you could see crowds of flamingos."

To boost Kenya as a tourist destination among Chinese tourists, KCTT tried a number of marketing strategies.

"We invited major tourist agencies in China to visit Kenya, especially to new destinations unfamiliar to Chinese people. When they had real personal experiences in Kenya they would recommend them to their clients," Zhang says. "Also, a well-known Chinese businessman and photographer named Luo Hong made a special contribution to this process by exhibiting his photos of the country in many major public spaces, including Beijing's subway system."

In 2007, Zhang published a book about Kenya called Fall In Love With Kenya. He worked closely with the Kenyan tourism authority and several Chinese tourist agencies on the book.

In 2010, he says the company had its breakthrough, serving more than 5,000 customers that year. Since then, the company has exceeded that mark each year.

As a leading tourist company in Africa targeting the Chinese market, the company doesn't slash prices to compete against other companies.

"We don't want to compromise our services by reducing prices because our services exhibit the cultural spirit of Kenya, which is more valuable to customers," Zhang says.

He says his company is looking to infuse more of the country's history and culture into their new services because Chinese customers are fond of a country's cultural history and natural wonders.

The company is also focusing on using more local tour guides. He says previous tourist groups from China have requested Chinese guides because they thought Chinese guides would be more suitable to their needs. KCTT sees things differently.

"We need to foster more local tour leaders to further localize our operation," says Wang Yun, the first certified tour guide from China in Kenya and the most popular one at KCTT.

She says what is highly valued by guests is a tour guide's professionalism, rather than his or her skin color. Local guides who are able to speak the Chinese language or who are familiar with the Chinese culture can offer better and more unique services.

"We want to collaborate with Kenyan authorities and universities to foster more professional tour leaders for our company in the near future," she says.

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