China Trade Partnership lifts Kenya tourism
The Start of direct flights to Kenya and the increased marketing of Nairobi as a tourist destination across China is a positive trend for the growth of Chinese tourists to the East Africa region, as observed by the Kenyan Tourism Board. This is backed by the memorandum of understanding which Kenya signed with China in 2014 on cooperation to boost tourism between the two countries. Though Kenya Airways has emerged as a big loser with the launch of China Southern Airlines’ direct flights from Nairobi to Guangzhou.
Initially the national carrier had a code sharing agreement with China Southern Airlines, which authorized them to fly passengers to Guangzhou after which it would transfer them to the Chinese airline for domestic connections. But now as the China southern Airline takes over its responsibility, customers will prefer to use the Asian Carrier making the national carrier to lose out passengers but discussions are going on how they can both benefit from the operation of direct flights.
According to the Kenya Tourist Board Director Muriithi Ndegwa, the flight operation will increase the number of tourists taking safaris to Kenya which is evidenced by the Kenyan tour operators with several tour requests to visit the world outstanding Magical Wildlife park –Masai Mara National Park and other attractions around the East Africa Region like the Mountain Gorillas.
“We have a lot of goodwill from across the world,” Ndegwa told Xinhua in an exclusive interview in Nairobi ahead of a major tourism exhibition in Diani, Kenya’s coastal region, which has attracted 185 major tourism marketers from around the world, including 10 leading Chinese tour operators. The Kenya Tourism Board whose command is to market the East African nation across the world is focusing on the launch of the direct flights from China to Kenya by the China Southern Airlines and the expansion of local and international hotel chains into Kenya as a helpful factor for the growth of the Chinese tourists into the region.
China is grand market which can make Kenya’s travel and tourism industry rise from the fall. The East African Region is also organizing the Magical Kenya Travel Expo on 15th-17 October 2015 to put in the open all the region tourism products to the world .Many tourists around the globe will get to know what they have always missed to explore in the region hence increasing the number of tourist arrivals of the region.
This partnership is expected and has been observed to spill over to other East African Countries for various travel adventures such as Gorilla Tracking in Uganda and Rwanda, Chimpanzee/primate treks in Uganda and Rwanda in their natural rainforest parks, birding safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and main preferred destinations with over 650 bird species to sight, water games along the Nile River in Uganda and other family holidies and wildlife game excursions in the various parks in the region. Traveling is made easy for international travelers with increased number of airlines operating in the region and pushing fares to practical levels to easily connect between continents for business and tourism adventures.