Kenya to host East African Tourism Development Forum

Government of Kenya will be co-hosting the forum with UNWTO

By Beth Nyaga

Tourism players from around the region and key stakeholders in Kenya will converge in Mombasa this week to explore ways of unlocking East Africa’s tourism potential through the creation of a joint marketing platform. 

The East Africa Tourism Development Forum will be held under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the Sarova Whitesands on August 20-22.

The forum, which will be chaired by the UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai, will host discussions concerning intra-Africa opportunities in tourism while strengthening regional cooperation.

250 participants from 10 countries including Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, the Secretary General of the East African Community among other senior staff from the sector are expected to attend the meeting whose theme is “Connecting Opportunity”.

It will seek ways of enhancing the visibility of the East African market within a highly competitive global tourism environment.

The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of East Africa Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Hon. Phyllis Kandie said the forum will provide a valuable opportunity to position the region as a single destination.

“The idea is to showcase East Africa to a wider global audience. One of the key issues on the table is how to build the image of the region as a tourism destination,” said Hon Kandie.

The Government of Kenya will be co-hosting the forum with UNWTO.

“This is one of a series of major events we hope to capitalize on to build the Kenyan tourism brand,” the Cabinet Secretary added.

The forum next week will be held against the backdrop of a strong push especially by UNWTO for countries to form regional tourism clusters. Such groupings, it is argued, would provide an effective marketing platform beyond individual country destinations.

Incidentally, it comes hot on the heels of another major tourism conference to be held on August 17-19 in Accra, Ghana.

Dubbed Enhancing Brand Africa, the Accra conference will seek to create synergies among African countries in promoting a common African Tourism Brand.