Nairobi — Stakeholders in the tourism and travel industries have agreed to partner in order to significantly resuscitate the sectors which have been adversely affected by the restrictions occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a consultative forum hosted by the African Travel & Tourism Association, (ATTA), the stakeholders who included the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), Kenya Airways (KQ), Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) agreed to correspondingly promote synergies between government and the private sector to enhance tourism and travel in the country and beyond the borders.
Kenya has a large membership in ATTA which is a member-driven trade association that promotes tourism to Africa from all corners of the world.
The association, which has 600 members in Africa and 90 in Kenya, serves and supports businesses in Africa and represents buyers and suppliers of tourism products across 21 African countries.
“Tourism and Aviation are sectors that are symbiotic and need each other to fully thrive. We have met to ensure that we come up with solutions and a standard way of operating in terms of the safety protocols and also come up with ideas that can propel travel to Kenya,” said ATTA president Nigel Vere Nicoll.
In November of 2021, Kenya Airways partnered with the KTB to promote Kenya as a tourist destination internationally and locally through the branding of KQ assets creating visibility of the destination in the airline’s network of 41 destinations
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Earlier in the same year low-cost carrier Jambo jet partnered with KTB to promote the destination to domestic and regional travellers.
“We cannot emphasize the role of synergies and partnerships enough as we work towards the re-start of tourism. We must continue to take advantage of the new opportunities in travel, and also look out for the emerging trends,” said Kenya Tourism Board CEO Betty Radier.
On his part KCAA CEO Gilbert Kibe said that aviation and tourism are and will remain key partners because they are interconnected, adding that air transport is a great enabler for tourism and links people with the destinations of their choice.
Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka said that the tourism, hospitality, and aviation protocols have been important because they encouraged travel amidst many adjustments that the airline industry has experienced.
He pointed out that it would also be important for the sector players to learn from other destinations and airlines to remain competitive.
The Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) Chairman, Fred Odek lauded the collaboration between government and the tourism private sector at a time when the pandemic has changed a lot of the business processes in a bid to curb the pandemic.
