Tourism remains a major economic driver in the country with the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) playing a lead marketing role. While the sector took a major hit from the Covid-19 pandemic, it was quick to recover after easing of travel restrictions. The Star’s Martin Mwita spoke to immediate former KTB chief executive Betty Radier on growing the sector in post-pandemic error. She is exiting after serving two terms at the helm of KTB, a role she took over on December 1, 2016.
In a nutshell, how would you describe your two terms at the helm of KTB?
It has been a learning, challenging but also fruitful time at the helm of KTB since I took over office in December 2016. My tenure has been “ colourful’ with both expected and unexpected experiences. When I took office, I worked closely with the Ministry of Tourism and other stakeholders in the sector to review the policies and strategies that were in place. This involved identifying sector opportunities and challenges. My focus initially was to work with key stakeholders to rebuild Kenya’s reputation as a safe destination while at the same time putting into place strategies that would grow tourism revenue and numbers to the country . This entailed various initiatives such as repositioning the destination brand “ Magical Kenya, embarking on building internal capacity as a marketing body and partnering with tourism sector stakeholders.
The environment KTB operates in now has changed significantly especially after the pandemic with the emerging of a significant shift in traveler trends. This has meant in order to stay competitive, destinations and organisations like KTB must be agile to adapt to such changes and provide a value proposition that meets consumers’ expectations.
What are some of the big achievements you had during your tenure?
We had a significant increase in tourism arrivals from 1.34 million in 2016 to 2.05 million in 2019—a first in the sector. We strengthened our partnership with the tourism sector stakeholders , identified and developed a number of new partnerships with various organisations and companies, which have helped KTB expand its reach and create new connections that are mutually beneficial towards growing revenue for the sector. For instance, we are in a partnership with our national carrier Kenya Airways where we leverage on their international and regional reach.
We have also developed mutually beneficial partnerships with entities such as jambo jet , mastercard and KWS among others. Our partnerships have also extended to key personalities for instance world marathon record holder, Eliud Kipchoge, who is the current Magical Kenya ambassador. We also worked on creating value-added experiences for visitors to Kenya who seek unique tourist experiences that cannot be found anywhere else in Africa.
Any challenges?
Tourism has a number of dependencies ranging from air access, infrastructure, security, product diversity , value propositions and perception , regulations that impact travellers destination choices and hence there is need to align all of these dependencies to deliver to the travelers expectation. This is coupled with a target audience that keeps evolving yet all these things contribute towards making a successful tourism destination for travellers from all over the world.
You were charged with development and implementation of strategies to drive the growth in numbers, do you feel you achieved this?
The entire tourism sector has, over the time I have been at KTB, worked hard to grow international tourism numbers. I would say that it was a collective effort by the team at KTB, with the vision of the parent Ministry and our Cabinet Secretary, and indeed all the players in the Kenyan tourism value chain. As I mentioned before, we were able to get this number up by more than 53% from 1.34 million in 2019 to 2.05 million in 2020, which is a first in Kenya's tourism sector. While we've managed to get a constant flow of tourists from our traditional source markets like UK, US and Germany we are now seeing an increase in visitors from new markets such as China and India. This means there is a bigger potential for growth going forward.
Your last two years were the most challenging for the sector, how did you, leading KTB, navigate the pandemic?
The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to create numerous challenges to the industry across the world and certainly, Kenya has not been spared. However, we laid down a number of strategies that were key in enabling the tourism sector to navigate the pandemic. One of them was encouraging domestic travel given that many of our key source markets were locked up for months, due to travel restrictions. Through a partnership with the trade, KTB encouraged the trade to offer domestic tourists discounted offers or packages to encourage travel throughout the year. We even went ahead and offered free advertising platforms to the trade to promote domestic packages.
Another way in which we kept the sector moving was through promotional marketing campaigns. The destination was, and continues to be, proactive in marketing the destination through various campaigns which have been key to keeping the destination alive and top of mind. We ran, and continue to run, several promotional campaigns such as the #TheMagicAwaits, #ReDiscoverTheMagic, and Kenya Inanitosha as a way of engaging travelers and maintaining their mindshare of our tourism market.
The tourism ministry has been keen on signature experiences, what are some of the key ones that the market needs to watch?
The Magical Kenya Signature Experiences program is one initiative that I am really proud of during my tenure as CEO. The idea of this program is to allow us to cater to the current age traveler, both local and international who are looking for more than just the conventional tourism offerings and are increasingly becoming more interested in authentic, unique, and highly personalised experiences. We now have a total of 44 experiences in the collection, and Kenya’s portfolio of experiential tourism offerings is now bigger and better. The experiences are drawn from different parts of the country and are listed in the Magical Kenya Signature Experiences Collection.
What is the biggest challenge in marketing destination Kenya?
I think the biggest challenge lies in diversifying our tourism products in order to attract more tourists. We've long been known as the leading safari and beach destination but that narrative is now changing. Travellers now want to experience more than just the usual safari and beach holiday. For example, adventure travel or even cultural experiences have become popular among travellers, as they seek something different. Today's traveller wants to connect with nature in ways that were not previously possible.
There has been a call to increase the marketing budget. Do you feel the same or do we have enough?
There is a belief that to increase our market share, there is need to increase their marketing budgets. They argue that more money is spent by other countries in promoting their tourism products and so Kenya needs to do the same. However, I believe we are on the right track. We have been very strategic in our planning and budget process, as well as how we engage with potential tourists and corporates through partnerships, collaborations and sponsorships.
Kenya expects to grow arrivals to 2.2 million by the year 2024. Is this achievable?
Yes, it is achievable, but it will take a lot of effort. First, we need to continue to improve our infrastructure and facilities be it airports, roads, railroads, ports, and other transportation hubs. This will help reduce travel time and costs for passengers as well as provide better accommodations for travelers.
Second, we need to focus on marketing our destinations in ways that resonate with travelers from around the world. This is something we leveraged during my tenure and is something that has been very successful in terms of growing tourism in the country.
Likewise, we need a better understanding of how much demand there is for different types of travel experiences example cultural tourism vs eco-tourism). In recent years, Kenya has witnessed a surge in these kinds of travelers.
However, while tourists are interested in experiencing our country's natural beauty, they also want more than just a few days away from civilization—they want an authentic experience with the people who live here. To meet those needs, we need to make sure that our tourism industry is as sustainable as possible so that we can continue providing these opportunities for visitors into the future.
How best can stakeholders in the industry help support the growth of the sector?
By advocating for more effective policies and programs, which will allow for a better outcome for all parties. The first step is to ensure that policy makers understand the importance of tourism to the economy. They should also be made aware that many of these policies are already in place and that they have been proven successful in terms of attracting tourists and increasing revenue.
Stakeholders can also help by informing policy makers about any gaps in existing legislation that may negatively impact tourism development. For example, there may be regulations regarding safety standards or environmental protection measures that are not being enforced effectively. The best way to address these issues is through improved communication between those who make decisions about these matters and those affected by them.
Stakeholders should be encouraged to become involved in discussions about how best to measure progress towards achieving their desired outcomes. A good starting point would be an understanding of what drives demand for specific services (such as accommodation), as well as how much customers are willing to pay for things like tours or transportation when compared with other options available within their budget range
Apart from the traditional markets, are there other regions the country can tap and how?
KTBs primary focus has been on the traditional markets – the UK, USA, Germany and so forth. However, we are increasingly seeing opportunities for growth in new markets, notably in India and China. These two markets represent a massive opportunity for Kenya tourism and require a significant amount of investment to tap into them.
There is need to have annual participation in key travel trade shows that attract buyers from these new markets. We have previously participated in a number of major trade shows, but there is need to evolve our strategy and broaden our reach by participating more regularly than at present.
What advice would you give the next CEO and the team that you are leaving behind ?
I would say that the next CEO should have a clear idea of what Kenya is about, not just as a destination but also the opportunities available. I would also advise them to research other destinations and how they position themselves on the global map. I would encourage them to visit these countries, attend their tourism trade shows and be able to jot down the learnings from these trips into a marketing strategy for branding Kenya, both regionally and internationally.
Also fostering partnerships with the local communities is key since they are the custodians of our culture and traditions. It is through these partnerships that we are able to come up with authentic products which are unique to our country. Authentic products cut across all age groups and gender and not just those who are interested in wildlife only, which was the case previously.
I would encourage them to continue championing conservation, pushing for more community-based conservation activities, and more importantly, continue pressing for fair distribution of benefits from tourism. We have done this through initiatives such as the Tembo Naming Festival which, despite being two years old, already has had a huge impact on the conservation of elephants as well as the communities living around the parks and conservancies.
Lastly, the next CEO should remember that the tourism sector is a very diverse sector, with most of the actors along the value chain being small and micro enterprises. This should be at the center of any effort to promote our destination.