•The Tourism Ministry is keen to tap celebrities and Kenyans in the diaspora to market the country.
•Kenya targets at least five million international tourists by 2028.
Talk about Africa mainly paints a picture of hunger, starvation and poverty, contrary to the magnificent offering and huge potential that the continent has.
These were the words of renowned Hollywood actress, producer and former model Nicole Murphy who is in the country on a one-week trip, with the beach and Safari among products she plans to explore.
Accompanied by Kenyan born and Hollywood insider Lovince McKenzie, author and businesswoman Rita Ewing and other high-profile individuals, the American who together with her team are working on a documentary in Kenya has committed to market the country.
The documentary aims to present a multifaceted view of Kenya highlighting culture, social issues, natural beauty, and the country’s global creative influence.
“I cannot wait to explore the beautiful country that you have…I am definitely going to put Kenya on the map. I will put the message out there,” Murphy said during a media briefing organised by Kenya Tourism Board and the Tourism ministry in Nairobi.
This comes as the Tourism Ministry moves to tap celebrities and Kenyans in the diaspora to market the country, with a target of hitting at least five million international tourists by 2028.
“We are keen to diversify product offerings,” Tourism CS Rebecca Miano said, as she commits to fast-track strategies aimed at unlocking the potential of Kenya’s tourism sector.
The choice of Kenya by Nicole Murphy underscores our country's growing prominence as a global tourist destination. This affirmation of culture embracing nature inspires our journey towards expanding our tourist base through new partnerships and underutilised frontiers including entertainment."
Miano said she is keen on revamping the National Tourism Policy to serve emerging trends, including niche markets.
While beach and Safari remain Kenya’s biggest products, bird watching, sports tourism, wellness retreats, and cultural tourism are some of the emerging segments that attract specialised interest groups.
Tourism PS John Ololtuaa said the ministry will continue investing in marketing campaigns, with focus on emerging markets.
Apart from tapping celebrities, the government is also rallying Kenyans in diaspora to support tourism promotion.
This is through a drive dubbed “Ziara Kenya One Diaspora One Tourist” that seeks to harness the diaspora’s networks to attract at least one tourist per diaspora member annually, thus helping catalyse growth in the tourism sector.
The campaign draws inspiration from the significant growth of Kenyans living abroad, estimated to reach four million by the end of 2023, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kenya is well on its way to pre-pandemic visitor numbers having attracted 1.96 million international tourists in 2023.
Arrivals for the first half of this year totalled 1,027, 630, official data shows, compared to the 847, 719 in the same period last year, with earnings of Sh142.5 billion.
The introduction of the Electronic Tourist Authorisation (eTA) at the beginning of the year is said to have helped drive up numbers.
The US continued to dominate as Kenya’s top international tourists source with 134,901 Americans visiting Kenya between January and June.
It was followed by Uganda (103,680), Tanzania (91,889) and the UK (70,593) while India closed the top five list with 50,510 visitors.
Holiday or leisure was the main purpose of visiting accounting for 44 per cent (454,639) of the total arrivals.