Kenya has sent a high powered delegation to the ongoing United Arab Emirates(UAE) Expo as its seeks to re-establish its presence there as a tourism and investment destination.
Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala is leading a delegation of officers from his Ministry and other government officials including Kenya Tourism Board (KTB)to market the country as a tourist and investment destination at the Kenya week event at Dubai Expo 2020.
The one-week-long focus on the East African nation, which began yesterday and end on February 18th, 2022 will see Kenya honored as one of the participants in the Expo that brings together about 190 countries from across the globe.
The country has been exhibiting to the world, its investment opportunities in both trade and tourism and other sectors of the economy.
Balala said the Expo has presented the country an opportunity to showcase its tourism and investment opportunities through planned high levels meetings that have attracted investors, tourism experts, travel trade, and opinion leaders from different countries.
“It is here that we will work to identify key partners, investors, and stakeholders in the industry repositioning our presence in the market whose arrivals into the country has been growing over the period,” said Balala.
In 2021, the country received close to 11,000 tourists from the Middle East, an increase from previous years.
The country hopes to sign business deals, acquire new leads in key sectors of the economy in a planned series of meetings, and network with GCC trade.
Balala disclosed that with ease of access through KQ’s direct flights and other frequent flights into the market, the expatriate community in the UAE, has motivated the country’s interest in the UAE.
“The recent lifting of a ban on all inbound and transit passenger flights by the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) is now a plus to Kenya and we are soon seeing a good traffic into Kenya,” said Balala.
Conservation and sustainable tourism are key topics that will feature in the discussions held at the Dubai Expo where Kenya is expected to share their experiences of the strides made on sustainable tourism.
KTB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Betty Radier said Kenya was a destination leader in championing conservation and sustainability and the Dubai expo is an opportunity to share with the world, Kenya’s milestone on sustainability.
“We are among the leading destinations within the African continent and we always look for new experiences with which we can enhance the travelers’ experiences,” said Radier.
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