Kenya launches charm offensive to China with a digital campaign in mandarin to woo Chinese tourists
To increase awareness, KTB will be promoting the new destination video on Chinese social media sites namely WeChat, Weibo and Youku (Youtube) for a period of one month.
The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is scheduled to launch a custom-made Chinese-language destination video and a digital marketing campaign for made for the Chinese travel market.
Speaking ahead of the video launch scheduled for Friday at a media forum in Beijing , KTB Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Betty Radier said the new destination video will position Kenya as a high value tourist destination offering a diverse range of authentic experiences.
“A majority of Chinese travelers want to visit Kenya only for the wildebeest migration from July to September. Through the newly launched destination video, we are positioning Kenya as an all year-round destination among Chinese consumers and trade.”
To increase destination awareness among the targeted consumer segments, KTB will be promoting the new destination video on Chinese social media sites namely WeChat, Weibo and Youku (Youtube) for a period of one month in partnership with Chinese tour operators.
Kenya opted for a digital media campaign due to budgetary constraints, according to Radier.
China is also one of Kenya’s best performing tourism source markets, having shown a collective 42.9 percent growth since 2011.
It is currently Kenya’s fifth biggest tourism source market internationally and the second biggest source market in Asia.
The number of tourist arrivals from China to Kenya in 2017 grew by 11.8 percent to 53,485.
“The Chinese market represents a huge opportunity for Kenya’s tourism industry. This is why we are deepening our engagement with Chinese trade and media to increase interest and desire for travel to Kenya among Chinese consumers.” Dr. Radier added.
In its 2017 Tourism Highlights Report, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) ranked China as the world’s top spender on tourism with a total expenditure of US$ 261 billion (equivalent to KSh. 26.4 trillion).
According to research findings published by the Fung Business Intelligence Centre (FBIC), it is predicted that total spend by outbound Chinese tourist shoppers will reach over KSh. 42 trillion by 2020, further signifying the importance of China as a tourism source market.
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