Tourism players to leverage on conference tourism

The ministry of tourism is set to leverage on conference tourism to cover the shortfall of tourists coming to Kenya on holiday.

Tourism Principal Secretary Fatuma Hirsi Mohamed says corporate tourism has been on the rise over the last three years, plugging a hole left by leisure visitors.

This has been helped in part by the government’s ability to successfully bid to host a number of global conferences in the country, further raising the industry’s profile.

PS Hirsi said industry players ought to pull resources to enhance their conference and accommodation facilities as the number of business tourists rises.

“Corporate travel has been booming. Since the third quarter of 2014, it has been pretty stable and reliable with major conferences taking place in Kenya,” the PS said.

A recent survey conducted by consultancy firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers, the tourism sector’s growth is forecast to show an average compound annual growth of 4.7 percent towards the end of 2016.

Kenya’s tourism sector has been on a path to recovery since 2013, when a spate of terror related attacks saw tourist numbers dwindle.

Among the major conferences held in Kenya include the Global Entrepreneurship Summit which U.S President Barack Obama attended, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In August Kenya played host to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the sixth Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development. 35 African heads of state also attended the conference.

Government estimates indicated that the UNCTAD summit raked in some Sh6 billion to the Kenyan economy with the recent TICAD conference expected to generate double that amount.