The East African Community (EAC) is intensifying efforts to position the region as a leading global tourism destination through collaborative marketing. This follows the decision to take a joint stand at ITB Berlin this year, representing the region as a single tourism destination. It is the first step in a broader campaign aimed at improving cross-border travel, marketing and investment to attract international and other African visitors.

Stakeholders across the seven-member bloc – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – will showcase the diverse attractions of the EAC under the brand “Visit East Africa: Feel the Vibe.”

Beyond ITB Berlin, other events planned for this year include the EAC Regional Tourism Expo, which will have exhibitions, speed networking, business-to-business meetings and seminars on various tourism and wildlife sub-themes. “The expo has, so far, been hosted by Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya,” says Simon Kiarie, Head of the EAC Secretariat’s Tourism and Wildlife Department.

Spotlight on conservation

Alongside tourism marketing, the EAC is strengthening conservation efforts. The newly adopted Regional Wildlife Conservation and Management Policy aims to harmonise conservation efforts across member states to ensure sustainable management of wildlife resources.

“It has a major thrust on transboundary wildlife conservation. Additionally, the EAC, in collaboration with the European Union and the International Union for Conservation of Nature plans to operationalise the Transboundary Wildlife Conservation Areas Network. This network will facilitate collaboration among stakeholders in key transboundary landscapes and promote effective management and conservation efforts. The initiative will include developing and promoting multi-country tourism products and packages aligned with the EAC tourism brand,” says Kiarie.

A digital push

The EAC is also leveraging digital platforms to promote regional tourism through social media. “The region has already developed a tourism promotional video, ‘Tembea Nyumbani’ (‘visit home’), aimed at promoting intra-regional tourism. Production of a Visit East Africa: Feel the Vibe video is ongoing and this will be used for a digital media campaign focusing on the international market,” says Kiarie.

Overcoming challenges

Despite these efforts, the EAC faces several hurdles. “Some of the challenges we face include having a narrow tourism product range, inadequate connectivity resulting in high cost of travel and inadequate infrastructure,” says Kiarie.

“East Africa has been mainly known for wildlife safaris and leisure. However, implementing the regional strategy as well as national tourism marketing strategies will help to diversify tourism products and introduce new offerings such as adventure tourism. Collaboration between partner states is expected to increase the variety of product offerings, especially for the international market. The EAC is also coordinating expansion of infrastructure such as interoperable roads and railway networks.”

Sustainable growth

The EAC’s long-term vision is to develop the region into the leading sustainable tourism destination in Africa, Kiarie says. This is in the EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy 2021-2025 with objectives to develop multi-destination tourism products branding the EAC as a single tourism destination, standardising services across member states and enhancing institutional capacity to effectively market the region.

“We will begin reviewing the strategy this year to capture current global trends in the tourism industry and align it to ongoing developments in the region,” Kiarie says.