Kenya has launched a six-month marketing campaign in India in a bid to attract more tourists.

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has earmarked a budget of Ksh20 million ($200 000) for the marketing initiative in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Currently, India is Kenya’s third-best-performing market after the United Kingdom and the United States.

From January to July this year, tourist arrivals from India grew by 35% to 37 597, compared with 27 944 in the same period last year.

Last week, KTB acting Managing Director, Jacinta Nzioka and Kenya High Commissioner to India, Florence Weche, launched the marketing drive in New Delhi.

Nzioka said the campaign, dubbed Kenya Kalling, will feature in Indian print and electronic media firms as well as on online platforms. “We expect to increase Indian tourist arrivals by 21% after the six-month marketing programme.”

She pointed out that the KTB, in collaboration with national carrier, Kenya Airways, had come up with exciting travel offers and prizes as part of efforts to attract more holidaymakers to visit the country.

Recently, she said, the marketing agency hosted Indian film makers, who sampled various local tourist facilities across the country aimed at wooing more Indians to Kenya. “The Indian film makers were taken through prime products such as safari to the leading parks and the white sand beaches at the coast.”

Apart from safari and beach experiences, KTB is also promoting water sports, monuments and its diverse culture to the Indian market.

On her part, Weche said Kenya was capitalising on Indian Prime Minister Modi Narendra’s July visit to the country to woo more Indian holidaymakers. She said the visit was a vote of confidence in the destination.

The KTB also recently launched marketing campaigns in Poland to attract more Polish tourists to the country.

The promotions aim to revive the Polish market after tourist arrivals from the country dropped to 1 400 last year compared with 12 000 in 2012.