The Kenya Tourism Board has rolled out a campaign that will see Kenyans living in the diaspora market, the destination dubbed “One diaspora, One tourist”.

Speaking during the launch of the 14th edition of the Magical Kenya Travel Expo that will take place this October at Uhuru Gardens, CEO of Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), June Chepkemei, highlighted that the board was leveraging the diaspora to boost the tourism numbers.

“We are working with the State Department of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, as well as all our embassies abroad to encourage Kenyans to be our agents so that they are able to promote Kenya out there. We seek to work with Kenyans who are spread throughout the globe to be brand ambassadors and be able to tap into their networks to get people to explore Magical Kenya,” she explained.

According to Chepkemei,populations in the diaspora play a significant role in opening emerging markets for new destinations as well as market consumer goods linked with different cultures in their home countries.

Unlike the international tourists, the diasporas are more likely to connect with the local economy or the indigenous people. Moreover, they assist their home countries to expand their tourism sectors.

Other success stories

There are several countries in Africa who have tapped into the diaspora market. For instance, Ghana has the successful Year of Return campaign, Senegal and Gambia have the Homecoming Festival, Ethiopia has its Northern Historic route and South Africa has the Footsteps of Mandela Tour.

Amongst others, the results have been increased tourism arrivals, an economic boost in the tourism sector, increased investments in other sectors such as real estate, tourism and agriculture. The project has also strengthened the ties between the diaspora and their mother countries and has boosted the image of their mother countries positively as leading destinations for international tourists.

It is these results that Kenya hopes to tap into with the increase in the marketing budget and an advancement in strategies that will bring more tourists to the destination. It is estimated that three million Kenyan nationals live and work abroad and in 2023, they contributed US$4.19 billion in revenue which was a 4% increase from the previous years. This was mostly from the earnings from tea and tourism, which are the largest sources of forex for the country.

‘Vital resource’

According to the KTB, this constitutes a vital resource that can be used to harness economic gains in the sector and also meet their three million tourists arrival target by 2024. To do this, they have incentives to woo the diaspora to participate in the campaign.

“We are working with the private sector players in the hospitality industry such as airlines, hotels, as well as tour operators to incentivise Kenyans living in the diaspora to actively lure tourists to Kenya. This enables us to have partners out there who assist us to market Kenya,” said Chepkemei.

The Kenyan embassies in the respective countries will act as coordinating bodies to facilitate the tourists to visit Kenya and to ensure that the marketing is done professionally. KTB plans to offer training to the diaspora who are part of the campaign.

In addition, KTB plans to launch the Home Travel festival to attract both regional and international tourists. “We are targeting Africa at first and then our international source markets to be able to bring travellers to experience Kenya’s rich culture, art, creativity and cuisine,” said Chepkemai.

More campaigns

These are not the only campaigns that the KTB leverages to attract tourists. Apart from the recent launch of the Electronic Travel Authorization, which the KTB says has not only eased the logistics of travel but also increased the number of tourists in the country, the Ministry of Tourism is also working with the immigration department to establish dedicated tourism police, focused on ensuring the safety of travellers.

In addition, they are working with the Ministry of Transport to open up more domestic, regional and long-haul flights. Furthermore, there will be policy reforms such as reviewing the national tourism policy as well as the tourism act to align with the new travel trends.