Kenya eyes 12-15% growth in footfalls from India in 2018

Kenya is eyeing 12-15 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from India this year.
It also plans to promote meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) and adventure segments to increase its traveller base.
Well known for its safaris, Kenya now wants to expand beyond this to cater to different tastes and age groups, Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO Betty Addero Radier told PTI here.
She said, Kenya is mainly considered as a leisure destination among Indian travellers, however, KTB is working on changing its positioning and expanding it to include MICE, adventure, weddings and honeymoon.
Adventure tourism is one of the segments, which is rapidly picking up in India and for Kenya, it is going to be a major growth driver, she added.

"Kenya is among the best adventure destinations in the world and offers an array of activities to travellers. For the adventure lover, Kenya offers a wide variety of outdoor experiences, from climbing the iconic mount Kenya, to para-gliding in the scenic Kerio Valley, skydiving over the pristine Diani Beach or white water rafting along river Tana in Sagana," Radier said.

India is the third largest source market of Kenya after the US and UK. In 2017, Kenya hosted 64,116 Indians travellers.
"Looking at the momentum we are expecting the footfalls from India to grow by 12-15 per cent this year," she further added.

In terms of spending also, she pointed out that India is highly ranked and among top four countries with people mostly spending on experiences, hotels and transport.
On an average, Indians spend USD 500-700 per day per person, she said.