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Tourism marketing agency Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) has already rolled out promotional programs to position the country for agri-tourism with tea, flowers and coffee leading the pack of farm tours to be showcased.
Kenya is positioning farm tours as one of the experiences to be sampled by both local and international travellers in line with the strategy to diversify its tourism products and experiences.
KTB on Tuesday intensified its campaign at the launch of farm tours in Gatura Greens Tea Farm in Muranga County with KTB Company Secretary Allan Njoroge.
Njoroge called on farm owners and producers to work towards packaging tours which would be a beneficial tourism venture for them and the traveller.
He said Kenya is one of the largest producers and exporters of tea and cut flowers in the world and attracts a lot of interest in the country, adding that the country is known for the best quality coffee which is loved globally.
“People want to understand what makes Kenya’s products special and farm tours give an opportunity to provide this information. We also want to show domestic tourists that there are many travel opportunities around them to explore,” Njoroge said.
He added that Kenyan products continue to play a great role in keeping destination memories alive globally especially now with the minimal travel and lockdowns experienced globally due to the Covid-19 pandemic
“Last year over a period of three months we had no visitor arriving into the country, we were however lucky as a destination because people across the world continued to enjoy our flowers, tea and Coffee. Flowers especially bring happiness, and we are happy to continue sharing this with the world,” he added.
Kenya’s key tourism products have mainly centered on Safari and beach destinations.
This is due to the fact that the country is well endowed with a long coastline and a diversity of wildlife species.
Over the years, 80 percent of the industry’s earnings have been driven by Nature based tours.
Whilst recognizing the importance of Nature based products, much effort is needed to diversify the industry to include a wide range of other products that can suite various segments of tourists.
Earlier this year, Kenya recognised the second phase of the Magical Kenya Signature Experiences (MKSE) an initiative that commenced in 2019 to recognise outstanding tourism offerings among Kenyan travel industry players.
Njoroge stated that through the Program, facilities and organizations are required to provide value addition to their offerings through exceptional travel experiences to the traveller.
He added that Kenya must continue diversifying products experiences across the country, available throughout the year and fit for different travel segments with Farm tours providing an advantage of combining travel and information, so as to continue curving a niche as a competitive destination.
“As the world continues to open up for travel once again there are emerging trends that operators within the sector will need to be aware of and incorporate in their business strategy and offering.
“Some of these trends include search for authentic & immersive local travel experiences. This is the reason MKSE is important to the industry, with the availability of farm tours and other experiences across Kenya, we can say that we are improving our competitive edge as a destination,” Njoroge said..
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