A new international brand campaign 'Make it Kenya' has been launched to promote the scale and variety of tourist and investment opportunities the country has to offer.

 

The campaign, which was unveiled by Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, builds on the success and positive feedback that the country experienced following US President Barack Obama's visit, to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the recent endorsement for Kenya by UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai, who led the UNWTO conference in Mombasa last month.

 

Tourism is a vital pillar of Kenya's economy, environment, identity and well-being; the industry is responsible for one in 10 jobs and over 12 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), said a statement. 

 

Kenya is renowned for its amazing beaches and world-class safari offering that provides visitors with ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences, it said.

 

The country is also focusing on the promotion of business (MICE), sports, adventure and cultural tourism, which helping to take the diversity of the country’ offering to new audiences. 

 

The brand launch included the unveiling of MakeItKenya.com, a new digital portal that has been specifically designed as a source of rich sharable content, which will help connect Kenya to the world, through people’s computers, smart phones and digital devices.

 

President Kenyatta, who is in Milan to lead the celebrations for Expo Milano’s dedicated Kenya week, launched the new campaign at a VIP event at Kenya House, an extension of Kenya’s Expo pavilion that is located in the centre of Milan and being used to showcase Kenya’s cultural, tourism and economic assets. 

 

During the VIP launch, the President called on people around the world to consider the country’s rich tourism offer.

 

“Kenya has a wonderful story to tell,  as the original home of the safari, home to the big five, snow-capped mountains, vast deserts and miles of beautiful Indian Ocean beaches," he said.

 

“Through Make It Kenya we aim to communicate this, as the campaign will allow us to engage people around the world. Through this bold and innovative approach to drive Kenya’s story, we will show people the scale and quality of Kenya’s tourism offer from adventure, health and therapeutic tourism to our massive investment in tourist infrastructure," said President Kenyatta.

 

Phyllis Kandie, the cabinet secretary of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, said: “The Make It Kenya campaign and digital portal will allow us to tell Kenya’s story with one voice. It is not intended to replace our Magical Kenya tourism campaign driven by Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) but rather enhance it and make it stronger.

 

“Our aim is to use Make It Kenya to raise our country’s profile to a new level by directly engaging new audiences, allowing us to compete globally and to a level that is reflective of the strong and attractive brand that our country is.” - TradeArabia News Service