The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is banking on public-private partnerships to position Kenya’s adventure tourism opportunities.
Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO June Chepkemei says adventure tourism has demonstrated resilience and potential to attract more visitors into the country thanks to its adaptability and broad economic benefits that support local communities.
“Recent statistics point to the growth of adventure travel with its resilience and ability to support local economies, especially as countries rebuild following the global travel rebound from COVID-19,” Chepkemei noted.
While pointing to other diverse tourism experience the country has to offer, the CEO highlighted on multi-faceted adventure experiences that includes eco-friendly safaris, birding, hiking, water sports among others.
“Besides other attractions the country is long known for such as beach and wildlife, there are hidden gems that we can creatively promote through off-the-beaten-track locations during off-peak seasons. This would go a long way in spreading out visitors as well as revenues for broader benefits to our economy and communities,” the KTB CEO explained.
Chepkemei made the remarks during the inaugural meeting of the Kenya Adventure Tourism Product Club which was established by the board as a platform for collaboration in packaging and promoting Kenya’s adventure tourism offering.
Through the Kenya Adventure Tourism Product Club, KTB has identified various tourism experience owners in the adventure tourism sub-sector who will work closely with the board in showcasing Kenya’s adventure tourism experiences to Kenyans and to the world. The members of the club are drawn from private and public sectors cutting across diverse experiences from running and kitesurfing, mountain climbing, trekking, canyoning and abseiling among others.
The club will act as a vehicle for promoting adventure tourism in the country, bringing together product owners and stakeholders to position adventure experiences as a key tourism niche with tremendous growth potential.
Currently, the global adventure tourism market, valued at over $450 billion, offers tremendous potential for destinations, especially as the tourism sector fully rebounds globally.
According to a recent study by the global Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), younger generations like Gen Z are being touted as the next wave of adventure travellers, given their propensity to travel independently – a segment that Chepkemei challenged stakeholders to target more inclusively and tap into this growing demographic.
The stakeholders were challenged to adopt best practices and embrace innovation by picking valuable lessons from successful benchmarking models such as the renowned Adventure Travel World Summit, which is the largest global network of adventure travel leaders, attracting over 800 delegates yearly.
