Kenya is significantly improving its conference tourism through diversification of products beyond wildlife and beaches. The key sector in collaboration with the national and county governments has invested in world-class facilities to promote Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.

As the industry celebrates the World Tourism Week, Kenya has been described as a strategic and ideal destination for regional and international meetings. The International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) report of 2024, shows that MICE drives global travel growth and has outpaced leisure tourism.

According to ICCA, a global meetings industry network, Kenya has made significant strides in conference tourism, currently ranking third in Africa after South Africa and Rwanda.

This position reflects a substantial rise from ninth place in 2022 and has been attributed to international standard facilities like Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and strategic efforts to host major global and continental events.

This is a relatively new concept in the tourism industry that involves provision to business travellers attending seminars, workshops, conferences and exhibitions.

Consequently, stakeholders in the tourism industry have been challenged to formulate a collective and comprehensive strategy to claim its share in the lucrative Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) sector.

“Conference tourism creates jobs, strengthens the local economy and contributes to infrastructure development,” Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast Branch Executive Officer, Sam Ikwaye said.

Ikwaye noted that conference tourism has the potential to play a critical role in the promotion of tourism and called for investment and improvement of transport networks to attract high profile meetings.

“Both public and private sectors should work together to create a common strategy that will position Kenya as a preferred destination for conferences and exhibitions,” KAHC official said.

At the same time, Tourism and Wildlife cabinet secretary Rebecca Miano says recent research has shown that a conference tourist spends 2-3 times more than the normal tourist.

“Kenya is a favourite destination and we want to improve our infrastructure by getting State-of-the-Art conference facilities to attract more conferences and events,” said Miano.

Veteran hotelier Fred Kiuru contends that Kenya is better placed for international conferences and global events in the region and called for more investments in modernising conference facilities. Kiuru said there was a need to diversify tourism products like MICE and stop over-reliance on traditional tourism such as beaches and safari, which he said were becoming less attractive.

“Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions are more resilient and have huge economic impact compared to leisure tourism, which is susceptible to internal strife,” he added.

The hotelier commended the national government for investing on road infrastructure, modernisation and upgrading of airports and airstrips in the coast region saying this would improve the tourism sector significantly.

Kiuru observed that the modernization and expansion of Moi, Malindi and Manda airports would attract more direct flights from Europe and other emerging markets.  He also welcomed the upgrading of Ukunda and Ikanga airstrips in Kwale and Taita Taveta counties respectively.

Meanwhile, Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir says his administration is focusing on enhancing conference tourism as part of its broader strategy to boost the coastal county’s tourism sector and create jobs.

Nassir says while leisure remains the backbone of Mombasa’s tourism, the county’s ambition is to broaden its horizons by tapping into the vast potential of conference and business tourism.

The governor called on all public and private stakeholders to work towards diversifying their tourism products by establishing strong convention bureaus to tap into this tourism conference segment to boost revenues.

He disclosed that last year, out of over 11,000 association conferences held globally, Kenya hosted only 29 with only five taking place at the coast.

“We were ranked 63rd worldwide and that tells us one thing that we must do more together to reposition Mombasa as a premier conference destination,” he said.

The governor said he is encouraged by the national government’s support, including the upcoming launch of direct Turkish Airlines flights into Mombasa’s Moi International Airport, which he described as a critical step in improving global air connectivity.

“But we must go further by opening our skies to more international carriers, which will make travel more accessible and affordable for conference and business travellers, boosting arrivals and creating more jobs for the thousands of Mombasa residents who power our hospitality sector,” he quipped.

Nassir called for the implementation of the open skies policy to enable international flights to land directly into Mombasa to boost coastal tourism.

“We are working with all the stakeholders to push for the open sky policy, so that Mombasa can have direct access to 320 cities in the world,” he said.

Some of the world airlines that used to travel to Mombasa directly included Qatar Airways, KLM Royal Dutch, and Emirates among others. The governor said Mombasa County would work closely with the national government and tourism stakeholders in unlocking new business opportunities in the tour, travel and hospitality sector.

“This is about unlocking new opportunities, building resilience in our tourism economy and ensuring Mombasa claims its rightful place on the global meetings and business tourism map,” he said.

Nassir called for concerted efforts to achieve the ambitious tourism target of attracting five million international visitors by 2027.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Mohamed Hassan