Renowned travel personalities and influencers from the United Kingdom are in the country as part of the Kenya Tourism Board’s (KTB) influencer familiarization tour aimed at leveraging influential personalities to unpack tourism experiences in Kenya.
The visit by the content creators drawn from various spheres is part of the final phase of an influencer marketing campaign by the tourism marketing agency aimed at positioning Kenya as a top holiday destination especially among the young, millennial travel market.
Speaking on the trip, KTB CEO June Chepkemei said that the influencer campaign, which initially targeted personalities from the East African Community (EAC) region, has been a remarkable initiative going by the interest it has generated. She added that it was timely to spread the net wider to other markets including the UK which remains among the top source markets for Kenya.
“We have had very fruitful engagements with influencers from the EAC region over the past few months where they experienced first-hand the allure of Kenya’s unique tourism products and experiences ,” Chepkemei stated.
“Now we are spreading our nets wider to the lucrative UK market whose citizens have consistently shown interest in Kenya’s tourism offerings. With the wide reach of the selected UK influencers, we expect this final leg of the campaign to ignite and sustain travel interests to Kenya,” she added.
The KTB CEO noted that the choice of the UK influencers, with their creative skills and storytelling capabilities, will be instrumental in showcasing the myriad tourism products and experiences that Kenya has to offer.
“With their skills in videography, photography, art and content creation, we believe the influencers will document their Kenyan trip in a unique way that will inspire their followers to want to visit Kenya,” Chepkemei said.
The UK source market has been one of Kenya’s top performers having attracted 156,701 arrivals in 2023 compared to 131,526 in the previous year, marking a 19% increase.
The influencers include travel vlogger Sandy Makes Sense, Irish rugby sevens player and social media influencer Harry McNulty and photographer and visual artist Eleonora Zontini.
They will embark on a one-week tour of various attractions in Nairobi and the Coastal region including Tsavo and Watamu.
While drawing reference from Hollywood actress Nicole Murphy’s recent tour of Kenya, Chepkemei said that the country is now attracting interest from a diverse array of celebrities and influencers cut from fields such as the arts, travel as well as sports who are keen to promote Kenya.
“A few weeks ago, we were honoured to host Hollywood star Nicole Murphy who was keen on experiencing first-hand the diversity of Kenya’s tourism offering. This influencer trip is therefore timely as it will help sustain that momentum of interest from key figures globally,” said Chepkemei.
The familiarization trips first kicked off in June this year where KTB partnered with renowned social media influencers and key media outlets from EAC member countries with an aim to elevate destination visibility, ignite travel interests, and unearth new growth prospects.
Part of the broader plan for the trip was to also boost regional tourism growth by supporting the EAC’s goal to attract over 14 million international tourists annually by 2025, from 7.2 million in 2019.
Photo caption: Irish rugby sevens player and social media influencer Harry McNulty (2nd from left), travel vlogger Sandy Makes Sense (2nd from right) and photographer/visual artist Eleonora Zontini (R) during the familiarization trip. The UK content creators are in the country as part of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) influencer marketing campaign aimed at leveraging influential personalities to unpack tourism experiences in Kenya.
