Kenyan president, William Ruto
Kenyan president William Ruto launched East Africa’s biggest travel expo, Magical Kenya, this past week, with the key highlight being the announcement of a Digital Nomad Work Permit and the Transit and Long Connection Travellers Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
Designed to allow global digital professionals to live and work in Kenya, the work permit and ETA are designed to allow, President Ruto said, global digital professionals and their families to live and work in Kenya, as well as experience the wonders of Magical Kenya every day, all while serving clients from anywhere in the world.”
The Magical Kenya Travel Expo (MKTE) attracted a number of players from Uganda’s hospitality sector, with many walking away with nuggets of information.
“When President Ruto came to the opening, he told us of their 2024 goal to have 2.5 million arrivals and double the number by 2027. I thought that’s ambitious but achievable if worked on. So setting ambitious targets and following up is one, and giving relative investment is another,” Emmanuel Njuki, the director of Sunset Adventures, told Sunday Monitor.
“I came to attend the Magical Kenya Tourism Expo to expose myself to a tourism market that’s bigger by value and players, and also create networks with tour and travel players, lodge owners and experienced suppliers from around the world. I am happy that this expo has given me all those,” he added.
There was unanimity among Ugandan tour operators that their native country should be more aggressive in undertaking marketing campaigns.
Sharon Ireeta Kasigwa, the founder of Nkwazi Travel, was shocked to discover tourists at the expo who had no idea about the beauty of Mountain Rwenzori or the fact that 50 percent of the world’s mountain gorillas and 10 percent of the world’s bird species are found in Uganda.
The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) this past week announced entering a long-term strategic partnership with CNN International. This as UTB looks to promote Uganda as a top tourist destination. Ireeta said transboundary undertakings would be just as impactful.
“We have shared values on customer experience, passion, empathy, integrity and creativity on the coast of Kenya, islands of Zanzibar and Tanzania, plains of northern Tanzania near Mountain Kilimanjaro and other countries. Together, we can share Africa with the world,” she said, adding: “Of course, each country has unique tourism offerings and in partnership, we can sell holistic packages.”
Martha Nansamba, the marketing manager of Ngamba Chimpanzee Trust, is a bit sceptical about whether President Ruto’s exciting Digital Nomad Work Permit will not come with a fee to it. Despite the scepticism, she agrees that there is a lot to learn when Uganda’s performance is benchmarked against Kenya’s.
Nansamba also attended this year’s Indaba Travel & Trade Expo in South Africa. She observed that tourists were quite decisive and intentional to travel and tour Ugandan tourism attractions like the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, situated on Lake Victoria, which is Africa’s biggest fresh water body.
UTB revealed this past week that the Uniquely Yours campaign that will set out to make the most of a multi-platform approach is also intended to “position Uganda as a sustainable tourism destination.”
Njuki told the Monitor that Uganda is easy to sell.
“I cannot count the number of times I was reminded by our previous guests that Uganda is a really beautiful country,” he said, adding: “That is where our competitiveness lies—in the beauty of nature and people. By marketing Uganda more and managing preventable negative drivers of news such as political violence, Uganda can give tourism a boost.”
The MKTE is an annual Pan African trade fair hosted by Kenya Tourism Board to facilitate structured business interactions between buyers, who go on familiarisation trips
