The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is leveraging public-private partnerships to enhance Kenya’s adventure tourism opportunities.
KTB CEO June Chepkemei emphasizes that adventure tourism has shown resilience and potential to attract more visitors due to its adaptability and significant economic benefits for local communities.
“Recent statistics indicate the growth of adventure travel, highlighting its resilience and capacity to support local economies, particularly as countries recover from the global travel downturn caused by COVID-19,” Chepkemei noted.
Chepkemei also highlighted Kenya’s diverse tourism offerings, including eco-friendly safaris, birding, hiking, and water sports.
She emphasized promoting lesser-known attractions during off-peak seasons to distribute visitors and revenues more evenly, benefiting the economy and local communities.
Chepkemei’s remarks were made during the inaugural meeting of the Kenya Adventure Tourism Product Club, established by the board to facilitate collaboration in packaging and promoting Kenya’s adventure tourism.
The club comprises various tourism experience providers from both private and public sectors, covering activities such as running, kitesurfing, mountain climbing, trekking, canyoning, and abseiling.
The club aims to position adventure tourism as a key niche with significant growth potential.
The global adventure tourism market, valued at over $450 billion, presents immense opportunities for destinations, particularly as the tourism sector continues to rebound globally.
A recent study by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) suggests that younger generations, like Gen Z, are emerging as the next wave of adventure travellers due to their propensity for independent travel.
Chepkemei urged stakeholders to inclusively target this growing demographic.
Additionally, 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.
