Weekly Ecotourism News – 28/07/2020

WTM London Virtual PR Workshop 2020

We would like to extend an invite from the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) to attend WTM London Virtual PR workshop which will be held on the Thursday, 30^th of July 2020 from 4pm – 5pm (EAT)

Whether it’s your first time or you’re a returning exhibitor, the PR Workshop will show you how to maximize your opportunities at WTM London and Travel Forward this year.

The workshop speakers will:

• Show you how to boost your PR coverage
• Reveal the new plans for 2020
• Brief you on the show deadlines

Click here to REGISTER

Magical Kenya & Safaricom Lipa Na Bonga Points Partnership

As part of the Kenya Tourism Board’s (KTB) effort to promote domestic tourism, KTB has reached out to various partners to aid in the tourism recovery journey and will be partnering with Safaricom, taking advantage of the over 30 million subscribers to promote the destination across this subscriber base. To entice these numbers to travel, the partnership will allow domestic travelers to redeem Bonga Points in exchange for available tourism product and experience offers.

The campaign will be supported by above and below the line communication mediums as well as digital media for both marketing and publicity purposes carried out in collaboration by KTB and Safaricom. The campaign will initially run for 6 months (Aug 2020-Jan 2021) with monthly reviews. Safaricom will allow domestic travelers to redeem Bonga points in exchange for holiday experiences with the flexibility of toping up where the cost is not fully covered. Tourism operators either tourism attractions, sites and facilities, accommodation or transport providers would be required to register and be equipped for this service to be able to benefit from this traffic.

Establishments keen on enrolling for the Lipa na Bonga points or interested in finding out more about the program should contact KTB through mkamau@ktb.go.ke  and somondi@ktb.goke .

Eligibility:  To participate one is required to be a registered member of at least one of the travel trade associations and adhering to all the Ministry of Health stipulated Covid-19 protocols.

Magical Kenya & Equity Bank Partnership

Following the adverse effects the Covdid-19 pandemic has had on the travel industry, KTB’s marketing efforts will be focused on the domestic market for the foreseeable future. KTB in a bid to spur domestic travel has got into a partnership with Equity Bank. KTB’s main objective of getting into this partnership is to take advantage of the large customer base Equity Bank has and other communication assets at their disposal to create awareness of Kenya’s tourism product/experiences with a view of increasing demand and stirring domestic travel amongst Equity’s account holders.

The campaign will be supported by above and below the line communication mediums as well as digital media for both marketing and publicity purposes carried out in collaboration by KTB and Equity. The campaign will initially run for 6 months (Aug 2020-Jan 2021) with monthly reviews. The basis of this campaign will be offers (discounts and other value adds tied to consumption or purchases) offered to entice customers using their Equity cards to pay for tourism related products. These could be travel, accommodation, dining and any other experiences.

In order for this campaign to work they will require trade to enroll as merchants with attractive and compelling offers for the domestic market uptake. Interested companies should send their offers before July 30^th using the attached form to mkamau@ktb.go.ke  and somondi@ktb.go.ke  for collation.

Eligibility:  to participate one is required to be a registered member of at least one of the travel trade associations, accepts cards as a mode of payment Visa/MasterCard and adhering to all the Ministry of Health stipulated Covid-19 protocols.

Airlines that are resuming flights into and out of Nairobi

Qatar Airlines will resume operations from Nairobi on the 3^rd of August 2020 with 14 weekly flights, subject to regulatory approval.

Emirates will be operating a repatriation flight Today (Tuesday), 28^th July 2020 and in addition purchase can be made for onward destinations as long as passengers are compliant with the respective country’s regulations.

British Airways will be resuming flights into and out of Nairobi on the 1^st of August 2020. The airline will operate 4 weekly flights; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

KLM will resume international travel into and out of Nairobi on the 3^rd of August 2020. The airline will begin with 4 weekly flights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Air France will resume operations in Kenya on the 6^th of August 2020. The airline will begin with one flight to Paris every Friday.

Note* All passengers are advised to kindly check the information published by the government of their destination country before traveling.

PR and Communication Team

pr@ecotourismkenya.org